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This morning I want to encourage you to open your Bible with me to I Corinthians chapter 10. Paul's epistle to the Corinthian church chapter 10. As you know, we've been studying the gospel of Matthew, but because we have these special events on us...next week a special sermon, the following week our Shepherd's Conference and a special message and then a couple of weeks with me gone...I didn't want to get into chapter 26 of Matthew and start and then have to wait a long time. So we'll wait until all of this is finished and then we'll look at the 26th chapter of Matthew and get into the crucifixion and resurrection of our Lord.
But for today, I want us to look at I Corinthians chapter 10. I've been writing...actually have now finished the commentary on I Corinthians and in the process, of course, went back through the book and over every thought that the Lord would give me as I studied it. And time and again I was drawn to the impact of this tenth chapter. And as I was meditating last week on what I might share with you, I began to read it again and it just impressed itself so much on my mind. And I want you to look with me at the first 13 verses of Chapter 10. I'll read them and then we'll see what the spirit of God has to say.
"Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea; And all did eat the same spiritual food; And all did drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ. But with many of them," literally the text says, "most of them God was not well pleased: for they were overthrown in the wilderness.
"Now these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted. Neither be ye idolaters, as were some of them; as it is written, the people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play. Neither let us commit fornication, as some of them committed, and fell in one day 23,000. Neither let us put Christ to the test, as some of them also tested Him, and were destroyed by serpents. Neither murmur ye, as some of them also murmured, and were destroyed by the destroyer.
"Now all these things happened unto them for examples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages are come. Wherefore, let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall. 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 the way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it."
Now, that is a powerful and dramatic passage. It relates to us an historical setting and then ties it in to the Corinthian scene and then pushes beyond that to speak to us today. It tells about a whole nation of people who were blessed by God, who enjoyed exceedingly abundant privilege, who received from God magnanimous gifts of his love and grace but who were destroyed in judgment. If we were to title the passage, we could title it, "The Danger of Spiritual Privilege." "The Danger of Spiritual Privilege."
The key thought to the passage of course is Verse 12, "Let him that thinks he stands, take heed, lest he fall." The point here is that the most privileged person or the most privileged group of people can end up in the greatest disaster.
In fact, this whole thing in chapter 10 springs out of the thought in chapter 9, verse 27. Look at it. In chapter 9, verse 27, Paul speaking personally says, "I keep my body under." That is, "I keep my body under control; I bring it into subjection to my mind and my will lest that by any means or through any cause, or any act of my body, when I have preached to others, I myself should be disqualified" is what the word means. Paul says, "I keep my body in control, lest in preaching to others, I could be disqualified."
He knows a very important thing. He is a man of great privilege. I mean he is a man who probably from the spiritual standpoint had the equal or superior privilege to any other believer that ever lived. He had three personal post resurrection appearances of the Lord Jesus Christ to him. That's pretty unique. He was stoned and left for dead and raised from that rubble miraculously by the power of God. He became blind and was made to see. He became the greatest apostle and preacher and articulator of the Christian faith apart from Christ that ever lived. He was the founder of church after church after church, the discipler of leader after leader after leader, the builder of men. He was caught up into the third heaven and saw things too marvelous, too incredible, too amazing, too supernatural to even be discussed he tells us. And in terms of being an apostle, nobody outranked him, he said. He was a man of amazing privilege, amazing privilege. He was given the revelation for 13 separate New Testament books. The Spirit of God flooded that man's life with truth, privilege, opportunity, ministry, wisdom, knowledge. Profoundly enriched.
And yet, with all of that expanse of spiritual privilege, he had the fear that in the exercise of his ministry, by failing to control his own body, he could be disqualified from service to Christ. And every believer ought to have that same idea. We have to live with that reality, that none of us is invincible. And a massive amount of privilege does not guarantee that we can live any way we want without consequence. I think that some people have assumed that because they have experienced so much blessing from God, they can live any way they want without any kind of judgment. Classic illustration: Israel. So blessed, so privileged, so abundantly the recipients of God's grace, mercy, loving-kindness that they actually learned how to abuse His grace. They pushed to the limits of God's tolerance and they lived on the danger edge until finally disaster came.
You see, one of the things you have to deal with as a Christian is freedom. One of the things you have to deal with as a Christian is privilege. But you must deal with it in the way that Paul did, and he dealt with it by trying to control with his renewed mind the body which tends to want to lead us into sin. And so in verse 27 of chapter 9, he thinks about the danger of spiritual privilege personally. And in chapter 10, he thinks about it corporately. And that's the way we must think about it, in that same duality.
I must look at my own life and say, "John you have received great privilege." I have; I have received great privilege. Great privilege. I have had the privilege not only of learning from great and gifted men but of having great opportunity. I have the privilege of having great people around me who pour their life into me, who minister along side of me, of having a marvelous congregation of people of whom God has poured out blessing. And that blessing spills back on me. I am privileged to be able to reach even beyond this church in ministry, and I need to be very much aware that because God has blessed me so much does not cause me to live loosely and abuse that, but to live all the more tightly so that I would never to anything to be disqualified. And I live in that, that sense of pressure, if you will, that Paul understand.
And our church must too. This church has been singularly blessed by God. And it's all by his sovereignty. It has nothing to do with anything really other than His sovereignty and we, wanting to work by the Scripture, have put ourselves in a place so that His sovereignty could be maximized to us. But it's His choice. And we have been greatly privileged, greatly privileged. But that does not remove the element of danger.
Great privilege does not mean God is looking at us and saying, "Well, I'm just going to give you everything because I like you better than anybody else. So feel free to do what you want." You've got to deal with this with your children, don't you? Sometimes you're so good to them and so kind and so gracious that they go too far. And you need to discipline to bring them back in. And so it is in the spiritual dimension.
The Corinthians, frankly, were overconfident. They were abusing their liberty because they thought they had everything. God must really like them. Boy, He gave them everything. I mean, there were born out of a marvelous ministry of the apostle Paul himself. Read it in the book of Acts, a tremendous event. The 18th chapter of Acts...he came; he preached; great things happened. The Gospel was received by the Gentiles. A church was born. He stayed there, taught them for 18 months. I mean he gave them 18 months of his life, the apostle Paul. They must have been under the teaching of Christ then, Cephus and Appollus also because they themselves were saying, "I'm of Appollus, I'm of Cephus, I'm of Paul, I'm of Christ." They were exposed to the best of teachers. You can't get any better than Christ, Appollus, Paul and Peter. That's the tops. They were highly privileged. It was to them that Paul wrote two epistles. Two long epistles, pouring out his heart. Great privilege.
In fact, they were very smug about it. In I Corinthians, chapter 4, Paul rather sarcastically indicts their smugness. In verse 8 he says, "Now you are full. Now you are rich. You have reigned as kings without us." Very sarcastic, "Aren't you something?" They thought themselves to be invincible. They were abusing everything, every privilege they had. They had cliques going on of Paul, of Appollus, Cephus, Christ. They were suing each other. There was immorality in the church. There was disdain of the Lord's Table. They were eating meat offered to idols; they were fooling around with pagan festivals. They thought that they could just about do anything they wanted to do.
God had given them so much they traded on His grace. And he says, "So, you're full, are you? So, you're really kings; you are really rich; you have really arrived." And then he said, "I would to God, you did reign. It isn't true." In verse 18 of the fourth chapter he said, "Some of you are puffed up and proud.". It's easy to get that way. It's easy to say to yourself, "Boy we're really the blessed. Look at us, God's just pouring out everything on us, we're special," and get proud about that. And then you start to play with your freedoms, and you start moving out to the edge of God's tolerance, and you could be disqualified and so could this whole church.
I've been across this country in my life long enough to know there are a lot of buildings standing that once were filled with people and nothing now is there but a stone quarry, just a hole with a bunch of rock around it. Maybe a few people huddled in the middle trying to hold it all together. I've seen God disqualify individuals, and I've seen God disqualify congregations. And I guess as you look at your life and your ministry and as I look at what God is doing here, the greatest anxiety I would have personally for me is that I would do something that would disqualify me, or this church would begin to fall into patters of life that would disqualify it. What a frightening thought.
And so Paul says, "I have to warn you people, and I warn you by giving you a history lesson," and he moves into a marvelous insightful look at the history of Israel. And I want you to look at it. There are four movements of thought. Four movements of thought, you want to jot them down. It will take you right through the text: the assets, the abuses, the admonition and the advantage.
First of all, the assets. Look at verse 1. Moreover, that is going from a personal illustration in chapter 9, verse 27 of the fact that privilege doesn't mean that you can live any way you want, but rather you have to control yourself lest you be disqualified. Going from the personal to the corporate, brethren, I don't want you to be ignorant and here's the illustration. And the key word is all. It's used five times. "All our fathers were under the cloud. All passed through the sea. All were baptized into Moses. All did eat the same spiritual food. All did drink the same spiritual drink." That's the key term.
What he is saying is that without exception, the Israelites received the blessing of God. They all received it. Everybody was a beneficiary. God bestowed on them mighty power. Great blessing. I mean they lived to see God work in mighty ways. There they were in Egypt. And they saw God come in power and literally bring to its knees the greatest empire of the day, the Egyptian empire, through the plagues. And then they say God take them through the Red Sea, and they saw God lead them by a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. They saw God pour out manna from heaven. And they saw God lead them in the wilderness. And they saw the mighty hand of God's judgment. And they saw God carve out cables of stone to give His law of love on Mt. Sinai. I mean, they saw God. This is no second-hand generation folks. They knew God. They saw God. They felt God. They were involved in His miraculous and mighty power. They were all there.
Look what he says. First of all, "All our fathers were under the cloud." "Fathers" is the term just to designate a prior generation. And they are not only the fathers of the Jews racially, but they are the fathers, in a sense, of all those who are the faithful. They are the fathers of all the people of God in the sense that they were the original people of God. So he's looking back and saying, "Our fathers, our Jewish fathers who really, in a sense, are our forebears of faith as well, they were all under the cloud." What does he mean by that? The cloud was what led them, the glory cloud, the Chicina cloud. It led them. They experienced divine guidance; that's the issue. They experience divine guidance, miraculous leading by God.
In Exodus 13:21 it says that, "And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead them." I mean, they were led by God Himself. Some man wasn't up there saying, "I think I know what God wants. I think He wants us to go over there." No, there wasn't any of that. They just looked up, and they were led by God. And they looked up again, and they were led by God. I mean, this is direct, hands-on leadership. I mean, that would really simplify life wouldn't it? If you just had a little cloud, and when you get up in the morning it was there, and it went over here, and then it went over there. And you just said, "The Lord is leading, and I'm just going." See? That's what they experienced.
You want to know something? I think we've experienced that too. Not with a little cloud but believe me people, we have seen God lead here. I mean when this church began with some couples and a prayer time who wanted to see this Valley reached for Christ over 25 years ago. They never dreamed this would happen, but God led to this. We have seen the leading of God. I could tell you millions of ways in which we've seen God lead directly that could never be explained in any human way.
One just comes to mind. Down the street we own four acres, and you're going to hear the wonderful exciting reality next week about what we're going to do with them. You'll be excited when you hear about it. But anyway we have that four acres down the street. It's down beyond the parking lot over there; it's directly across from the parking lot on this side. Four acres, we own that. How did we get that? The Lord led. One day our treasurer came into the elders' meeting and said, "Gentlemen, we have a $300,000 surplus." And we all picked ourselves back up off the floor and said, "What? How did this happen?" "We don't know. We've gone through the books and there's $300,000 we didn't know we had." "What should we do? What does the Lord want us to do?"
Well, with that invitation, they said there's only one piece of property left on Roscoe Boulevard, and it's right down the street from our church. The Lord must want us to have that. At that time it was on both sides. We've now turned one part of it into a parking lot, the other is still vacant. And so they said, "Let's find out who owns it, and immediately let's put a bid on it." And we had no thought of doing that before. So we did, and they accepted it. It was owned by a large food corporation, and they accepted our offer of $300,000 I think. The next day, a better offer came in from a developer. We had no way to know that. We were one day ahead of that. And a few days later the treasurer called the elders together and said, "We made a mistake; we don't have that money." It's exactly right. So if you're worried about us, don't worry about us. Even when we do wrong, the Lord overrules it. This is His church. We have that property based on our own stupidity and the sovereignty of God. This is His church. We have experienced that. Listen, I'm as sure that that was the leading of God as I would've been if I was a Jew walking through the desert following a pillar of cloud. That's God. And we've seen it again and again and again. We've experienced that.
And then he says not only will all under the cloud, but "all passed through the sea." Now, you remember that, don't you? The sea parted, and they walked across on dry land. That's divine deliverance. That's divine deliverance. There was divine leading, and there was divine deliverance. They were taken out of Egypt, crossed that Red Sea on dry land, miraculously called out to serve God, delivered to be His special servants. And we've experienced that here. I mean, not only have I experienced it, and you, having been delivered from the bondage of sin into the freedom of grace, but we've experienced it as a church, having been delivered, as it were, out of the world and become an assembly of God's redeemed people like an island in the midst of a sea of paganism. We've been delivered. God has redeemed us as a corporate people as well as individuals. So thankful are we for Him and for what He's done for us.
And then notice further verse 2, "And all were immersed into Moses in the cloud and in the sea." By being led by the cloud and led through the sea by the human representative Moses, they were all immersed into Moses. Now, it's not talking about actual baptism. Presbyterians have sometimes interpreted this verse, "They were all baptized into Moses in the cloud" means they were sprinkled because the cloud dropped rain on them. And the Baptists say, "No, they went through the sea. They were all wet, head to toe." Both are wrong, it's the cloud of glory not a rain cloud, and when they went through the sea they went through on what? Dry land. There's not any water here. What it's saying here is the word baptized is a word for immersed. Like we say a person is immersed in Bible Study or this person is immersed in the teaching of John Calvin, or he's immersed in the leadership of his pastor or whatever, or whatever, or whatever. That's the idea.
The Jews, by coming together behind the leadership of Moses became immersed into him. He became in a sense their head and their leader, of God's man. What it's saying is that they had a divine identity. They came together as a common assembly, a common group of people under the leadership of Moses. They were one assembly, one redeemed people called out, divinely led and divinely constituted with an identity as the people of God under the leadership of Moses. That's solidarity, to use a contemporary term. I believe we've had that. We are a unique people, aren't we? Under the leadership of the Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ, under the direction of those who preach and teach the Word of God in this place. We have become one people, haven't we? With a common understanding of the Word of God, with common burdens and common fellowship and common phrase and common life and common ministry and common sharing, common investment in the kingdom, common rejoicing because God has blended us together as His church in this place. We have that same great privilege, and what a privilege it is. You should talk to some of the people visiting us for the Bible conference who come from places where they can't find a place where God's people come together around God's word like we do, where their hearts are hungry for that. We are people of privilege. We really are. We have had the unique and divine identity that God gives to a redeemed assembly in a community.
And then look at verse 3. As he looks back at Israel he said, "They all ate the same spiritual food, and they all drank the same spiritual drink." The food was manna; the water that they drank was water from a rock and water that God provided in the wilderness. Why is it called spiritual? Is it spiritual food in the sense that it's some kind of a supernatural kind of thing like the truth of God, whatever? No. Spiritual food in the sense that it was come from the Spirit. It wasn't provided by any earthly means. Manna from where? From heaven. Water out of rock is not normal; that's God intervening. So, what it means is it was spiritual food and spiritual drink in the sense that it came from the Spirit, not that it was spiritual in terms of its nature. It was spiritual in terms of its source.
So they all had a miraculous provision of God. They were sustained by the miraculous God who fed them and watered them. Divine provision for their needs, for their sustenance. We, too, are the beneficiaries of that. Oh, how God has graciously provided for us as a church. He says they drank all the same spiritual drink, verse 4, and then he throws in this great truth, "For they drank of that spiritual rock that followed them, and that rock was Christ." And that's what he's saying.
What he means by "spiritual water" is that the source of it was the spiritual rock, not the rock that Moses struck. The real source was a spiritual rock who was Christ. What does that mean? Listen, Christ was alive then, as He is now. This is a great indication in the Scripture that Christ's life didn't begin at His birth. He is alive in the Old Testament as much as in the New and He is caring for His people in the Old Testament as much as He is in the New. He is ever and always the Redeemer of an old covenant saint and the new covenant saint. And He is ever and always the Shepherd of His people in the old covenant as well as the new. And so as He provides for us now, He provided for them then. And the real source of water was not a rock; the real source of water was the Rock providing that for them. So they had all this provision. And we too have had that. And we have had provision from Christ Himself on our behalf, blessed with all spiritual blessings beyond description.
