Theme: Open
Hymn 85
Edith Gaddis Brewer
God of Truth, eternal good,
Lift our hearts to revelation,
That Thou mayst be understood,
Thou, the Rock of our salvation;
All Thy love we have for loving,
All Thy truth is ours for proving.
Open now our eyes to see,
As the clouds of sense are riven,
We behold reality,
Know the glory of Thy heaven;
So we seek Thy perfect healing
Through the Truth of Thy revealing.
All the way that we must go
We will take at Thy direction,
Where the floods of trouble flow
Find Thy perfect, calm reflection;
On the path that has no turning,
Patience, courage, meekness learning.
Readings from the Bible.
Deuteronomy 28:1‑6 it,8‑12
(to :)
it shall come to pass, if
thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe
and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the Lord thy
God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth: And all these
blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the
voice of the Lord thy God. Blessed shalt
thou be in the city, and blessed shalt thou be in the field. Blessed shall be the fruit of thy body, and
the fruit of thy ground, and the fruit of thy cattle, the increase of thy kine,
and the flocks of thy sheep. Blessed
shall be thy basket and thy store.
Blessed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and blessed shalt thou be
when thou goest out.
The Lord shall command the
blessing upon thee in thy storehouses, and in all that thou settest thine hand
unto; and he shall bless thee in the land which the Lord thy God giveth
thee. The Lord shall establish thee an
holy people unto himself, as he hath sworn unto thee, if thou shalt keep the
commandments of the Lord thy God, and walk in his ways. And all people of the earth shall see that
thou art called by the name of the Lord; and they shall be afraid of thee. And the Lord shall make thee plenteous in
goods, in the fruit of thy body, and in the fruit of thy cattle, and in the
fruit of thy ground, in the land which the Lord sware unto thy fathers to give
thee. The Lord shall open unto thee his
good treasure, the heaven to give the rain unto thy land in his season, and to
bless all the work of thine hand:
II Kings 6:11‑17 the
the heart of the king of
Syria was sore troubled for this thing; and he called his servants, and said
unto them, Will ye not shew me which of us is for the king of Israel? And one of his servants said, None, my lord,
O king: but Elisha, the prophet that is in Israel, telleth the king of Israel
the words that thou speakest in thy bedchamber.
#And he said, Go and spy where he is, that I may send and fetch him. And
it was told him, saying, Behold, he is in Dothan. Therefore sent he thither horses, and
chariots, and a great host: and they came by night, and compassed the city
about. And when the servant of the man
of God was risen early, and gone forth, behold, an host compassed the city both
with horses and chariots. And his servant said unto him, Alas, my master! how
shall we do? And he answered, Fear not:
for they that be with us are more than they that be with them. And Elisha prayed, and said, Lord, I pray
thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the Lord opened the eyes of the young
man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of
fire round about Elisha.
Psalms 34:11‑17
Come, ye children, hearken
unto me: I will teach you the fear of the Lord.
What man is he that desireth life, and loveth many days, that he may see
good? Keep thy tongue from evil, and thy
lips from speaking guile. Depart from
evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it.
The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and his ears are open unto
their cry. The face of the Lord is
against them that do evil, to cut off the remembrance of them from the
earth. The righteous cry, and the Lord
heareth, and delivereth them out of all their troubles.
Psalms 118:14‑19,24
The Lord is my strength and
song, and is become my salvation. The
voice of rejoicing and salvation is in the tabernacles of the righteous: the
right hand of the Lord doeth valiantly.
The right hand of the Lord is exalted: the right hand of the Lord doeth
valiantly. I shall not die, but live,
and declare the works of the Lord. The
Lord hath chastened me sore: but he hath not given me over unto death. Open to me the gates of righteousness: I will
go into them, and I will praise the Lord:
This is the day which the
Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.
Psalms 119:17,18
Deal bountifully with thy
servant, that I may live, and keep thy word.
Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law.
Isaiah 26:2‑4
Open ye the gates, that the
righteous nation which keepeth the truth may enter in. Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose
mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee. Trust ye in the Lord for ever: for in the
Lord JEHOVAH is everlasting strength:
Isaiah 42:5‑8 (to ,)
#Thus saith God the Lord, he
that created the heavens, and stretched them out; he that spread forth the
earth, and that which cometh out of it; he that giveth breath unto the people
upon it, and spirit to them that walk therein: I the Lord have called thee in
righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for
a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles; To open the blind eyes,
to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out
of the prison house. I am the Lord: that
is my name: and my glory will I not give to another,
Malachi 3:10
Bring ye all the tithes into
the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now
herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of
heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to
receive it.
II Corinthians 3:18 we
we all, with open face beholding as in a glass
the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory,
even as by the Spirit of the Lord.
Readings from Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy.
2:23
God is Love.
Can we ask Him to be more? God is
intelligence. Can we inform the infinite
Mind of anything He does not already comprehend? Do we expect to change perfection? Shall we plead for more at the open fount,
which is pouring forth more than we accept? The unspoken desire does bring us
nearer the source of all existence and blessedness.
12:27
Does Deity interpose in behalf of one
worshipper, and not help another who offers the same measure of prayer? If the sick recover because they pray or are
prayed for audibly, only petitioners (per
se or by proxy) should get well. In
divine Science, where prayers are mental, all
may avail themselves of God as "a very present help in trouble." Love
is impartial and universal in its adaptation and bestowals. It is the open fount which cries, "Ho,
every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters."
14:31‑13
"When thou prayest, enter into thy
closet, and, when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in
secret; and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly."
