Theme: Constant
Hymn 46
Josiah Conder*
Day by day the manna fell:
O, to learn this lesson well.
Still by constant mercy fed,
Give me, Lord, my daily bread.
Day by day the promise reads,
Daily strength for daily needs:
Cast foreboding fears away;
Take the manna of today.
Lord, my times are in Thy hand:
All my sanguine hopes have planned,
To Thy wisdom I resign,
And would mold my will to Thine.
Thou my daily task shalt give;
Day by day to Thee I live;
So shall added years fulfill
Not my own, my Father's will.
Readings from the Bible.
I Chronicles 28:1‑10 David
David assembled all the
princes of Israel, the princes of the tribes, and the captains of the companies
that ministered to the king by course, and the captains over the thousands, and
captains over the hundreds, and the stewards over all the substance and
possession of the king, and of his sons, with the officers, and with the mighty
men, and with all the valiant men, unto Jerusalem. Then David the king stood up upon his feet,
and said, Hear me, my brethren, and my people: As for me, I had in mine heart
to build an house of rest for the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and for the
footstool of our God, and had made ready for the building: But God said unto
me, Thou shalt not build an house for my name, because thou hast been a man of
war, and hast shed blood. Howbeit the
Lord God of Israel chose me before all the house of my father to be king over
Israel for ever: for he hath chosen Judah to be the ruler; and of the house of
Judah, the house of my father; and among the sons of my father he liked me to
make me king over all Israel: And of all my sons, (for the Lord hath given me
many sons,) he hath chosen Solomon my son to sit upon the throne of the kingdom
of the Lord over Israel. And he said
unto me, Solomon thy son, he shall build my house and my courts: for I have
chosen him to be my son, and I will be his father. Moreover I will establish his kingdom for
ever, if he be constant to do my commandments and my judgments, as at this
day. Now therefore in the sight of all
Israel the congregation of the Lord, and in the audience of our God, keep and
seek for all the commandments of the Lord your God: that ye may possess this
good land, and leave it for an inheritance for your children after you for
ever. #And thou, Solomon my son, know
thou the God of thy father, and serve him with a perfect heart and with a
willing mind: for the Lord searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all the
imaginations of the thoughts: if thou seek him, he will be found of thee; but
if thou forsake him, he will cast thee off for ever. Take heed now; for the Lord hath chosen thee
to build an house for the sanctuary: be strong, and do it.
Psalms 16:1,5‑11
Preserve me, O God: for in
thee do I put my trust.
The Lord is the portion of
mine inheritance and of my cup: thou maintainest my lot. The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant
places; yea, I have a goodly heritage. I
will bless the Lord, who hath given me counsel: my reins also instruct me in
the night seasons. I have set the Lord
always before me: because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved. Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory
rejoiceth: my flesh also shall rest in hope.
For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine
Holy One to see corruption. Thou wilt
shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand
there are pleasures for evermore.
Matthew 18:1‑5,10‑14
At the same time came the
disciples unto Jesus, saying, Who is the greatest in the kingdom of
heaven? And Jesus called a little child
unto him, and set him in the midst of them, And said, Verily I say unto you,
Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into
the kingdom of heaven. Whosoever
therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in
the kingdom of heaven. And whoso shall
receive one such little child in my name receiveth me.
Take heed that ye despise not
one of these little ones; for I say unto you, That in heaven their angels do
always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven. For the Son of man is come to save that which
was lost. How think ye? if a man have an
hundred sheep, and one of them be gone astray, doth he not leave the ninety and
nine, and goeth into the mountains, and seeketh that which is gone astray? And if so be that he find it, verily I say
unto you, he rejoiceth more of that sheep, than of the ninety and nine which
went not astray. Even so it is not the
will of your Father which is in heaven, that one of these little ones should
perish.
Acts 2:25‑28 David
David speaketh concerning him, I foresaw the
Lord always before my face, for he is on my right hand, that I should not be
moved: Therefore did my heart rejoice, and my tongue was glad; moreover also my
flesh shall rest in hope: Because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither
wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. Thou hast made known to me the ways of life;
thou shalt make me full of joy with thy countenance.
Acts 12:1‑17
Now about that time Herod the
king stretched forth his hands to vex certain of the church. And he killed James the brother of John with
the sword. And because he saw it pleased
the Jews, he proceeded further to take Peter also. (Then were the days of
unleavened bread.) And when he had apprehended him, he put him in prison, and
delivered him to four quaternions of soldiers to keep him; intending after
Easter to bring him forth to the people.
Peter therefore was kept in prison: but prayer was made without ceasing
of the church unto God for him. And when
Herod would have brought him forth, the same night Peter was sleeping between
two soldiers, bound with two chains: and the keepers before the door kept the
prison. And, behold, the angel of the
Lord came upon him, and a light shined in the prison: and he smote Peter on the
side, and raised him up, saying, Arise up quickly. And his chains fell off from
his hands. And the angel said unto him,
Gird thyself, and bind on thy sandals. And so he did. And he saith unto him,
Cast thy garment about thee, and follow me.
