The Wayside Cross at St. Martin's Church

Prime Timers

The Prime Timers were a Bible study group at St. Martin's for eight years. One of the goals of our founder Jackie Rose was to have a weekly web page for the group and all the pages are still online here. The group disbanded but the readings below are being kept up to date.

Lectionary readings

The Readings for Sunday, May 10 are from the Lectionary Year A Fifth Sunday of Easter: Acts 7:55-60; Psalm 31:1-5, 15-16; 1 Peter 2:2-10 and John 14:1-14. The text is from the Bible Study Tools - New International Version.

Acts 7:55-60

⁵⁵ But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. ⁵⁶ “Look,” he said, “I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” ⁵⁷ At this they covered their ears and, yelling at the top of their voices, they all rushed at him, ⁵⁸ dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. Meanwhile, the witnesses laid their coats at the feet of a young man named Saul. ⁵⁹While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” ⁶⁰ Then he fell on his knees and cried out, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” When he had said this, he fell asleep.

Psalm 31:1-5, 15-16

¹ In you, LORD, I have taken refuge;
     let me never be put to shame;
     deliver me in your righteousness.

² Turn your ear to me,
     come quickly to my rescue;

be my rock of refuge, a strong fortress to save me.
     ³ Since you are my rock and my fortress,
      for the sake of your name lead and guide me.

⁴ Keep me free from the trap that is set for me,
     for you are my refuge.

⁵ Into your hands I commit my spirit;
     deliver me, LORD, my faithful God.

¹⁵ My times are in your hands;
     deliver me from the hands of my enemies,
     from those who pursue me.

¹⁶ Let your face shine on your servant;
     save me in your unfailing love.

1 Peter 2:2-10

² Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, ³ now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.

⁴ As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him— ⁵ you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. ⁶ For in Scripture it says:

    “See, I lay a stone in Zion,
         a chosen and precious cornerstone,
     and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame.”

⁷ Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe,

    “The stone the builders rejected
         has become the cornerstone,”

⁸ and,

     “A stone that causes people to stumble
         and a rock that makes them fall.”

They stumble because they disobey the message—which is also what they were destined for.

⁹ But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.

    ¹⁰ Once you were not a people,
           but now you are the people of God;
       once you had not received mercy,
           but now you have received mercy.

John 14:1-14

¹ “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. ² My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? ³ And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. ⁴ You know the way to the place where I am going.”
⁵ Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?” ⁶ Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. ⁷ If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.”

⁸ Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.” ⁹ Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? ¹⁰ Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you I do not speak on my own authority. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. ¹¹ Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the works themselves. ¹² Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. ¹³ And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. ¹⁴ You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.

Thanks to Bible Study Tools for today's text.