Service for Sunday, July 31, 2011

Subject: Love

 Hymn 218

 Samuel Longfellow 

 O Life that maketh all things new,

   The blooming earth, the thoughts of men;

 Our pilgrim feet, wet with Thy dew,

   In gladness hither turn again.

 From hand to hand the greeting flows,

   From eye to eye the signals run,

 From heart to heart the bright hope glows,

   The seekers of the Light are one:

 One in the freedom of the truth,

   One in the joy of paths untrod,

 One in the heart's perennial youth,

   One in the larger thought of God;‑‑

 The freer step, the fuller breath,

   The wide horizon's grander view;

 The sense of Life that knows no death,‑‑

   The Life that maketh all things new.

The scriptural selection is from Psalms.

Psalms 33:1‑15,18‑22

Rejoice in the Lord, O ye righteous: for praise is comely for the upright.  Praise the Lord with harp: sing unto him with the psaltery and an instrument of ten strings.  Sing unto him a new song; play skilfully with a loud noise.  For the word of the Lord is right; and all his works are done in truth.  He loveth righteousness and judgment: the earth is full of the goodness of the Lord.  By the word of the Lord were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth.  He gathereth the waters of the sea together as an heap: he layeth up the depth in storehouses.  Let all the earth fear the Lord: let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him.  For he spake, and it was done; he commanded, and it stood fast.  The Lord bringeth the counsel of the heathen to nought: he maketh the devices of the people of none effect.  The counsel of the Lord standeth for ever, the thoughts of his heart to all generations.  Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord: and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance.  The Lord looketh from heaven; he beholdeth all the sons of men.  From the place of his habitation he looketh upon all the inhabitants of the earth.  He fashioneth their hearts alike; he considereth all their works. 

Behold, the eye of the Lord is upon them that fear him, upon them that hope in his mercy; To deliver their soul from death, and to keep them alive in famine.  Our soul waiteth for the Lord: he is our help and our shield.  For our heart shall rejoice in him, because we have trusted in his holy name.  Let thy mercy, O Lord, be upon us, according as we hope in thee. 

Silent prayer, followed by the audible repetition of the Lord’s prayer, with its spiritual interpretation as given in the Christian Science textbook.

Our Father which art in heaven,

Our Father-Mother God, all-harmonious,

Hallowed be Thy name.

Adorable One.

Thy kingdom come.

Thy kingdom is come; Thou art ever-present.

Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.

Enable us to know – as in heaven, so on earth

God is omnipotent, supreme.

Give us this day our daily bread;

Give us grace for today; feed the famished affections;

And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.

And Love is reflected in love;

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil;

And God leadeth us not into temptation, but delivereth us from sin, disease, and death.

For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever.

For God is infinite, all-power, all Life, Truth, Love, over all, and All.

 Hymn 276

 Charles Wesley – Adapted

 Peace be to this congregation;

   Peace to every heart therein;

 Peace, the earnest of salvation;

   Peace, the fruit of conquered sin;

 Peace, that speaks the heavenly Giver;

   Peace, to worldly minds unknown;

 Peace, that floweth as a river

   From th' eternal source alone.

 O Thou God of peace, be near us,

   Fix within our hearts Thy home;

 With Thy bright appearing cheer us,

   In Thy blessed freedom come.

 Come with all Thy revelations,

   Truth which we so long have sought;

 Come with Thy deep consolations,

   Peace of God which passeth thought.

Solo: “Behold What Manner of Love”

The lesson-sermon from the Bible and the Christian Science textbook, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, by Mary Baker Eddy, read by the First and Second Readers.

The content of the Lesson Sermon may be found in the Christian Science Quarterly. You may also read the Lesson-Sermon for this week online by clicking here.

 Hymn 249

 Vivian Burnett 

 O, when we see God's mercy

   Widespread in every place

 And know how flows the fountain

   Of His unbounded grace,

 Can we withhold a tribute,

   Forbear a psalm to raise,

 Or leave unsung one blessing,

   In this our hymn of praise?

 Our gratitude is riches,

   Complaint is poverty,

 Our trials bloom in blessings,

   They test our constancy.

 O, life from joy is minted,

   An everlasting gold,

 True gladness is the treasure

   That grateful hearts will hold.

"The Scientific Statement of Being" (S&H p. 468} and the correlative scripture according to I John 3:1-3.

There is no life, truth, intelligence, nor substance in matter. All is infinite Mind and its infinite manifestation, for God is All-in-all. Spirit is immortal Truth; matter is mortal error. Spirit is the real and eternal; matter is the unreal and temporal. Spirit is God, and man is His image and likeness. Therefore man is not material; he is spiritual.

Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, p.468

1John.3

[1] Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.

[2] Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.

[3] And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.

Benediction

Psalms 52:1 the

the goodness of God endureth continually.