The Journey Continues!

Prime Timers is a St. Martin's Adult Bible Fellowship (A.B.F.) for people in the Prime of Life, ages 50-64. We meet upstairs in the Payne Education Center, rooms 207-209 from 10:15am to 10:50. We are at the end of a one year course from the United Council of Churches and our current quarter is titled Images of Christ in Us.

St. Martin's Adult Bible Fellowships invite you to join us!

August concludes our Fourth Quarter, a series of readings entitled Images of Christ. Our readings this month are from the Book of James. You can get a head start, next weeks reading is at the bottom of this page!

This week, on Sunday August 17 during our class (10:15-10:50am), we will have a guest speaker, Sara Patterson, who will talk about "Why America is More Religious than Europe." If you are reading this an are not a Prime Timer but would like to hear this talk, it would be our great pleasure to have you attend our class. Consider yourself invited!

Prime Timers always hears our members good news at the start of class and today Sue told us about going to Boston for her grandson's wedding. The whole family was there and had a great time! Congratulations!

Impartial Disciples

Donn Fullenweider explored further into the Book of James, the brother of Jesus, and provided more reasons why some feel this book should have been left out of the Bible! James is once again stressing the importance of action going along with faith. Many of those who feel faith is foremost reject James insistence on actions being as important. James gets right to a "sticky" part of being a Christian, the mandate to treat your neighbor as yourself. In today's reading James has a rich man and a poor man turn up at your door. How would you treat each of them? Would you treat each the same? Probably not and James makes a point of calling you on it! If you break part of the law you break all of it! He uses as an example adultery and murder. If you don't commit adultery but commit murder you are still a lawbreaker.

To help us understand this passage better, Donn read further in James 2:14-26 where James elaborates on his theme that faith without deeds is dead. He uses the example of Abraham's near sacrifice of his son Isaac in Genesis 22:1-14 as evidence of faith backed up by action. He also uses the story of Rahab the prostitute of Jericho from Joshua 2:1-21 and Hebrews 11:31. Rahab hid two spies (Israelites) from the King of Jericho and his men. Rahab is called a hero of the faith in Hebrews 11:31.

Donn is reading "Three Cups of Tea" by Greg Mortenson and presented this as an example of deeds without faith! Greg Mortenson attempted to climb K2, the second highest mountain after Mt. Everest, but much harder to climb. He became seriously ill, got lost coming off the mountain, and was nursed back to health by Pakistani villagers. When he asked what he could do for them in return they asked for schools for their children, and this is the major story of the book, as Greg builds schools one at a time from his salary as a nurse in the US and contributions to his cause. Quite an extraordinary story, but not one mention of faith. Perhaps in this situation this worked to his benefit, as some of the townspeople he dealt with were Taliban!

Perhaps the best way to understand James obsession with actions over faith is this passage from Matthew 25:31-46:  

   ³¹"When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. ³²All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. ³³He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

   ³⁴"Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. ³⁵For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, ³⁶I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'

   ³⁷"Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? ³⁸When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? ³⁹When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'

   ⁴⁰"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'

   ⁴¹"Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. ⁴²For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, ⁴³I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.'

   ⁴⁴"They also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?'

   ⁴⁵"He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.'

   ⁴⁶"Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life."

Donn concluded class as always with a short prayer.

The Lesson for Sunday, August 17th is "Wise Speakers"

Key Verse:  James 3:10

Focus of the Lesson: People often say unwise and harmful things to and about others. How can people become kinder in their speech? James exhorts people to discipline their tongues by accepting the wisdom and peace that come from above.

The reading is James 3:1-10, 13-18. This text is from the New International Version. (NIV)

Background Scripture:  James 3

   ¹Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly. ²We all stumble in many ways. If anyone is never at fault in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to keep his whole body in check.

   ³When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal. ⁴Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go. ⁵Likewise the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. ⁶The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.

   ⁷All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and creatures of the sea are being tamed and have been tamed by man, ⁸but no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.

   ⁹With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God's likeness. ¹⁰Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be.

   ¹³Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. ¹⁴But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. ¹⁵Such "wisdom" does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, of the devil. ¹⁶For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.

   ¹⁷But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. ¹⁸Peacemakers who sow in peace raise a harvest of righteousness.

NIV