Exodus 3:4 "...And Moses said, 'Here I am.'"

Prime Timers, a St. Martin's Adult Christian Education (A.C.E.) group, also known as an A.B.F. (Adult Bible Fellowship), is for people in the Prime of Life, age 50 and beyond. Class meets in the Parlor near the Church Offices each Sunday from 10:15 am to 11:00. We are following a course of study from the United Council of Churches titled Call Sealed with a Promise. You are invited to join our group as we begin a new unit titled "Called Out of Egypt" and spend some time with us studying the Book of Exodus.

Moses and the Israelites

Philippe de Champaigne, Moses with the Ten Commandments, 1648, Oil on canvas, The Hermitage, St. Petersburg, Russia.

Prime Timers Celebrate Good News!

We celebrate our members Good News at Prime Timers with a $1 contribution to Henny Penny, our Good News chicken. Periodically Henny donates the money she collects to a charity, currently the Amistad Mission in Bolivia.  George gave thanks that his laid off daughter-in-law was able to secure a new job, at higher pay, in a short time. Lynn, in full red, white and blue regalia today, is recovering from some dental surgery and is thankful for living in the USA, and for being a woman here!

God Calls People to Covenant

Carol Hartland led the Prime Timers this morning in an exploration of the Ten Commandments by reading another rule, from Matthew 22:34-40:

   ³⁴Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. ³⁵One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question:

   ³⁶"Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" ³⁷Jesus replied: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' ³⁸This is the first and greatest commandment. ³⁹And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' ⁴⁰All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments."

Different religious bodies divide the law represented by the ten commandments in various ways, but interestingly they always seem to add up to ten. Notice that the commandments are not numbered. Verse nine: "You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God..." uses the word jealous. When the King James version of the Bible was published in 1611 this word was used synonymously with "zealous," perhaps a better description. The commandment to honor your father and mother, Deuteronomy 5:16, translates literally "Make heavy your father and your mother." This means to take care of your parents even when they are no longer able to contribute to the economic well being of the family. Another language issue comes with "thou shalt not kill" (King James Version) or "you shall not murder" (New International Version). Surely all forms of murder are to be condemned. What about killing in wartime? There is no clarification in the language of the Old Testament! The issue of the "just war" has concerned theologians, ethicists and policy makers back to the time of the Romans!

Carol mentioned that in addition to Deuteronomy 5:1-21 the ten commandments are repeated in Exodus 20:1-17. These are very similar. The links in this paragraph are both from the New International Version bible. If you would like to read the same passages in the classic prose of the King James version bible, click here!

Our course material asks us to make a class covenant and this began our discussion. George likes to think of the Bible as life's "instruction book" and like the instructions that come with our appliances and computer software most people don't bother to read them! Carol asked what would life be like without the structure of rules like the ten commandments. This prompted a class member to comment "just look around!" We have a perfect example of someone disregarding "you shall not steal" in the Bernard Madoff Ponzi scheme. New York District Judge Denny Chin, sentencing Mr. Madoff said “Mr. Madoff’s crimes were extraordinarily evil...” in sentencing him to the full one hundred fifty years allowed for this crime. Another class member blames greed for most of societies problems today. All this led George to recall the move "Sgt. York" with Gary Cooper. Real life World War I hero Sgt. Alvin C. York agonized over going to war but finally answered the draft and captured 132 German's in a fire fight involving machine guns and some incredible sharp shooting on Sgt. York's part.

George's daughter was our guest today, she is an English teacher, and her class just got through a series on Greek civilization. One of the requirements for a civilized Greek was self-control. The class agreed that there is a noticeable lack of this in today's society. "It's all about me!" Popular entertainment is either funny or violent. "Ninety five percent of people don't think. Five percent only believe they think, that leaves you and me and I'm not so sure about you." George has an interesting philosophy of "do no work on Sunday" that it means not doing what he doesn't want to do!

Someone brought up children and of course this is a rich subject when it comes to self-control, or the lack thereof. One member described a child who was constantly forgetting to bring her lunch to school, and naturally calling up a parent to bring it over. One day Dad showed up in school with the lunch, in pajamas and fluffy slippers. That was the last time the daughter asked Dad to bring her lunch!

Anne suggested that our covenant should be coming to church on a regular basis. Supporting each other is another, and relates to the first.

As an aside, Anne mentioned that our regular class leader, Donn Fullenweider, received another award. Donn is a lawyer (http://www.fullenweider.com/) specializing in divorce and family law, and cooking in the Houston heat we note that Donn is up in Maine where the temperatures are in the seventies!

Carol concluded class with this benediction:  "We hear your call, O God, and ask that you send us forth empowered by your Spirit to live and serve as your covenant people."

The Lesson for Sunday, July 12th,  is "God Calls People to Remember"

Key Verse:  Deuteronomy 16:1

Focus of the Lesson: Individuals and communities regularly remember and celebrate great occasions with thanksgiving. How do we commemorate significant events in our lives? God commanded the Israelites to remember their deprivation by eating only unleavened bread and simple meat at sundown.

The reading is Deuteronomy 16:1-8. This text is from the New International Version. (NIV)

   ¹Observe the month of Abib and celebrate the Passover of the LORD your God, because in the month of Abib he brought you out of Egypt by night. ²Sacrifice as the Passover to the LORD your God an animal from your flock or herd at the place the LORD will choose as a dwelling for his Name. ³Do not eat it with bread made with yeast, but for seven days eat unleavened bread, the bread of affliction, because you left Egypt in haste—so that all the days of your life you may remember the time of your departure from Egypt. ⁴Let no yeast be found in your possession in all your land for seven days. Do not let any of the meat you sacrifice on the evening of the first day remain until morning.

   ⁵You must not sacrifice the Passover in any town the LORD your God gives you ⁶except in the place he will choose as a dwelling for his Name. There you must sacrifice the Passover in the evening, when the sun goes down, on the anniversary of your departure from Egypt. ⁷Roast it and eat it at the place the LORD your God will choose. Then in the morning return to your tents. ⁸For six days eat unleavened bread and on the seventh day hold an assembly to the LORD your God and do no work.

NIV