Theme: Perfection
Hymn 350
Mary Peters – Adapted
Through the love of God our Saviour
All will be well;
Free and changeless is His favor;
All must be well;
Precious is the Love that healed us,
Perfect is the grace that sealed us,
Strong the hand stretched forth to shield us;
All, all is well.
Though we pass through tribulation,
All will be well;
Ours is such a full salvation,
All must be well;
Happy still, in God confiding,
Fruitful, when in Christ abiding,
Holy, through the Spirit's guiding;
All, all is well.
We expect a bright tomorrow,
All will be well;
Faith can sing through days of sorrow,
All must be well;
While His truth we are applying,
And upon His love relying,
God is every need supplying,
All, all is well.
Readings from the Bible.
Job 11:7‑9,13‑19 (to ;)
Canst thou by searching find
out God? canst thou find out the Almighty unto perfection? It is as high as heaven; what canst thou do?
deeper than hell; what canst thou know?
The measure thereof is longer than the earth, and broader than the sea.
If thou prepare thine heart,
and stretch out thine hands toward him; If iniquity be in thine hand, put it
far away, and let not wickedness dwell in thy tabernacles. For then shalt thou lift up thy face without
spot; yea, thou shalt be stedfast, and shalt not fear: Because thou shalt
forget thy misery, and remember it as waters that pass away: And thine age
shall be clearer than the noonday; thou shalt shine forth, thou shalt be as the
morning. And thou shalt be secure,
because there is hope; yea, thou shalt dig about thee, and thou shalt take thy
rest in safety. Also thou shalt lie
down, and none shall make thee afraid;
Psalms 18:1‑3 (to :),6,16‑25,32
I will love thee, O Lord, my
strength. The Lord is my rock, and my
fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my
buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower. I will call upon the
Lord, who is worthy to be praised:
In my distress I called upon
the Lord, and cried unto my God: he heard my voice out of his temple, and my
cry came before him, even into his ears.
He sent from above, he took
me, he drew me out of many waters. He
delivered me from my strong enemy, and from them which hated me: for they were
too strong for me. They prevented me in
the day of my calamity: but the Lord was my stay. He brought me forth also into a large place;
he delivered me, because he delighted in me.
The Lord rewarded me according to my righteousness; according to the
cleanness of my hands hath he recompensed me.
For I have kept the ways of the Lord, and have not wickedly departed
from my God. For all his judgments were
before me, and I did not put away his statutes from me. I was also upright before him, and I kept
myself from mine iniquity. Therefore
hath the Lord recompensed me according to my righteousness, according to the
cleanness of my hands in his eyesight.
With the merciful thou wilt shew thyself merciful; with an upright man
thou wilt shew thyself upright;
It is God that girdeth me
with strength, and maketh my way perfect.
Psalms 19:7‑11
The law of the Lord is
perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise
the simple. The statutes of the Lord are
right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening
the eyes. The fear of the Lord is clean,
enduring for ever: the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous
altogether. More to be desired are they
than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the
honeycomb. Moreover by them is thy
servant warned: and in keeping of them there is great reward.
Psalms 37:37
Mark the perfect man, and
behold the upright: for the end of that man is peace.
Psalms 50:1‑3 (to :)
The mighty God, even the
Lord, hath spoken, and called the earth from the rising of the sun unto the
going down thereof. Out of Zion, the
perfection of beauty, God hath shined.
Our God shall come, and shall not keep silence:
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:
Matthew 5:48
Be ye therefore perfect, even
as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.
Romans 12:1‑10
I beseech you therefore,
brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living
sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye
transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good,
and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among
you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think
soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith. For as we have many members in one body, and
all members have not the same office: So we, being many, are one body in Christ,
and every one members one of another.
Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us,
whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith; Or
ministry, let us wait on our ministering: or he that teacheth, on teaching; Or
he that exhorteth, on exhortation: he that giveth, let him do it with
simplicity; he that ruleth, with diligence; he that sheweth mercy, with
cheerfulness. Let love be without
dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good. Be kindly affectioned one to another with
brotherly love; in honour preferring one another;
I Corinthians 13:1‑10
Though I speak with the
tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding
brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And though
I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge;
and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not
charity, I am nothing. And though I
bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned,
and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.
Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity
vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh
not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; Rejoiceth not in
iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; Beareth all things, believeth all things,
hopeth all things, endureth all things.
Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail;
whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it
shall vanish away. For we know in part,
and we prophesy in part. But when that
which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away.
Ephesians 4:11‑13
And he gave some, apostles;
and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For
the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of
the body of Christ: Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the
knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the
stature of the fulness of Christ:
II Corinthians 13:11
Finally, brethren, farewell.
Be perfect, be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace; and the God of
love and peace shall be with you.
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.
72:17‑23
Perfection is not expressed through
imperfection. Spirit is not made
manifest through matter, the antipode of Spirit. Error is not a convenient sieve through which
truth can be strained.
God, good, being ever present, it follows in
divine logic that evil, the suppositional opposite of good, is never present.
96:12‑4
This material world is even now becoming the
arena for conflicting forces. On one
side there will be discord and dismay; on the other side there will be Science
and peace. The breaking up of material
beliefs may seem to be famine and pestilence, want and woe, sin, sickness, and
death, which assume new phases until their nothingness appears. These disturbances will continue until the
end of error, when all discord will be swallowed up in spiritual Truth.
Mortal error will vanish in a moral
chemicalization. This mental
fermentation has begun, and will continue until all errors of belief yield to
understanding. Belief is changeable, but
spiritual understanding is changeless.
As this consummation draws nearer, he who has
shaped his course in accordance with divine Science will endure to the
end. As material knowledge diminishes
and spiritual understanding increases, real objects will be apprehended
mentally instead of materially.
During this final conflict, wicked minds will
endeavor to find means by which to accomplish more evil; but those who discern
Christian Science will hold crime in check.
They will aid in the ejection of error.
They will maintain law and order, and cheerfully await the certainty of
ultimate perfection.
201:13‑19
We cannot fill vessels already full. They must first be emptied. Let us disrobe
error. Then, when the winds of God blow,
we shall not hug our tatters close about us.
The way to extract error from mortal mind is
to pour in truth through flood‑tides of Love.
Christian perfection is won on no other basis.
233:8
In the midst of imperfection, perfection is
seen and acknowledged only by degrees.
The ages must slowly work up to perfection. How long it must be before we arrive at the
demonstration of scientific being, no man knoweth,‑‑not even "the Son but
the Father;" but the false claim of error continues its delusions until
the goal of goodness is assiduously earned and won.
252:15‑17 np
The false evidence of material sense
contrasts strikingly with the testimony of Spirit. Material sense lifts its voice with the
arrogance of reality and says:
I am wholly dishonest, and no man knoweth
it. I can cheat, lie, commit adultery,
rob, murder, and I elude detection by smooth‑tongued villainy. Animal in propensity, deceitful in sentiment,
fraudulent in purpose, I mean to make my short span of life one gala day. What a nice thing is sin! How sin succeeds, where the good purpose
waits! The world is my kingdom. I am enthroned in the gorgeousness of
matter. But a touch, an accident, the
law of God, may at any moment annihilate my peace, for all my fancied joys are
fatal. Like bursting lava, I expand but
to my own despair, and shine with the resplendency of consuming fire.
Spirit, bearing opposite testimony, saith:
I am Spirit.
Man, whose senses are spiritual, is my likeness. He reflects the infinite understanding, for I
am Infinity. The beauty of holiness, the
perfection of being, imperishable glory,‑‑all are Mine, for I am God. I give immortality to man, for I am
Truth. I include and impart all bliss,
for I am Love. I give life, without
beginning and without end, for I am Life.
I am supreme and give all, for I am Mind. I am the substance of all, because I AM THAT
I AM.
I hope, dear reader, I am leading you into
the understanding of your divine rights, your heaven‑bestowed harmony,‑‑that,
as you read, you see there is no cause (outside of erring, mortal, material
sense which is not power) able to make you sick or sinful; and I hope that you
are conquering this false sense. Knowing
the falsity of so‑called material sense, you can assert your prerogative to
overcome the belief in sin, disease, or death.