And so they are privileged, and the Corinthians were privileged and we are privileged. And then comes the shocker in Verse 5, "But with most of them God was not well pleased." What a statement. He was not well pleased for they were overthrown in the wilderness, literally strewn like corpses all over the desert. Why? How could people with such privilege wind up in such disaster? With most of them...in fact, you could just about narrow it down to Joshua and Caleb were the only ones He was well pleased with. The whole generation had to die in the wilderness, didn't they? And it wasn't just in one fell swoop; they were constantly being disciplined with death. Great spiritual privilege put them in great danger. Jesus said, "To whom much is given, much is required." And the greater the spiritual privilege, the greater the disaster of wasted privilege, violated privilege, abused privilege.
And in Numbers 14:16, it says, "Because the Lord was not able to bring this people into the land which He swore to give to them, therefore, he has slain them in the wilderness." It's tragic to think about it, corpses all over the desert. People with the greatest spiritual privilege that any people on earth had ever experienced, great privilege, and they thought because we have so much, God just keeps pouring it out, they must be special and God must be especially tolerant of them, and so they begin to cross the line between's God grace and His wrath. And they paid the price; they were disqualified for service as a nation, as a people. That generation was disqualified and the Lord had to raise up another.
Paul had the same thought in chapter 9, verse 27, as I said, the fear that in having so much privilege you would get so comfortable in God's blessing that you would fail in the area of self control. Specifically, what went wrong? To go from the assets to the abuses? What went wrong? Here it is, verse 6 says, now, these things were our examples, our toupass, our types, figures, patterns, moral patterns. In other words this is an example for us folks, he says. And here's the key to the whole thing to interpret what he means by that, just this: If our sins correspond to their sins, our judgment will correspond to their judgment. That's the point. This is a pattern. This is a pattern. This is something that you can trace out. It'll be this way with you as it was with them. If your sins correspond to that, your fate will correspond to theirs. So, this is a pattern for us.
And what were their sins? First, that we should not lust after evil things as they also lusted. Literally, that we should not be longers after evil things. I guess we could call this worldliness. This is the desire for that which belongs to the world. This is wanting what the world has. This is a half-hearted...James calls it a double-minded approach. Listen to Numbers 11:4, "And the mixed multitude that were among them fell to lusting." And it isn't that they're talking about immorality here. But, rather, the children of Israel also wept. They started to cry, "Ooh, she'll give us flesh to eat." See, they were lusting after food. Well, what do you mean? Well, they were tired of the manna. They'd had manna, manna, manna, manna, manna. And now, they were complaining.
"We remember the fish, which we did eat in Egypt, freely. The cucumbers, and the melons, and the leeks, and the onions and the garlic." And I never read that without wondering what they must've smelled like, to be honest with you. "But, now, it's our soul dried away. We've had it with the same stuff everyday. We want what we had in Egypt." In verse 34 it says, "And the Lord called the name of the place Kibroth Hattaavah because there they buried the people that lusted." You mean God killed a bunch of people for wanting cucumbers? Melons? No, God slew people who were discontent with his provisions. God slew people who, in their hearts, wanted the old life with its luxury. They didn't want the barren life of obedience. They wanted everything the world had to offer, all the stuff. Boy, it's hard to sort yourself out from all of that isn't it? Hard for all of us.
God is just serious about this. I don't know if you remember Psalms 78...frightening. It says, "They tempted God," verse 18, "by asking food according to their desire." They didn't want what God wanted to give them, they wanted what they want. They spoke against God. They literally..."Can God furnish a table in the wilderness? What kind of God have we got? He can't put on a decent banquet. Behold, he smote the rock, and water gushed out, and the streams overflowed. Can he give bread also? Can he provide flesh for his people?" This is mocking God.
They wanted their old stuff. They wanted the fancy stuff, the comfort, the fancy food, the whole thing. So, the Lord heard it, and he was angry. What did he do? Verse 24, "He had rained down manna on them to eat, and given them the grain of Heaven. And man did eat angel's food." You see, it wasn't a question of whether manna was good. You wanna know something? I believe manna was the best stuff, ever. I mean, if the Lord's gonna give you food, it's gotta be good. Right? I mean, it's great stuff, but they wanted the old lifestyle. It was the world they never cut themselves off from. So, they said, "We want flesh. We want what we used to have." So, "He caused an east wind to blow," Psalms 78:26, "and by His power, He brought in the south wind, and He rained flesh all over them like dust." Can you imagine that? They got a bird storm. Listen, Alfred Hitchcock wasn't the first one to come up with this idea.
God literally drowned them in a pile of birds. They had 'em everyplace. And he let it all fall in the middle of their camp, everywhere around their habitations. So, they did eat. I mean, they went for it. And they were well-filled. And He gave them their own desire. They were not even estranged from their desire; it never changed their desire, at all. And while the food was still in their mouth, the wrath of God came on them and slew the fattest of them, and cut down the chosen men of Israel. For all this, they sin, still, and believe not in his wondrous works. He started them with the food in their mouth. God had made his provisions and said, "I want to feed you what I want to feed you." They said, "We want what the world has." That's the first thing. God help us as individuals not to lust after the things that the world has. To be content. To seek ye first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness.
And it isn't always a question of what you have. It's a question of what you want. Some people have nothing, and they look like their just living for the Kingdom. And their lusting for all the stuff they can't afford. Some people have things, like God's grace. And they can accept them as gifts and not lust after them. But, that's a tough thing to do. Worldliness. Worldliness will disqualify a church, just like it'll disqualify an individual. When you hanker more for the stuff of the world than you do for the things that God gives to feed the soul.
Second, idolatry. Verse 7, "To be idolaters," as were some of them. As it is written, "The people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play." You remember Exodus 32; they build a golden calf, didn't they? And I believe if you study that text, you will find out that that golden calf was supposed to represent...shock, but true, Jehovah God. It was not a false God; it was Jehovah they were representing. Because, it says, "Let us make a feast to Jehovah" in verse 5 of Exodus 32. Verse 4 says, "To the God who brought us out of Egypt." They had reduced the true God to an idol. What a confusion of Paganism and the worship of Jehovah.
And in that same chapter it says, "They were naked." So, they were having an orgy there. They had taken Pagan orgiastic Canaanite Baal worship, and they had mingled it with the true worship of Jehovah. The mishmash came out worshipping a golden calf in the name of El Ahim and doing it in an orgy. And Aaron is there with a silly grin on his face, watching it all happen. In fact, he was in charge of collecting the gold to melt down to make the calf. And Moses was up getting the Law of God. Idolatry.
Here is God's man wanting to bring his people the Word of the Living God. And they're down here, and all they want is to fill themselves with their own idols of their own making. And what they wanted was the kind of idol that would allow them to have an orgy. See, people want to create the kind of God's that are tolerant Gods. Don't they? They wanna have the kind of Jesus who doesn't mind what they do. See?
I see that happen in so many churches. We just teach love. If you saw the Donohue show this weekend, there was a girl on there who wants to be married by her pastor, and then she posed in a pornographic pose in Playboy magazine. And he refused to marry her to this guy. And so she wanted to go...and she went on the Donohue show to tell the whole world what this pastor had done to her. She said, "It's none of his business. It's my right if I want to," she used the word fornicate "with my boyfriend for several years, and if I wanna pose in Playboy. Jesus would never condemn me for that." She said. "Jesus loves me. I believe in Jesus. I'm a Christian. I believe in his death and resurrection." She went on to say all that. "Jesus would never condemn me for that, and I don't think it's right for him to condemn me."
Listen, if you could have a Jesus like that, people will line up to sign up or that Jesus. The whole place applauded like mad when the girl said that. Oh, you can preach that kind of Christianity and stack 'em in. Because people love a religion that doesn't put any compunctions on their immorality. And to...that's exactly where the Israelites were. Hey, they wanted to worship God, only they wanted to reduce God to a form where he would tolerate their orgies. See? This is the kind of idol men create. And a church can come to the point where it restructures God to be the kind of God that tolerates all their excesses. And they've got an idol, not the true God. And it's that kind of idolatry that begins to destroy and disqualify.
I'll promise you, as long as I have life and breath, as long as God keeps me in this place, Grace Church will never have a God other than the true God. Never an idol in this place. An idol who tolerate evil or tolerates sin or requalifies who God is or redefines who Jesus Christ is or what the Gospel or what the Bible teaches. We cannot create another God, as so many have...so many have. The namby-pampy milk-toast God of tolerance is not the God of Scripture.
There's no place for idols, and we have a lot of idols in our society, even beyond recreating God, a lot of idols: fame, money, sports, education, entertainment, music, food, clothes, cars, houses, comfort and any combination of the above. And we bow down so often, God help us. Ezekiel 14:3, I think it is, says, "They have set up idols in their hearts." It can be done so easily, and it's a disqualifier. It'll destroy the church.
Third sin is listed in verse 8. Just briefly to mention it because - oh, I might comment on the end of verse 7. It says there, "The people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play." That's a very interesting quote out of Exodus 32:6. When they had the golden calf built, they had a big feast. They wanted to gorge themselves and eat, and so they had this big feast. And everybody sat down and ate and drank. It was not the way it ought to have been. They were gluttonous and, no doubt, drunken. They ate and drank. And then it says, "They rose up to play," and the word "play" is the word used for the conjugal caress in Genesis 26 when Isaac was caressing Rebecca. And the old King James says he was "sporting" with her. But that's a conjugal caress. They were in an orgy. And later in the chapter, it says they were naked. So when they rose up to play, they rose up to play that way, in an illicit, orgiastic manner.
They had a god, finally, who would allow them to live any way they wanted to live. They redefined God. Then, in verse 8, it says, "Neither let us commit fornication as some of them committed, and in one day, 23,000 were slain." That's right. Numbers 25:9 says the total was 24,000...23,000 one day and 1,000 more the next day. And they were disqualified from their usefulness because they were living pornographically. They were living pornea, fornication, sexual sin. And that word is so big, it means sex with women, sex with men, sex with beasts, anything. It's very broad, any kind of sexual immorality.
Boy, we live in a day when that is rampant. It's rampant. Imagine somebody standing on national television saying, "I'm a Christian. I believe in Jesus Christ. And if I want to fornicate with my boyfriend, that's my privilege." There was a day not long ago when people would no more say that then any kind of evil thing. I mean, you wouldn't think of saying such a thing. But now, you can say it and say you're a Christian, so accepted. And when you say it, and it's true about you, you're disqualified. 23,000 people died in one day.
And the Corinthians were into this. Back in chapter 5, it says they had gone so far as some of them were having sexual relationships with their father's wife, probably a step-mother. In chapter 6, they were joining themselves to harlots. Remember that? He says, "You're joining yourself to a harlot, and you're a Christian. Therefore, you're one with Christ. So when you join to a harlot, you join Christ to a harlot, unspeakable thought."
And I don't care what privilege you've had - and I've seen it happen to individuals, greatly privileged individuals, greatly privileged in the ministry, men called and gifted by God who longed after the world and became drunken. I know one man went right out of the ministry because he wanted to pay golf more than he wanted to do anything else. Got to gambling for big amounts on the golf course, was utterly disqualified from spiritual service and died in disgrace. The world can attack us many ways, and immorality is one that is just rampant in the area of disqualification. And if a church ever tolerates that kind of thing, it will become as disqualified as the individual who does it. And so immorality.
There's a fourth abuse in verse 9: "Neither let us put Christ to the test as some of them also tested and were destroyed by serpents." Serpents. It's kind of an interesting thought. What does it mean to put Him to the test? It means to push as hard as you can against the edges of your liberty and see how much God'll tolerate. Just keep doing it and keep doing it. "Well, I've gotten away with it. I've gotten away with it." And just keep pushing and pushing on the walls. And, ultimately, you will be disqualified for service. That's a disqualifier. That's what he's saying. It'll disqualify an individual. It'll disqualify a church, an assembly of people. And you remember, they did that. In Numbers 21, they kept complaining and complaining and complaining. And they kept pushing and pushing and pushing with their complaint and their complaint and their complaint until finally God just sent fiery snakes and bit 'em, and they started to die all over the place. You can only picks up God's tolerance so far.
You see, the question you ask is not, "How much can we get away with?" It's, "How much can we be like Christ?" Isn't that right? And when you've had great privilege, that doesn't give you great latitude. That ought to give you great constriction. It's a very opposite thing. So they pushed and pushed, and God sent snakes. And they died all over the place.
And there's a final sin, kind of remarkable. Verse 10: "Neither murmur ye as some of them, also, murmured and were destroyed by the Destroyer." This is complaining. You see, I can understand worldliness, idolatry, immorality and testing God, or presumption, but how in the world do you get complaining in here? That seems like just your average normal-day duty. That's just pretty routine stuff. You know what's so serious about complaining? Complaining says, "God, stop doing what you're doing and do what I tell you. I don't like the circumstances. I don't like the program. I don't like the way this is working out. I don't like the one situation you've put me in. I want another one. I don't like what you're feeding me. I want this. I don't like where I am. I wanna be there." That is a blow struck against the purpose of God. Do you see that? It isn't just a minimal deal; it is maximal. It is giving audible expression to unwarranted dissatisfaction, complaining about what God is doing, complaining about where God has placed you.
In Numbers 16, they did that and 14,700 people died. Corah is a Coathite. His job was to carry the Ark of the Covenant. That's all. He wasn't to do the rest of the priestly functions; he was Coathite, just carry the Ark. He started a rebellion. He said, "It isn't right. We're all holy to the Lord. We all have a right to come to the Lord. We should all be priests. And you Moses, and you Aaron, you're just taking all the authority for yourself, and you don't want anybody else messing with that priesthood because you wanna control everybody. But we all ought to be priests, and we all ought to be equal with you. So Moses said, "Good. You bring your little sensor, and we'll all show up, and we'll all have our little sensors, and we'll all come before the Lord, and we'll all act like priests, and we'll see who God accepts." And Corah and his buddies showed up, and the ground opened and swallowed them up, end of discussion.
They complained. They complained. They griped. They murmured. They wanted more authority. They wanted more power. They had as much right as anybody else. They didn't like the lot that was given to them. And they weren't alone. The rebellion ended in almost 15,000 people being killed. And who killed 'em? Verse 10 says the Destroyer. Who's that? The rabbis used to call that Mashif, that is the destroyer angel, the judgment angel. It's the same angel that slew the first born in Egypt in Exodus 12, the same angel ready to slay in the plagues of Jerusalem, 2 Samuel 24, the same angel who destroyed the Assyrians in 2 Chronicles 32. He is the angel of God who goes out to execute. Death to the complainers.
Well, we could develop each of these so much. What is Paul saying to the Corinthians? "Look, you who have received maximal privilege, that does not give you the right to abuse that grace. You better bring yourself into control by the power of the Spirit, and you better not abuse that privilege by worldliness, by idolatry, by immorality, by presumption or by complaining." Flirting with the world and all of its idols and its morals and pushing the patience of God to its limits and complaining when we don't get what we want when we want it can only result in disqualification of an individual or disqualification of a church.
People, because we have been so privileged, we have tremendous responsibility. We go from assets to abuses to an admonition. The admonition in verse 11: "Now, all these things happened unto them for examples and are written for our admonition, to admonition us, or rather, exhort us upon whom the ends of the ages are come." The ends of ages simply means the Messianic time. That designates the period from the first coming of Christ to His kingdom. We're living in that time. All of those things happened as examples to us.
And what are they supposed to teach? What is the admonition? It's right in verse 12. Here it is: "Let him that thinks he stands take heed," what, "lest he fall." Just when you thought you're invulnerable, you're really in a fatal situation. When you thought you can let go of everything and live any way you want and push it all away to the edge and get away with it, you are really in a serious situation. And that brings us to the last.
You say, "John, but it's so hard to fight off these temptations. I'm just a victim. I can't help it. The world's heavy on me. And the pressure's great. And I'm not responsible. I'm just a human person. I'm just a sinner. And the world's all around me. And I can't handle it. And you can't blame me for it. That's just the way it is. It happens to, oh, it seems like so many groups. And everybody tends to fall under the same kinds of patterns, so I just can't accept the responsibility." Wait a minute.
Verse 13 is the advantage. And this is the end. "There has no temptation taken you but such as is common to man." Now, what does that mean? That is, it is on a human level. It is not so superhuman that you can't deal with it." That's what he says. It is not so powerful coming from a supernatural source that it is beyond you. It is something that is normal for men. "But God is faithful, who will not allow you, ever, to be tempted above what you're able to handle. He would never allow you to be blasted by supernatural satanic forces to a degree that you couldn't handle but will always, along with the temptation, make what? The way to escape that you may be able to endure." That's the advantage.
This is the climax to everything people. Look. We have great privilege. We stand in great danger. But if we fall, whose fault is it? It's ours because we have the advantage. What is the advantage? No temptation coming to us is ever more than we can bear. And in every one of those, God is faithful and able to make what? The way of escape. And so we have the resource we need for victory. There's no reason, then, for an individual to be a castaway, to be disqualified, and there's no reason for a church, either. God help us to make the most of our spiritual privilege.
Shall we bow in prayer? Just silently in your own heart, I want you to pray. In just the minute before we close, I want you to ask the Lord to help you in your own personal life to find the way of escape when these temptations come to you. I want you to pray right now for your own self that you would not become disqualified. And then that you would pray for this church the same thing.
That's our prayer, Father, for each of us, for all of us together who live in the danger of spiritual privilege, who are tempted to lean on the God who is faithful, who will always make a way of escape. Thank you for that promise. May we use our advantage rather than letting the enemy have an advantage over us by our unbelief, our failure to appropriate the power that's in us (technical difficulty).
This article is also available and sold as a booklet.
This sermon series includes the following messages:
Please contact the publisher to obtain copies of this resource.Publisher Information


