The St. Martins Prime Timers Adult Bible Fellowship welcomes you to our spooky web page!

We meet each Sunday from 10:10am to 10:50 in rooms 207-207 of the Payne Education Center. Come join us for coffee, donuts, fellowship and the Book of Acts.

Prime Timer Teacher Skip Maryan and his wife Caroline hosted a wonderful Halloween Party for the Prime Timers.

The Prime Timers Halloween Party!

Prime Timer teacher Skip Maryan and his wife Caroline hosted this years Halloween Party on Saturday. The photos in this edition are all from that party. If you were not there we hope the photos will give you an idea of what went on. If you were there we hope you had a good time!

Good News!

Henny Penny is our Good News chicken. Donate a dollar to her and you can bring us your Good News!

This week marks Bill and Nancy Akers 56th Wedding Anniversary! Congratulations!

Breaking the Gospel Barriers.

Today's vocabulary word is persecution, inflicting harm on others, especially for reasons of religion or beliefs.

The bible reading for today's class is Acts 12:1-16, the story of Peter's incarceration and subsequent escape. His sentence of death was ordered by Herod Agrippa, one of several Herod's involved with the story of Jesus.

Herod the Great was the grandfather of the Herod in today's reading. He sought out the newborn Christ child because Herod had earned the title "King of the Jews" from the Romans and was disturbed by the news that the child might acquire that title. This is the Herod who ordered the slaying of all male children less than two years old.

Herod Agrippa I ordered the death of James, brother of John. This pleased the Jews and led him to arrest Peter in today's reading. Herod Agrippa II listens to Paul, also known as Saul, after the conversion that we read about in Acts 9:3-18, the reading for next week, reprinted on this page. Paul asks to be tried as a Roman citizen and Agrippa II finds no reason for him to be put to death.

Many times in the Bible Peter questions the visions from the Lord that he is given. This time, however, he follows orders and an angel of the Lord frees him from imprisonment, walking right past his guards. Later these guards are put to death for allowing Peter to escape. Peter sees all of this in his vision and awakes outside of the jail as the angel departs.

Skip recalled Winston Churchill's quote "There is nothing more exhilarating than to be shot at without result." Peter must have been relieved at being out of prison, but at the same time anxious about what would happen next.

Peter then seeks shelter and goes to a home where the other apostles are staying. One of the Bibles "two verse characters", Rhoda, answers the door, is overjoyed that Peter is there, forgets to open the door and runs around telling the others that Peter is there. At first they don't believe her, but finally go to the door and are astonished.

Skip then closed his formal lesson telling us that Peter then goes on his mission to the Gentiles.

The class then discussed the reading, after which Skip read the healing prayer and benediction.

Prime Timers Contact names and numbers

Mentor

The Rev. Maurice L. "Rusty" Goldsmith. D.D.
713/985-3831
rgoldsmith@stmartinsepiscopal.org

Leader

Hostess Caroline Maryan with the Mad Hatter himself, Dr. Bill Moore, and Anne Berry

Bobbie Griffith-Winner with Louise Huck, with contrasting hats.

An explosion of color from Lee Ohrt, Vicki Wright and Dorothy Browne.

Here comes the Bride, Rita Junker Pickar with husband Richard W.

Bob and Dorothy Brown in Halloween regalia.

 The Lesson for Sunday, November 6th is titled "Encountering Truth"

Key Verse:  Acts 9:18

Focus of the Lesson:  Sometimes people need a radical change in the direction of their lives. What kind of intervention can bring that kind of change? Saul was changed from a persecutor to a believer when he directly encountered Jesus Christ, and Christians today still experience the transforming power of an encounter with Jesus.

The reading is Acts 9:3-18. This text is from the New International Version^®.

   3 As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. 4 He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?"

   5 "Who are you, Lord?" Saul asked.

   "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting," he replied. 6 "Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do."

   7 The men traveling with Saul stood there speechless; they heard the sound but did not see anyone. 8 Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing. So they led him by the hand into Damascus. 9 For three days he was blind, and did not eat or drink anything.

   10 In Damascus there was a disciple named Ananias. The Lord called to him in a vision,  "Ananias!"
   "Yes, Lord," he answered.

   11 The Lord told him, "Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying. 12 In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come and place his hands on him to restore his sight."

   13 "Lord," Ananias answered, "I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to your saints in Jerusalem. 14 And he has come here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name."

   15 But the Lord said to Ananias, "Go! This man is my chosen instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel. 16 I will show him how much he must suffer for my name."

   17 Then Ananias went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul, he said, "Brother Saul, the Lord—Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here—has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit." 18 Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul's eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptized,

NIV®