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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!

Eternal Christ

Prime Timers always begins by hearing our members Good News. Donn contributed his dollar because he forgot last week when he told us about visiting the Grand Tetons!

Donn Fullenweider taught the Prime Timers today on the subject of "The Eternal Christ."  This can be summed up simply with the passage from Hebrews 13:8 "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever." Donn reminded us that Jesus was crucified outside the walls of the city. When the Romans conquered a city they respected the existing religions, but dealt harshly with new ones, such as the Christians. This explains the Romans being complicit with the Jews in dealing with the Christians.

Jesus gives us an imperative to love, but as he says in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5:46 "If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that?" It is important to receive the message to love your neighbors as yourself. Today, as in ancient times, we have a fear of strangers, and overcoming this is not an easy task. After 9/11 this country "battened the hatches" and fear or suspicion of strangers increased. Add this to the "me first" culture of getting all you can and whoever has the most toys wins and Jesus directive is more difficult still.

Donn read this passage from Psalms 118:5-9:

⁵ In my anguish I cried to the LORD,
and he answered by setting me free.

⁶ The LORD is with me; I will not be afraid.
What can man do to me?

⁷ The LORD is with me; he is my helper.
I will look in triumph on my enemies.

⁸ It is better to take refuge in the LORD
than to trust in man.

⁹ It is better to take refuge in the LORD
than to trust in princes.

Donn asked the class if we had examples of things being different now from when we were young. The internet is an example. It is a force that can work toward great good or foster great evil. Our modern drugs can alleviate suffering and actually cure diseases that would have been death sentences just a short while ago, but drugs can also be abused and lead to terrible dependence. Air conditioning is a change we appreciate in Texas especially! It is difficult to imagine living without it, although some class members described childhood memories of how you had to dress appropriately for the heat, and how it made activities other than cooling off secondary. Its just too hot!!! Who has energy for other things?

Before ending class Donn mentioned the writings of A. W. Tozer, the Protestant preacher and author.

"To the earth-walking Christian,
ankle-deep in dust,
who has never seen heaven opened
or beheld a vision of God,
this will seem all out of order, too
emotional, too extreme.

But it is the way of the strong
eagles of the kingdom, the prophets,
the apostles, the reformers and revivalists.

These fly high and see far,
and that they are not understood
is no great wonder.

The sky-loving eagle,
screaming in the sun, may be a
puzzle to the contented
biddy scratching in the yard,

but that is no good
argument against the eagle."

Wingspread by A.W. Tozer

Donn concluded class with a prayer.

The Lesson for Sunday, July 6th is "Christ as Teacher"

Key Verse:  Luke 4:32

Focus of the Lesson: Many teachers bombard us with competing information. How do we discern which teachers give information of lasting value? Jesus taught as no other teacher, with the power to transform lives.

The reading is Luke 4:31-37; 20:1-8. This text is from the New International Version. (NIV)

    ³¹Then he went down to Capernaum, a town in Galilee, and on the Sabbath began to teach the people. ³²They were amazed at his teaching, because his message had authority.

   ³³In the synagogue there was a man possessed by a demon, an evil spirit. He cried out at the top of his voice, ³⁴"Ha! What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!"

   ³⁵"Be quiet!" Jesus said sternly. "Come out of him!" Then the demon threw the man down before them all and came out without injuring him.

   ³⁶All the people were amazed and said to each other, "What is this teaching? With authority and power he gives orders to evil spirits and they come out!" ³⁷And the news about him spread throughout the surrounding area.

   ¹One day as he was teaching the people in the temple courts and preaching the gospel, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, together with the elders, came up to him. ²"Tell us by what authority you are doing these things," they said. "Who gave you this authority?"

   ³He replied, "I will also ask you a question. Tell me, ⁴John's baptism—was it from heaven, or from men?"

   ⁵They discussed it among themselves and said, "If we say, 'From heaven,' he will ask, 'Why didn't you believe him?' ⁶But if we say, 'From men,' all the people will stone us, because they are persuaded that John was a prophet."

   ⁷So they answered, "We don't know where it was from."

   ⁸Jesus said, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things."

NIV