Exodus 3:4 "...And Moses said, 'Here I am.'"

Prime Timers, a St. Martin's Adult Christian Education (A.C.E.) group, also known as an A.B.F. (Adult Bible Fellowship), is for people in the Prime of Life, age 50 and beyond. Class meets in the Parlor near the Church Offices each Sunday from 10:15 am to 11:00. We are following a course of study from the United Council of Churches titled Call Sealed with a Promise. You are invited to join our group as we begin a new unit titled "Called Out of Egypt" and spend some time with us studying the Old Testament.

St. Martin's Episcopal Church

Today's lesson involves the biblical concept of Jubilee, the festival after seven cycles of seven years when people began anew and remembered that what they possessed really belonged to God. The scene above is the St. Martin's altar at Christmas!

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.  Judy was given a Papillon type dog by her sister, and is currently undergoing an adjustment period:  Judy, not the dog! After hearing so much about Lynn's daughter Catherine and her missionary work in Budapest, Hungary, today we had a treat, actually meeting her in class. Marty mentioned the fun he is having digitizing newly discovered forty year old slides of his family.

Catherine told us about her missionary work in Budapest through a program called Teach Overseas. This is a Christian missionary organization, founded in 1981 to teach conversational English to people around the world. Catherine explained how many countries are suspicious of people who just want to come and proselytize, but teaching English is seen as a very useful function. Catherine gets to know her students better in after school get-togethers conducted in English. She reports that she doesn't get many converts, but is certainly spreading goodwill in presenting a positive image of an American Christian.

God Calls People to Jubilee

Carol Hartland led the Prime Timers this morning in our exploration of the biblical concept of Jubilee. As an introduction, Carol read this from her well worn copy of  Halley's Bible Handbook:

"Every seventh year was a Sabbath year. The land was to lie fallow. No sowing, no reaping, no pruning of vineyards. Spontaneous produce was to be left for the poor and the temporary resident (KJV, sojourner). God promised enough in the sixth year to meet the needs of the seventh year. Debts of fellow Jews were to be canceled.
Every 50th year was a Year of Jubilee. It followed the seventh Sabbath Year, so that two years of rest would come together. It began on the Day of Atonement. All debts were canceled, slaves of Israelite origin were set free, and lands that had been sold were returned. (This was intended to ensure that a family's land would remain in the family in perpetuity.) Jesus seemed to regard the Year of Jubilee as a sort of picture of the rest He came to proclaim for God's people (Leviticus 25:10; Luke 4:19)."

The idea that "everything belongs to God" prompted Carol to ask if we really believe this. Someone mentioned the many outreach programs at St. Martins' as an example. Habitat for Humanity was mentioned. This very successful program began when entrepreneurs Millard and Linda Fuller visited the Koinonia Farm outside of Americus, Georgia in 1965. They developed the concept of "partnership housing" there and this led to the establishment of Habitat for Humanity International in 1976.

Another example of rich people giving back to the community in their later years is Andrew Carnegie who gave away $350 million in his lifetime, and he died in 1919! His interest was in reading and he established 2,509 Carnegie libraries across the country and around the world!

Today we have an example in Bill and Melinda Gates, the founder of Microsoft and his wife, who are actively engaged in philanthropy for various causes. Lynn went to High School with John Moores, who founded BMC Software in Texas in 1980. After cashing out of that with $600 million he made numerous charitable donations.

After all these wealthy individuals someone brought up Greg Mortenson, who wrote Three Cups of Tea, about conditions in Pakistan and the idea that education is the way out of terrorism. He is not a rich man, but his ideas have led to over ninety schools being established in rural Pakistan.

Carol reminded all of us that this Saturday, August 1st, St. Martin's is participating at a Health Fair at the Westland YMCA in southwest Houston. You can volunteer by sending an e-mail to outreach@stmartinsepiscopal.org or you can contact Cathy Brandenburg at 713-985-3811.

Carol concluded class with this benediction:  "We hear your call, O God, and ask that you send us forth empowered by your Spirit to live and serve as your covenant people."

The Lesson for Sunday, August 2nd,  is "People Grumble"

Key Verse:  Numbers 11:4-6

Focus of the Lesson: When people experience difficulties, they often forget their blessings. What happens when we forget our blessings during times of trouble? When God brought the people out of slavery in Egypt and provided for them in the desert, Moses and the people complained repeatedly.

The reading is Numbers 11:1-6, 10-15. This text is from the New International Version. (NIV)

   ¹Now the people complained about their hardships in the hearing of the LORD, and when he heard them his anger was aroused. Then fire from the LORD burned among them and consumed some of the outskirts of the camp. ²When the people cried out to Moses, he prayed to the LORD and the fire died down. ³So that place was called Taberah, because fire from the LORD had burned among them.

   ⁴The rabble with them began to crave other food, and again the Israelites started wailing and said, "If only we had meat to eat! ⁵We remember the fish we ate in Egypt at no cost—also the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions and garlic. ⁶But now we have lost our appetite; we never see anything but this manna!"

   ⁷The manna was like coriander seed and looked like resin. ⁸The people went around gathering it, and then ground it in a handmill or crushed it in a mortar. They cooked it in a pot or made it into cakes. And it tasted like something made with olive oil. ⁹When the dew settled on the camp at night, the manna also came down.

   ¹⁰Moses heard the people of every family wailing, each at the entrance to his tent. The LORD became exceedingly angry, and Moses was troubled. ¹¹He asked the LORD, "Why have you brought this trouble on your servant? What have I done to displease you that you put the burden of all these people on me? ¹²Did I conceive all these people? Did I give them birth? Why do you tell me to carry them in my arms, as a nurse carries an infant, to the land you promised on oath to their forefathers? ¹³Where can I get meat for all these people? They keep wailing to me, 'Give us meat to eat!' ¹⁴I cannot carry all these people by myself; the burden is too heavy for me. ¹⁵If this is how you are going to treat me, put me to death right now—if I have found favor in your eyes—and do not let me face my own ruin."

NIV