Service for Sunday, Sept. 9, 2012

Subject: Substance 

 Hymn 6 

 William H. Burleigh – Adapted

 Abide not in the realm of dreams,

 O man, however fair it seems;

 But with clear eye the present scan,

 And hear the call of God and man.

 Think not in sleep to fold thy hands,

 Forgetful of thy Lord's commands:

 From duty's claims no life is free,

 Behold, today hath need of thee.

 The present hour allots thy task,

 For present strength and patience ask;

 And trust His love whose sure supply

 Meets all thy need abundantly.

The scriptural selection is from Matthew.

Matthew 6:19‑33

#Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.  The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light.  But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!  #No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.  Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?  Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them.  Are ye not much better than they?  Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?  And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.  Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?  Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?  (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.  But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

Silent prayer, followed by the audible repetition of the Lord’s prayer, with its spiritual interpretation as given in the Christian Science textbook, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, by Mary Baker Eddy

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 65 

 Frances R. Havergal – Adapted

 From glory unto glory,

   Be this our joyous song;

 From glory unto glory,

   'Tis Love that leads us on;

 As wider yet and wider,

   The rising splendors glow,

 What wisdom is revealed to us,

   What freedom we may know.

 The fullness of His blessing

   Encompasseth our way;

 The fullness of His promise

   Crowns every dawning day;

 The fullness of His glory

   Is shining from above,

 While more and more we learn to know

   The fullness of His love.

 From glory unto glory,

   What great things He hath done,

 What wonders He hath shown us,

   What triumphs Love hath won.

 From glory unto glory,

   From strength to strength we go,

 While grace for grace abundantly

   Doth from His fullness flow.

Solo: "Consider the Lilies                  

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 148 

 Anna L. Waring*

 In heavenly Love abiding,

   No change my heart shall fear;

 And safe is such confiding,

   For nothing changes here.

 The storm may roar without me,

   My heart may low be laid;

 But God is round about me,

   And can I be dismayed?

 Wherever He may guide me,

   No want shall turn me back;

 My Shepherd is beside me,

   And nothing can I lack.

 His wisdom ever waketh,

   His sight is never dim;

 He knows the way He taketh,

   And I will walk with Him.

 Green pastures are before me,

   Which yet I have not seen;

 Bright skies will soon be o'er me,

   Where darkest clouds have been.

 My hope I cannot measure,

   My path in life is free;

 My Father has my treasure,

   And He will walk with me.

"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

Isaiah 33:6 wisdom

wisdom and knowledge shall be the stability of thy times, and strength of salvation: the fear of the Lord is his treasure.