text:
- County Home
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- Departments E-Z
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- Byron Airport (C83)
The Byron Airport Administrative Office is located at 500 Eagle Court in Byron, CA.
Restrooms, a conference table and a picnic table that overlooks the Airport are available at the Administrative Office building.
Byron Airport has a fuel farm with 100 LL Avgas available for tenants and visiting aircraft.
T-hangars at Byron Airport are an excellent storage option for private aircraft. Click the picture above for more information on the hangar waiting list at Byron Airport.
The owner maintenance hangar at Byron is available to all tenants on a first come, first serve basis and is an ideal facility for performing simple maintenance and oil changes.
The wash rack at Byron Airport is available to all tenants.
Sheltered tie-down spaces between t-hangars provide a break from wind. Click the picture above for more information.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Former Yale Coach Going to Miami Oct. 22-23
OXFORD, Ohio - Former Yale Football Head Coach Carm Cozza, the winningest coach in Ivy League history and a member of the College Football Hall of Fame, will be honored at Miami University on Oct. 22 and 23 for being one of the "Cradle of Coaches."
Cozza, one of three former Miami players included in that weekend's events, will have his statue unveiled in a noon ceremony at Yager Stadium prior to the Miami-Ohio University football game. He will also be introduced to the crowd during the game.
A generous gift from the family of Thomas P. Van Voorhis has provided the statues for Miami University's Cradle of Coaches Plaza. The statues honor Miami graduates who have earned recognition as national collegiate or professional coaches of the year and/or been inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.
Paul Dietzel and Weeb Ewbank are the other former Miami players included that weekend. Earl "Red" Blaik, Paul Brown, Ara Parseghian, John Pont and Bo Schembechler will also have statues unveiled during the fall of 2011.
The Cradle of Coaches Plaza was first inspired by a generous gift from Miami graduates and long-time supporters Bob and Marian Kurz.
Cozza was sculpted by renowned artist Kristen Visbal of Lewes, Delaware. Visbal was selected for that project through an international competition, and her works can be found throughout the United States.


