Podcasts about what lincoln

Lincoln spoke with the media about his defense following Saturday's spring practice No. 6. He mentioned players like Korey Foreman and Ceyair Wright who have stood out and the mentality he(Riley) is trying to instill by paying more attention to the defense this spring, compared to last season.What Lincoln did not mention from Saturday's practice was how physical it was.---I found out that it was very physical and that there was even a goal-line kerfuffle because players are playing with a new edge on defense.And did USC get one or two silent commitments over the weekend? On April 1st, USC is expecting good recruiting news and there could be another announcement after that.#USC #TROJANS #FOOTBALL #BASKETBALL #recruiting #defense # impact #mvp #transferportalSupport Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!Built BarBuilt Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKEDON15,” and you'll get 15% off your next order.FanDuelMake Every Moment More. Place your first FIVE DOLLAR bet to get ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY DOLLARS in Free Bets – win or lose! Visit Fanduel.com/LockedOn today to get startedFANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as non-withdrawable free bets that expire in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com(KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN)Listen where ever you get podcasts:APPLE: https://apple.co/3Aveb9oSPOTIFY: https://spoti.fi/3Reye1rGOOGLE: https://bit.ly/3bHmlATFollow Marc!TWITTER: https://twitter.com/MarcKulkin Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Lincoln spoke with the media about his defense following Saturday's spring practice No. 6. He mentioned players like Korey Foreman and Ceyair Wright who have stood out and the mentality he(Riley) is trying to instill by paying more attention to the defense this spring, compared to last season. What Lincoln did not mention from Saturday's practice was how physical it was.---I found out that it was very physical and that there was even a goal-line kerfuffle because players are playing with a new edge on defense. And did USC get one or two silent commitments over the weekend? On April 1st, USC is expecting good recruiting news and there could be another announcement after that. #USC #TROJANS #FOOTBALL #BASKETBALL #recruiting #defense # impact #mvp #transferportal Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors! Built Bar Built Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKEDON15,” and you'll get 15% off your next order. FanDuel Make Every Moment More. Place your first FIVE DOLLAR bet to get ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY DOLLARS in Free Bets – win or lose! Visit Fanduel.com/LockedOn today to get started FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as non-withdrawable free bets that expire in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com(KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN) Listen where ever you get podcasts: APPLE: https://apple.co/3Aveb9o SPOTIFY: https://spoti.fi/3Reye1r GOOGLE: https://bit.ly/3bHmlAT Follow Marc! TWITTER: https://twitter.com/MarcKulkin Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Talking to Teachers is a new podcast on the Anchor Platform, and it can be found on all major podcast app providers. Each week, sit down with people from the education industry: custodians, teachers, secretaries, administrators, private-sector education companies, and superintendents, anyone who is willing to speak, to hear their experience and perspective on education. A new episode will be uploaded every Thursday at 3 pm, Central Standard Time. Please share, so we can create a national, if not global, discussion on education in the 21st century! Anchor Charts https://www.instagram.com/p/CAj4l0HnOAm/ Referenced Links: Raise Your Hand Texas Raise Your Hand Texas supports public policy solutions that invest in our students, encourage innovation and autonomy, and improve college and workforce readiness. https://www.raiseyourhandtexas.org/ Texas Education Agency The State Board of Education annually hosts a one-day conference that takes an in-depth look at a timely topic. Planned events and presentations from past conferences can be found here. https://tea.texas.gov/about-tea/leadership/state-board-of-education/learning-roundtable-teachers/learning-roundtable-conferences Lincoln on Leadership Lincoln on Leadership is the first book to examine Abraham Lincoln's diverse leadership abilities and how they can be applied to today's complex world. You think you have it rough? Only ten days before Abraham Lincoln took the oath of office in 1861, the Confederate States of America seceded from the Union, taking all Federal agencies, forts, and arenas within their territory. To make matters worse, Lincoln, who was elected by a minority of the popular vote, was thought of by his own advisors as nothing more than a gawky second-rate country lawyer with no leadership experience. What Lincoln did to become our most honored and revered president is history; now his wisdom and leadership philosophy can help you run your business. https://www.amazon.com/Lincoln-Leadership-Executive-Strategies-Tough/dp/0446394599 Breakthrough Coaching The Breakthrough Coach is an educational training and consulting firm that supports school administrators to be transformational leaders who achieve student success in a sensible workweek. For over 20 years, The Breakthrough Coach Program has been foundational for new instructional leaders, and life-altering for experienced ones. With a track record of reducing administrators' workloads by 15-20 hours per week AND multiplying their time in classrooms by 500%, The Breakthrough Coaching teaches school leaders how to build productive front-office environments that then free them up to focus on creating sustainable, school-wide improvement. The Breakthrough Coach is profound – the answer to how to increase student achievement and have a healthy personal life. https://www.the-breakthrough-coach.com/ Brexit Movie https://www.newyorker.com/culture/on-television/in-brexit-benedict-cumberbatch-is-a-peculiar-man-who-wants-to-upend-the-order-of-the-world Socials: Instagram: @TalkingToTeachers Email: talkingtoteacherspodcast@gmail.com Robert Garcia Audio Integrated Designs https://www.audio-integrated.com/ robert@audio-integrated.com Instagram: @audio_integrated_designs By accessing this Podcast, I acknowledge that the entire contents and design of this Podcast are the property of Marques Rubi and Talking to Teachers, or used by Talking to Teachers with permission, and are protected under U.S. and international copyright and trademark laws. Except as otherwise provided herein, users of this Podcast may save and use the information contained in the Podcast only for personal or other non-commercial, educational purposes. No other use, including, without limitation, reproduction, retransmission, or editing, of this Podcast may be made without the prior written permission of Talking to Teachers.

