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Unwavering Faith
Lesson Scripture: Daniel 3:14
f6 -25
! Lesson Aims: To understand
and appreciate the Hebrew boys'
faith victory, to trust God's
promises to the faithful and to
refrain from bowing down to
igols.
.* Background: Three years have
passed since last week's lesson.
King Nebuchadnezzar has ques
tioned the trainees; Daniel and
his three friends stand "head and
shoulders" above the rest.
They are given key positions
in the king's service. The king
then begins to have a troubling
dream. Testing his "experts," he
not only wants an interpretation,
he wants them to tell him what
the dream is! They stall, and he
becomes furious and threatens
them with their lives.
Daniel and company fall into
that category as well. When the
commander comes for them,
Daniel asks why. He then goes to
the king and asks for a little more
time. Daniel requests that his
friends pray to God that the
dream and its interpretation
might be revealed. After sharing
this new knowledge with the
king, Daniel gets a promotion
and requests that his friends get
one as well.
His friends are made adminis
trators over Babylon.
Lesson: The lesson begins
after the decree to bow down to
the golden image when musical
instruments are played.
Shadrach, Meshach, and
Abednego (remember the name
change from last week) don't fol
low the order. Apparently some
astrologers, wanting to gain favor
with the king, tell of their disobe
dience.
Nebuchadnezzar summons
them and demands an explana
tion. Their response is simple:
"We bow only to God. He has the
power to save us. But if not, we
will be faithful to him anyway."
Furious, the king orders the fur
victory of the Hebrew boys. They
Sunday School Lesson
Mildr?d Pmppmrt
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nace "fired up" (seven times hot
ter than normal), and they are
tossed in. Waiting for their ago
nizing cries, which never come,
the king is astonished, for he sees
four in the furnace instead of
three. The king says that the
fourth looks "like the son of
God." In verses 26-30, the
Hebrew boys are removed from
the fire untouched! The king
praises their faithfulness and
orders that no one is to speak
against the God of the Hebrews.
Then the three are promoted.
Application:
The Urban Ministries' publi
cation touches on the fivefold
are protected from harm, com
forted in trials, set free from
bonds, they glorified God and
are rewarded! The fires in our
lives are just as hot as those of
Shadrach, Meshach, and
Abednego. Within our families,
on our jobs, in social settings and
at church, our faith is tested.
Some look and wonder how
do we stand it. There will be situ
ations in our lives that force us to
decide whom we will serve. II
Corinthians 4:8 speaks of the
suffering along with the hope.
The Hebrew boys answer the call.
Please note that Daniel isn't
around, and yet they are faithful.
My point here is, don't rely .on
.V I /
someone else's faith ? nurture
your own. The boys share Job's
sentiment from Job 13: 15:
"Though he slay me, yet will 1
trust in him." Unwavering faith is
evident! Is our faith like that? Do
we only trust when things are
going well? Our faith journey will
give us scars, bruises, and maybe
breaks, but we are not forsaken.
Look with your spiritual eye
sometimes and not the physical
one. The picture is different. God
delivers ? on time. His word is
true and he is always faithful. On
that you can depend. What we
are to do is Have steadfast faith,
deep rooted faith, unwavering
faith in God, the omnipotent
one.
The reward isn't always finan
cial; it isn't a promotion, but joy,
unspeakable joy! When we come
out of the fire, like the Hebrew
boys, we are a little stronger and
a little wiser for the journey.
Let's put nothing before God
? ever!
Hard work, persistence pay off for Forsyth Tech grad
Olivia Gaddy, Wfho lost hmr job
of 13 yoars to downsizing,
thanks God and Forsyth Toth for
hor now position.
Olivia L. Gaddy is feeling good
about herself these days. In May
she graduated from Forsyth
Technical Community College with
an associate's degree in administra
tive office technology and a certifi
cate in clerical processing. Now she
has a new job as an administrative
assistant with the Housing
Partnership of Winston
Salem/Forsyth County Inc.
However, things have not always
fallen into place so easily for Gaddy.
For 13 years she worked as an elec
tronics assembler at AT&T and
thought her future there was secure.
Then AT&T downsized and she
was out of a job. After a period of
working for a telemarketing com
pany, Gaddy, a single parent with
three children, decided she wanted
to go back to school to get a degree.
Though she had thought about get
ting a 4-year degree, she decided to
start with a 2-year program, she
said, to see how she would do.
Gaddy began at Forsyth Tech in
1993. "I hadn't been in school for a
long time," she explained, "so I
needed to start in Pre Tech to
review. But, I was determined to
make it."