text:
The International Baccalaureate Program at Highland is getting ready for its second year, starting in September of 2013.
"Right now we are processing applications for current Grade 10 students who wish to be a part of the IB program in the fall," states program co-ordinator Andrew Black.
"We welcome students from across the district and beyond and are anticipating our first international student this year. We have excellent candidates from Vanier and Isfeld, in addition to those from Highland."
Fortunately, Highland still has some room for students interested in rising to the challenge of the academically rigorous IB Diploma. The attraction of honours-level courses in Grades 11 and 12, the possibility of earning first-year university or college credit, the focus on international and intercultural understanding, and the emphasis on personal growth are central to an IB education.
"An IB Diploma is recognized worldwide. A student who earns an IB diploma will be very well-prepared for his or her post-secondary studies," states Highland principal Lyneita Swanson. "Studies consistently reveal that IB learners are better able to meet the academic challenges they will face at University or college.
"Their acceptance rates are higher, as are their retention rates and their grades. They are also eligible for generous IB-specific scholarships."
But IB is not all about academics. It takes a holistic approach to education, emphasizing artistic, creative, and social growth.
"All IB Diploma students also complete the CAS component of the program," explains Rob Grantham, Highland's CAS co-ordinator. "CAS stands for Creativity, Action, and Service, and it engages students in creative endeavours, physical activities, and service to others. IB strives to create well-rounded, contributing citizens who are aware of the wider world and involved in making it a better place."
IB students do not have to be geniuses. They do have to be motivated to succeed and curious about the world around them. A strong work ethic is crucial.
Students currently in Grade 9 can prepare for IB by taking honours courses in their Grade 10 year. Highland offers a full suite of Grade 10 honours courses, taught primarily by IB-trained teachers and designed to prepare students for the IB program. Taking French to the Grade 10 level is strongly recommended.
"Students in the Comox Valley have always had access to an excellent education. Having access to the world's most recognized and respected academic credentials further enhances the educational opportunities of valley students," says Black. "It's difficult to understand the attraction of expensive private schools when such a program is offered locally."
For more information or to register, please check out the IB program at Highland's website (www.highlandsecondary.ca) or contact Andrew Black at firstname.lastname@example.com.
— Highland Secondary School