Best-selling author of major works of nonfiction, DONALD T. PHILLIPS is known for his ability to tell stories and bring history alive with crisp, compelling prose. His first book, Lincoln on Leadership, helped pave the way toward the creation of an entire new genre of books on historical leadership. Phillips has also collaborated on books with Mike Krzyzewski, Phil Mickelson, Greg Norman, Cal Ripken, Lieutenant General Ricardo Sanchez, and ESPN's George Bodenheimer. Only ten days before Abraham Lincoln took the oath of office in 1861, the Confederate States of America seceded from the Union, taking Federal agencies, forts, and arsenals within their territory. To make matters worse, Lincoln, who was elected by a plurality of the popular vote, was viewed by his own advisors as nothing more than a gawky, second-rate country lawyer with no leadership experience.What Lincoln did to become our most honored and revered president is history -- but how he can help you to run your organization is not. LINCOLN ON LEADERSHIP was the first book to examine the diverse leadership abilities that have made Abraham Lincoln an inspiration to everyone from businessmen to Barack Obama. And in today's complex world, these lessons are more relevant than ever. You'll discover why you should:* Seize the initiative and never relinquish it* Wage only one war at a time* Encourage risk-taking while providing job security* Avoid issuing orders -- instead request, imply, or make suggestions DISTINGUISHED PROFESSIONAL SPEAKER WITH EXTENSIVE MEDIA EXPERIENCEDon Phillips has appeared in many national and international media forums, including CBS, ABC, AP, Bloomberg Business, CNBC, FOX Morning Television, Voice of America English Language Broadcast, National Public Radio, C-Span Booknotes, The American Football Coaches Association, and The Aspen Institute. INTERNATIONALLY KNOWN SPEAKER AND LEADERSHIP CONSULTANTDon Phillips has consulted, coordinated leadership seminars, and given motivational speeches for the following organizations, and many others: United States Department of Homeland SecurityUnited States Marine CorpsUnited States Department of CommerceUnited States Air ForceUnited States Department of TransportationUnited States Coast GuardUnited States Department of the InteriorDrug Enforcement Agency (DEA)United States Department of JusticeMajor City Chiefs of Police (MCC)United States Chamber of CommerceAspen InstituteUnited States Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA)American Football Coaches AssociationFederal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)United AirlinesPennsylvania League of Cities and MunicipalitiesLockheed MartinNational Executive Institute Associates (NEIA)Pizza HutGerald R. Ford Presidential Library and MuseumOracleHauenstein Center for Presidential StudiesDominionRiverside County, California, Board of EducationSouthern Methodist UniversityIllinois City/County Management Association (ILCMA)Highmount Exploration & ProductionWinston-Salem/Forsyth County (North Carolina) SchoolsFCC Gettysburg Leadership ExperienceGrand Valley State UniversityKansas Department of CorrectionsMicrosoftTown Hall Seattle

Intern CLE Podcast - Episode 005 – Lincoln Electric - Amy McMullen Website: https://www.lincolnelectric.com/en-us/Pages/default.aspx Careers: https://jobs.lincolnelectric.com/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lincoln_ElectricLincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. is an American multinational and a global manufacturer of welding products, arc welding equipment, welding consumables, plasma and oxy-fuel cutting equipment and robotic welding systems. The Fortune 1000 company is headquartered in Euclid, Ohio, United States and has a worldwide network of distributors and sales offices covering more than 160 countries. It has 42 manufacturing locations in North America, Europe, Middle East, Asia and Latin America. It also operates manufacturing alliances and joint ventures in 19 countries.