Why Don't You Join Us in the Parlor?

Prime Timers is a St. Martin's Adult Christian Education (A.C.E.) group, or an A.B.F. (Adult Bible Fellowship). We are people in the Prime of Life, age 50 and beyond, and we welcome all who come. Class meets in the Parlor near the Church Offices each Sunday from 10:15 am to 11:00. We are following a program based on the Revised Common Lectionary and you are invited to join us as we explore the same Bible readings as a large group of Christian Churches worldwide!

Prime Timers Celebrate Good News

We celebrate our members Good News at Prime Timers with a $1 contribution to Henny Penny, our Good News chicken. Periodically Henny donates the money she collects to a charity, currently the Amistad Mission in Bolivia. Lynn Swaffar, whose mother passed away last week at the age of ninety-four, gave us a moving summary of the events surrounding her mother Dorothy's last days. If you would like to read the obituary from the Houston Chronicle giving you an idea of Mrs. Chernosky's very full life, click here.

Marty and Donn both were thankful for our amazing Houston weather the past week.

Simplicity and Generosity

Carol Hartland and Donn Fullenweider conducted class today. The readings began with Mark 12:38-44, where Jesus reprimands priests who (Mark 12:40) "...devour widows' houses and for a show make lengthy prayers." Also we hear the story of the poor widow who donates her last two pennies while rich people are making a show of large donations. (Mark 12:43) "I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. ⁴⁴They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on." Donn described how temples in the time of Jesus had large metal receptacles where coins would make a noise when they were dropped in, so a large donation would make a big noise. The widow's simple donation was a major sacrifice, while the rich peoples donation cost them virtually nothing.

Taking care of widows and orphans was a requirement of the Jewish law of the day. (Deuteronomy 10:17-19) "For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who is not partial and takes no bribe, ¹⁸who executes justice for the orphan and the widow, and who loves the strangers, providing them with food and clothing. ¹⁹You shall also love the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt."
(Deuteronomy 24:17-22)"You shall not deprive a resident alien or an orphan of justice; you shall not take a widow’s garment in pledge. ¹⁸Remember that you were a slave in Egypt and the Lord your God redeemed you from there; therefore I command you to do this.
¹⁹ When you reap your harvest in your field and forget a sheaf in the field, you shall not go back to get it; it shall be left for the alien, the orphan, and the widow, so that the Lord your God may bless you in all your undertakings. ²⁰When you beat your olive trees, do not strip what is left; it shall be for the alien, the orphan, and the widow.
²¹ When you gather the grapes of your vineyard, do not glean what is left; it shall be for the alien, the orphan, and the widow. ²²Remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt; therefore I am commanding you to do this. "
(Deuteronomy 27:19)‘Cursed be anyone who deprives the alien, the orphan, and the widow of justice.’ All the people shall say, ‘Amen!’

So officious priests demanding the best seats in the house and who "devour widows' houses" were not following their own laws. As this is stewardship season we can't help but wonder how this applies to us. It certainly makes you think about what you give to the church. Donn was reminded of John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, and his sermon 51, "The Good Shepherd" on stewardship.

1) Make, 2) save, 3) give. What is our reward for our stewardship? George pointed out that if you are trying to buy your way into heaven you might be disappointed, that if your God is materialism, well what do you expect?

From our study guide: When John Wesley preached his great sermon on stewardship, his first division was, “Make all you can”—and a deacon farmer down in front said, “That is right.”
The second division was “Keep all you can, save all you can.” And the farmer said more emphatically, “That is better.”
And the third division of the sermon was, “Give all you can”—upon which the farmer’s face dropped and he said, “That has spoiled the sermon.”

Donn closed class today with a short benediction.

The Readings for Sunday, November 15th are from Lectionary Year Two, Proper 28-B. "Signs of the End"

The Old Testament Readings are 1 Samuel 1:4-20; 1 Samuel 2:1-10. The New Testament readings are from Hebrews 10:11-25 and Mark 13:1-8. The text is from the New Revised Standard Version.

