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Prime Timers is a St. Martin's Adult Bible Fellowship (A.B.F.) geared towards people in the Prime of Life, ages 50-64. We meet in the Payne Education Center in rooms 207-209 from 10:15am to 10:50. Our course this year is authored by the United Council of Churches, our current quarter is a unit titled Images of Christ.

Come on in to St. Martin's Adult Bible Fellowships! Its cool inside!

You can't do better than our reading in July, from the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John! If you can't wait, the reading for next week is at the bottom of this page!

Every week Prime Timers begins by hearing from our members. Lynn gave thanks for the Prime Timer Teachers, currently Ben Welmaker and Donn Fullenweider. The she praised the firefighters in California, battling the wildfires. Finally she thanked God for her daughter, who is off to California for training preceding her trip to Budapest, where she will teach English and do missionary work for a year.

Martin thanked God for his family, just returning from his Family Reunion at Spring Mill State Park in Indiana. The family was great but the trip was beset by minor glitches, perhaps summed up by an eight hour delay at Indianapolis airport waiting for a thunderstorm delayed plane from Newark.

Christ as Servant

Ben Welmaker taught class today exploring the reading from John where Jesus washes the feet of his disciples. The key verse in the reading is John 13:15 where Jesus says "I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you." This passage brings up the rich subject of leadership, and what makes for a good leader. Ben used Steven Pressfield's book "Virtues of War" about Alexander the Great as an example of leadership at an extraordinary level. "Fame imperishable and glory that will never die: that is what we march for!" Another book Ben cited is William Manchesters book on Douglas MacArthur "American Caesar" MacArthur served in World War I and II and the Korean War, often at the "point", the forward position of the attack. MacArthur was larger than life and inspired a fanatical following. "My first recollection," Douglas MacArthur was fond of saying, "is that of a bugle call."

Leading and what makes a good leader brought examples from the class. George Washington was a great general before becoming the Father of our country. General Norman Schwarzkopf, the leader of our troops in the first Iraq war, was cited as having brought back respect to our military after the demoralizing years of the Viet Nam war.

Jesus gave us all a great example of the right way to lead. Ben described it as the Golden Rule 1.1:  Do unto others as you would have them do unto you and as Christ did or as Christ has done for you. (John 13:34-35 "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. ³⁵By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."

What kinds of things did Jesus do? He healed us, forgave us, broke bread with outcasts, spoke truth to power, sought the good of others at his own expense and served in the best and highest sense of the word.

Ben concluded class with a prayer.

The Lesson for Sunday, July 27th is "Christ as Messiah"

Key Verse:  Matthew 16:15

Focus of the Lesson: We come to know people not by what others say about them but by a personal relationship with them. How well do we ever really know somebody? Peter's confession of Jesus was a milestone in his understanding of Jesus as the Messiah.

The reading is Matthew 16:13-23. This text is from the New International Version. (NIV)

   ¹³When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do people say the Son of Man is?"

   ¹⁴They replied, "Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets."

   ¹⁵"But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am?"

   ¹⁶Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."

   ¹⁷Jesus replied, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven. ¹⁸And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. ¹⁹I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven." ²⁰Then he warned his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Christ.

Jesus Predicts His Death

   ²¹From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.

   ²²Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. "Never, Lord!" he said. "This shall never happen to you!"

   ²³Jesus turned and said to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men."

NIV