[1] Lincoln started in 1895 by two brothers – John and James Lincoln. 11,000 employees worldwide but with a small family feel. Amy is a consummate recruiter and advocate for students. Her passion for helping students find a home that matches their career goals is evident throughout the interview. In the Cleveland location Lincoln hires about 75 interns and co-ops year-round. Interns are hired at other locations as well. There is a summer internship program and a fall and spring co-op program. Challenges: Lincoln is not a household name to some degree, so that can be a recruiting challenge. Getting all the hiring managers to submit their requests. What Lincoln does well: Assign interns a “Peer” instead of a mentor – this is not someone who is supposed to tell them what to do – it’s someone close in age or experience to them that is just a resource. Programming – offers a good deal of training to interns, for example backpacks to briefcase training. Resources: · NACE - https://www.naceweb.org· OCEA - http://www.ohioco-op.com/ - Conference coming in May! Register now. Q&A with Annette· Cleveland Museum of Art - http://www.clevelandart.org/· Wade Oval Wednesday - https://www.universitycircle.org/events/2019/06/12/wow-wade-oval-wednesdays· Cleveland Public Library - https://cpl.org/· Edgewater Live - 2019 calendar isn't out yet· Cleveland Gateway Historical Tours - http://www.clevelandgatewaydistrict.com/history/heritage-tourism/· Cleveland Foodbank - https://www.greaterclevelandfoodbank.org/· West Side Market - http://westsidemarket.org/· Cleveland Orchestra - https://www.clevelandorchestra.com/education-and-community/community-programs/ · Lake View Cemetery - https://lakeviewcemetery.com/

It's been a non-stop news cycle since we ended last week's pod. Jalen Hurts actually announces his decision to enroll at Oklahoma as we were finishing the pod so we came back and did an extra 30+ minutes just on what this means for OU. Alex Grinch has completed his staff. We breakdown the sweeping changes to come, Roy Manning, Brian Odom and how this could affect the current roster. We also hit up all the recruiting news from last week and talk about the makeup of 2019 as it all happens right before our eyes. A loaded podcast with lots of discussion about what's happening inside the program right now. A must listen as always! The rundown follows below: OPEN - Alex Grinch fills out his staff. Thoughts on Roy Manning and Brian Odom 0:07:40 - What is going on with all these inside stories about power struggles? Shutup. Lincoln is gonna let Grinch run the show 0:12:10 - Listener complained about Eddie on last week's podcast 0:14:30 - Roy Manning as a recruiter out on the west coast 0:16:10 - What does OU gain in recruiting and what do they have to replace with this staff? 0:22:00 - How do these hires affect the players on this team and the secondary in general? 0:32:30 - The politicizing of the Clemson visit to the White House. The Simple Jacks. 0:36:00 - Ruffin McNeill staying on staff 0:42:15 - The LBs and Brian Odom 0:45:30 - The leadup to Jalen Hurts' decision 0:48:10 - Tate Martell to Miami 0:53:10 - Oklahoma is blocking Austin Kendall's transfer to certain schools 1:00:00 - Josh and Bob's weekend recruiting report 1:09:30 - Back to Austin Kendall developments in his transfer 1:24:00 - The Jalen Hurts to Oklahoma emergency podcast begins 1:27:00 - The leadership that Jalen Hurts can bring to the OU program 1:32:00 - What Lincoln has to come up offensively to adapt to Hurts 1:36:45 - No more Austin Kendall, the backup situation behind Hurts 1:41:00 - How well will Hurts throw the ball in this offense? 1:45:00 - Everything just keeps going OU's way 1:47:00 - Baker and Kyler, two crazy stories. Now Hurts follows 1:53:15 - Will this be the most anticipated spring football camp ever?

What Lincoln learned from the defeat of the Union Army at first Bull Run that enables the north to win the Civil War.

What Lincoln learned from the Union defeat at the 1st battle of Bull Run that enables the North to win the Civil War.

