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Sean Paul Goes Through His Personal Camera Roll (VIDEO) | EXCLUSIVE
Sean Paul has more hits under his belt than you probably even realize. He's teamed up with artists including Beyoncé and Rihanna, and over the last year worked with David Guetta, Dua Lipa, and of course, Clean Bandit and Anne-Marie. "Rockabye" was one of the biggest songs of the year.
In fact, Sean is nominated for an iHeartRadio Music Award this year for his hit collaboration with Clean Bandit and Anne-Marie. Also up for the award in this category is Kygo and Selena Gomez's "It Ain't Me," Cheat Codes and Demi Lovato's "No Promises," The Chainsmokers and Coldplay's "Something Just Like This," and Zedd and Alessia Cara's "Stay."
While catching up with Sean, the dancehall legend showed us some never-before-seen photos and videos from his personal camera roll. Fans can see Sean's adorable son, hangs with Clean Bandit's Grace Chatto and more.
So, what does Sean Paul have going on in his personal camera roll? Check out some of the best pics below. You know, pics or it didn't happen.
Sean's artist Chi Ching Ching doing one awesome stage dive.
"Seems to be my artist Chi Ching Ching jumping in the crowd again."
Sean and Clean Bandit's Grace Chatto
"Grace. She's beautiful and she's a great artist. And that was me and her in London."
Sean's adorable son clapping his hands for the first time.
"My son. He's clapping his hands now, and for the first time when I'm not there, so I'm upset. But, it's good, I've got a film of it. This is my boy doing his thing, Levi Blaze. He's clapping his hands, it's the first time he's doing it. I've ben trying to show him forever."


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A membership meeting held Thursday night at the Moorer branch of the YMCA of South Alabama to elect the organization's board resulted in the passing of the metro board nominees by more than 80 percent of voting members.
The election required 10 percent of the Y's 10,663 members to vote for the results to be valid. Of the 1,830 members who voted by mail, online or at the meeting, 1,491 voted in favor of the board nominees and 347 voted against, according to a tally by an independent certified public accountant firm.
The YMCA held the election in response to a lawsuit between some of its members and the regional YMCA board over a strategic plan about the future of the Moorer branch that led to the lawsuit.
Though the election was required by the court in order for litigation to proceed, the opponents of the branch-relocation plan and plaintiffs in the lawsuit were not pleased by the results.
The Mobile (AL) Press-Register reported a member who opposed the plan came to the meeting with a copy of the YMCA's bylaws that noted the board members up for election were supposed to have been nominated by a committee made up of representatives of each branch, which they were not.
Moving forward from the election, Mark Hanke, CEO of the YMCA of South Alabama, says a date has not yet been set with the judge, but both parties will see him within 30 days to report on their progress. In the meantime, the new board members will have an orientation and will meet to consider the strategic plan.
"Now that the metro board has been reconstituted and elected, with the powers and duties afforded the board, they will revisit the strategic plan with the expectation of passing the plan as is or with changes as they see fit," Hanke says. "This action however won't be rushed and we anticipate it will take at least 60 days, more if needed. The metro board will have ample time to study the strategic plan and to get additional feedback from the membership."
Hanke says the new board members also need to consider upcoming events, including its annual campaign for youth and families, a golf tournament benefit and the Ride the Bay for the YMCA.
"I welcome the day we can move into a state-of-the-art YMCA in downtown Mobile and help the YMCA become financially stable, sustainable and able to serve more people in the greater Mobile community," Hanke says.

subset: commoncrawl


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Dr. Michael Misovich, associate professor of engineering at Hope College, has been appointed to the Editorial Advisory Board of "Chemical Engineering Process," the flagship publication of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE).
AIChE is the world's leading organization for chemical engineering professionals, with more than 40,000 members from 93 countries. Published monthly, "Chemical Engineering Process" seeks to provide essential technical and professional information to the AIChE membership, which includes professionals in industry, academia and government.
The publication covers subjects such as choosing among design or equipment options; troubleshooting a process unit; designing specific plant hardware; assessing the likely impact of emerging technology; reviewing key trends and challenges in engineering research and development; and evaluating continuing-education needs.
Misovich is currently the only college or university educator on the nine-member Editorial Advisory Board.
Misovich has been a member of the Hope faculty since 2002. His research interests include phase equilibrium, equations of state, and engineering education and assessment. He has written several articles published in professional journals and made numerous presentations during professional conferences, including during annual meetings of the AIChE.
He mentors Hope students through collaborative faculty-student research during both the school year and summer. This summer he and a team of two students are investigating generalized methods for estimating vapor pressure and other physical properties. The research is being supported in part by the National Science Foundation "Research Experiences for Undergraduates" (NSF-REU) grant held by the departments of physics and engineering and by an undergraduate-research fellowship sponsored by the Michigan Space Grant Consortium (MSGC).
Prior to joining the Hope faculty he had been an associate professor of chemical engineering at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology in Terre Haute, Ind., since 1998. He was an assistant professor of chemical engineering at Villanova University in Pennsylvania from 1991 to 1998, and an assistant professor of paper science at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point from 1988 to 1991.
Misovich graduated from Michigan State University in 1981 with a Bachelor Arts degree in economics, and Bachelor of Science degrees in computer science and chemical engineering. Also at Michigan State University, he completed a Master of Science degree in chemical engineering in 1984; a Master of Science degree in computer science in 1988; and a doctorate in chemical engineering in 1988.


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Einstein and Penn State Researchers Awarded $12.2 Million to Study Alzheimer's Disease
Women May Keep Verbal Memory Skills Longer than Men in the Early Stages of Alzheimer's
Stress in Older People Increases Risk for Pre-Alzheimer's Condition
Professor, The Saul R. Korey Department of Neurology
Professor, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
Professor, Department of Epidemiology & Population Health
Edwin S. Lowe Chair in Neurology
Vice Chair, The Saul R. Korey Department of Neurology
Director, Montefiore Headache Center
Richard B. Lipton, M.D., is the Edwin S. Lowe Professor and Vice Chair of Neurology, Professor of Epidemiology and Population Health and Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. Dr. Lipton earned his medical degree at the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine. After a medical internship at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, he completed his neurology residency and clinical neurophysiology fellowship at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. He also completed a fellowship in neuroepidemiology at Columbia University. He is a diplomate of the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology and a fellow of the American Academy of Neurology.
His research focuses on cognitive aging, Alzheimer's disease and migraine headaches. He is the Principal Investigator of the Einstein Aging Study, an NIH funded Program Project, and collaborates on several R01s. His research focuses on risk factors and biomarkers of cognitive decline and Alzheimer's disease. His recent studies examine cognitive aging across the lifespan with an emphasis on the effects of pain and stress on brain function.
His headache research focuses on the epidemiology of migraine and on clinical trials. His epidemiologic studies have evaluated trigger factors for headache attacks and risk factors for headache progression. Dr. Lipton has published more than 800 original articles, many with trainees. He is a 5 time winner of the H.G. Wolff Award for excellence in headache research from the American Headache Society and a two time winner of the Enrico Greppi award from the European Headache Federation. Dr. Lipton is Director of the Montefiore Headache Center, an interdisciplinary subspecialty center focused on headache, patient care, research and education.
Dr. Lipton holds leadership positions in several professional societies. He is a Past-President of the American Headache Society (AHS). He serves on the editorial boards of several journals, including Neurology. He has written 11 books. Dr. Lipton enjoys mentoring medical students, residents, PhD students and fellows. Over the last decade he has mentored 7 CRTP students and 10 K-award recipients. He has received both the CRTP Mentor of the Year Award and the Einstein Faculty Mentoring Award.
Dr. Richard Lipton was a speaker at the inaugural Migraine World Summit in 2016. Click here for the video.
More Information About Dr. Richard Lipton
The Montefiore Headache Center
Material in this section is provided by individual faculty members who are solely responsible for its accuracy and content.
Albert Einstein College of Medicine
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CNN interviews Dr. Richard Lipton about a new study that finds moderate to intense exercise may slow the rate of mental decline.
CBS News interviews Dr. Richard Lipton about his new research that finds stress doubles the chance of seniors developing a pre-Alzheimer's condition.


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Our Partners
Partnerships are at the centre of all UNDP work and a fundamental driver of of its business strategy and its ability to deliver development results. UNDP actively promotes a range of development partnerships with all of its stakeholders, both national and international, working together in all phases of the development cycle from programme design to implementation, review, and revision, in order to impact the assessment and formulation of new interventions.