text:
February 23-27
I was on vacation in Sarasota, Florida, a couple of weeks ago visiting my brother and his family. I've been down there a few times now and have happily made the Sarasota YMCA (the Evalyn Sadlier Jones Branch)—which is just a few miles from their neighborhood—my home away from home (away from home). What an amazing fitness facility and what an incredibly talented staff.
It doesn't matter what time I've gone or what class I've selected, the place has always been a beehive of activity with a very positive vibe and a strong community feel. There are people of every age (including my 20-month old niece, who gets well taken care of in the child care center while her Mom is doing yoga or cardio or while her Dad is playing racquetball) doing a host of different activities at any given time.
I am especially impressed by the group exercise programming and staff. The array of classes and sheer number of instructors is mind boggling. Wellness director Gillian da Silva and wellness coordinator Jennifer Hawkins do a brilliant job of scheduling and showcasing both the staff and menu of classes. There is a wonderful board of photos and well-written bios for each instructor just outside the main group ex room. I somehow found the instructors who taught my classes to be more approachable because I was able to read about their interests, certifications and fitness specialty areas before I even took their classes. I felt like I already knew them a little bit. Group Ex directors take note—use this subtle method of marketing your instructors to members to create a comfort level among participants.
Over the course of a few days and in addition to use of the cardio facilities and gorgeous 50 meter pool, I attended Slow Sculpt, mat Pilates and Muscle Works. Thank you to the very lively and fun Barbara, Beth and Noshayah for sharing their considerable knowledge and enthusiasm with me and others during these classes.
On a final note, I'll say that I was incredulous as to how well-ordered the considerable amount of equipment in the main group ex room was. The resistance bands were impeccably hung by color, the dumbbells were racked in the proper slots (which never happens in my gym); the body bars were stood by color like little soldiers in their proper bins…and everyone respectfully put things back exactly where they found them. Maybe when participants find things in order, they take the time to put them back, too? Try it at your facility and let me know if it works!
I'll be back in Sarasota for another visit soon and will look forward to seeing my newfound friends there again! Thanks for your hospitality.
Anyone who knows me out there well understands that I could wax on forever about food, recipes, wine and the culinary arts in general. I try to go to at least one cooking class per month to keep myself in the game. Wednesday night I attended a terrific class with IDEA Fitness Journal art director Esther Coit, who shares my food passion. We are both fairly accomplished cooks, so it's not always easy finding a class that is different enough to justify the money and time, but we scored a bulls eye last night when we picked "An Evening With Rancho La Puerta Spa and Deborah Schneider."Schneider, a San Diego chef and cookbook author, recently collaborated with spa legend Deborah Szekely on a new book, Cooking With the Seasons at Rancho La Puerta (2008, Stewart, Tabori & Chang), from which the evening's recipes were derived. Szekely, who founded Rancho La Puerta in the 1940s, was honored in 2007 as our first Inner IDEA Inspiration Award recipient.The book itself is a visual feast, with photos that glisten and pop off the page, and that will seriously make you drool if you haven't had a meal recently. If the 8 recipes Schneider prepped from the book are any indication of the rest of the content, I'll say now the book is a total winner. I won't go through the entire menu, but will mention that for dessert we had "midnight" chocolate cake with coconut ice, chocolate drizzle and peanuts a la mode. This is spa food, people. Schneider told the class that she "eats like a lumberjack" whenever she's down there and inevitably comes home 5 pounds lighter. This speaks volumes about the powerful equation of whole, organic foods—lovingly prepared—plus focused physical activity.The recipes we tried had a largely Mexican influence (owing to the spa's Baja roots and the influence of Rancho La Puerta Chef Jesus Gonzalez), and were infused with color, crunch and outrageous flavor. I can't wait to dive into the book and try my hand at some of the menus.Do you go to cooking classes? Do your clients? What have you learned that has been of value to you as a fitness pro? Did you know IDEA has been covering nutrition and food issues for many years now? Our "Food For Thought" section in IDEA Fitness Journal is devoted to food and nutrition news and science. We also have a monthly food focus and a featured healthy recipe every issue. You can access these any time by going to the Online Library and typing the keyword "Recipes" into the search bar. We have more than 5,000 articles in the Library that are ready and waiting for you.Meantime, what food issues would you like to see covered? Let me know by adding a comment to this blog.Bon appetit!
The IDEA editors have been blogging and video logging (vlogging) our events for a few years now. However, I wanted to share thoughts and observations with you on a more regular basis, so our intrepid web developers set up this blog for me. Welcome and thanks for reading! I'll look forward to hearing your feedback and insights.
Plank and push-up progression.
Master motivator Todd Durkin puts attendees through the paces with a fun "Partner Tag" drill in his "Train the Joes Like the Pros" session at the 2008 IDEA World Fitness Convention.