1 Samuel 1:4-20

⁴On the day when Elkanah sacrificed, he would give portions to his wife Peninnah and to all her sons and daughters; ⁵but to Hannah he gave a double portion, because he loved her, though the Lord had closed her womb. ⁶Her rival used to provoke her severely, to irritate her, because the Lord had closed her womb. ⁷So it went on year after year; as often as she went up to the house of the Lord, she used to provoke her. Therefore Hannah wept and would not eat. ⁸Her husband Elkanah said to her, ‘Hannah, why do you weep? Why do you not eat? Why is your heart sad? Am I not more to you than ten sons?’
⁹ After they had eaten and drunk at Shiloh, Hannah rose and presented herself before the Lord. Now Eli the priest was sitting on the seat beside the doorpost of the temple of the Lord. ¹⁰She was deeply distressed and prayed to the Lord, and wept bitterly. ¹¹She made this vow: ‘O Lord of hosts, if only you will look on the misery of your servant, and remember me, and not forget your servant, but will give to your servant a male child, then I will set him before you as a nazirite until the day of his death. He shall drink neither wine nor intoxicants, and no razor shall touch his head.’
¹² As she continued praying before the Lord, Eli observed her mouth. ¹³Hannah was praying silently; only her lips moved, but her voice was not heard; therefore Eli thought she was drunk. ¹⁴So Eli said to her, ‘How long will you make a drunken spectacle of yourself? Put away your wine.’ ¹⁵But Hannah answered, ‘No, my lord, I am a woman deeply troubled; I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but I have been pouring out my soul before the Lord. ¹⁶Do not regard your servant as a worthless woman, for I have been speaking out of my great anxiety and vexation all this time.’ ¹⁷Then Eli answered, ‘Go in peace; the God of Israel grant the petition you have made to him.’ ¹⁸And she said, ‘Let your servant find favour in your sight.’ Then the woman went to her quarters, ate and drank with her husband, and her countenance was sad no longer.
¹⁹ They rose early in the morning and worshipped before the Lord; then they went back to their house at Ramah. Elkanah knew his wife Hannah, and the Lord remembered her. ²⁰In due time Hannah conceived and bore a son. She named him Samuel, for she said, ‘I have asked him of the Lord.’

1 Samuel 2:1-10

¹Hannah prayed and said,
‘My heart exults in the Lord;
my strength is exalted in my God.
My mouth derides my enemies,
because I rejoice in my victory.

²‘There is no Holy One like the Lord,
no one besides you;
there is no Rock like our God.
³Talk no more so very proudly,
let not arrogance come from your mouth;
for the Lord is a God of knowledge,
and by him actions are weighed.
⁴The bows of the mighty are broken,
but the feeble gird on strength.
⁵Those who were full have hired themselves out for bread,
but those who were hungry are fat with spoil.
The barren has borne seven,
but she who has many children is forlorn.
⁶The Lord kills and brings to life;
he brings down to Sheol and raises up.
⁷The Lord makes poor and makes rich;
he brings low, he also exalts.
⁸He raises up the poor from the dust;
he lifts the needy from the ash heap,
to make them sit with princes
and inherit a seat of honour.
For the pillars of the earth are the Lord’s,
and on them he has set the world.

⁹‘He will guard the feet of his faithful ones,
but the wicked shall be cut off in darkness;
for not by might does one prevail.
¹⁰The Lord! His adversaries shall be shattered;
the Most High will thunder in heaven.
The Lord will judge the ends of the earth;
he will give strength to his king,
and exalt the power of his anointed.’

Hebrews 10:11-25

¹¹And every priest stands day after day at his service, offering again and again the same sacrifices that can never take away sins. ¹²But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, ‘he sat down at the right hand of God’, ¹³and since then has been waiting ‘until his enemies would be made a footstool for his feet.’ ¹⁴For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are sanctified. ¹⁵And the Holy Spirit also testifies to us, for after saying,
¹⁶‘This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the Lord:
I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds’,
¹⁷he also adds, ‘I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more.’
¹⁸Where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer any offering for sin.

A Call to Persevere

¹⁹ Therefore, my friends, since we have confidence to enter the sanctuary by the blood of Jesus, ²⁰by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain (that is, through his flesh), ²¹and since we have a great priest over the house of God, ²²let us approach with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. ²³Let us hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who has promised is faithful. ²⁴And let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds, ²⁵not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

Mark 13:1-8

¹As he came out of the temple, one of his disciples said to him, ‘Look, Teacher, what large stones and what large buildings!’ ²Then Jesus asked him, ‘Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone will be left here upon another; all will be thrown down.’
³When he was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter, James, John, and Andrew asked him privately, ⁴‘Tell us, when will this be, and what will be the sign that all these things are about to be accomplished?’ ⁵Then Jesus began to say to them, ‘Beware that no one leads you astray. ⁶Many will come in my name and say, “I am he!” and they will lead many astray. ⁷When you hear of wars and rumours of wars, do not be alarmed; this must take place, but the end is still to come. ⁸For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there will be earthquakes in various places; there will be famines. This is but the beginning of the birth pangs.

NIV