And he went out, and followed him; and wist not that it was true which
was done by the angel; but thought he saw a vision. When they were past the first and the second
ward, they came unto the iron gate that leadeth unto the city; which opened to
them of his own accord: and they went out, and passed on through one street;
and forthwith the angel departed from him.
And when Peter was come to himself, he said, Now I know of a surety,
that the Lord hath sent his angel, and hath delivered me out of the hand of
Herod, and from all the expectation of the people of the Jews. And when he had considered the thing, he came
to the house of Mary the mother of John, whose surname was Mark; where many
were gathered together praying. And as
Peter knocked at the door of the gate, a damsel came to hearken, named
Rhoda. And when she knew Peter's voice,
she opened not the gate for gladness, but ran in, and told how Peter stood
before the gate. And they said unto her,
Thou art mad. But she constantly affirmed that it was even so. Then said they,
It is his angel. But Peter continued
knocking: and when they had opened the door, and saw him, they were
astonished. But he, beckoning unto them
with the hand to hold their peace, declared unto them how the Lord had brought
him out of the prison. And he said, Go shew these things unto James, and to the
brethren. And he departed, and went into another place.
I Corinthians 15:48‑58
As is the earthy, such are
they also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are
heavenly. And as we have borne the image
of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly. Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and
blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit
incorruption. Behold, I shew you a
mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in
the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and
the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on
incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on
incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be
brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in
victory. O death, where is thy sting? O
grave, where is thy victory? The sting
of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the
victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always
abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not
in vain in the Lord.
II Corinthians 2:14
Now thanks be unto God, which
always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of his
knowledge by us in every place.
II Corinthians 5:1‑8 we
we know that if our earthly
house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house
not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.
For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our
house which is from heaven: If so be that being clothed we shall not be found
naked. For we that are in this
tabernacle do groan, being burdened: not for that we would be unclothed, but
clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of life. Now he that hath wrought us for the selfsame
thing is God, who also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit. Therefore we are always confident, knowing
that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord: (For we
walk by faith, not by sight:) We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be
absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.
II Corinthians 9:7,8
Every man according as he
purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for
God loveth a cheerful giver. And God is
able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency
in all things, may abound to every good work:
Philippians 2:12,13
Wherefore, my beloved, as ye
have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my
absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God which worketh in you both to
will and to do of his good pleasure.
Readings from Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy.
4:12
The habitual struggle to be always good is
unceasing prayer. Its motives are made
manifest in the blessings they bring,‑‑blessings which, even if not
acknowledged in audible words, attest our worthiness to be partakers of
Love.
15:25
Christians rejoice in secret beauty and
bounty, hidden from the world, but known to God. Self‑forgetfulness, purity, and affection are
constant prayers. Practice not
profession, understanding not belief, gain the ear and right hand of
omnipotence and they assuredly call down infinite blessings. Trustworthiness is the foundation of
enlightened faith. Without a fitness for
holiness, we cannot receive holiness.
21:9
If the disciple is advancing spiritually, he
is striving to enter in. He constantly
turns away from material sense, and looks towards the imperishable things of
Spirit. If honest, he will be in earnest
from the start, and gain a little each day in the right direction, till at last
he finishes his course with joy.
22:30
Justice requires reformation of the
sinner. Mercy cancels the debt only when
justice approves. Revenge is
inadmissible. Wrath which is only
appeased is not destroyed, but partially indulged. Wisdom and Love may require many sacrifices
of self to save us from sin. One
sacrifice, however great, is insufficient to pay the debt of sin. The atonement requires constant self‑immolation
on the sinner's part. That God's wrath
should be vented upon His beloved Son, is divinely unnatural. Such a theory is man‑made. The atonement is a hard problem in theology,
but its scientific explanation is, that suffering is an error of sinful sense
which Truth destroys, and that eventually both sin and suffering will fall at
the feet of everlasting Love.
188:28‑24
When darkness comes over the earth, the
physical senses have no immediate evidence of a sun. The human eye knows not where the orb of day
is, nor if it exists. Astronomy gives
the desired information regarding the sun.
The human or material senses yield to the authority of this science, and
they are willing to leave with astronomy the explanation of the sun's influence
over the earth. If the eyes see no sun
for a week, we still believe that there is solar light and heat. Science (in this instance named natural)
raises the human thought above the cruder theories of the human mind, and casts
out a fear.
In like manner mortals should no more deny
the power of Christian Science to establish harmony and to explain the effect
of mortal mind on the body, though the cause be unseen, than they should deny
the existence of the sunlight when the orb of day disappears, or doubt that the
sun will reappear. The sins of others
should not make good men suffer.