Rebecca Teti on her piece in American Greatness, "What Lincoln might say about Charlottesville." Is it becoming more difficult to talk polotics with friends?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Rebecca Teti on her piece in American Greatness, "What Lincoln might say about Charlottesville."See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Were talking this morning about the power of one, the power of conviction, and the power of decisions. Were on a series about Superheroes, about being a hero for the Lord. I mentioned to you that my favorite superhero was Spiderman because he was vulnerable. He was funny. I love the movies because its not just the special effects, but there is substance in those movies. This scene were about to watch is Uncle Ben telling Peter Parker about this great responsibility he has with these powers. Hes trying to get him to become a man of conviction. He [is telling him] hed use these things for humanity, to serve people, for good, for right, rather than for selfish reasons or misusing these powers. We have been given a great power. The Holy Spirit has come into believers. Weve been given a great responsibility, and that is to share the truth of the Gospel with our world. So that is applicable to us as well. Were going to be talking about conviction. Were talking about responsibility; were talking about taking a stand for our Lord. When I think of responsibility, I cant think of a job with greater responsibility than that of the President of the United States, leader of the free world. That is an ominous job. I think of those who have studied history, most all would agree that Abraham Lincoln is one of the greatest Presidents, if not the greatest President, that ever lived. To try to preserve the union and remove the blight of slavery from our land, he had written the Emancipation Proclamation. He brought it to his Cabinet. He went around the Cabinet and asked the different secretaries to vote on what they thought about the Emancipation Proclamation with a yea or a nay. He went around the room: the Secretary of Interior-nay; Secretary of Defense-nay and all the way around. He went all the way around the Cabinet, and all them said nay. They thought it was going to cause too much destruction to the Union. Abraham Lincoln looked around the room then, and he said, There. The vote is unanimous. The ayes have it. The ayes have it. If I have to stand alone on this one, Im going to because its the right thing to do. In The Emancipation Proclamation, you read the words as he evokes the grace of God in this decision. What Lincoln is saying here is Im doing this because its the right thing to do. Making a stand is what were going to talk about today. All of us in this room have at sometime made right stands; and all of us at times have not made stands when we should have. How many of you have had an opportunity to take a stand, and you didnt take it? You walked away thinking, I wish I would have said this or I could have said that. You thought of all of these wonderful things you could have said after the fact. Let me see your hands. Okay, so we have the right group. I remember the first two years of my education were at a local school because I wanted to get those done. They were a bit more cost-effective. I then transferred on. I remember engaging some of my professors in the secular school in some theological discussions. There were times when I raised my hand and stood up to the professors. Even thought they sliced and diced me because I didnt have a lot of knowledge at that time-I had great zeal with very little knowledge-I always felt good about it. I said, At least I stood up. There were other times when I didnt. I kept my yapper shut, and remember feeling badly about that. Were going to be talking about ways that you and I can take a stand and speak up for our Lord. Christians throughout history have gone through persecution because of our convictions. Hebrews 11 speaks of the heroes of the faith who were persecuted and killed for their faith. We would seek to emulate their faith and their example. This morning, were going to look at the Apostle Peter, a man who started off with little conviction. He was very impulsive. He was a man who when confronted by total strangers of the Crucifixion denied Christ and even cursed Christ. Were going to see a transformation in this man when Pentecost comes and the Holy Spirit comes upon the believers. It dwells upon the believers. Peter is filled with a new confidence and a new boldness that allows him to proclaim the Gospel. No matter who listens, no matter what the outcome, no matter what the threat… Peter and John were on their way to the temple. They encountered a man who was lame since birth. The man was asking for money. Peter says, I dont have any money, but what I do have, I give to you in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth. Walk! He grabs him by the hand. His legs are strengthened, and he walks. Its a miracle. The man was over 40 years old, which is pretty young-I think anyway-didnt used to think that, but it seems very young now. He picks this kid up, and the guy is walking around. Hes strong. [This creates] an uproar. Theres a hubbub. Thousands of people come to Christ that day. Now, the people who are in power see this, and they dont like it-especially a group called the Sadducees. The Sadducees were people who said, Lets just keep the peace. Lets let Rome do what Rome wants to do as long as theyre giving us freedom to worship. Lets not make waves. There was another group called the Pharisees that felt differently about it. In fact, from them a group would come-would emerge-called the Zealots. The Zealots would eventually rise up against Rome. That would lead to the destruction of Rome under the leadership of Titus. The temple would be destroyed; Jerusalem would fall; and a couple of years later Masada would fall as thousands