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Hours of Operation
The
Child Care Center
is designed for children between the ages of
2 to 5.
We are
open
Monday - Friday from
7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
For more information about our facility,
please call us at
(941) 484-4415.
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Sunday School Lessons
Part 3 |
The Graduation Car
A young man was getting ready to graduate from college. For many
months
he had admired
a beautiful sports car in a dealer’s
showroom, and knowing
his father could well afford it,
he told
him that was all he wanted. As Graduation
Day approached, the
young man awaited signs that his father had purchased
the car.
Finally, on the morning of his graduation, his
father called him
into his
private study. His father told him how proud he was to
have such
a fine son,
and told him how much he loved him. He
handed his son a beautifully wrapped
gift box.
Curiously, and somewhat disappointed, the young man opened the
box and
found a lovely, leather-bound Bible, with the young
man’s name embossed in
gold. Angry, he raised his
voice to his
father and said, “with all your money,
you gave me a Bible?” and
stormed out
of the house.
Many years passed and the young man was very successful in
business. He had
a beautiful home and a wonderful family, but
realized that his father was very old.
He thought perhaps
that
he should go to him. He had not seen him since that
graduation
day. Before he could
make arrangements, he received a telegram
telling him that his father passed away and
willed all of his
possessions to his
son. He needed to come home immediately and
take
care of matters.
When he arrived at his father’s house, sudden sadness and regret
filled his heart.
He began
to search through his father’s
important papers and saw the still new
Bible, just as he left it
years ago. With tears, he opened the Bible, and begun to
turn
the pages. His father had carefully underlined a verse - Matthew
7:11 “And
if you, being evil, know how to give good
gifts to
your children, how much more
shall your Heavenly Father which is
in Heaven give
to those that ask Him?”
As he read those words, a car key dropped from the back of the
Bible. It had
a tag with the dealer's name, the same dealer who
had the sports car he had
desired. On the tag was the
date of his graduation, and the words: PAID IN FULL.
How many times do we miss God’s blessings
because they are not packaged as we expected?
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The Silent Sermon
It was a cold winter’s day that Sunday. The parking lot to the
church was filling up
quickly.
I noticed as I got out of my car
that fellow church members were whispering
among
themselves as
they walked to the church.
As I got closer I saw a man leaned up against the wall outside
the church. He
was almost
lying down as if he was asleep. He had
on a long trench coat that
was almost in shreds
and a hat topped
his head, pulled down so you could not
see his face. He wore
shoes
that looked 30 years old, too small for his feet with
holes all over them, his toes stuck out.
I assumed this man was homeless, and asleep, so I walked on by
through
the doors of the church. We all fellowshipped for a few
minutes, and someone
brought up the man who was
lying outside.
People snickered and gossiped
but no one bothered to ask him to
come in, including me.
A few moments later church began. We all waited for the Preacher
to take his
place and
to give us the Word, when the doors to the
church opened. In came
the homeless man
walking down the aisle
with his head down. People gasped
and whispered and made
faces.
He made his way down the aisle and up onto
the pulpit. He took
off his hat and
coat. My heart sank. There stood our
preacher...
he was the “homeless man.”
No one said a word. The preacher took his Bible and laid it on
the stand.
“Folks, I don’t
think I have to tell you what I am
preaching about today.”
Then he started singing the words to
this song:
“If I can help somebody as I pass along.
If I can cheer somebody with a word or song.
If I can show somebody that he’s traveling wrong.
Then my living shall not be in vain.”
~ Author Unknown ~
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The Three Trees
Once upon a mountaintop, three little trees stood and dreamed of
what they
wanted to
become when they grew up. The first little
tree looked up at the
stars and said: “I want to
hold treasure.
I want to be covered with gold and
filled with precious stones.
I’ll be the
most beautiful treasure chest in the world!”
The second little tree looked out at the small stream trickling
by on its way
to the ocean.
“I want to be traveling mighty
waters and carrying powerful kings.
I’ll be the strongest ship
in the world!”
The third little tree looked down into the valley below where
busy men and
women worked
in a busy town. “I don’t want to leave
the mountain top at all.
I want to grow so tall that when people
stop to look at me, they’ll raise there
eyes to heaven and think
of God. I will be the
tallest tree in the world.”
Years passed. The rain came, the sun shone, and the little trees
grew tall. One
day three woodcutters climbed the mountain. The
first woodcutter looked at the
first tree and said,
“This tree
is beautiful. It is perfect for me.” With a swoop of
his shining
ax, the first tree fell.