United Nations Development Programme - Kosovo institutions
Kosovan institutions are UNDP Kosovo's most important partner. Through its responsibilities around the newly adopted Sustainable Development Goals, the UNDP supports institutions and their effort to improve the lives of Kosovans through a participatory process of awareness raising, analysis, and implementation of initiatives that support national priorities.
United Nations Development Programme - Donors
UNDP outreach and cooperation also extends to the international community. This cooperation includes various UN Agencies and Bretton Woods Institutions, as well as donors and other multilateral and bilateral development organizations operating within Kosovo.
United Nations Development Programme - Civil Society
The UNDP also works with the civil society, including NGOs, community-based organizations, members of academia, and representatives of the mass media. UNDP Kosovo engages with the civil society and CSOs across all practice areas, with a particular focus on policy and governance, localization of MDGs, conflict prevention, and recovery. The UNDP has identified indigenous peoples as a particularly relevant partner in poverty reduction efforts and inclusive development policies at the local, national and international levels. Roles and responsibilities of the UNDP and CSOs depend on the cooperation modality:
1. CSOs as partners: the Memorandum of Understanding usually contains a broad cooperation framework and provides for cconsultation and a mutual exchange of information. The specific responsibilities and roles will depend on the particular MoU.
2. NGO implementation: the Project Cooperation Agreement describes the role and responsibilities of UNDP Kosovo and the NGO which acts as the implementing partner. When NGOs are designated as an implementing partner for UNDP activities, management responsibility for the entire project including achieving the project outputs lies with the NGO.
3. NGOs as recipients of grants: the Memorandum of Understanding or micro-capital grant agreement describes the roles and responsibilities of the UNDP and the NGO. The recipient NGO is responsible to undertake the activities described in its workplan and budget; to provide quarterly reports to the Steering Committee; and to provide annual audited statements.
4. NGOs as contractors: the procurement contract (typically a contract for professional services) describes the roles and the responsibilities of the UNDP and the NGO as a contractor. While a NGO within a contract can be tasked to take over a certain degree of project management, the overall responsibility, especially regarding budget control and reporting, rests with the implementing partner (national institutions, UN agency, NGO or UNDP country office). Within the framework of a contract, the implementing partner and the NGO can freely agree on the scale and scope of the service, the timetable, the reporting requirements/frequency, and the payment schedule.
United Nations Development Programme - Private Sector
Through many of its programmes, UNDP also engages the private sector in support of public-private partnerships. Interactions with the private sector can be divided into three areas:
Private sector development - where UNDP interventions aim to support development of the private sector through policy, capacity and institution building, interventions with the private sector as beneficiary as well as microfinance policy.
Private sector engagement - where the private sector is a collaborator with UNDP in its development programmes and projects;
Procurement – in which the private sector provides goods and services to UNDP within a commercial contract. Please click here for more information.


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The U.S. Congress signed the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in 1990, and it went into effect in 1992. The ADA is a civil rights law that prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities in access to jobs, public accommodations, government services and programs, public transportation and telecommunications.
Title I of the ADA prohibits private employers, state and local governments, employment agencies and labor unions from discriminating against qualified individuals with disabilities in job application procedures, hiring, firing, advancement, compensation, job training, and other terms, conditions, and privileges of employment. The City of Redmond is an Equal Employment Opportunity (EU) employer and adheres to the requirements of Title I.
Title II of the ADA adopts the general prohibitions against discrimination contained in Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, but applies to all state and local governments, regardless of whether or not they receive federal funding. It prohibits the City from denying persons with disabilities the equal opportunity to participate in its services, programs or activities, either directly or indirectly through contractual arrangements.
It is the policy of the City of Redmond to make every reasonable effort to provide equal access to all City facilities, services, programs and activities for citizens with disabilities in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.
Find out how to request accommodations such as a translator or barrier removal, and how to request that documents and other materials be provided in alternate formats.
Requesting Accommodation
If you feel you or another person have been denied access to a City facility, program, service or activity, please send a letter or an email to the City of Redmond ADA Coordinator that includes the following information:
Filing a Grievance
Americans with Disabilities Act
Standards for Accessible Design
Public Rights-of-Way Guidelines
Washington State DOL Disabled Parking Information
Use the City's new request management system to report non-emergency issues, make requests, and find answers to common questions.
Get started


text: Further cast announced joining Helen Mirren in The Audience Posted on Nov 30, 2012 | By London Theatre Direct New cast members announced alongside Helen Mirren in THE AUDIENCE at the Gielgud Theatre. Joining Helen Mirren as The Queen in the world premiere of Peter Morgan's The Audience are Michael Elwyn as Anthony Eden, Nathaniel Parker as Gordon Brown and Rufus Wright as David Cameron, alongside the previously announced Haydn Gwynne as Margaret Thatcher, Robert Hardy as Winston Churchill and Paul Ritter as John Major. Final casting will be announced shortly. Stephen Daldry's production of The Audience will preview at the Gielgud Theatre from 15 February 2013, with press night on 5 March 2013 and is currently booking to 15 June 2013. Designs are by Bob Crowley, lighting by Rick Fisher, sound is by Paul Arditti and video by Ian William Galloway. For sixty years Elizabeth II has met each of her twelve Prime Ministers in a weekly audience at Buckingham Palace - a meeting like no other in British public life – it is private. Both parties have an unspoken agreement never to repeat what is said. Not even to their spouses. The Audience breaks this contract of silence and imagines a series of pivotal meetings between the Downing Street incumbents and their Queen. From Churchill to Cameron, each Prime Minister has used these private conversations as a sounding board and a confessional - sometimes intimate, sometimes explosive. In turn, the Queen can't help but reveal her own self as she advises, consoles and, on occasion, teases. From young mother to grandmother these private audiences chart the arc of the second Elizabethan Age. Politicians come and go through the revolving door of electoral politics, while she remains constant, waiting to welcome her next Prime Minister. Michael Elwyn returns to the theatre having more reccenty been seen on television in The Syndicate, Da Vinci's Demons, EastEnders, Stella, Seven Lives, The Tudors, Into the Storm, Foyle's War, Ten Days To War, Robin Hood, The Bill, Sharpe's Challenge, The Queen's Sister, Rosemary and Thyme, Dirty Filthy Love, The Brief, Byron, Daniel Deronda, Bertie and Elizabeth, Micawber, North Square, Soldier, Soldier, After Henry and Kinse. His film credits include The Iron Lady, Surveillance, Shadowman and Dot the I. After leaving drama school Nathaniel Parker joined the Royal Shakespeare Company before appearing many times in the West End and on Broadway. His television credits include leading roles in the BBC's adaptations of Vanity Fair, The Nuremburg Trials and Bleak House and for seven years he played the lead role in The Inspector Lynley Mysteries. His more recent television credits include Injustice, Merlin, Me and Mrs Jones and the forthcoming Still Life for CBC. His many film credits include War Requiem, Hamlet, Othello, Fade To Black, Stardust, The Domino Effect, The Perfect Host, Malice In Wonderland, and The Chronicles of Narnia. Rufus Wright's theatre credits include The 39 Steps at the Criterion Theatre, The Empire for the Royal Court, Private Lives for Hampstead Theatre, Frost/Nixon and Mary Stuart both for Donmar Warehouse and in the West End and Journey's End at the Playhouse and Duke of York's Threatres. His television credits include Foyle's War, New Tricks, White Van Man, Five Daughters, The Thick of It, Taking the Flak and Bomber. His film credits include The Special Relationship, Jean Charles, James Bond: Quantum of Solace and Spy Game. The Audience is produced in the West End by Matthew Byam Shaw for Playful Productions, Robert Fox and Andy Harries. News Casting Announcements


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Let's look at . We began examining this passage last Lord's Day, and just really got started. We're going to finish this morning these most important verses. I want you to listen carefully as the Spirit of God teaches us what our Lord would have us to know.
As the Lord Jesus Christ is sending forth the Twelve, He is sending them into a hostile world. He has seen the harvest, He knows that laborers are needed, He asks them to pray, and then He sends the very ones He asked to pray. Earlier in this chapter, He told us who they were by name. Then, in verses 5-15, He gave them their instructions for ministry. Now, in verses 16-23, He tells them how to react when the world rejects them. In other words, in their very commissioning is the anticipation of rejection.