of Israelites took their own lives. At this juncture, the Sadducees are saying, Lets jut play along. By the way, they became extinct after the destruction of Jerusalem-shortly thereafter. They also did not believe in Heaven. They didnt believe in miracles. They didnt believe in the Resurrection, though they did believe in God. So they are upset two-fold. They are upset because of -number one-the hubbub and what they were going to do about it. They wanted to keep peace. Secondly, theyre upset theologically because of the words coming out of Peters mouth as he explains the reason for the miracle. Hes saying, We thought this Christianity thing was gone, dead and buried literally in Jesus Christ. We thought when we crucified the leader, this nonsense would just go away. Boy, were they wrong. It just began multiplying and spreading. They said, We have to do something. So, they arrested Peter and John. They stayed the night in jail. In the morning, the Sanhedrin assembled. Think of the Sanhedrin as the Supreme Court and the Congress. Its the legislative branch and the judicial branch combined. They made the laws; they interpreted; and they enforced the laws. They had power. These are the same men who days before had crucified Jesus Christ. So, if they say, Youre going to be executed, then you would be executed. So the lives of Peter and John are in the balance here. On the same token, there is popularity. They know if they kill Peter and John, they might have an uproar, and Rome will come and really tighten the reins on them. They are afraid of this uprising. Peter and John are between a rock and a hard place. They really want to kill them. Thats what theyd prefer to do, but they dont want to make any waves. They know all they can really do is slap their wrists. So the first strategy is to try to bully and intimidate. When that doesnt work, theyre begin making threats. Lets see what happens. Lets pick up the story in Verse 5 of Acts 4 (page 1080 of pew Bibles), The next day the rulers, elders and teachers of the law met in Jerusalem. Annas, the high priest was there, and so were Caiaphas, John, Alexander and the other men of the high priests family. They had Peter and John brought before them and began to question them… Imagine yourself…two people, and youre in front of the most powerful body. You can tell by the verbiage of this sentence, they are trying to bully and intimidate Peter and John. By what power or what name did you do this? Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, Rulers and elders of the people! It was Johns idea. I had nothing to do with it. I didnt want to do it, and Im sorry it happened... No, no, no. This is a different Peter. This is a Peter who is empowered by the Holy Spirit. This is a Peter of conviction. This is a Peter of responsibility. So he stands up to them, and he says, If we are being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a cripple and are asked how he was healed, then know this… About that time, you can feel them squirm, going, Oh, boy, here it comes! …It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed. He is the stone (and he quotes prophesy) you builders rejected which has become the capstone. Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under Heaven given to men by which we must be saved. When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus. But since they could see the man who had been healed standing there with them, there was nothing they could say. So they ordered them to withdraw from the Sanhedrin and then conferred together. Heres a little bit of what was said behind closed doors, What are we going to do with these men? they asked. Everybody living in Jerusalem knows they have done an outstanding miracle, and we cannot deny it. But to stop this thing from spreading any further among the people, we must warn these men to speak no longer to anyone in this name. Then they called them in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John replied, Judge for yourselves whether it is right in Gods sight to obey you rather than God. For we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard. Or, you could say, We will not stop speaking about what we have seen and heard. Conviction. Peter would not stop speaking until the day he died. Jesus will talk about that in John 21. Im going to give you my paraphrase here. Jesus says to Peter in speaking of His death, When you were a young buck, Peter, you did whatever you wanted, you went wherever you wanted to go, you said whatever you wanted to say. You were an independent free spirit, but when you become an old man, someone will take you where you do not want to go, and you will stretch out your hands. Jesus said this to signify the death in which He would glorify God. When we think of stretching out our hands, we think of crucifixion, dont we? Thats exactly what Jesus was telling him. He may not have understood that at the time. Then again, he may have. He was telling Peter, Someday theyre going to take you, and they are going to crucify you Peter. Youre going to lay your life down. Youre going to become a martyr for your faith. History tells us that happened under the reign of Nero. Nero was a maniacal emperor-a crazy man with a huge ego. In 64, Rome suffered a great fire. Thousands of lives were lost. Many buildings were lost, and much property was destroyed. Nero had plans to rebuild Rome. Nero had plans to rebuild some of the buildings, especially his new palace-which was going to be posh, really nice. People didnt like Nero to begin with, but then they began saying, You know what? We think Nero started this fire. Nero started this fire so he could rebuild the city. That rumor began spreading like the fire through the land. Nero caused the loss of our property. Nero caused the loss of our homes and our businesses. Nero caused the loss of lives of our loved ones and friends. It was Nero! Nero hears the