text: I am Cornelius, the servant of the Moore's mansion. One day something was really wrong. The mansion went really mad and everything was madness. It made my mind tricky and something evil was trying to stop me. - Our First custom story so leave comment what did u like and what u did not. It helps us to improve.


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Topic: Arkham Horror (Read 9264 times)
Frightening Fanatic of Horrible Cinema
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Re: Arkham Horror
Reply #30 on:
August 07, 2013, 12:45:52 PM »
We continue to play this on a regular basis. Games are about 2-3 hours, but our setup is usually just 10 minutes or less. We're usually playing with a single big-box expansion (Innsmouth or Dunwich).
Innsmouth is a much harder expansion. The added Deep One Rising dynamic and the movement difficulties around the town make it much worse. We've found that having the sailor investigator helps a lot, and he's got solid stats to boot.
We're still winning about 75% of our games, even with going to random character drawing (draw 3, pick 1). Some of the characters are incredibly good, like the violinist, the farm hand, the researcher, the handyman, and the photographer. I'm a big fan of the photographer.
Our latest game was against Shub-Niggurath, and that was a tough game. Its power of increasing every monster's toughness by 1 made keeping the board clear of tentacles and teeth a lot harder. I had 2 injury and 2 madness cards at the end. We were not able to seal the gates fast enough and the Ancient One awoke. We did manage to defeat it in the final battle, though 2 out of 4 were devoured before it went down.
We started another game, and the Ancient One is Chaugnar Faugn. Wish us luck!
Andrew Borntreger
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Re: Arkham Horror
Reply #31 on:
August 07, 2013, 01:02:32 PM »
Chaugnar Faughn is a pain, ya.
I've been working on printing off the promotional ancient ones via the internet... if I get a good set done I'll send you a set, Andrew. When I get some product sent back to me if it turns out OK I'll PM you.
We threw down on Glaaki last time we played. It ended up going to battle with him, but the terror level was only 3 to start the battle, so we had seven rounds to beat down on him, it wasn't too bad.
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Re: Arkham Horror
Reply #32 on:
August 09, 2013, 10:39:21 AM »
Roger that, I'll have to look them up. I think I have to register on their site to see the promo content.
We lost our 3rd game against Zhar the other night. We're batting 0% against him. I think it's a combination of a relatively short doom track and having to kill him twice. Plus, with 5 players you have 10 rounds to kill him before everyone is devoured, and you always lose one player every 2 rounds. Oh, and you need both a good physical weapon and a good magical weapon to be effective for the entire battle.
Andrew Borntreger
Eye of Sauron and
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Re: Arkham Horror
Reply #33 on:
August 10, 2013, 12:00:24 AM »
I think we've beaten them all in final combat except, well Azathoth of course, and Quachil Uttaus.
We've beaten Zhar I think twice in final combat. It's really unpleasant though, you have to be ridiculously armed.
Andrew, check this thread to see the items. I should have them from the print shop tomorrow; PM me the address to send 'em to. (Do you have any friends who play who would want copies too?)
We played against revised Cthulhu tonight (the one you see in the first post in the thread that link shows). We used the ridiculously OP Patrice, Silas Marsh (yay!), Carolyn Fern, and the author on standard board plus Innsmouth. We won by gate sealing, which is fair and square against Great Cthulhu I would say. Silas won it by sealing gate #6 with his personal story, and no one got knocked out or insane for the game (which is really important against the revised Cthulhu as you can see). We actually didn't allow any terror level rises either.
Remember that in final battle you can trade items amongst investigators, and that includes spells. Against Zhar that is key. Not letting it wake up is, of course, preferred though.
Eye of Sauron and
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Re: Arkham Horror
Reply #34 on:
August 10, 2013, 06:44:11 PM »
Down goes Yibb-Tstll. We won by sealing -- played the photographer, waitress, psychic and entertainer.
Lambeau (the entertainer) has the equivalent of 3 spellcasting hands, and she had TWO wither spells, one shrivelling spell, and one dread curse of Azathoth. Plus a couple of conventional weapons, very nice!
Innsmouth tried to get out of hand toward the end but we maintained discipline and Darrell (who was deputized) managed to get 5 clues together and sealed gate #6.
Eye of Sauron and
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Re: Arkham Horror
Reply #35 on:
August 20, 2013, 12:01:18 AM »
First game against Daoloth. I played McGlenn and Mark Harrigan... two 7 stamina 3 san characters, always feels like living dangerously. Fawn played the almighty Patrice and the just about as almighty photographer.
We won by gate sealing, but innsmouth was getting utterly out of hand, monsters everywhere, and the Uprising track was at 4. I looked at the mythos cards after we won, and we had two turns left before Daoloth would have awakened. Would have been a nasty final battle. We drew a foul mythos card that has a headline that gets rid of "all clue tokens" on the board... gaaah. Didn't draw it early in the game at least.
Patrice drew a completely OP item (for her especially) called the Illuminated Manuscript. Can exhaust it to do a skill check for a clue token each turn, at cost of 2 movement.
We were subjected to I think three of those monster surge gate scrambles that Daoloth does. Two of us were lost in time and space when our gates were scrambled out from under us in other worlds. Had decent weaponry to fight back through to the gates, though.
All in all, nasty Ancient One. Particularly if you are playing with Innsmouth because you really *have* to seal that gate on Devil's Reef and in the Esoteric Order of Dagon if they appear.
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Re: Arkham Horror
Reply #36 on:
August 20, 2013, 11:32:15 AM »
Zap, that game against Daoloth sounds like it was a good one. Really enjoy games like that, and we've had two lately. We still have not faced Daoloth.
We finally beat Zhar last night, and it was crazy at the end. We had 5 characters: Jim Culver, Hank Samson, Patrice Hathaway, Kate Winthrop, and Tommy Muldoon. We were always short of money, but managed to luck out on obtaining weapons so that everybody had at least two. In addition, Hank picked up Tom "Mountain" Williams as an ally, and was completely unstoppable in combat. In one round he took out a huge stack of monsters.
Garrett, who was playing Hank, was ecstatic. We were at 5 elder signs on the board, with two people down gates, and then all heck broke loose. 3 gate bursts later, Zhar woke up and we went to final combat. He devoured 3 of us, but luckily Tommy and Hank were the last two in the rotation for first character. They took him out.
The only reason we made it was all of the weapons, plus when the doom track got its last token Patrice had 17 (count them, 17) clue tokens that she gave to Kate (who had the shotgun and fight skill). She took a hunk out of Zhar right away.
Andrew Borntreger
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Re: Arkham Horror
Reply #37 on:
September 16, 2013, 09:40:00 AM »
A thread box which can be purchased at your typical craft shop is an inexpensive option of organizing the fiddly bits.
For those times when you're in an Arkham Horror mood but don't feel like going through the set-up process, there's Elder Sign. In essence, it's a scaled-back, dice-based version of Arkham Horror. The action takes place in the Miskatonic University Exhibit Museum and the object is to complete adventures and collect enough Elder Signs to seal away the Ancient One. Direct combat with the Ancient One is far more difficult than in Arkham Horror, but sealing it away is somewhat easier.
And speaking of dice-based games (and because this is a forum on a B-movie site), I tried out King of Tokyo at the last Guns of August gaming convention. Basically you're kaiju duking it out with each other and causing property insurance premiums in Tokyo to skyrocket. The dice results on your turn can be used to inflict damage, score victory points, heal damage, and gain energy points to obtain new powers. One of my favorites among the powers is Friend of All Children. I can't recall what it does, but you've gotta love the Gamera reference.
And to close off, let's dip into one of the silly Lovecraft games. In this case, I'm thinking of Miskatonic Schools for Girls. When I saw that one at the Dealers' Room at Guns of August 2012, I knew I had to buy it, even without knowing what kind of game it was. As it happens, it's a deck builder. However, it's one where you can build your opponent's deck. The object is to recruit students into your house while inflicting faculty on other houses. The student cards have feminized versions of Lovecraft protagonist names like Hannah Armitage and Erica Zann, while the faculty consist of eldritch abominations and human minions from the same stories.
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Save time
Focus on your Art
Impress your clients
Then we bet you will love our iPhone web based version.
You can easily check you comments and answer while you are keeping moving.
Just browse http://upshotapp.com with you iPhone
More information here.
Au bout de quelques clics je suis déjà fan. [...] L'interface est simple et efficace. Un must.
This is a great idea. I think it's perfect for design studios. It's a wicked idea, I know people need it.


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Neo4J with Scala Play! 2.0 on HerokuIn this new posts series I'll try to gather all steps of a spike I did building a prototype using scala and a graph database.
Chosen TechnologiesPlay! Framework as the web framework, in its 2.0 version built from sources.
Neo4J as the back end service for storing graph data.
Scala for telling the computer what it should do...
Here is an overview of what will be covered in the current suite.
- How to install Play! 2.0 from Git (or download the last version that must be > beta)
- Install Neo4J and run it in a Server Mode. Explain its REST/Json Interface.
- Create a Play! project. Update it to open it in IDEA Community Edition.
- An introduction of the Json facilities of Play! Scala. With the help of the SJson paradigm.
- Introduction of the Dispatch Scala library for HTTP communication.
- How to use effeciently Dispatch's Handler and Play!'s Json functionality together. Create generic Neo4J nodes using the result.
- Enhance the previous work to create a persistent service that can re/store domain model instances.
- Create some views (don't bother me for 'em … I'm not a designer ^^) using Scala templates and Jquery ajax for browsing model and creating instances.
- Deploy the whole stuffs on Heroku.
Play 2.0 FrameworkThis post intent is not to explain how powerful is Play framework (2.0) is. For that I'd recommend this wiki page.
However we'll explain all needed steps to build it from sources.
When I first wronte this post, the released version wasn't suficient for what I needed to do with Neo4J. But now you could just download the RC2 and unzip it somewhere, find it here.
PrerequesitesIn this section, we'll assume that you've already setup your scala and git environment (oh yeah and the JDK as well, and not the JRE only! we'll need javac). If not please refer to those sites:
- http://www.scala-lang.org/node/201
- http://help.github.com/set-up-git-redirect
G[e/i]t sourcesFirst of all, open your preferred Git tool and retrieve the sources (warn: choose a unix like path, otherwise you might encountered problems with spaces for instance).
Use git clone git://github.com/playframework/Play20.git. And wait for having all sources downloaded.
First step in sbtSeconds later, open a console and do the following to run the built tool used by Play 2.0, that is sbt.
cd Play20/framework
This will launch the embedded sbt (0.11.2) which needs some libraries automatically fetched.
Build and fetchWhile being in the sbt-console, you can now ask sbt to build the framework and fill in the local Ivy repository with needed libraries (Play2.0 runtime deps).
Enter build-repository in the console and hit enter.
Minutes later, you"ll be able to quit the console by CTRL+D, and to check what happens in you Play20 folder.
Actually, aside the framework folder, you have now a folder named repository that contains every needed deps (includind play).
Let's check by listing all files in play: ls Play20/repository/local/play and find libraries such play, anorm, template for the scala 2.9.1 version.
You've just finished the Play2.0 installation.
You can, for convenience, update your PATH to point to the Play20 folder (where resides the play executable)
Let's move to the Neo4J setup


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Global stocks rise on stronger European growth
LONDON (AP) — Global stock markets pushed higher on Friday on news that Europe's economic recovery gathered some speed at the end of 2013.
The eurozone currency bloc saw its economy grow 0.3 percent in the fourth quarter, above expectations for 0.2 percent. That shows the recovery is getting a foothold, both in the larger economies like Germany and weaker ones like Italy. However, growth remains timid by historical standards and is unlikely to make a dent in the high unemployment rate.
"The eurozone has been proceeding slightly faster than expected," said Tom Rogers, senior economic adviser at EY. He nevertheless predicts that growth will not be any higher than a muted 1 percent in 2014.
Germany's DAX rose 0.7 percent to close at 9,662.40 while the CAC-40 in France gained 0.6 percent to 4,340.14. Britain's FTSE 100 index edged up 0.1 percent to 6,663.62.
The FTSE MIB in Italy, which saw its first economic growth since 2011, rose a stronger 1.6 percent. The Milan index was also helped by an expected handover of power in the government, with a new prime minister expected to take over and give new momentum to structural reforms.
Wall Street likewise pushed higher, with the S&P 500 up 0.2 percent at 1,834.21 and the Dow 0.5 percent higher at 16,102.59. Investors looked past 0.8 percent plunge in factory production in January, as they were likely weighed by the harsh winter weather.
Earlier, in Asia, Chinese shares rose after a report showed the inflation rate was steady in January. Analysts said that will reduce concerns of an inflation spike for communist leaders as they try to deliver on ambitious promises of reforms aimed at making the economy more productive and keeping incomes rising.
China's Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.8 percent and Hong Kong's Hang Seng added 0.6 percent.
South Korea's Kospi rose 0.7 percent. But Japan's Nikkei 225 dropped 1.5 percent to 14,313.03 as the yen strengthened against the dollar, a negative for share prices of exporters.
In other markets, the benchmark U.S. crude contract for March delivery was down 34 cents at $100.01 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract eased 2 cents to close at $100.35 on Thursday.
In currency trading, the euro rose 0.1 percent to $1.3691 while the dollar fell 0.3 percent to 101.83 yen.
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text: Find this wine Find this wine Tapiz Malbec 2007 Pin It Tweet 8 years ago by Pemabray More posts Tapiz Malbec 2011 Bottle Malbec- wine tasting - very good! -20 5 years ago by Randycon Tapiz Malbec 2011 Malbec- EXCELLENT!!!-20 5 years ago by Randycon Tapiz Joven Malbec 2012 Ganska sträv smak. Röda bär, vanilj, ek. 5/10 6 years ago by Gamlahamn Tapiz Tradicion Blend 2011 Bevmo 5 cent sale. Enjoyed it - was used to the malbec, but this was a blend 2011. Didn't list the varietals in it. 6 years ago by Mark S. Tapiz Malbec 2011 Always yummy! 6 years ago by Mark S.


