The Lenten Season is underway!

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 our clergy conducting class. The next official meeting of Prime Timers is March 30. In the meantime this page will update the readings 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. Last week we heard from our own Rev. John Bentley, who spoke on the subject of Suffering and Joy. This week the subject is Death and Life from the Rev. Jerald Hyche. Note the title puts death before life. This talk reminded us that we die before we live the Christian life, symbolized by ritual of baptism. Rev. Hyche used Go to Dark Gethsemane and Tuck Everlasting, a story about people who actually find a Fountain of Youth to illustrate his point. This talk was especially poignant due to Rev. Hyche's father passing away just a week before.

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. 

The Lesson for Sunday, March 9th is "God's Covenant with David"

Key Verse:  1 Chronicles 17:7c-8

Focus of the Lesson: People make personal covenants with others. Who can you trust to keep covenant with you? God made a lasting covenant with David through the prophet Nathan.

The reading is 1 Chronicles 17:1, 3-4, 6-15. This text is from the New International Version. (NIV)

Background Scripture:  1 Chronicles 17:1-27

   ¹After David was settled in his palace, he said to Nathan the prophet, "Here I am, living in a palace of cedar, while the ark of the covenant of the LORD is under a tent."

   ³That night the word of God came to Nathan, saying:
   ⁴"Go and tell my servant David, 'This is what the LORD says: You are not the one to build me a house to dwell in.

   ⁶Wherever I have moved with all the Israelites, did I ever say to any of their leaders whom I commanded to shepherd my people, "Why have you not built me a house of cedar?" '

   ⁷"Now then, tell my servant David, 'This is what the LORD Almighty says: I took you from the pasture and from following the flock, to be ruler over my people Israel. ⁸I have been with you wherever you have gone, and I have cut off all your enemies from before you. Now I will make your name like the names of the greatest men of the earth. ⁹And I will provide a place for my people Israel and will plant them so that they can have a home of their own and no longer be disturbed. Wicked people will not oppress them anymore, as they did at the beginning ¹⁰and have done ever since the time I appointed leaders over my people Israel. I will also subdue all your enemies.
   " 'I declare to you that the LORD will build a house for you: ¹¹When your days are over and you go to be with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, one of your own sons, and I will establish his kingdom. ¹²He is the one who will build a house for me, and I will establish his throne forever. ¹³I will be his father, and he will be my son. I will never take my love away from him, as I took it away from your predecessor. ¹⁴I will set him over my house and my kingdom forever; his throne will be established forever.' "
   ¹⁵Nathan reported to David all the words of this entire revelation.

NIV