I remember when I was ordained to the Christian ministry; I had just graduated from seminary and I was called before a council of pastors. I had to answer, in three different sessions, questions on the Scripture. I remember standing at my ordination and having a man say to me, "Do you believe you're called to preach the Gospel?" I said, "Yes." He said, "If you were forbidden to preach the Word of God, what would you do?" I said, "I'd preach it anyway." He said, "If this group decided not to ordain you, determined that you were unfit for the ministry, and refused to give you their sanction to preach, what would you do?" I said, "I would preach anyway." I think what he was really doing was setting me up for the anticipated rejection that could come.
In a sense, that's what our Lord is doing right here. He has ordained and commissioned, and now, as He sends them, He says in verse 16, "By the way, you are going forth as sheep in the midst of wolves. Don't expect it to be easy." These were the original missionaries, and they were sent with a very honest sending.
They had divine power; on the one hand, there is a certain invincibility in that power. On the other hand, they were sheep, and there is a certain vulnerability in that. So, in the ministry, that's how it is: there is the tension between invincibility and vulnerability; the power of God and the weakness of man.
As they go, they're going to have problems, because the hating world will reject them, and they need to know how to deal with those problems. That is why he writes verses 16-23. Let me remind you of what I said last time; the passage telescopes from the moment in which the Lord was sending out the Twelve on the first short-term missionary assignment all the way to the time of the Tribulation, and there are principles here that relate to believers facing a hostile world in any age.
Verse 23 ends with the coming of the Son of Man, so it sweeps through the history of all of God's people. Some things here are directly and specifically related to the Twelve, and others sweep beyond that, in principle, to relate to all of us, and especially that generation that will be alive just prior to the coming of the Lord.
In order to understand the passage, we have to ask four questions. First, who are the wolves? Notice verses 17 and 22 say, "Beware of men. Ye shall be hated of all men." The wolves are our own kind. Though it is true that we wrestle against spiritual wickedness in the heavenlies, principalities and powers, rulers of the darkness; it is true that we wrestle against demonic enemies, but they find their form in the world through human agencies so that men become the dupes, the pawns, the agents of demons. So we find our enemy attacking us through the human system. The wolves, then, are men.
Secondly, why are they so vicious? Verses 18 and 22 say, "Ye shall be brought before governors and kings for My sake. And ye shall be hated of all men for My name's sake." Their viciousness comes because they are so against Christ; it is not that they really don't like us; it is that they don't like the one we represent. The wolves are men, and they are vicious because of Jesus Christ, who is so despised and hated by Satan and his demons. Thus men, as his dupes, will relay that hate toward us.
Third question: how do the wolves attack? That is very important, and the Lord is very explicit about that. First of all, they attack through religion. Verse 17 says, "Beware of men; for they will deliver you up to the councils, and they will scourge you," that is, they will beat you with whips, but most often with rods strapped together that flail against the flesh, "In their synagogues."
'Synagogues' is the key word in verse 17 because it establishes a religious context. The Jewish people had synagogues, or meeting places, in every town and village. In the synagogues, they would carry out their own particular brand of law. If someone violated any of the laws of Moses or rabbinical tradition, he would be brought before the local synagogue. A tribunal of 23 judges would render a verdict, followed by a sentencing. Frequently, the sentence was scourging, or smashing this band of sticks into a person's back, which flayed and flagellated the skin.
Old Testament law required no more than 40 such stripes to be given to each victim, according to Deuteronomy 25:3, so they never gave more than 39 to be sure they remained within the letter of the law. One judge would call out the sentence, and another would call out the number of blows to be given, another judge would say, "One," and then the person would be hit. A fourth judge would count, and another would say, "Two," he'd be hit again, and they would keep counting. So they were very involved in carrying out this punishment.
We know from the reading of Maimonides that while it was going on, they would read appropriate Scripture, or they would even sing songs. So it was a part of the function of the synagogue to discipline. If you think church discipline is tough nowadays, you have no idea what it was really like. They would actually beat the people in front of the whole congregation.
Our Lord told the disciples to expect to be delivered up to the councils, the local courts in the synagogues. The supreme court of the land was the Sanhedrin in Jerusalem. He told them to expect to be scourged in the synagogues.
The apostles were scourged in the synagogue in Acts 5:40. Acts 22:19 tells us the Apostle Paul, before his conversion, went from synagogue to synagogue dragging in Christians and having them scourged for heresy. II Corinthians 11:24 says that Paul himself was scourged five times, and probably all five of those happened in synagogues. So it did happen in the early church.
Commentator William Barclay said, "It has often been true that the man with a message from God has had to undergo the hatred and the enmity of a fossilized orthodoxy." The fact of the matter is that our Lord Jesus Christ was actually sentenced to death by religionists; it was men of religion who wanted rid of him - the chief priests, scribes, Pharisees, and elders. It was the religionists who wanted Him dead.
So Jewish persecution of Christians continued until the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70, after which we have no record of Jewish persecution of Christians, up to the present day, even. It is probably true that when Jewish people come to Christ, they might experience rejection and persecution from their family, and there may have been some other, isolated persecutions, but there has been no wholesale persecution of Christianity by Judaism since A.D. 70.
Further, let me say this. In the time in which we live today, there may be a coming persecution of Christians in the Holy Land itself. They are making laws rather rapidly now to stop the spread of Christianity over there, and it could come to the point where the religious forces of the government will persecute Christianity.
So our Lord says in Matthew 10 to expect persecution from Jewish sources. I have to add, in case you think I'm anti-Semitic, which I'm not, that the people I love most are all Jewish; Jesus, Paul, Peter, and all their friends. Next to my wife and kids, I spend more time with Jesus and Paul than anyone in the world, and they're just as alive to me as any of you, by the way. While the Bible shows that Jews once persecuted Christians, that is only a representation of religious persecution in general. There have been and will be other councils of religionists who will persecute Christianity.
For example, in the time of the Apostle Paul, the Romans persecuted the Christians terribly because they were involved in so many pagan religions. In the Roman world, in the city of Ephesus, they worshiped Diana and Artemis. When the Gospel was preached there, in Acts 19, they put the idol-makers out of business. So a riot broke out, and persecution started against Christians because they were affecting the religion of the day.
The Romans were committed to emperor worship, and Christianity posed a tremendous threat to that worship. Pliny, the governor of Bithynia, wrote that he was taking steps to check the rapid growth of Christianity because it was growing so rapidly that the pagan temples were doing little business - no one was buying sacrificial animals or idols. They had to stamp out Christianity because it was affecting their religion.
Many demons have influenced pagan people in remote areas to massacre innocent missionaries century after century in the history of the church. You will find that, throughout all of human history, religion has killed true believers because Satan is behind that false religious system, and he desires to wipe out the church. Believe me, he'll do it in our time, if he can do it, and it may well be coming.
Even within Christianity, false people would be happy to kill the true believers. In Acts 20:29, Paul said, "I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock." Things have been done, even in the name of Christianity, against true Christians, as well as in the name of Judaism, and in the name of paganism. Religion is a persecutor.
It will be in the end, too. Look Revelation 17. When all is summed up, the ultimate and final persecution will occur during the Tribulation, and true saints will be massacred all over the place. Revelation 17:5 designates the final form of world religion as, "Mystery, Babylon the great, the mother of harlots and abominations of the earth." How's that for a title for a religion? Can you see that on a sign out in front of a building, welcoming you on a Sunday morning at 11 o'clock? But that will be the false form of final world religion.
It all came from Babel. You see, it was at Babel that false religion found its form. When the Lord scattered the people from the Tower of Babel, they spread the roots of false religion around the globe. All pagan religions of the world can be traced back to that original, false system. At the end, it's as if they run full-circle; they started at Babel, they spread around the world, and they come together in an incredibly Satanic ecumenism.
The final form of world religion is seen, all brought together, and John sees it in his vision. He says, "I saw the woman [the consummate, final representation of world religion] drunk with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus." What he's saying is that one thing is for sure: false religious systems have made themselves drunk on the blood of the saints. That has been true, that is true, and it will ultimately be true as they slaughter and massacre the believers, even in the time of the Tribulation.