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Jimmit needed a new logo design and created a contest on 99designs.
A winner was selected from 138 designs submitted by 22 freelance designers.
MateRun is an app for people who don't like running on their own. Here you can schedule a run anonymously and then let anyone in the area join. You wont know who the other runners are until you meet at a public place that the app have suggested.
Have in mind that it is easy to run, and its very fun to do it with friends. Let the logo breath happiness and getting socially together.
Find out how a design contest works or learn more about our logo design services.


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The Santa Fe OperaDiscover our 2019 Season
ANNOUNCING OURLearn More
Plan your opera evenings
Select your arrival and departure dates to find out what's onstage during your stay.
Discover the Santa Fe Opera
The Santa Fe Opera is renowned worldwide for its contribution to a living art form, and for the passion it inspires in performers and audiences alike.
Media Lounge
Santa Fe Opera's Media Lounge offers resources for the media including news releases, downloadable photos, and media kits.
"Graduates" of our Singer and Technician Apprentice Programs are active worldwide in opera, theater, ballet, film and television.
Opera Blog
Get the inside scoop on all things Santa Fe Opera including stories on our history, theatre, staff, and more.
Shop the Opera
Visit the Opera Shop for an extensive range of merchandise. From practical to whimsical, you'll find gifts for all ages and in all price ranges.


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GUJRANWALA: The Pakistan Air Force (PAF) has gifted an old aircraft F-7 to the people of Gujranwala which is being installed near the Model Town crossing on GT Road.
A meeting chaired by Gujranwala Division Commissioner Shumail Ahmad Khwaja had decided to request the PAF authorities for the provision of an old aircraft to be installed in the city as part of the beautification project.
GDA Director-General Syed Hasan Raza Jaffry wrote to the PAF authorities which accepted the request and sent the aircraft to the site in a trailer.
The GDA authorities say the process of installation of the aircraft will be completed within a few days.


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Nov. 9 – TAUWP & Unionization – Brown Bag Lunch
Tuesday, November 9, Noon-1 p.m.
Location: Alumni AB, University Union
UW-Green Bay Academic Staff now have the right to determine whether they would like to have union representation. Get information to help you make an informed decision when the time comes. The Association of University of Wisconsin Professionals (TAUWP) and its parent organization, the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), will discuss the process of collective bargaining followed by a question and answer session.
Presenters: Mike Coutley, AFT organizer and David Dolan, TAUWP chapter president
Presentation handouts:
(Downloaded from http://aftwhighered.org/)
- The Union and Academic Staff [pdf]
- How Do We Form a Union [pdf]
- 10 Common Myths about Academic Unions [pdf]
- Know Your Rights [pdf]


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Just as there are so many beautiful trees in nature, there are what can seem like an overwhelming number of choices of hardwood flooring. Typically the "interior fashion" part of the decision comes down to your personal preference for color, width, species, and character. The "construction" factor will depend on where you want to install your flooring.
Deciding on Color: The color of hardwood flooring can be a result of the natural tones of the species, or the addition of stain color in the manufacturing process. Many species are offered with a natural finish—which consists of a clear sealer and topcoat that provides wear protection, while allowing the natural beauty of the species to come through. Species in their natural state can range from very light (maple), to naturally dark tones (walnut) and reddish tones (Brazilian cherry). Many species, such as hickory, tiger wood, and even some grades of maple, will have very pronounced shading variations from board to board because of the natural color differences between sapwood and heartwood. Oak is a popular, durable species that is typically offered in a range of stain colors—golden browns, reddish hues, all the way to rich, chocolate browns. Whatever your preference, be prepared for the color to change, sometimes dramatically, from the initial color upon installation. With exposure to ultraviolet light, natural wood floors, just like your own skin, will change color and darken. For example, exotic species such as Tiger Wood and Brazilian Cherry become darker and more red. It's part of the patina that is a beautiful aspect of real wood.
What Width to Choose: This is entirely a design preference. If you're looking for a sleek, modern, linear design, consider narrower "strip" flooring in 2-1/4" and 3-1/4" widths. Wider width flooring, such as 4" and 5" plank is becoming increasingly popular. You can really get creative and mix widths to create an alternating width pattern, such as 3"-4"-5"-3"-4"-5". You can use differing widths to create a feature border in a room. You are only limited by your imagination to create a truly unique style in your space.
Selecting Species: While oak is a widely accepted and popular choice for flooring, other domestic and imported species are in great demand as homeowners seek to make a personal statement in their homes. Because of the availability of oak, it can be an economical choice for flooring. In North America, Appalachian Oak is considered to be extraordinary, due to growth conditions in the region that produce beautiful grain patterns. When choosing oak, look for brands, such as Somerset Hardwood Flooring, that don't mix red and white oak, or you could have issues down the road if you choose to sand and refinish (red and white oak take stain differently). If you're looking for an alternative to oak—something different and eye-catching to act as a focal point in a room, consider an exotic species such as acajou, tiger wood, or sagebrush. Hickory, maple, American cherry, and walnut are domestic species that offer beautiful grain patterns and rich colorations. Also, you may want to compare species using the Janka® hardness scale as a point of reference. Some hardwood flooring species are relatively harder than others—but realize that all real wood flooring, being natural, will dent and mar under certain conditions.
Character Options: Today, manufacturers are offering styles of rustic hardwood flooring that feature character ranging from natural knots and markings to handscraped options that have scraping and applied character. This rustic treatment can add texture and charm to a space. A bonus with handscraped flooring is that as your family lives on and grows with the floor, any additional marks made will tend to blend in with the look and be the character—and history—you add to the floor.
Solid vs. Engineered Construction: The other determining factor in choosing the right hardwood floor for your home will be where you plan to install. Engineered flooring can be installed virtually anywhere in your home, where solid flooring must be installed above grade (ground level) only, making it unsuitable for sunken areas or basements. Some manufacturers offer some species and colors in both solid and engineered construction, so you can achieve a unified look on multiple levels and in different rooms. Also, because of the natural properties of wood, it should not be installed in environments (such as full baths) where water, steam, and humidity can affect the structure of the wood. If you do so, be prepared that your warranty may not cover any damage resulting from exposure to these conditions.
If you are considering hardwood flooring for your home, congratulations. You will be making an investment in something that is much more than a floor covering—it's a floor that will become an integral part of your home. When properly cared for, a real hardwood floor is designed to last the life of your home, adding value and enjoyment. You can dress up your hardwood flooring with area rugs, to add another layer of style. If your decorating taste changes down the road, you can refinish to change the color and have a brand new look. What other floor is so versatile?! No two floors are alike, just as no two trees are alike. What a great addition to your unique space!


