Welcome to the Prime Timers Adult Bible Fellowship

We invite you to join the Prime Timers every Sunday in the Payne Education center, second floor, rooms 210-212 from 10:10 am until 10:50 am. The next two weeks, Palm Sunday and Easter, will be an abridged version on Palm Sunday and no meeting on Easter. This page will be updated with all the lessons each week so you won't have to miss a thing!

Our class leader, Jackie Rose and our clergy mentor the Rev. Rusty Goldsmith.

This past week on the Prime Timers...

Our speaker, Jackie Rose, keeps us informed about her journey of faith. She is entering the Perkins School of Theology to pursue a Masters of Theological Studies and this week was awarded a scholarship from the school. Congratulations Jackie!

Anne Berry had a blessing of a different kind, announcing her grand-daughter Shelby's 9th birthday. Anyone awake the last couple of days knows Houston is experiencing some wonderful weather the last couple of days and someone gave thanks for this!

We had several new and visiting people this week. George Kurk introduced us to his daughter, Sharon Smith, who lives on a farm outside of Fredericksburg. Maybe she can bring us news of the Rev. Richard Elwood! Steve and Marsha Davis are long time St. Martins members visiting the group and there were other guests as well.

The message of Paul

The subject this week was Judgment, how God judges us, how we judge others and how complicated this can become.

 If God's forgiveness is at one end of a spectrum, God's wrath is at the other. The first part of the passages from Romans 2 talks of judgment, warning us that by judging others you risk being judged yourself. This after receiving the open forgiveness of God.

There are two themes here, the theme of judgment and the theme of works, as in good or bad works. The second passage from Romans has been used to discriminate against Jews, as it seems to single them out in Romans 2:9 "There will be anguish and distress for everyone who does evil, the Jew first and also the Greek."

This set off the discussion with the warning that part of the "contradiction" comes from reading scripture out of context. Jim Nelson then added that if you haven't loved then despite your acts you have nothing.

Bill Akers reaffirmed the point that those with true faith will do good works. And George Laigle contributed the idea that different people have different capacities for these works and that all people can't be judged the same.

Jackie Rose added that stereotyping is a way to miss out on what people can really contribute.

Concluding, someone said to "Love the sinner and hate the sin."

Prime Timers Contact names and numbers

Co-Leaders

Paul's journeys in the Roman World are on our agenda this month.

In the spirit of the season, you can click the logo above and learn more about the Episcopal Church's relief mission.

Steve and Marsha Davis are long time St. Martin's Parishioners visiting the Prime Timers. We hope they return and we hope you visit us as well.

We hope to see you at the St. Martin's Easter Services!

The Lesson for Sunday, March 27 is titled "Victory Over Death"

Key Verse:  Romans 6:9

Focus of the Lesson:  People often need help to achieve things beyond their personal power or ability. Where can we find the power to help us fight our own sinful natures? Paul says that we have been given the power through Jesus' resurrection, and John describes that joyous first Easter.

The reading is John 20:1-10, Romans 6:1-11, 13. This text is from the New Revised Standard Version.

John 20:1-10

1 Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the tomb. 2 So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, ‘They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.’ 3 Then Peter and the other disciple set out and went toward the tomb. 4 The two were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5 He bent down to look in and saw the linen wrappings lying there, but he did not go in. 6 Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen wrappings lying there, 7 and the cloth that had been on Jesus’ head, not lying with the linen wrappings but rolled up in a place by itself. 8 Then the other disciple, who reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; 9 for as yet they did not understand the scripture, that he must rise from the dead. 10 Then the disciples returned to their homes.

Romans 6:1-11, 13

1 What then are we to say? Should we continue in sin in order that grace may abound? 2 By no means! How can we who died to sin go on living in it? 3 Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 Therefore we have been buried with him by baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. 5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. 6 We know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be destroyed, and we might no longer be enslaved to sin. 7 For whoever has died is freed from sin. 8 But if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 9 We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. 10 The death he died, he died to sin, once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. 11 So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.

13 No longer present your members to sin as instruments of wickedness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and present your members to God as instruments of righteousness.