We should not be surprised at such a future. In Matthew 7:15, our Lord warned of those who would come dressed in, "Sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves," coming in the name of religion. II Corinthians 2 says Satan disguises himself as an angel of light, so don't be surprised if his ministers are disguised as servants of righteousness; watch out for religion. Such religion masks itself as respectable, but it is a persecutor of the truth, doing everything to destroy it, even taking life if it has the authority, because it is operated by Satan, who is a liar and a murderer.
There is a second source of attack in verse 18, which is government. Not only is religion going to persecute, but government is as well. "Ye shall be brought before governors," literally procurators, like Pilate, Felix, and Festus, in biblical days. That would also refer to any lesser than a king, any government official. "And kings," monarchs, such as Agrippa I and II, Herod Antipas, and others in the biblical picture. "For My sake, for a testimony against them and the Gentiles."
'For a testimony against them' is a little hard to interpret. Some think that, in the persecution, you stand as a living rebuke, or testimony, against those who persecute you. Others think that you'll be brought before them to give your testimony, and I lean that way. You'll be brought before government officials to give your testimony, to proclaim the truth. On the other hand, as I said, it could mean that you'll be a testimony against them and other such pagans who persecute Christianity.
When you're brought before them to give that testimony, whether it's a testimony of positive message of the Gospel, or whether it's an indicting testimony to condemn them, just realize that you will be brought before them, governors and kings. That's government, not religion. It's the state who will persecute.
The Romans did that, even apart from their religion. Their government feared a slave revolt since there were approximately 16 million slaves in the empire. It was thought that slaves and freedmen could never marry because a slave wasn't considered a person; such a marriage was utterly and totally illegal in the system. But when people became Christians, they were immediately confronted with the truth that, in a spiritual sense, there is neither slave nor free. So many Roman authorities thought Christianity was imminently dangerous because it gave slaves equality with everyone else, so they thought there could be a slave rebellion. Just the thought of millions of slaves revolting would be enough to scare them to death.
Since they were so threatened by Christianity, they made up charges against the Christians. They accused them of cannibalism, distorting the symbolic meaning of eating the flesh and drinking the blood of Christ in Communion. They accused them of immorality in their love feasts. They accused them of revolution because their eschatology taught that the earth would be destroyed by fire.
As a result, Christians were blamed for the burning of Rome in A.D. 64. They accused Christians of disloyalty to the emperor because they wouldn't bow down to him. They accused them of breaking up marriages and destroying the family. Anything they could do, they moved against them, because they were so panicked by the liberation of slaves to an equality, that it might destroy their empire. The Roman Empire persecuted Christians. Most of the disciples who heard Jesus' instruction in Matthew 10 died at the hands of the government, namely the Roman government or some ancillary government.
Governments have attacked the church all throughout history - big and little governments, weak ones and powerful ones, ones dominated by men in groups, and ones dominated by individual men. Throughout history, all have persecuted the church. In Russia, countless Christians were slaughtered after the revolution. Many were slaughtered in communist China as well. In Uganda, under the government of Idi Amin, Christians suffered horrifying atrocities.
Pastor F. Kefa Sempangi told about going with one of his church's elders to visit a family. They discovered the entire family with their tongues and eyeballs cut out, with the exception of one small boy, who was left to discover his whole family terribly mutilated and dead. That's just one example of what has gone on throughout history. Governments have always persecuted the saints, and will continue to do that.
In the Tribulation, the government of the Antichrist will persecute whatever Christians are around. Revelation 13:7 tells us that after he comes to power, "It was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them; and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations." Verse 10 says he will kill them with the sword.
I get upset when post-Tribulationalists, those who believe we're going to go through the Tribulation, say, "You want to get out of the Tribulation because you want to avoid trouble." That has never been the reason; we have never avoided trouble. Throughout the history of the church, there has always been this reaction to the truth, because even though government, as an entity, is ordained by God for the preservation of social structure, the government is a representation of Satan's work, because he is the one animating the actual function.
God keeps government together, and there is enough restraint in government to preserve human society, but it also manifests the control of Satan. There is a very interesting tension. The government is ordained of God, yet manipulated by Satan himself. That is why Daniel, Isaiah, and Ezekiel saw demonic forces behind their governments. The government of the world will persecute Christianity because Satan is the prince of this world. You might think the United States won't persecute Christianity. But if the Lord tarries, and we live long enough, we may see the day when our government will deny us some of the freedoms we have had in the past. It's already encroaching on a few of those now.
Thirdly, there is one more attack that Satan will make through the wolves. In verse 21 it says, "The brother shall deliver up the brother to death, and the father the child; and the children shall rise up against their parents, and cause them to be put to death." Persecution also comes through the family. That's why, in verse 36, He says, "A mans foes will be they of his own household, and if you love your father or mother more than Me, you're not worthy of Me. If you love your son or daughter more than Me, you're not worthy of Me." In other words, it's going to come down to the family.
I have known of people whose families held funeral services for them upon hearing of their faith in Christ. I know of a child who is dead because of his Christian faith, that was really the issue. Only God knows how many people have persecuted, betrayed, or killed members of their own family because of their faith in Christ. Only God knows how many parents or children turned their own families in to the government in 2ndand 3rdCentury Rome. Only God knows how many people in other countries throughout the history of the world have revealed to authorities about believing family members. Only God knows how many people were eaten by lions because they were turned in by their own family. But the Lord says to expect it; if you're looking within your family for solace, you might instead find your own worst enemy.
Commentator R.C.H. Lenski quoted one author as saying, "Two things are stronger than natural love, the one born of hell, the other born of heaven." I think that's right. Stronger than natural love is the love of God, and stronger than natural love is the love of hell. According to Romans 1:24-26, people forsake natural affections because they are so evil.
There is an interesting reverse parallel to this in Zechariah 13:3. This is in the future time, the time of the Messiah, in the end times, after the Valley of Megiddo. This chapter talks about a time of salvation for Israel, and it may well be the time of the Kingdom. This will be the fate of false prophets at the return of Christ: "It shall come to pass that, when any shall yet prophesy, then his father and mother who begot him shall say unto him, 'Thou shalt not live; for thou speakest lies in the name of the Lord;' and his father and his mother who begot him shall thrust him through when he prophesieth." Zechariah says that there may come a day when parents will kill their false prophet children; this is unbelievable conflict within the family.
In Matthew 10:34-37, Jesus said, "I came not to send peace, but a sword, to set a man at variance against his father. A man's foes shall be they of his own household. He that loves father or mother more than Me, is not worthy of Me; and he that loves son or daughter more than Me, is not worthy of Me." Families will become persecutors, and that may hurt the deepest, but that will be the way it is. I think it will happen in the Tribulation that families will be set against each other.
In Mark 13:12-14, he records the teaching of the Lord, and Jesus repeated this same teaching in the Olivet Discourse. The context is the Tribulation, and He says, "Brother shall betray brother to death, and the father, his son; and children shall rise up against their parents, and shall cause them to be put to death. And ye shall be hated of all men for My name's sake; but he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. But when ye shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel, the prophet." That last statement places the context as the middle of the Tribulation. So our Lord is saying that this will be the case throughout history, and especially during the time of the Tribulation.
Christians will be persecuted because the world, religion, and government react negatively to the Gospel. False religions react because they are generated by Satan. Government reacts because they are controlled by the prince of the power of the air, the ruler of this world. Families react because they cannot tolerate a righteous individual in the midst of their unrighteousness. The wolves will do all they can to slaughter the sheep.
One final question; what are the sheep supposed to do in response? The wolves are men, they are vicious because they hate Christ, and they attack through religion, government, and the family. What is the response of the sheep? I am going to give you six responses, and we will finish, so hang in there. But we aren't here to finish, but to get the message, right?
Number one: be wise. Verse 16 says, "Be ye, therefore, wise as serpents." In Egyptian hieroglyphics, the serpent is a symbol for wisdom. The ancients viewed snakes as shrewd, cunning, smart, keen-minded, prudent, and cautious, using great skill to avoid danger. The word speaks of shrewdness, wariness, having a circumspect perspective. In Colossians 4:5 Paul says, "Walk in wisdom toward them that are outside." In other words, Christians are to be wise in dealing with the wolves of the world around them. What kind of wisdom? The subtlety, anticipation, sensitivity, cunning, cautiousness, wariness, shrewdness of a serpent.
