? ? 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 ')? I . '4* . . ' * ? 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. T 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. I Great CD& IRA, Rates! . i Rate: 5.97% AP.Y.6.15% \ Term: 18 mo. 768-8500 /r>Southern Community bank a Aid trust Small Enough to Clare 4701 Country Club Road Winston-Salem 768-8500 (at the comer of Country Club Road & Jonestown Road) Member FDIC __ ? J Customized Pest Control Plan $55.00 Special Triad Pest Control* offering inside and 11 outside treatment of household pests for only $55.00 * No Cabintes to clean out q vVJ\^e * No smeU *oj! * ? Max - Force guaranteed * ? Offer good for Houses, Restaurants, Churches, etc. ?Remember A Flea Circus Is A Good Act, But It Takes Termites To Bring The House Down/" ATTENTION FOOTBALL FANS: IF YOU DRINK COCA-COLA OR YOU KNOW SOMEONE WHO DRINKS COCA-COLA, OR YOU THINK YOU MAY BEFRIEND A COCA-COLA DRINKER IN THE NEAR FUTURE, THE POSSIBILITY EXISTS THAT YOU v ; ? COULD GO TO SUPER BOWL XXXII FOR FREE AS A LUCKY . . i WINNER, OR AS A FRIEND OF A LUCKY WINNER, IN THE COCA-COLA NFL RED ZONE. No purchase necessary. Free opportunity to play available until 12/12/97. See official rules at store display for details. Specially-marked packages available until 11/14/97 or while supplies last. Questions, or to hear complete rules including claiming information, call 1-800-331-3796 by 12/19/97. ?1997 The Coca-Cola Company. 'Coca-Cola" is a registered trademark of The Coca-Cola Company-"Super Bowl" and "NFL" are trademarks of The National Football League. i ? ? ' >

Page Text

This is the computer-generated OCR text representation of this newspaper page. It may be empty, if no text could be automatically recognized. This data is also available in Plain Text and XML formats.

Return to page view