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|
September 16, 2007 "Abraham,
Sarah and Isaac" |
The St. Martin's Prime Timers Adult Bible Fellowship Wants You!
You are invited to join us for coffee, a snack, and fellow members seeking a better relationship with God and the Holy Sprit. We meet in the Payne Education Center, rooms 207-209, Sunday from 10:10 to 10:50am. Class is geared towards people aged fifty to sixty-four, its a new semester, its back to school, why not check us out?
Our new Rector, the Rev. Russell Levenson, hit the ground running and is quickly establishing a new era at St. Martin's.
The 2007-2008 Sunday school year fittingly begins at the Bible's beginning with a study of Genesis. During this quarter we will trace the story of God's creative power from the creation of the universe through human creation to the creation of a covenant people. Although different circumstances, including barrenness, threatened the covenant family's existence more than once, God was always at hand to protect, preserve, and bless them.
Prime Timers Good News
At the beginning of our class we devote time to hear our members Good News. Presenting your news requires a $1 donation to our chicken, Henny Penny.
Today Prime Timer leader Anne Berry announced the next location for our monthly dinner. Its at the Olivette restaurant in the Houstonian Hotel, Club and Spa. If you would like to go, please let Anne know, she's at 832-251-8868, or anne.berry@comcast.net.
God Created Humankind
Ben Welmaker is our teacher for September. Last week we read the first half of the first chapter in Genesis and this week we made it to the seventh day, when God rested from all his work. Ben asked us if the creation story was limited to God creating the earth, plants, animals and man, period, would this avoid the conflict between the Bible and scientific theories of the origin of man? Ben believes that while it might it misses the point of the creation story, which addresses big questions, such as why are we here. Ben feels that if science sought to make the point that there is no God, there would be a conflict, but in investigating the how of the physical world there is no conflict.
This is a question that everyone has an opinion about and the class went from essentially dismissing Creationism as the work of kooks, to respecting their views, to pointing out the the theory of evolution, as a scientific theory, is rightly under constant attack by science itself, and yet still describes what happens in the world with remarkable accuracy.
By bringing order out of chaos, the Genesis story seems to follow and encourage scientific investigation. The sequence of events follows what science generally believes, and bringing order out of chaos is the very basis of scientific enquiry.
Why are humans important? Each is created in the image of God. Each is of infinite worth. This led Ben to a story from his own recent experience. Last week Ben's wife Donna gave thanks for the baptism of her niece, six months after her adoption. The mother was still a teenager, the father wasn't interested in the baby. The mother realized that she couldn't properly bring up the baby and gave her up to adoption. The mother gave the baby to Donna's sister in a chapel and while this is not the typical method it was still touching. Ben described this act of the mother as stepping up to the maestro of the universe, taking the baton, and for a brief moment redirecting the motion of the world, then giving back the baton.
The Book of Genesis gives us a spiritual basis for how we should treat each other and God's creatures. We need to be good stewards of God's creation. As the poet says:
The man hath penance done,
And penance more will do.
He prayeth well, who loveth well
Both man and bird and beast.
He prayeth best, who loveth best
All things both great and small;
For the dear God who loveth us,
He made and loveth all.
Prime Timers Contact names and numbers
Mentor
Rev. B. Massey Gentry
mgentry@stmartinsepiscopal.org
Leaders
Anne Berry
832/251-8868 H
anne.berry@comcast.net
Max Kech
713/802-0690 H
maxkech2003@yahoo.com
Marty Smith
713/464-6737 H
martys47@comcast.net
Teachers
Richard Cruse
Pete Seale
Ben Welmaker
bhwjr@flash.net
Outreach (inviting and welcoming new members)
Anne Berry
832/251-8868 H
anne.berry@comcast.net
Elizabeth Sleeper
jsleeperjr@houston.rr.com
Prime Timer Ben Welmaker is teaching class this month as the Prime Timers go back to the beginning, the Book of Genesis!
A view of our new church from the balcony. This was a very special day, with three Episcopal Bishops in attendance.
The St. Martin's Clergy. From left to right its the Rev. John Graham, Rev. Massey Gentry, Rev. Jerald Hyche, Rector the Rev. Russell Levenson, Rev. John Bentley, Rev. Bob Brown and Rev. James Cunningham.
The Old Church. Opened in March 1959, for over forty years this was the main sanctuary at St. Martin's. Visible here are the Seekers ABF group, meeting there last week while Rev. Levenson's reception took over their normal room.
The Lesson for Sunday, September 16th is titled "Abraham, Sarah and Isaac"
Key Verse: Genesis 18:14a
Focus of the Lesson: Family lines are so important that many people spend years tracing their genealogies. Why is the knowledge of a family tree so significant? For the numerous descendants of Abraham and Sarah, their family line was crucial because it was through this elderly couple and their son Isaac that God chose to create a covenant people.
The reading is Genesis 15:5-6; 18:11-14a; 21:1-8 This text is from the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV).
Background Scripture: Genesis 15:1-6; 18:1-15; 21:1-8
5He brought him outside and said, ‘Look towards heaven and count the stars, if you are able to count them.’ Then he said to him, ‘So shall your descendants be.’ 6And he believed the Lord; and the Lord reckoned it to him as righteousness.
Genesis 18:11-14a
11Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in age; it had ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women. 12So Sarah laughed to herself, saying, ‘After I have grown old, and my husband is old, shall I have pleasure?’ 13The Lord said to Abraham, ‘Why did Sarah laugh, and say, “Shall I indeed bear a child, now that I am old?” 14Is anything too wonderful for the Lord? At the set time I will return to you, in due season, and Sarah shall have a son.’
Genesis 21:1-8
1The Lord dealt with Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did for Sarah as he had promised. 2Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age, at the time of which God had spoken to him. 3Abraham gave the name Isaac to his son whom Sarah bore him. 4And Abraham circumcised his son Isaac when he was eight days old, as God had commanded him. 5Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him. 6Now Sarah said, ‘God has brought laughter for me; everyone who hears will laugh with me.’ 7And she said, ‘Who would ever have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have borne him a son in his old age.’
8The child grew, and was weaned; and Abraham made a great feast on the day that Isaac was weaned.
NRSV
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