To put it another way, say precisely the right thing at the right time in the right place. It's a serious attempt, I believe, to discover the best means to achieve the highest goal. As we confront a hostile world, we have to be wise. There is no sense in creating havoc all around us. We know their tempers, that they are anti-Christian, they don't want our message, so we must be careful in how we approach them. We have to use wisdom. You can say inflammatory things and ignite conflict with every step you take, or you can use discretion.
When the Pharisees and Herodians asked Jesus if we should pay taxes, our Lord could have replied, "Caesar is a rotten, wretched, vile, no-good, debauched, evil sinner, damned to Hell forever." But He said, "Render unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's; and unto God, the things that are God's." He didn't compromise the truth, yet He was wise enough not to say everything that could be said and perpetuate something that wasn't supposed to happen.
Be wise; find the best way to handle a confrontation or conflict. Be careful. The one who faces a hostile world should avoid offensive situations. Don't make trouble and wreak havoc. Some people become Christians and immediately get fired from their jobs, and say it's persecution, but it's only stupidity. Be careful, be wise.
Secondly, He says, "Be harmless as doves." I can't imagine being threatened by an attack from a dove, can you? It seems rather innocuous - the lovely, little, white dove. But there is more than harmlessness. Christians are not to cause harm, create issues and problems. We're not to be running through the world, fighting back and crushing people, devastating people, and being intrusive, brash, or rude. We're to be harmless and gentle.
More than that, the concept here is purity and innocence. In Song of Solomon 5:2, the husband says to his wife, "My dove, my undefiled." The dove was a symbol of purity, holiness, and innocence. While we are to be wise, we also are to be pure. When we seek a wiser method in dealing with a problem, we should never compromise the truth.
So it's a two-fold idea: on the one hand, we don't fight back, but on the other hand, we don't compromise truth. But sometimes, we don't have to say all that could be said in a vitriolic manner. Be wise and shrewd, but do it in a way that doesn't compromise. Keep your integrity, honesty, and purity. The dove is gentle, pure, uncorrupted, and sincere, in the imagery. Those who represent Christ are not to cause injury or employ trickery or deceit in trying to escape from danger; they are to be wise, pure, and gentle.
In Luke 6:27, Jesus summed it up by saying, "Love your enemies, do good to them who hate you." He's saying to maintain your purity, wisdom, harmlessness, show a gentle spirit. In I Corinthians 9:22, Paul said, "I am made all things to all men, that I might by all means save some." You have to be discreet, but never compromise the truth, so that you maintain your purity. Find that perfect balance between the two.
In I Peter 2:23, when our Lord was reviled, He didn't revile in return. When He was cursed, He didn't curse back. When His enemies abused Him on the cross, He forgave them their sin. Such was the gentleness displayed by Jesus. That's where it all begins.
Thirdly, be wise, harmless, and beware. Be alert, on your guard, watchful, perceptive. You know what evil intentions lurk in the hearts of men. Men who are the agents of the Devil, and that's all men who aren't regenerated, are after something. When I talk to the press or do a radio interview, I have to be watchful and discerning, seeking to avoid forums that attempt to discredit the Gospel. There are some forums that are right, and some that are wrong for the proclamation of the Gospel, and you must understand the intention of evil men; you must be watchful and discerning and seek to avoid those kinds of situations that will discredit it.
Paul was caught in such a situation in Acts 23:1-5. He said he stood before God with a clear conscience. When the high priest, "Commanded them that stood by him to smite him on the mouth. Then said Paul unto him, 'God shall smite thee, thou whited wall.'" I mean, we knew Paul had it in him all the time, didn't we? That's just name calling. But when Paul discovered that he just said that to the high priest, he had to apologize. He wasn't alert and under control as he should have been. Be careful. Don't give the wolves an opportunity to condemn you or play in their court. Be careful. Their evil intention is to make you compromise. Beware.
Fourthly, be calm. Verse 19 says, "When they deliver you up, be not anxious how or what ye shall speak; for it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak." In other words, when they haul you into the councils and courts, and threaten your life, don't be anxious, be calm.
You say, "To be arrested and persecuted is a very traumatic experience. How do I be calm?" First of all, don't worry about your defense and what you will say. Jesus told the disciples not to worry because He would take care of them; He would give them what to say. He said, "Just go about your business ministering. Don't worry about what is going to happen. Be wise, harmless, and beware. Minister, and if it comes to the point where you come before a council, I'll take care of it." They didn't need to prepare a defense; they just needed to relax and stay calm. Literally, drop all worry completely. In Philippians 4:6 Paul says, "Be anxious for nothing."
Jesus gave the reason for not being anxious: "For it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak." Let's take that in a broad sense. I believe that when anyone in any age at any time goes before any council in the name of Jesus Christ, the Spirit of God will bring to his or her mind the right things to say. Based on what we have learned from our study of Scripture, the Spirit of God will be their defender. I don't believe the Lord would abandon us in that kind of situation.I read in a book this morning some of the testimonies of great martyrs that were uttered just before they were put to death. Some of the most marvelous words imaginable were uttered by these men and women before they died. God obviously gave them a special presence of mind and clarity of thought to present a testimony more powerful than they would otherwise have been able to give in that crisis moment. I never fear that; if I were to be cornered in a situation on television in front of cameras, or in the middle of a hostile situation in another part of the world, I've never even given a second thought to what I'd say, because I believe that at that moment, the Spirit of God would bring to my heart and mind the things I know to be true, and would help me to say the right things. If He can lead me everywhere else, He can lead me then.
There is something far more than that in this text. There is something specific for the apostles that is not for us. Look again at verse 19. "For it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak." Listen to this, it's the real capper. Verse 20. "It is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you."
That is a promise to the apostles of divine inspiration. It wouldn't be them speaking, but God, in His Spirit, would speak through them. I believe that beyond the general ramifications of this concept, that the Lord will give us from our recall what we ought to say, that He gives these men the promise of divine inspiration. That promise also stretched to Stephen, so that when he stood before those who took his life, he spoke the Word of God. So did Paul when he stood before those who brought him to trial. I don't know what else that phrase could possibly mean.
Since God gave the apostles the very words to speak in the moment they were brought before the councils of men, and they were not their words, or them speaking, but the Spirit of God. If God promised them that in the moment they met a council, how much more can we be assured that when they sat down to pen the Word of God they could claim the same promise? I believe this, by implication, is one of the purest texts in all of the Bible on the matter of inspiration and inerrancy. Verse 20 says it. "It is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you." All you will do is laloun, utter, but God is the one really speaking.
The commentator Lenski writes, "Without previous thinking, planning, imagining, at the time of their trials in court, the apostles will receive directly from God just what to utter. It will come into their minds just as it is needed, and thus they will utter it aloud. The apostles, indeed, make utterance, and yet they do not, for their act is due to the Holy Spirit, so that most properly He is the one who does this uttering. Everything that is mechanical, magical, unpsychological is shut out. The apostles will not be like the demoniacs - their organs of speech and their very wills being violated by a demon. Absolutely the contrary: mind, heart, will operate freely, consciously, in joyful, trustful dependence on the Spirit's giving, who enables them to find just what to say and how to say it down to the last word, with no mistake or even a wrong word due to faulty memory or disturbed emotions occurring. This, of course, is Inspiration, Verbal Inspiration."
In other words, the promise is that they will be verbally inspired, and I'm just going on extrapolation, that if they were to be verbally inspired by the Spirit of God to speak in their defense in a council, when they came to the matter of writing Scripture, which is an issue with far wider ramifications, they will have the same promise. His Spirit will equally inspire them as they write the Word of God. Be wise, be harmless, beware, and be calm. For the apostles, that meant inspiration; for us, it means enlightenment and recall as God brings to mind what we should say.
Fifth, be real. Verse 22, "Ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake, but he that endures to the end shall be saved." What is that saying? Endures to the end of what? The context is persecution, so it is saying that if you make it through persecution, you get saved. It really means this: if you survive the persecution, you're the one being delivered. So it isn't saying people who can make it through persecution will hold on to their salvation. It is saying endurance is a hallmark of genuine salvation. Those who are really saved survive.
Sometimes I pray that God would persecute the church because it has the effect of purging the chaff. You see, when persecution begins, the phonies get out. Why die for something you're only playing games with? It isn't worth the price. Nothing is more purifying to the church than persecution. So He says, "In the middle of it all, be real. Be one who endures to the end, one who is truly saved." Essentially, it's the same principle we find in Romans 2:7. "To them who by patient continuance in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, eternal life." People aren't saved by continuous good deeds, but they do prove the validity of their salvation in their continuing. You're not saved because you endured, you endured because you were truly saved.