tide of public opinion. Nero decides he needs to find a group people hate Christians more than him. He needs to find a scapegoat. Nero comes up with a plan because some people were saying he was playing his fiddle as Rome burned. So Nero devised a plan that the Christians would become the scapegoat. Im going to blame it on the Christians because theyre even more hated than I am. We dont really think of ourselves as Christians, as a people who would be hated, but we were. Im going to read for you right now a quote from an historian who was born in the first century. His name is Tacitus . When the fire of Rome happened, Tacitus was a boy. Now, he is a man, and hes writing about Nero, Christians, and the events of that day, less than a generation removed from those events. Tacitus writes, Consequently, to get rid of the report that he [Nero] had started the fire, Nero fastened the guilt and inflicted the most exquisite tortures on a class hated for their abominations... Thats us, hated for their abominations. …called Christians by the populace. Christus, from whom the name had its origin, suffered the extreme penalty during the reign of Tiberius… Thats the crucifixion of course. …at the hands of one of our procurators, Pontius Pilatus, and a most mischievous superstition… Thats Christianity. …thus checked for the moment, again broke out… Were reading about that. …not only in Judaea, the first source of the evil… He calls Christianity an evil. …but even in Rome, where all things hideous and shameful from every part of the world find their centre and become popular. So, he lumps Christianity in with everything that is hideous and shameful. Accordingly, an arrest was first made of all who pleaded guilty; then, upon their information, an immense multitude was convicted, not so much of the crime of firing the city… They arent going to be killed for destroying Rome, but, …as of hatred against mankind. The Christians were going to be killed for their hatred of mankind. Ill explain that in a moment. Mockery of every sort was added to their deaths. Covered with the skins of beasts, they were torn by dogs and perished, or were nailed to crosses, or were doomed to the flames and burnt, to serve as a nightly illumination, when daylight had expired. Our spiritual ancestors endured these kinds of persecutions, this kind of suffering. This martyred them. Paul and Peter would also perish under the reign of Nero. Why such venom? Why such hate? Do you think if you stand up for convictions, there is a chance youll be mistreated? Well, in this country youre certainly not going to be martyred. You will in other countries; maybe in North Korea youll be martyred. Maybe in Pakistan or Afghanistan, youll be martyred. Certainly, you may be ostracized. You may be rejected; you may be ignored; you may be mocked or ridiculed; but certainly youll undergo some persecution if you stand up for conviction. Christians had a conviction that only Jesus Christ was Lord. When Rome would have its festivals, its holy days-its celebrations-they would worship and honor the Pagan gods, and they would pray to and worship the emperor as God. Christians would have nothing to do with it. Do you know what Christians were seen as, believe it or not? Atheists! We were the atheists because we didnt believe in the Roman gods or worship the emperor. We didnt burn incense in his name. We were atheists! Whats more: we were not seen as very good citizens of Rome, not very patriotic. You dont go to the holidays; you dont celebrate the festivals. We look at somebody who doesnt put their hand on their heart when they say the Pledge of Allegiance, wont sing the Star-Spangled Banner, wont celebrate the Fourth of July, Boy, that person is unpatriotic! So they regarded Christians as not very good citizens. They said, Besides that, they meet in these little groups where they eat flesh and drink blood. Communion. They saw the early Christians as cannibals. Some people believed that. There was a form of cannibalism going on in these secret little huddles, these little underground huddles. So this went on, and this went on for generations to come, friends. There was a test by the time omission came to power. They would kill you unless you burned incense to the Roman gods, prayed to the emperor, and cursed Christ. So from generation to generation, this went on. Christians by the thousands lost their lives. They knew that if they didnt renounce Christ, they would die; yet they refused to renounce Christ. They refused to be silent. Let me ask you the question, What stops you? Death didnt stop them. What stops you? You see, we know in our society that if I claim Im a Christian-we have freedom of speech and so forth, many of the people in our nation are Christians-but if I speak up for conviction, Im not going to be beheaded or set on fire. But, does persecution still exist? Is it possible that you could be misunderstood and mistreated nowadays? Certainly. Lets go back to the text here. Lets look at Verse 12 of Peters words (of Acts 4, page 1080). These words were very unpopular when they were spoken. Understand he speaks these to the Sanhedrin. They hate Jesus Christ; they see Him as a blasphemer, a heretic, as a criminal, a deceiver, and now, Peter is going to inform that He is the only way to Heaven-the only way to Heaven! These are words that cause anger to these men! Listen to what he says, Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under Heaven given to men by which we must be saved. Peter says for mankind, there is no other means of salvation. There is no other name; there is no other way. How do you think that went over that day? Not very well! How does it go over today? If you as a Christian take a stand, and youre having a discussion in the workplace, and you say, I believe Christ is the only way to Heaven, how does that go over? If you are a politician running for office, and you made a statement