Head of St. Mark, by Albrecht Dürer, 1526, chalk with white highlights at the Staatliche Museen, Berlin

Prime Timers

The Prime Timers were a Bible study group at St. Martin's for eight years. One of the goals of our founder, Jackie Rose, was to have a weekly web page for the group and all the pages are still online here. The group disbanded but the readings below are being kept up to date.

Lectionary readings

The Readings for Sunday, February 18 are from Lectionary Year B, first Sunday in Lent: Genesis 9:8-17; Psalm 25:1-9; 1 Peter 3:18-22 and Mark 1:9-15. The text is from the New International Version

Genesis 9:8-17

⁸ Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him: ⁹ “I now establish my covenant with you and with your descendants after you ¹⁰ and with every living creature that was with you—the birds, the livestock and all the wild animals, all those that came out of the ark with you—every living creature on earth. ¹¹ I establish my covenant with you: Never again will all life be destroyed by the waters of a flood; never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth.” ¹² And God said, “This is the sign of the covenant I am making between me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all generations to come: ¹³ I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth. ¹⁴ Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, ¹⁵ I will remember my covenant between me and you and all living creatures of every kind. Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life. ¹⁶ Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth.” ¹⁷ So God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant I have established between me and all life on the earth.”

Psalm 25:1-9

¹ In you, LORD my God, I put my trust.
    ² I trust in you;
     do not let me be put to shame,
     nor let my enemies triumph over me.

³ No one who hopes in you will ever be put to shame,
     but shame will come on those who are treacherous without cause.

⁴ Show me your ways, LORD,
     teach me your paths.

⁵ Guide me in your truth and teach me,
     for you are God my Savior,
     and my hope is in you all day long.

⁶ Remember, LORD, your great mercy and love,
     for they are from of old.

⁷ Do not remember the sins of my youth and my rebellious ways;
     according to your love remember me,
     for you, LORD, are good.

⁸ Good and upright is the LORD;
     therefore he instructs sinners in his ways.

⁹ He guides the humble in what is right
     and teaches them his way.

¹⁰ All the ways of the LORD are loving and faithful
     toward those who keep the demands of his covenant.

1 Peter 3:18-22

¹⁸ For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit. ¹⁹ After being made alive, he went and made proclamation to the imprisoned spirits— ²⁰ to those who were disobedient long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. In it only a few people, eight in all, were saved through water, ²¹ and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also—not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a clear conscience toward God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ, ²² who has gone into heaven and is at God’s right hand—with angels, authorities and powers in submission to him.

Mark 1:9-15

⁹ At that time Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. ¹⁰ Just as Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. ¹¹ And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”

¹² At once the Spirit sent him out into the wilderness, ¹³ and he was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted by Satan. He was with the wild animals, and angels attended him.

¹⁴ After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. ¹⁵ “The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!”

Thanks to Bible Study Tools for today's text.