It's the same in the mind of the writer of Hebrews 3:14. "We are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast unto the end." In other words, you can tell one truly committed to Christ because he is true to the end. Jesus said, "If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed." John said, "They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us." So continuance is the proof of being a real Christian. Jesus says, "Be real, be genuine, be a true Christian, and you'll endure to the end and be delivered."
You could almost say this means 'be patient,' because, in the end, you'll be delivered. The Greek word translated 'saved' means 'delivered.' Go through the persecution and you will be delivered. I Corinthians 10:13 says, "There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not permit you to be tempted above that ye are able, but will, with the temptation, also make a way to escape." If you are real and you are patient, you will endure whatever comes and be delivered.
Is there anything that can destroy you? No, there is nothing. You say, "What if the persecution gets fearful?" There is no fearful persecution that can touch you. Paul said in Romans, "What shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, 'For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.' Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creation, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus, our Lord."
Nothing will destroy you. When you are in the midst of persecution, be patient and real, and you will endure to the end and be delivered. Your deliverance may come in death; it did for many. It may come another way.
How do we respond? Be wise, be harmless, beware, be real. Last, be gone. That's practical, isn't it? Verse 23, "When they persecute you in this city, flee into another; for verily I say unto you, Ye shall not have gone over the cities of Israel, till the Son of man be come."
What that verse is saying is that from now until the Second Coming, just keep moving as necessary until Jesus comes again. 'Be gone' means don't just stay in one place until they kill you. Leave, go to another place, because you'll never cover all the places until the Lord comes. Keep moving. There is no sense beating a dead horse; shake the dust off your feet, as He said in verses 14-15, and get out. There is no sense in standing around taking harassment and persistent persecution until someone kills you.
Let's say that something happened here. If I preached some things, and we got issues stirred up and began confronting our society, and severe persecution came on us, this text would tell me to leave town and let you all stay with the persecution (you're laughing, I know), and I'll go somewhere else and start all over again. I'll preach until I can't preach anymore, and if I can just stay one step ahead of them, I'll be OK.
That's what Paul did; he would preach, a riot would start, then he'd leave town and go to another. When a riot broke out there, he went to the next town, and so on. He just kept moving; he wasn't going to stay in one place and die - life was too precious; there were too many towns to reach and too much to be done. We have to keep moving.
In Acts 12, 13, 14, 16, and 17, in all of those places, they got heat in one place and went to another place. That's the way it has to be, even into the Tribulation. In verse 23, He's jumping to the last missionaries who will be moving from one place to another when the Son of Man returns. During the Great Tribulation, He says, "Keep moving; they will come after you. The dogs will be on your heels, but keep moving." It seems to me that everyone in the Tribulation will be an itinerant missionary, on the move. During the Great Tribulation, Christ's faithful Jewish people, the 144,000, will preach all over the land, and keep moving until the Lord comes. When all the cities are reached that He has in the plan, He will come.
What is the sum of our Lord's instruction to us? This: we have no right to provoke animosity or destruction. There is too much work to be done and too many places to reach. Life is too precious. Every one of us matters to God's Kingdom. We have to move to the receptive places and keep moving, knowing that God is with us all the time. In the power of the Spirit, He will help us to say the right things and have the effect that He wants us to have.
We are sheep among wolves, beloved, and we're going to find that out more and more, I think. It was not uncommon in Palestine to hear about a shepherd found dead among the sheep he was trying to defend. May I add that we have no such Shepherd. He ever lives and is able to defend us. There is a certain invincibility about us, because He controls everything.
In Alberta, Canada, the Alberta Department of Agriculture Pest Control Branch has come up with a special invention they're testing on sheep. The sheep are attacked by the wolves so very frequently that they have developed a wide collar they put on their necks, where the attack comes. On the outside, it has the sheep's wool, a skin-like covering, so that it looks like a part of the sheep. Inside that, there is a rubber tube filled with poison, so that when the animal sinks its teeth in, it simply goes into the leather, and into the tube, and another piece of leather underneath it. The poison goes into the wolf's mouth, and it dies. That's how they are trying to protect the sheep.
That reminds me of Zechariah 2:8, where it says, "He that toucheth you toucheth the apple of His eye." If you think it's tough on the sheep, from God's end, it will be tougher on the wolves for what they do to the sheep. God will make all things right in the end.
The poet has written, "Jesus is our Shepherd, guarded by His arm, though the wolves may rave, none can do us harm. When we tread Death's Valley, dark with fearful gloom, we will fear no evil, victors, or the tomb." No matter what Satan does, even to death, he can't win with God's sheep.
Thank You, Father, for our wonderful time of worship this morning, for teaching us out of Your precious Word. Thank You for these dear people, their open hearts to love You, worship You, to feed, to minister to one another. We pray that what we have learned today might sink deeply into our hearts and prepare us for that inevitable time when we need to apply these things. Give us the boldness to confront this fast-fading society with the message of Christ, and to respond in the way that You have instructed us when they react. Thank You for counting us worthy to bear the reproach and carry the cross for Christ's sake, Amen.
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Bake your own bread today – A simple, symbolic act for big change.
In today's society, and actually since the beginning of the industrial age, we have been inundated (and programmed) from all sides as to what we must have, what we must buy, and how we must live. "Don't think, just get it bigger, faster, and more of it… NOW! Get more and more stuff. Keep up with the Joneses!" ..but In the grander scheme of things.. why?
Fast food, convenience food, and processed food, not only take a toll on our health and pocket book, but our taste buds too. Here in Alabama, the price of a so called "better" loaf of bread from the grocery store is over $3-$4 now. You're certainly not paying extra for flavor (of which there is little) or quality, but for the manufacturing, transport, packaging, preservatives, and convenience. (it cannot possibly rival taste, texture, and nutrition value of homemade)
Slow Sunday, a day designated by Britain's ecology magazine, Resurgence, to encourage people to slow down. Small actions done collectively, can speak loudly. Baking bread today is a small act to defy consumerism and help the environment.


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Servo - Complete Conversion
by Qahne Posted 25th Dec 2015 at 4:05 AM - Updated 14th May 2016 at 2:28 AM by Qahne
|Gardening? Check. Cooking? Check. Periodic bursts of wanton destruction? Indeed, check. This friendly humanoid robot is truly but one step from humanity. The Servo Model has a gender-assignable artificial intelligence unit that simulates all the desires of a real human: friendship, success... even love. Just make sure you keep the Servo Model in a good mood, else you'll be the one cleaning up all the ash piles while your new friend lies sparking in the corner.
Age: Teen Young Adult Adult Elder
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You must have the expansion or stuff packs listed below installed to use this custom content. Please see the post text for any exceptions.
|Filename - Tip: You can click the magnifying glass to see the archive contents
|25th Dec 2015
1. Download: Click the File tab to see the download link. Click the link to save the .rar or .zip file(s) to your computer.