We call the body material; but it is as truly
mortal mind, according to its degree, as is the material brain which is
supposed to furnish the evidence of all mortal thought or things. The human mortal mind, by an inevitable
perversion, makes all things start from the lowest instead of from the highest
mortal thought. The reverse is the case
with all the formations of the immortal divine Mind. They proceed from the divine source; and so,
in tracing them, we constantly ascend in infinite being.
200:9‑19
Life is, always has been, and
ever will be independent of matter; for Life is God, and man is the idea of
God, not formed materially but spiritually, and not subject to decay and
dust. The Psalmist said: "Thou
madest him to have dominion over the works of Thy hands. Thou hast put all things under his
feet."
The great truth in the Science of being, that
the real man was, is, and ever shall be perfect, is incontrovertible; for if
man is the image, reflection, of God, he is neither inverted nor subverted, but
upright and Godlike.
209:25‑4
Material substances or mundane formations,
astronomical calculations, and all the paraphernalia of speculative theories,
based on the hypothesis of material law or life and intelligence resident in
matter, will ultimately vanish, swallowed up in the infinite calculus of
Spirit.
Spiritual sense is a conscious, constant
capacity to understand God. It shows the
superiority of faith by works over faith in words. Its ideas are expressed only in "new
tongues;" and these are interpreted by the translation of the spiritual
original into the language which human thought can comprehend.
284:28
According to Christian Science, the only real
senses of man are spiritual, emanating from divine Mind. Thought passes from God to man, but neither
sensation nor report goes from material body to Mind. The intercommunication is always from God to
His idea, man. Matter is not sentient
and cannot be cognizant of good or of evil, of pleasure or of pain. Man's individuality is not material. This Science of being obtains not alone
hereafter in what men call Paradise, but here and now; it is the great fact of
being for time and eternity.
450:19‑7
The Christian Scientist has
enlisted to lessen evil, disease, and death; and he will overcome them by
understanding their nothingness and the allness of God, or good. Sickness to him is no less a temptation than
is sin, and he heals them both by understanding God's power over them. The Christian Scientist knows that they are
errors of belief, which Truth can and will destroy.
Who, that has felt the perilous beliefs in
life, substance, and intelligence separated from God, can say that there is no
error of belief? Knowing the claim of
animal magnetism, that all evil combines in the belief of life, substance, and
intelligence in matter, electricity, animal nature, and organic life, who will
deny that these are the errors which Truth must and will annihilate? Christian Scientists must live under the
constant pressure of the apostolic command to come out from the material world
and be separate. They must renounce
aggression, oppression and the pride of power.
Christianity, with the crown of Love upon her brow, must be their queen
of life.
487:25‑13
The Apostle James said, "Show me thy
faith without thy works, and I will show thee my faith by my works." The
understanding that Life is God, Spirit, lengthens our days by strengthening our
trust in the deathless reality of Life, its almightiness and immortality.
This faith relies upon an understood
Principle. This Principle makes whole
the diseased, and brings out the enduring and harmonious phases of things. The result of our teachings is their sufficient
confirmation. When, on the strength of
these instructions, you are able to banish a severe malady, the cure shows that
you understand this teaching, and therefore you receive the blessing of Truth.
The Hebrew and Greek words often translated belief differ somewhat in meaning from
that conveyed by the English verb believe;
they have more the significance of faith, understanding, trust, constancy,
firmness. Hence the Scriptures often
appear in our common version to approve and endorse belief, when they mean to
enforce the necessity of understanding.
494:10
Divine Love always has met
and always will meet every human need.
It is not well to imagine that Jesus demonstrated the divine power to
heal only for a select number or for a limited period of time, since to all mankind
and in every hour, divine Love supplies all good.
582:1-2
BELIEVING: Firmness and constancy; not a
faltering nor a blind faith, but the perception of spiritual Truth.
Silent prayer followed by the audible repetition of the Lord’s Prayer.
Hymn 124
Philip Doddridge – Adapted
How gentle God's commands,
How kind His precepts are;
Come, cast your burdens on the Lord,
And trust His constant care.
Beneath His watchful eye
His saints securely dwell;
That hand which bears creation up
Shall guard His children well.
His goodness stands approved,
Unchanged from day to day:
I drop my burden at His feet,
And bear a song away.
Sharing of experiences, testimonies and remarks by members of the congregation.
Hymn 374
John Randall Dunn
We thank Thee and we bless Thee,
O Father of us all,
That e'en before we ask Thee
Thou hear'st Thy children's call.
We praise Thee for Thy goodness
And tender, constant care,
We thank Thee, Father‑Mother,
That Thou hast heard our prayer.
We thank Thee and we bless Thee,
O Lord of all above,
That now Thy children know Thee
As everlasting Love.
And Love is not the author
Of discord, pain and fear;
O Love divine, we thank Thee
That good alone is here.
We thank Thee, Father‑Mother,
For blessings, light and grace
Which bid mankind to waken
And see Thee face to face.
We thank Thee, when in anguish
We turn from sense to Soul,
That we may hear Thee calling:
Rejoice, for thou art whole.