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Help for Underpaid Job Seekers: How to Handle a Below-Market Salary History
There are dozens of reasons why workers sometimes end up earning far less than they're really worth. These are tough economic times, and statistics show that the overall pace of raises and salary increases has declined for employees in virtually every industry.
Sometimes, accepting lower-than-ideal pay is a necessity. Maybe you were less than fully qualified when you took your current position and you accepted a pay cut just to gain experience. Or perhaps the only company in your field that was hiring was a small mom 'n' pop shop whose pay rates fell far below the norm.
Making Up for Lost Time
No matter how you wound up in your current predicament, now's the time to chart your course to a better salary. Maryanne Wegerbauer, author of Job Offer: A How-To Negotiation Guide, reports that the quickest way to move from underpaid to well-compensated is to launch a new job search. The average raise is just 4%, so if you start out below market value, it's unlikely that you'll ever catch up in your current position.
But if you're currently underpaid, is it possible to convince a new prospective employer to pony up extra pay? According to Wegerbauer, the answer is a definite yes. With a little research, preparation, and self-confidence, you should find yourself at the negotiating table with a new employer in no time at all. Here are a few guidelines to help you get started.
Immerse yourself in market research.
The first step in correcting your low pay is discovering the going rates for similarly experienced workers in your industry. The Internet is a great resource for market research, but make sure you're using a salary survey that is specific to your region and your industry. Survey your peers at other companies to get a more comprehensive idea of market value in your area.
Understand your true value.
Sit down with a pad and pencil and list each of your selling points as an employee – education, training, experience, special skills, and more. What are your strengths? In which areas do you excel? How does your skill set compare to others in your field?
Keep your salary to yourself unless pressed.
Once you embark on your job search, it's best to keep mum on your salary history unless and until your prospective employer begins to ask specific questions. If there's no way around it, preface the figure by saying that you know you're getting paid under market value, and offer a brief explanation of the circumstances that resulted in your less-than-ideal pay.
Add value to your brand.
While you're preparing for and conducting your job search, take every opportunity to increase your market value to prospective employers. Sign up for seminars, learn new skills, and network like crazy – do anything that demonstrates your ambition and your willingness to learn. These factors will all come into play when you're discussing salary with prospective employers.
Sell yourself.
Before you sit down to talk pay with a prospective employer, take inventory of your skills and accomplishments. Develop a concise pitch that encapsulates everything you can offer to the company, as well as a brief, honest explanation of your current pay situation and why it is not commensurate with your value. Be sure to adopt and maintain a confident tone, rather than an apologetic one.
Working your way out of an under-market-value salary can be challenging, but it can be done. Armed with market research, persistence, and an unshakable sense of your true value, you should be on the road to better pay in no time at all.
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R2 for categorical DV (Snijders & Bos...
Mplus Discussion
Multilevel Data/Complex Sample
Jorge Walter
posted on Monday, August 26, 2013 - 1:12 pm
Dear Drs. Muthen,
Complying with a reviewer comment, I am trying to calculate explained variance (R2) for a two-level model with an ordered categorical dependent variable following the recommendations of Snijders & Bosker (1999: 225-234 (available at
Now I'm having trouble understanding how to obtain the variance for the linear predictor (or fixed part) for Y as well as the intercept variance (both referenced on p. 225) from the MPlus output, which are needed to calculate their R2 in equation 14.21. Do you have any suggestions?
Thanks in advance for your help!
Bengt O. Muthen
posted on Tuesday, August 27, 2013 - 6:15 am
Mplus calculates R-2 in line with this reference. You should find this when requesting standardized solution. As the reference says, the residual variance on level 1 is 3.29 for logit and 1 for probit.
Jorge Walter
posted on Wednesday, August 28, 2013 - 10:21 am
Thanks for your answer. The reason I was trying to calculate this myself is that, in a different multilevel regression with a 1-7 Likert-type dependent variable, the Level-1 R2 I got from MPlus is substantially higher (.61 compared to .36) than the one I got from manually calculating the Level-1 R2 = (unrestricted level-1 error term � restricted level-1 error term) / unrestricted level-1 error term, with the unrestricted model containing only the dependent variable and level-1 random intercept, and the restricted model containing all level-1 and level-2 variables (Kreft and De Leeuw 1998).
Do you have any thoughts on why this discrepancy might exist?
Unfortunately, the formula above does not seem work for a categorical DV; when I try to run the unrestricted model, I get the following error message: "Variances for categorical outcomes are not allowed on the within level."
Thanks in advance for your help!
Jorge Walter
posted on Wednesday, August 28, 2013 - 5:24 pm
On a related note, which literature reference (and calculations) could I provide reviewers for MPlus's R2 calculations for multi-level models with ordinal-/interval-/ratio-scale DVs?
Thanks and best,
Bengt O. Muthen
posted on Wednesday, August 28, 2013 - 6:37 pm
Mplus computes R-2 for each level using the same principle as with simple regression:
R-2 = 1 - standardized residual variance,
Here, the standardized residual variance is the residual variance for the particular level, divided by that level's DV variance.
There is a good discussion of this in the 2nd edition of the Snijders-Bosker multilevel book of 2012, see chapter 7.
Jorge Walter
posted on Wednesday, September 04, 2013 - 7:03 am
Thanks, Bengt, much appreciated!
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text:
Major Section: PROGRAMMING
Examples: (concatenate 'string "ab" "cd" "ef") ; equals "abcdef" (concatenate 'string "ab") ; equals "ab" (concatenate 'list '(a b) '(c d) '(e f)) ; equals '(a b c d e f) (concatenate 'list) ; equals nilwhere
General Form: (concatenate result-type x1 x2 ... xn)
n >= 0 and either:
result-type is
string and each
xi is a
string; or
result-type is
list and each
xi is a true list.
Concatenate simply concatenates its arguments to form the result
string or list. Also see append and see string-append,
concatenate is probably preferable to
string-append for
Note: We do *not* try to comply with the Lisp language's insistence
concatenate copies its arguments. Not only are we in an
applicative setting, where this issue shouldn't matter for the
logic, but also we do not actually modify the underlying lisp
implementation of
concatenate; we merely provide a definition for
Concatenate is a Common Lisp function. See any Common Lisp
documentation for more information.


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Simply good for him.
The fruit of Royal Canin's Feline Nutrition expertise, the FELINE HEALTH NUTRITION chunks range is our latest breakthrough in the challenge of Health Nutrition. As always, this innovation is based on our historical philosophy: cats first.
Today, the FELINE HEALTH NUTRITION range offers mousse and chunks either in gravy or in jelly, conceived to meet cats' specific nutritional requirements, and to satisfy their demands.
Health Nutrition offers life-long benefits for your cat.
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product finderdog product finder


text:
The game you are trying to view has ceased development and consequently been archived. If you are a member of this game, can demonstrate that it is being actively developed and will be able to keep this profile up to date with the latest news, images, videos and downloads, please contact us with all details and we will consider its re-activation.
Prospekt Reborn is a 2D indie social ORPG based on our own modification of Eclipse Origins. Prospekt Reborn has unique gameplay and many tough challenges to complete. Currently it is in pre-alpha state but the server is online 24/7. Expect the Unexpected!
Only registered members can share their thoughts. So come on! Join the community today (totally free - or sign in with your social account on the right) and join in the conversation.


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This has probably been done before but...
I've noticed Lionel Messi scores most of Barcas first goals.
Would it be a good idea to stick a 10er on him each week to do so or would I end up out of pocket by the end of the season?
The odds are probably only 3/1 or 4/1 but he does score first usually.


text:
Thursday, November 15, 2012
Are You Ready for Some
Football StarCraft?
However, unlike Blizzard release dates of years past, HotS* has been announced four months in advance, on March 12, 2013. The typical Blizz release announcement is 1-2 months in advance, so more than doubling that is more than a bit unusual.
I don't think I can read too much into the release date --unless it's not quite stable enough and Blizz is confident they'll make the release date if they push it out far enough-- but what is likely is that Blizz took Christmas and sports into consideration when announcing the release date. If HotS is ready for the traditional 2 month release date, a mid-January release date is too close to Christmas to attract attention from the casual player (who most likely got a stack of games for presents). Mid-February is possible, but there's a little holiday called Valentine's Day out there that might provide some competition.** Finally, mid-March is right in the middle of the men's and women's college basketball tournament, March Madness, and right after the NFL season concludes.
Okay, what's the big deal about sports, right? Well....
I've noticed the past several Blizz releases are promoted heavily on U.S. sports broadcasts. Cata, Mists, D3, and SC2 have all been promoted heavily on ESPN, FOX Sports, and regular network sports broadcasts. Blizz would be crazy to not try to capitalize on the sporting events over January through March. I've been seeing ads for Assassin's Creed III on baseball, the Olympics, and (American) football since the summer, and believe me, Blizz took notice. They want that gamer demographic that sports broadcasts provides.
Which also begs the question: why didn't other MMO game companies, such as Funcom, Bioware, or ArenaNet, go for the same advertising target as heavily? Given the discussions in Gen Chat during the Olympics, you'd think that the sports viewer is a large part of the audience for TOR, Star Wars or no Star Wars. And The Secret World would be perfect for that subset as well, particularly given all of the crime dramas that the CBS network promotes on their sports broadcasts. It seems that these companies (as well as Turbine) relied more upon social media rather than going out and promoting their game in the same manner that Blizz does. Social media is great, but it has to be one part of a more comprehensive advertising plan.
Well, here's to the next several months, and seeing a lot of Sarah Kerrigan on the small screen!
*Hots. Yeah, that'll work for an acronym.
**I can see the YouTube video now: going out with your S.O. on Valentine's Day, or playing a video game? You decide!
5 comments:
To be honest I think it's simply a matter of price. As far as I'm aware advertising during big sports events is expensive as hell, and I don't think the smaller publishers can realistically afford that. EA probably could, but most likely they still think that it's not worth it.ReplyDeleteReplies
I've thought that too, but if you avoid the Super Bowl and the NCAA Final Four, rates ought not be that bad, particularly for college basketball.Delete
Sometimes, I do wonder about ad strategy for these games. The Secret World seems the perfect game for someone who is watching a show like American Horror Story (which, my wife tells me, is a great show) or a show like Fringe. Even if EA didn't want to spring for ads on sporting events, there are channels like SpikeTV that regularly show the Star Wars movies*, and seem to be the perfect target for these MMOs.
While I realize that better marketing of TOR and The Secret World might not be enough, but it really does help to actually make an effort. At least Age of Conan and TOR made it into episodes of the CBS comedy The Big Bang Theory, but that's not enough on its own.
*And James Bond and LotR, for that matter.
Wait.... You're up awfully late tonight.Delete
Think there might be some other forces here, specifically the high level/professional SC2 scene.ReplyDelete
The single player campaign and main single player game is assuredly completed already to blizzards satisfaction. They are still making some fairly large scale changes to multi-player however. And I'm guessing they need a basically picking a date that will allow them enough time to make these high level balance tweaks and also let Tournament Organizers know when to start switching to HoTS for their matches.
Maybe they do just want an epic Kerrigan Super Bowl commercial though.Replies
Since the professional tournaments are important enough to replace BlizzCon, I guess that those tourneys might influence release dates too. That only makes sense.Delete
I wonder if this is going to be the future, where WoW's release date will be determined by the PvPers.