She said she was able to quit her
telemarketing job and go to school
full-time, because she qualified for
financial aid through the Financial
Aid Office at the college
Gaddy received a Pell Grant and
other scholarships, which covered
tuition and books, and she qualified
for the work-study program, which
allowed her to work on campus and
earn extra money. "If it wasn't for
the Lord Jesus Christ and Forsyth
Tech" said Gaddy, "I wouldn't be
where I am today."
Now, having completed her
degree and being happy in her new
job, Gaddy is thinking that down
the road she will go on to get her
bachelor's degree.
Z. Smith offers sabbaticals to five nonprofit leaders
A chance to get off the merry
go-round, that is what the Z.
Smith Reynolds Foundation
Sabbatical Program is offering a
select group of nonprofit organi
zational leaders from North
Carolina in 1998. Unique among
foundation efforts across the
country, this program rewards
? nonprofit leaders who have made
exceptional commitments of time,
talent and energy to their nonprof
! it organizations. Application
deadline is Dec. I.
Awards of $15,000 will be
given to five full-time paid organi
zational leaders who are experi
encing burnout and stress on the
job, and who could benefit from a
time of personal renewal and pro
fessional growth. Each individual
sabbatical applicant designs his or
her own renewal experience.
"The point is to do something
for themselves," said Tom
Lambeth, executive director of the
Foundation located in Winston
Salem. "As a result of recipients'
sabbatical activities, their organi
zations benefit from revitalized,
renewed leaders who return to
work recommitted to the chal
lenges and rewards of public ser
vice," he said.
This will be the ninth year that
the Z. Smith Reynolds
Foundation has awarded sabbati
cals. In the past, recipients have
used the time to write, to read
those books that for months or
years had been sitting on the shelf,
to study in neglected areas of
interest; to find deeper relation
ships with their families, and to
travel.
Selections are based on the
degree of need for a break from
the daily stress and challenges of
work, including the difficulty the
work environment poses, and the
potential for continuing to make a
significant contribution to their
chosen field. Preference will be
given to individuals with at least
five years experience who are
working to solve problems in any
of the five Foundation's grant
making categories. The current
grantmaking categories include
primary and secondary education,
the environment, community eco
nomic development, issues
impacting minorities, and issues
impacting women. This program
is not designed for teachers or
other career public school employ
ees.
The Foundation receives many
more requests for sabbaticals than
it can fund and hopes that organi
zations will give a high priority to
the personal development and
renewal for professionals who
work in community-based organi
zations.
Persons wishing more informa
tion on the 1997 sabbatical pro
gram should write or call:
Sabbatical Program Coordinator,
Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation
Inc., 101 Reynolda Village,
Winston-Salem. NC 27106-5199;
(910) 725-7541 or 1-800-443-8319.
Grant sends WSSU nursing student to England
When opportunity knocks, an
individual must be ready to open
the door. That is how Jerri Allen, a
senior nursing student at Winston
Salem State University, responded
to a knock. Her response enabled
her to receive a grant that made it
possible for her to spend the sum
mer studying health care at Guy's
Hospital in London, England.
Allen learned of the program
and its funding from instructors.
The Program is called "Global
Health Care" and is conducted dur
ing the summer. Funding would
provide expenses for a trip to
England and a scholarship to study
at Guy's Hospital.
Allen applied and was one of
four students selected from 30
ipplicants. Choice of awardees was
>ased on an essay and an oral
sxamination conducted by her
nstructor and a committee from
f
I. J
J*rri Allan
the Nursing Department.
While in England Allen visited
the British Museum and the old
Operating Theater in London. She
also spent a weekend in Bristol, in
the home of Mr. and Mrs. Robert
Golding. Louise Golding is a for
mer resident ol Winston-Salem and
4.
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a former member of Mount Zion
Baptist Church. Allen is also a
member of Mount Zion Baptist
Church.
Allen sings in the Inspirational
Choir and volunteers in the
church's Senior Life Enrichment
Center.
She is back at Winston-Salem
State and looks forward to complet
ing her nursing training at the end
of the current school year. She said
that she found that there was a big
difference between the way nurses
are trained in England and in the
United States. In the United States
nurses are taught as general nurses
and given the option of specializing
in a particular area later. But in
England students studying nursing
choose an area to study or special
ize in from the beginning of their
training. Jerri is the daughter of
Laura Allen.
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(at the comer of Country Club Road & Jonestown Road)
Member FDIC
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