The Lenten Season is beginning!

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. This year Easter falls about as early as it can, March 23. The last time Easter was this early was in 1913, the next time it falls on the 23rd will be in the year 2160! St. Martin's is consolidating all the A.B.F.'s into one big class meeting in the Bagby Parish Hall during Lent, with members of the clergy conducting the classes. The next official meeting of Prime Timers will be March 30. In the meantime this page will update the readings for our class from the National Council of Churches.

Summoned to One Big Class!

All the St. Martin's A.B.F.'s are participating in a Lenten series of lectures by our clergy and others. For the first Lenten Forum it was our privilege to hear from The Rev. J. Pittman McGehee, speaking about Loneliness and Love. This week we heard from our own Rev. John Bentley, who spoke on the subject of Suffering and Joy. Next week the subject is Death and Life from the Rev. Jerald Hyche. Even if you do not participate in the St. Martin's A.B.F. programs you are invited to join us for this Lenten series. Who knows, you might get hooked!

The Lesson for Sunday, March 2nd is "The Ark Comes to Jerusalem"

Key Verse:  1 Chronicles 15:3

Focus of the Lesson: Families, groups and nations all have symbols of their belonging to one another, their history together. What symbols really matter in our lives? David brought the ark of God, a symbol of the covenant, back to the people of Israel and reminded them of their covenant relationship with God.

The reading is 1 Chronicles 15:1-3, 14-16, 25-28. This text is from the New International Version. (NIV)

Background Scripture:  1 Chronicles 15:1-28

   ¹After David had constructed buildings for himself in the City of David, he prepared a place for the ark of God and pitched a tent for it. ²Then David said, "No one but the Levites may carry the ark of God, because the LORD chose them to carry the ark of the LORD and to minister before him forever."

   ³David assembled all Israel in Jerusalem to bring up the ark of the LORD to the place he had prepared for it.

   ¹⁴So the priests and Levites consecrated themselves in order to bring up the ark of the LORD, the God of Israel. ¹⁵And the Levites carried the ark of God with the poles on their shoulders, as Moses had commanded in accordance with the word of the LORD.

   ¹⁶David told the leaders of the Levites to appoint their brothers as singers to sing joyful songs, accompanied by musical instruments: lyres, harps and cymbals.

   ²⁵So David and the elders of Israel and the commanders of units of a thousand went to bring up the ark of the covenant of the LORD from the house of Obed-Edom, with rejoicing. ²⁶Because God had helped the Levites who were carrying the ark of the covenant of the LORD, seven bulls and seven rams were sacrificed. ²⁷Now David was clothed in a robe of fine linen, as were all the Levites who were carrying the ark, and as were the singers, and Kenaniah, who was in charge of the singing of the choirs. David also wore a linen ephod. ²⁸So all Israel brought up the ark of the covenant of the LORD with shouts, with the sounding of rams' horns and trumpets, and of cymbals, and the playing of lyres and harps.

NIV