264:32
The universe of Spirit is peopled with
spiritual beings, and its government is divine Science. Man is the offspring, not of the lowest, but
of the highest qualities of Mind. Man
understands spiritual existence in proportion as his treasures of Truth and
Love are enlarged. Mortals must gravitate
Godward, their affections and aims grow spiritual,‑‑they must near the broader
interpretations of being, and gain some proper sense of the infinite,‑‑in order
that sin and mortality may be put off.
325:10
In Colossians (iii. 4) Paul writes:
"When Christ, who is our life, shall appear [be manifested], then shall ye
also appear [be manifested] with him in glory." When spiritual being is
understood in all its perfection, continuity, and might, then shall man be
found in God's image. The absolute meaning
of the apostolic words is this: Then
shall man be found, in His likeness, perfect as the Father, indestructible in
Life, "hid with Christ in God,"‑‑with Truth in divine Love, where
human sense hath not seen man.
336:25 God
God, the divine Principle of
man, and man in God's likeness are inseparable, harmonious, and eternal. The Science of being furnishes the rule of
perfection, and brings immortality to light.
God and man are not the same, but in the order of divine Science, God
and man coexist and are eternal. God is
the parent Mind, and man is God's spiritual offspring.
353:13
The age has not wholly outlived the sense of
ghostly beliefs. It still holds them
more or less. Time has not yet reached
eternity, immortality, complete reality.
All the real is eternal.
Perfection underlies reality.
Without perfection, nothing is wholly real. All things will continue to disappear, until
perfection appears and reality is reached.
We must give up the spectral at all points. We must not continue to admit the
somethingness of superstition, but we must yield up all belief in it and be
wise. When we learn that error is not
real, we shall be ready for progress, "forgetting those things which are
behind."
470:21
God is the creator of man, and, the divine
Principle of man remaining perfect, the divine idea or reflection, man, remains
perfect. Man is the expression of God's
being. If there ever was a moment when
man did not express the divine perfection, then there was a moment when man did
not express God, and consequently a time when Deity was unexpressed‑‑that is,
without entity. If man has lost
perfection, then he has lost his perfect Principle, the divine Mind. If man ever existed without this perfect
Principle or Mind, then man's existence was a myth.
555:16
Searching for the origin of man, who is the
reflection of God, is like inquiring into the origin of God, the self‑existent
and eternal. Only impotent error would
seek to unite Spirit with matter, good with evil, immortality with mortality,
and call this sham unity man, as if
man were the offspring of both Mind and matter, of both Deity and
humanity. Creation rests on a spiritual
basis. We lose our standard of
perfection and set aside the proper conception of Deity, when we admit that the
perfect is the author of aught that can become imperfect, that God bestows the
power to sin, or that Truth confers the ability to err. Our great example, Jesus, could restore the
individualized manifestation of existence, which seemed to vanish in
death. Knowing that God was the Life of
man, Jesus was able to present himself unchanged after the crucifixion. Truth fosters the idea of Truth, and not the
belief in illusion or error. That which
is real, is sustained by Spirit.
Silent prayer followed by the audible repetition of the Lord’s Prayer.
Hymn 15
Based on the Danish of Bernhard S. Ingemann
As gold by fire is tested,
Its purity shown forth,
So cleansing fires of Truth may prove
To man his native worth.
And as a mirror shows us
A likeness clear and bright,
So God forever sees His child
Revealed in radiant light.
'Twas thus the loving Master
Saw man's perfection shine,
Beheld God's child forever pure
In radiance all divine.
Sharing of experiences, testimonies and remarks by members of the congregation.
Hymn 421
Violet Hay
From these Thy children gathered in Thy name,
From hearts made whole, from lips redeemed
from woe,
Thy praise, O Father, shall forever flow.
Alleluia!
Alleluia!
O perfect Life, in Thy completeness held,
None can beyond Thy omnipresence stray;
Safe in Thy Love, we live and sing alway
Alleluia!
Alleluia!
O perfect Mind, reveal Thy likeness true,
That higher selfhood which we all must prove,
Joy and dominion, love reflecting Love.
Alleluia!
Alleluia!
Thou, Soul, inspiring‑‑give us vision clear,
Break earth‑bound fetters, sweep away the
veil,
Show the new heaven and earth that shall
prevail.
Alleluia!
Alleluia!