2. Extract: Use WinRAR (Windows) to extract the file(s) from the .rar or .zip file(s).
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text: Overview Open Evenings: Drop in to one of our dedicated Open Evenings where our staff will be on hand so you can find out all you need to know about our PGCE courses including how the course is structured, entry requirements, skills tests, bursaries and funding and student loans. Dates are 16th October 2018, 13th November 2018, 11th December 2018, 5th February 2019, 5th March 2019, 2nd April 2019, 30th April 2019 and 25th June 2019 but drop in as soon as you can as our courses fill up quickly. Book here. Webinars: Listen to an overview of the course Join on online live webinar session on Thursday 12th July to find out about our PGCE Education programmes. About the course Our Primary and Secondary PGCEs are "Outstanding" (Ofsted, 2015). All our Education courses have been developed in collaboration with Partnership schools and the National College for Teaching and Leadership (NCTL). 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Education Studies III This module focuses specifically on supporting student teachers to make an effective transition into their first post and examines the following themes in GPE: Preparing for induction and the professional learning action plan for your first post; Pathways into leadership in education; Learning outside the classroom; Contributing to the wider aspects of the formal and informal curriculum and your wider professional role as a teacher. Subject Specific Course Content The Science with Physics PGCE programme at Brunel aims to facilitate your transformation into a well-educated, confident and motivated science educator. Once qualified, you are likely to teach National Curriculum general science in Key Stage 3, and you may also be required to teach general science to Key Stage 4, as well as teaching physics to A level. Along with English and mathematics, science is one of the three core subjects of the National Curriculum and since all pupils have to study a broad, balanced curriculum in science there is a demand for well-qualified and skilled physics teachers. Most pupils entering secondary school are excited at the prospect of working in a fully equipped laboratory, and secondary school physics teachers have to build upon and sustain this interest for the subject. To meet this challenge we need capable, skilled and enthusiastic teachers who are able to motivate young people and lead them to discover the wonders of science. The Brunel Science with Physics Postgraduate Certificate (PGCE) is an M level course with 60 credits that can contribute to further Master's level study in Education, subject to approval. The course will equip you with the knowledge, understanding and skills necessary to teach physics such that you are able to: Demonstrate an understanding of the vital role of the teacher and the school in ensuring excellence in the educational experiences of young people; Undertake professional practice which enables you to evidence the Teachers' Standards which facilitate the award of Qualified Teacher Status; Understand the relationships between Education and science within current national and government frameworks, and critically reflect on the impact of these in the work of schools and the educational experiences of young people; Recognise the contribution that science as part of the whole school curriculum makes to the development of the individual learner and groups of learners; Think critically about what it means to be scientifically educated and how this informs curriculum planning and design within the subject area; Apply a thorough knowledge and understanding of the science National Curriculum to the planning of curriculum experiences for pupils in school; Demonstrate competence and confidence in your ability to teach across the contexts for pupil learning in the science National Curriculum, applying principles of continuity and progression; Use subject knowledge and relevant course specifications to plan and teach the 14-16 curriculum for physics; Demonstrate an understanding of the subject knowledge and specification requirements for the 16-19 curriculum for physics; Utilise a range of teaching strategies to meet the identified learning needs of a wide range of pupils; Utilise a range of resources, including information and communication technology, to enhance pupil learning in science; Understand the importance of safe practice and safeguarding and apply these in working with young people both within and beyond science lessons; Use a wide range of class management strategies to maximise pupil learning; Understand the principles of inclusion and apply these to ensure equality of opportunity for all pupils in science; Understand national frameworks for assessment within the subject area and use these to support the recording and analysis of data, and the subsequent use of this to plan the next phase of learning; Raise the status of the subject area by demonstrating high standards of professionalism at all times; Understand the crucial role of professional learning for the teacher, the pupils and schools. School Experience School-based professional learning is a compulsory element of all programmes leading to a recommendation for QTS. The course involves the statutory requirement of at least 120 days of school experience in the form of block school placements undertaken in at least two different contexts. Our current partnership schools are mainly located in the West London area and adjoining Home Counties. We have developed close links with a number of very good schools over a number of years, and offer placements within carefully chosen schools that provide an appropriate professional learning experience. The ethnic and cultural diversity of the schools we work with is a distinctive aspect of our provision and we are equally proud of the diversity of our student teacher cohort, who reflect the communities in which many of them go on to work as teachers. We also offer student teachers the opportunity to experience placements in alternative settings, which include special schools, Pupil Referral Units (PRUs), young offenders institutions. This further demonstrates our commitment to preparing teachers to work with young people in a diverse range of educational contexts. You will be allocated a school-based mentor, selected for their experience and expertise, who is there to help you develop and learn while you are on placement. The importance of this person should not be underestimated. Teaching is a very challenging profession and with the help of your school-based mentor and your University tutor we aim to make sure that you have support every step of the way, encouraging reflection and development. Read more about the structure of postgraduate degrees at Brunel and what you will learn on the course. Back to top Employability Employment and Career Prospects A Brunel PGCE with recommendation for QTS is a recognised symbol of high quality Initial Teacher Education. This is demonstrated by our outstanding employment rates over time and feedback from alumni student teachers, our partnership schools and Ofsted inspectors. Many of our students go on to work in our partnership schools and many in schools where they undertook a placement experience. This allows us to retain links with many former students and often they become school-based mentors for our students. We also invite former students back for public lectures, research seminars, Education events and to be involved in steering groups and research activities here in the Department of Education to ensure they can continue to develop through a community of professional practice both within but also beyond the school in which they are working. Our involvement in the Initial Teacher Education field has enabled us to develop an extensive network of former alumni who have gone on to hold positions of responsibility in schools across the country. Further Postgraduate Study Opportunities Beyond ITE, for early career teachers we offer a Masters in Education (MAEd). Other postgraduate courses include a Doctorate in Education (EdDoc) and PhD routes through the Department of Education. This continuum of provision ensures a commitment to teacher education and professional learning at all stages and the growing community of professional practice strengthens our partnership. At Brunel we provide many opportunities and experiences within your degree programme and beyond – work-based learning, professional support services, volunteering, mentoring, sports, arts, clubs, societies, and much, much more – and we encourage you to make the most of them, so that you can make the most of yourself. At Brunel we provide many opportunities and experiences within your degree programme and beyond – work-based learning, professional support services, volunteering, mentoring, sports, arts, clubs, societies, and much, much more – and we encourage you to make the most of them, so that you can make the most of yourself. » More about Employability Back to top Entry criteria 2019/20 Our conditions of entry to the PGCE Secondary Education programme require that applicants have: An undergraduate or postgraduate degree in the field in which you intend to teach. Normally this should be a 2.2 classification or above in preparation for Masters level professional study. Maths and English grades A* to C or equivalent at GCSE level. Passed the required Skills Tests - via the UCAS TT application cycle. Brunel University London will accept applications for our PGCE courses prior to completion of the NCTL Skills Tests. However, if you are offered a place on one of the programmes and have yet to meet the requirements of passing the Skills Tests, then your offer will be conditional based on passing these tests by a date specified in your offer letter. To further strengthen your application, we also recommend that applicants have: Modules within your degree course which should provide a foundation of preparatory knowledge for the phase or subject you are applying to teach; An informed personal philosophy on the aims of your phase/subject area, drawing on relevant reading and research; An understanding of statutory requirements for your phase/subject area within the state school sector; An awareness of recent government policy or initiatives in education and your phase/subject area Recent and relevant experience of state school education in England, either team teaching or observing with experienced teachers. This should normally be pre professional teaching experience where you have had the opportunity to develop relationships with a group(s) of pupils over a sustained period of time. The ability to communicate effectively in both spoken and written English. If selected for interview, you will be expected to interact effectively with university tutors and school colleagues and demonstrate the potential to form positive and productive relationships with colleagues and pupils in schools and in professional learning contexts. An awareness of the Teachers' Standards (DfE, 2013). An enthusiastic and energetic approach which communicates clearly your commitment to teaching and working with young people. Overseas applicants must have a minimum level of English language qualifications: IELTS: 7 (min 6 in all areas) Pearson: 64 (51 in all subscores) BrunELT: 70% (min 60% in all areas) Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS), Childcare Disqualification and Prohibition Orders As an accredited provider of Initial Teacher Education we have to have regard to the Department for Education's statutory guidance Keeping Children Safe in Education, when carrying out their duties to safeguard and promote the welfare of children. We ensure that all student teachers have been subject to Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) criminal records checks, including a check of the children's barred list. The Department for Education has published statutory guidance on the application to schools of the Childcare (Disqualification) Regulations 