like that, I believe that Jesus is the only means of salvation, how does that go over? Do you think theres a chance you might be misunderstood, mistreated, or persecuted in some way because youve made those statements? The Gazette has a blog now. There was an article in which a young man had torn out some pages of the Bible. They wrote a story about that. Then there was this debate, and people could weigh in on the issues. It was interesting. The venom that was going back and forth between the Christians and the atheists. Atheists from other parts of the country were logging in and blogging on this Gazette site. It became pretty nasty, the comments. I would tune in everyday to read some of the comments. It was interesting dialogue, but the Gazette then ran some rules in light of what transpired. They said, Here are our rules. Make sure you dont cuss; even if you get creative with your cuss words, well figure it out and remove your comment. You cant slander. They had all of these rules. Then at the end, the last rule they had was remember this is our site. This is our newspaper. This is our blog. We pay for this. We make the rules. If you dont abide by the rules, well remove you. Thats their right, isnt it? That is their site. They make the rules. Who makes the rules for God? If the people who made the Gazette or created the website determined the rules for their website, who determines the rules for God? Do you and I? No. Who does? God does. Theres a problem when man takes rules and changes them without the permission or consent of those who made the rules. Lets take, for instance, the football game this afternoon? Is anybody going to watch the NFC championship game? Nobody? Okay. Lets say kick-off is on the 20; everybody is wondering if theyre going to run. Its windy and cold: are they going to run, or are they going to pass? Something very unusual happens. Brett Favre takes a snap, and he drops back, fakes a pass, and turns around and runs into the Giants end zone. [He] spikes the ball and starts celebrating like hes made a touchdown. All the Packers are jumping up and down and on each other saying, We scored the first touchdown in the NFC championship game! What would you do if you were watching that from home? Youd go, Ha? Whats going on? You watch the referees signal a safety. Two points are put on the board for the Giants. Theyre going to get the ball back. The Packers are protesting, What do you mean safety? We just scored a touchdown! The fans are all thinking, Whats going on? This is crazy! By halftime, the score is 50-0 because there have been 25 consecutive safeties because Brett Favre keeps running into his own end zone. At halftime, they interview him, and they say, Mr. Favre, what is going on? You have scored 25 consecutive safeties. Brett says, You know what? We consider those touchdowns. We had a meeting, the coaches, staff, and all the players. We decided to make a new rule that whenever we have the ball, both end zones are touchdowns. Thats our rule. We voted unanimously. Do you think that would work? Why not? Theres a rule, right? The commissioner of the NFL and the owners have a rule book . They say, We created this league. We determine the rules. We determine what you wear, when you play. We determine what a penalty is and whats not. We determine whether there is going to be instant replay or not, whats going to be reviewed and whats not. Im still trying to figure that one out. We determine all these rules because its our league. We created it. So, we have authority no matter how popular you are or how great your career is. You cant make your own rules. Its not your job. If you make them, theyre not real. Theyre just in your head because we create the rules for the game that we have. This is our game. Do you see where Im going here? There are a lot of people who think they can make up the rules for God. They say, Well, you know, I believe that all religions are the truth, and every religion leads to Heaven. So my question is how do religions which are very opposed to one another and say very different things about God, how can they all be true at the same time? They all have different ideas of what Heaven is. How can that all be true at the same time? Either one is true and the rest are false, or theyre all false. They cant all be true! I believe that if youre just a good person, you go to Heaven. If you just follow the golden rule, you go to Heaven. You made up a rule. Does that agree with what God has said? Well, I believe that all people go to Heaven no matter how they live or what they believe because God is a loving God, so everybody goes. Thats another rule. Well, who makes the rules? God does! Peter is telling us a rule here. He says, There is no other name given among men under Heaven by which you must be saved. On this planet, under Heaven-this world, this is the means of salvation. He is reiterating what Jesus said. Jesus Himself said, I am the way, the truth and the life. No man comes to the Father, but through Me. Thats what He said. For God so loved the world that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but has everlasting life. He didnt come to provide an alternative. He came to be the means of salvation. What we believe as Christians is that God, the Son, the second person of the trinity, came and took on flesh and lived among us. [He] lived a perfect, sinless life and offered that life up on the cross. [It was] an offer in exchange: His righteousness for our sins. If we would put our faith and trust in Him, He will forgive us our sins, and He will impart to us His righteousness. Our sins can be forgiven, and one day when we die, we can go and live with Him in His presence in Heaven. God made those rules. Who can come? All can come. When? Anytime. How? Through Jesus Christ and His shed blood. He died for us, so we could live. Thats what we believe. Now, I might share that with somebody, and