“Now I shall be made into a beautiful
chest, I shall
hold wonderful treasure!” The first tree
said.
The second woodcutter looked at the second tree and said, “This
tree is strong.
It is perfect
for me.” With a swoop of his
shining ax, the second tree fell. “Now
I shall sail mighty
waters!” thought the second tree. “I shall be a strong ship for
mighty kings!”
The third tree felt her heart sink when the last woodcutter
looked her way. She
stood straight
and tall and pointed bravely
to heaven. But the woodcutter never
even looked up. “Any kind
of
tree will do for me.” He muttered. With a swoop
of his shining
ax, the third tree fell.
The first tree rejoiced when the woodcutter brought her to a
carpenter’s shop.
But the
carpenter fashioned the tree into a feed box for
animals. The once
beautiful tree was not covered with gold, or
with treasure. She was coated
with sawdust and filled with hay
for
hungry farm animals. The second tree
smiled when the
woodcutter took her to a shipyard,
but no mighty sailing ship
was made that day. Instead the once strong tree was hammered
and
sawed
into a simple fishing boat. She was too small and too weak
to sail to an
ocean,
or even a river, instead she was taken to a
little lake. The third tree
was confused when the woodcutter cut
her into strong beams and left her in
a lumberyard. “What
happened?” The
once tall tree wondered. “All I ever
wanted was
to stay on the mountain top and point to
God...”
Many days and night passed. The three trees nearly forgot their
dreams. But
one night,
golden starlight poured over the first
tree as a young woman placed
her newborn baby
in the feed box.
“I wish I could make a cradle for him” her
husband whispered.
The mother squeezed his hand and smiled as the starlight
shone
on the smooth and the sturdy wood.
“This manger is beautiful,”
she said.
And suddenly the first tree knew he was holding the
greatest treasure in the world.
One evening, a tired traveler and his friends crowded into the
old fishing boat.
The
traveler fell asleep as the second tree
quietly sailed out into the lake. Soon
a thundering
and thrashing storm arose. The little tree shuddered. She knew
she
did not have the
strength to carry so many passengers safely
through with
the wind and the rain. The
tired man awakened. He
stood up, stretched out his
hand, and said, “Peace.” The storm
stopped as quickly as it had begun. And
suddenly the second tree
knew he was carrying
the king of heaven and earth.
One Friday morning, the third tree was startled when her beam
was yanked from
the
forgotten woodpile. She flinched as she was
carried through an angry jeering
crowd.
She shuddered when
soldiers nailed a man’s hands to her. She felt ugly
and harsh
and cruel. But on Sunday morning, when the sun rose and the
earth
trembled with joy
beneath her, the third tree knew that
God’s love had changed
everything. It had made
the third tree
strong. And every time people thought of
the third tree, they
would think
of God. That was better than being the tallest tree
in the world.
~ Author Unknown ~
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So next time you feel down because you didn’t get what you want,
just sit tight and be happy because God is thinking
of something better to give you.
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Work from Your Heart
An elderly carpenter was ready to retire. He told his employer
contractor of his
plans to
leave the house building business and
live a more leisurely life with his
wife enjoying his extended
family. He would miss the paycheck, but he needed
to retire.
They could get by.
The contractor was sorry to see his good
worker go
and asked if he could build just one
more house as a
personal favor.
The carpenter said yes, but in time it was easy to see that his
heart was not in
his work.
He resorted to shoddy workmanship and
used inferior materials. It was
an unfortunate
way to end a
dedicated career.
When the carpenter finished his work the employer came to
inspect the house.
He handed
the front-door key to the
carpenter. This is your house, he said, ‘my
gift to you.’ The
carpenter was shocked! What a shame! If he had only known
he was
building his own house, he would have done it all so
differently.
So it is with us. We build our lives, a day at a time, often
putting less than our
best into the building. Then with a shock
we realize we have to live in the house
we have built. If we
could do it over, we’d do it much differently. But we cannot
go
back. You are the carpenter.
Each day you hammer a nail, place a board, or erect a wall. Life
is a do-it-yourself
project, someone has said. Your attitudes
and the choices you make today, build
the “house” you
live in
tomorrow. Build wisely!
We are to do good works and do them unto the Lord. Jesus did
miracles when
He was
on earth to both heal the sick and also
that the skeptic might believe that
He is the Son
of God. And so
with us, we are to let our light shine before all people
that
they may know
in whom we believe and trust.
~ Author Unknown ~
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Colossians 3:23 (NLT)
Work
hard and cheerfully at whatever you do,
as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people. |
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