2009 and related obligations under the Childcare Act 2006. We undertake our responsibility to ensure that the student teachers are not, therefore, disqualified from childcare or that the student teacher has obtained a childcare disqualification waiver from Ofsted. We also check that candidates are not subject to a prohibition order for teaching issued by the Secretary of State. The application will cost £51.86 [B1] (this amount may be subject to change) and the University will send further instructions as part of the admissions process. For further guidance please email email@example.com. Entry criteria are subject to review and change each academic year. International and EU entry requirements Please select a country Afghanistan Albania Algeria Angola Argentina Armenia Australia Austria Azerbaijan Bahrain Bangladesh Belarus Belgium Belize Bolivia Bosnia & Herzegovina Botswana Brazil Brunei Bulgaria Cambodia Cameroon Canada Chile China Colombia Congo Costa Rica Croatia Cuba Cyprus Czech Republic Democratic Republic of Congo Denmark Dominican Republic Ecuador Egypt El-Salvador Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Fiji Finland France Georgia Germany Ghana Greece Guatemala Guyana Hong Kong Hungary Iceland India Indonesia Iran Iraq Ireland Israel Italy Ivory Coast Jamaica Japan Jordan Kazakhstan Kenya Kosovo Kuwait Latvia Lebanon Libya Lithuania Luxembourg Macadonia Macao Madagascar Malawi Malaysia Malta Mauritius Mexico Moldova Mongolia Montenegro Morocco Mozambique Namibia Nepal Netherlands New Zealand Nicaragua Nigeria Norway Oman Pakistan Palestine Panama Papua New Guinea Peru Philippines Poland Portugal Qatar Romania Russia Rwanda Saudi Arabia Scotland Senegal Serbia Sierra Leone Singapore Slovakia Slovenia South Africa South Korea Spain Sri Lanka Sweden Switzerland Syria Taiwan Tajikstan Tanzania Thailand Tonga Trinidad & Tobago Tunisia Turkey UAE Uganda Ukraine Uruguay USA Uzbekistan Venezuela Vietnam Yemen Zimbabwe If your country or institution is not listed or if you are not sure whether your institution is eligible, please contact Admissions This information is for guidance only by Brunel University London and by meeting the academic requirements does not guarantee entry for our courses as applications are assessed on case-by-case basis. English language requirements IELTS: 7 (min 6 in all areas) Pearson: 64 (51 in all subscores) BrunELT: 70% (min 60% in all areas) You can find out more about the qualifications we accept on our English Language Requirements page. If you require a Tier 4 visa to study in the UK, you must prove knowledge of the English language so that we can issue you a Certificate of Acceptance for Study (CAS). To do this, you will need an IELTS for UKVI or Trinity SELT test pass gained from a test centre approved by UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) and on the Secure English Language Testing (SELT) list. This must have been taken and passed within two years from the date the CAS is made. Should you wish to take a pre-sessional English course to improve your English prior to starting your degree course, you must sit the test at an approved SELT provider for the same reason. We offer our own BrunELT English Test and have pre-sessional English language courses for students who do not meet requirements or who wish to improve their English. You can find out more information on English courses and test options at the Brunel Language Centre. Back to top Teaching and learning We adopt an enquiry-based learning approach in our PGCE Secondary courses where students are encouraged to research and investigate a range of broad and subject specific educational themes and issues and bring their findings back for discussion in interactive lectures, workshops and seminars. These themes and issues address national, regional and partnership priorities as well as specific areas for investigation with the subject area. Various teaching and learning methods are used on all our PGCE Secondary courses, for example: Groupings of different sizes and compositions to provide as much variety of experience as possible; Lectures, seminars and workshops; Modelling of classroom practice; Group-work, independent learning, investigation and guided discovery; Observation, portfolio preparation, self-evaluation and reflection on teaching practice; Guest speakers who are experts in their fields; Visits to particular types of schools, for instance PRUs and special schools; Fieldwork with pupils, and other visits to relevant places relating to the school curriculum. Back to top Assessment and feedback Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) The PGCE Secondary programme carries 60 Master's Level credits and requires you to successfully complete three formally assessed pieces of academic work during the year. All of these assessments also require an accompanying portfolio of evidence. The Master's Level credits provide an excellent foundation for future academic and professional study. Qualified Teacher Status Alongside the PGCE academic award for your programme, you will also be assessed for the recommendation of Qualified Teacher Status (QTS). In order to be recommended for QTS you are required to demonstrate that you have met the Teachers' Standards (DfE, 2013) in both the University and in school and alternative education settings. All aspects of the programme are designed around you being able to demonstrate that you are meeting the Teachers' Standards. Part 1 of the Teachers' Standards require you to: Set high expectations which inspire, motivate and challenge pupils Promote good progress and outcomes by pupils Demonstrate good subject and curriculum knowledge Plan and teach well structured lessons Adapt teaching to respond to the strengths and needs of all pupils Make accurate and productive use of assessment Manage behaviour effectively to ensure a good and safe learning environment Fulfil wider professional responsibilities (Teachers' Standards, DfE, 2013) Part 2 of the Teachers' Standards require students to demonstrate the highest standards of personal and professional conduct. As the PGCE is a professional course, 100% attendance is an expectation. Recommendation for Qualified Teacher Status will be made by the Secondary PGCE Examination Board for all those who successfully demonstrate the Teachers' Standards as shown in the requirements for University and school-based work. Back to top Special features As a leading centre of education and with roots in teacher education dating back to 1798, we are able to provide first class teacher education that is internationally recognised. A Brunel PGCE is a recognised symbol of quality teacher education which accounts for our high employment rates. At the heart of our programmes is a vision that our student teachers' teaching will impact positively on pupil progress over time in schools and that our partnership activities with schools will contribute to school improvement. We aspire for all our students to be outstanding teachers. You will benefit from an established partnership between Brunel and a variety of educational institutions and local schools. Brunel education degrees offer multicultural placement learning opportunities. For example, our location in West London and our diverse and well-established schools network means you will gain highly-valued placement learning experiences in vibrant multicultural schools. Beyond ITE, we offer a Masters in Education (MAEd), a Doctorate in Education (EdDoc) and PhD postgraduate routes through the Department of Education. This continuum of provision ensures a commitment to teacher education and professional learning at all stages and the growing community of professional practice strengthens our Partnership. Staff are nationally and internationally recognised for their research, and liaise with government and other agencies on education policy issues. The Department of Education is host to a number of research centres, including the Brunel Able Children's Centre. The process of learning is informed by cutting-edge research by staff in the strands of: Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) and Pedagogy and Professional Practice (PPP). You can take advantage of free access to our excellent University Academic Skills service, ASK. We have an award winning Professional Development Centre. Our library has been nominated for national awards for its outstanding provision. We have on-site volunteering opportunities through our Brunel Volunteers provision. Our Disability and Dyslexia Service team have an excellent track record of support for students. Our Union of Brunel Students provides you with a range of additional support and a broad range of extra-curricular opportunities and social events. There is excellent University-wide access to PCs and the Internet, as well as free loan of media equipment and music/recording studios, and web space on the University server. Facts and figures What Ofsted Say The Brunel University London Initial Teacher Education Partnership was inspected in 2015 and we were graded as 'Outstanding' in all areas of the inspection framework. In relation to our PGCE Secondary provision specifically, the Ofsted inspection report identified the following key strengths: The efficient personalisation of training programmes to meet trainees' individual learning needs, including complementary placements, subject knowledge enhancement programmes and regular high-quality developmental feedback to trainees both orally and in writing. The strong rise in the proportion of trainees gaining employment as teachers over time, which reached full employment of all newly qualified secondary teachers from the 2014/15 course. The outward-looking professional attitudes of newly qualified teachers that allows them to rapidly become fully engaged in all of the work of their employing school, including tutoring and extra-curricular programmes. The significant improvement in trainee outcomes since the previous inspection, resulting in all trainees substantially exceeding the minimum level of practice expected in the Teachers' Standards, and with many excelling. The high levels of subject knowledge deployed by trainees to captivate and sustain pupil interest, with the consequent high standards of behaviour-management by trainees and NQTs in a wide range of settings. The highly proficient skills of lesson evaluation by trainees that consistently assesses the impact of their teaching on pupils' learning, especially upon disadvantaged groups of pupils and the most able. The effectiveness of leaders and managers at all levels in evaluating and then acting swiftly to improve training provision in the context of rapid change in the range of subject courses offered and numbers of allocated places. The strong impact on school improvement in partnership schools through collaborative high quality professional development of their teachers led by the university. The relentless focus on equality of opportunity for trainees and their pupils, supported by the partnership's diverse range of schools coupled with high quality, equitable recruitment of trainees from different heritages, genders and age groups. The consistently very high quality of mentor training, training resources and support for school-based mentors and tutors which centres on maximising the impact of trainees' teaching on pupil progress. Back to top Fees and funding Fees for 2019/20 entry UK/EU students full-time: £6,170 (Schools Direct); £9,250 (Core) International students: £15,400 full-time Some courses incur additional course related costs. You can also check our on-campus accommodation costs for more information on living expenses. NCTL BursariesUK/EU students can opt to pay in six equal monthly instalments: the first instalment is payable on enrolment and the remaining five by Direct Debit or credit/debit card. Overseas students can opt to pay in two instalments: 60% on enrolment, and 40% in January for students who commence their course in September (or the remaining 40% in March for selected courses that start in January). Back to top