I could share it in a nice way. Somebody might still say, Well, youre a bigot. Youre a religious bigot. Youre narrow-minded or youre intolerant! In our fictions, hypothetical story, Brett Favre might say, Well, the NFL is intolerant! The NFL is bigoted against the Packers players. Theyre prejudiced! The NFL hates the Packers! Its not true. I can espouse my beliefs, and somebody can say, Well, you hate people of other religions. Ill say, Thats not true. I respect them very much. Youre this or youre that! [I would answer], No, there is love in my heart, but I believe this is the Word of God. If the Bible said something different-if the Bible said, Jesus came to provide a means of salvation among the many, and this is one of them, thats what Id be preaching up here. But to preach something different, Im calling Peter a liar. To preach something different, Im calling the Lord Jesus a liar. Im not prepared to do that. I believe what they said was the truth, and so thats a conviction, so Ill stand for that. Mark my words: you go out there and you say something to that effect, its not going to be very well-received. This is the year 2008. Convictions can still get you into trouble. Convictions can still get you misunderstood; convictions can still get you mistreated, but who would you rather please? Would you rather please men, or would you rather please God? Would you rather live for people and their opinions, or would you rather live for an audience of one? In the Book of John 12, Jesus is gaining in popularity in the following. Lazarus has been raised from the dead, and thats a miracle. Everybody can attest. Even the enemies dont question that Lazarus was dead for four days and is now alive. Even they dont debate that that happened. How are we going to stop them? Verse 42 of John 12 (page 1067 of pew Bibles), many of the Jews believed, Yet at the same time many even among the leaders believed in Him. But because of the Pharisees they would not confess their faith for fear they would be put out of the synagogue; for they loved the praise from men more than the praise from God. Is that you today? Which praise do you covet? Who do you want to please? Social pressures and social constraints sometimes prohibit us from sharing what we believe. Why? Because we value what people think-that passing, fleeting thing that people think more than what God thinks. If somebody asks me my belief or the topic of conversation comes up in this aspect or other aspects, we could have chosen any number of roads to go down, Im going to share my conviction. Im going to share my belief. The ancestors of our faith did so at the cost of their own lives and their own freedom. Are we going to resemble Peter or are we going to resemble the people in John 12 who said, Yeah, I believe in Him, but as soon as the pressure was on, they became silent. Choose to be a hero for God; choose to stand up for righteousness and truth. Dont be obnoxious. Dont be hateful. Be loving; be gentle; be meek; be kind, but stand up for truth. Peter, I guarantee when he said these words, was respectful. When you read the sentence structure, he addressed them with respect. He was like, Rulers, I respect you. I will abide by all the laws. Im going to be a good citizen, but youre asking me to do something I cannot do. I must obey God rather than man. Thats a choice you and I have to make. Im going to ask if every head would bow and every eye would close for a moment. Some of you right now are facing situations where there is that pressure. There is a pressure to be silent. Theres a pressure to conform. Maybe its in the workplace with a co-worker, a boss, or an employee. Maybe its in your home, maybe in your own marriage. Maybe its with a friend; maybe its in an association you belong to. You know you need to make a stand. You need to stand up for the Lord; you need to stand up for truth. You need to come out of the closet with your faith. You need courage to do that. You need wisdom for the words to say. Im not going to ask you to come forward, but I just want to pray for you specifically right where you are at for just a moment before we close. I guarantee you if you cant stand up in a church service while heads are bowed and eyes are closed, youre not going to stand up out there. Any others who would like to stand? All around our sanctuary, people are starting to stand. Thats good. Ill pause just a moment longer. If youre facing something right now and just want prayer, [please stand]. Amen. Im going to ask those who are seated, would you pray and agree with those who are standing in prayer: Father, right now, I pray for these who are standing. The fact that they are standing is expressing their devotion, their love for you. Theyre saying, God, I want to make a stand. I want to do whats right. I want to do the right thing. I want to say the right thing. Theyre standing because they are people of conviction. Lord, we also know there is opposition when we seek to live a convicted life, when we seek to stand up for truth. [We can fear] being misunderstood, misrepresented, or mistreated. I pray for those who are standing that Youd give them the courage this week to make that stand-give them the wisdom to know what to say, how to say it, when to say it. We pray that those words would be received. We pray that they would be understood. We pray that there would be reconciliation when that is needed. But, Lord, regardless of the response, we pray they would do what is right. We ask this in Jesus name. We thank You for the courage and strength that You give through Your Holy Spirit, as You gave to Peter, as You gave to John, as You gave to all the believers who perished under Nero and the emperors in Rome. [I pray that] through all the generations, that we might live for an audience of One. In Jesus name I pray. Thank you for standing and Ill pray for you. Ill try to think of you throughout the week.