So spake Jesus. The closet typifies the sanctuary of Spirit,
the door of which shuts out sinful sense but lets in Truth, Life, and
Love. Closed to error, it is open to
Truth, and vice versa. The Father in secret is unseen to the
physical senses, but He knows all things and rewards according to motives, not
according to speech. To enter into the
heart of prayer, the door of the erring senses must be closed. Lips must be mute and materialism silent,
that man may have audience with Spirit, the divine Principle, Love, which
destroys all error.
98:31
The way through which immortality and life
are learned is not ecclesiastical but Christian, not human but divine, not
physical but metaphysical, not material but scientifically spiritual. Human philosophy, ethics, and superstition
afford no demonstrable divine Principle by which mortals can escape from sin;
yet to escape from sin, is what the Bible demands. "Work out your own salvation with fear
and trembling," says the apostle, and he straightway adds: "for it is
God which worketh in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure"
(Philippians ii. 12, 13). Truth has
furnished the key to the kingdom, and with this key Christian Science has
opened the door of the human understanding.
None may pick the lock nor enter by some other door. The ordinary teachings are material and not
spiritual. Christian Science teaches
only that which is spiritual and divine, and not human. Christian Science is unerring and Divine; the
human sense of things errs because it is human.
224:22‑4
A higher and more practical Christianity,
demonstrating justice and meeting the needs of mortals in sickness and in
health, stands at the door of this age, knocking for admission. Will you open or close the door upon this
angel visitant, who cometh in the quiet of meekness, as he came of old to the
patriarch at noonday?
Truth brings the elements of liberty. On its banner is the Soul‑inspired motto,
"Slavery is abolished." The
power of God brings deliverance to the captive.
No power can withstand divine Love.
What is this supposed power, which opposes itself to God? Whence cometh it? What is it that binds man with iron shackles
to sin, sickness, and death? Whatever
enslaves man is opposed to the divine government. Truth makes man free.
326:16
The purpose and motive to live aright can be
gained now. This point won, you have
started as you should. You have begun at
the numeration‑table of Christian Science, and nothing but wrong intention can
hinder your advancement. Working and
praying with true motives, your Father will open the way. "Who did hinder you, that ye should not
obey the truth?"
366:30
If we would open their prison doors for the
sick, we must first learn to bind up the broken‑hearted. If we would heal by the Spirit, we must not
hide the talent of spiritual healing under the napkin of its form, nor bury the
morale of Christian Science in the
grave‑clothes of its letter. The tender
word and Christian encouragement of an invalid, pitiful patience with his fears
and the removal of them, are better than hecatombs of gushing theories,
stereotyped borrowed speeches, and the doling of arguments, which are but so
many parodies on legitimate Christian Science, aflame with divine Love.
428:3
Life is real, and death is the illusion. A demonstration of the facts of Soul in
Jesus' way resolves the dark visions of material sense into harmony and
immortality. Man's privilege at this
supreme moment is to prove the words of our Master: "If a man keep my
saying, he shall never see death."
To divest thought of false trusts and material evidences in order that
the spiritual facts of being may appear,‑‑this is the great attainment by means
of which we shall sweep away the false and give place to the true. Thus we may establish in truth the temple, or
body, "whose builder and maker is God."
451:19
Every Christian Scientist, every
conscientious teacher of the Science of Mind‑healing, knows that human will is
not Christian Science, and he must recognize this in order to defend himself
from the influence of human will. He
feels morally obligated to open the eyes of his students that they may perceive
the nature and methods of error of every sort, especially any subtle degree of
evil, deceived and deceiving. All mental
malpractice arises from ignorance or malice aforethought. It is the injurious action of one mortal mind
controlling another from wrong motives, and it is practised either with a
mistaken or a wicked purpose.
535:10
Divine Science deals its chief blow at the
supposed material foundations of life and intelligence. It dooms idolatry. A belief in other gods, other creators, and
other creations must go down before Christian Science. It unveils the results of sin as shown in
sickness and death. When will man pass
through the open gate of Christian Science into the heaven of Soul, into the
heritage of the first born among men?
Truth is indeed "the way."
570:26
When God heals the sick or the sinning, they
should know the great benefit which Mind has wrought. They should also know the great delusion of
mortal mind, when it makes them sick or sinful.
Many are willing to open the eyes of the people to the power of good
resident in divine Mind, but they are not so willing to point out the evil in
human thought, and expose evil's hidden mental ways of accomplishing
iniquity.
Silent prayer followed by the audible repetition of the Lord’s Prayer.
Hymn 201
Charles Parsons
O do not bar your mind
Against the light of good;
But open wide, let in the Word,
And Truth will be your food.
Truth will from error free
Your long enslaved mind,
And bring the light of liberty
Where it shall be enshrined.
Hid treasures it reveals
To all who know its power;
And all who will may light receive
In this most gracious hour.
Then open wide your heart
To Truth and Light and Love;
You then shall know your life is hid
With Christ in God above.
Sharing of experiences, testimonies and remarks by members of the congregation.
Hymn 269
Frederic W. Root
Our God is Love, unchanging Love,
And can we ask for more?
Our prayer for Love's increase is vain;
'Twas infinite before.
Ask not the Lord with breath of praise
For more than we accept;
The open fount is free to all,
God's promises are kept.
Our God is Mind, the perfect Mind,
Intelligence divine;
Shall mortal man ask Him to change
His
infinite design?
The heart that yearns for righteousness,
With longing unalloyed,
In such desire sends up a prayer
That ne'er returneth void.
O loving Father, well we know
That words alone are vain,
That those who seek Thy will to do,
The true communion gain.
Then may our deeds our pure desire
For growth in grace express,
That we may know how Love divine
Forever waits to bless.
