Service for Thursday, Nov. 22, 2012

Subject: Thanksgiving

 Hymn 73 

 Based on the Dutch of Abraham Rutgers

 Glory, honor, praise and pure oblations

   Unto God the Lord belong;

 Come into His presence with thanksgiving,

   Come before Him with a song.

 In His hand is all the power of nations,

 Sing to Him, ye joyous congregations,

   Psalms of gratitude and praise

   Unto God the Father raise.

 God is Mind and holy thought is sending;

   Man, His image, hears His voice.

 Every heart may understand His message,

   In His kindness may rejoice.

 Lo, He speaks, all condemnation ending,

 Every true desire with Love's will blending;

   Losing self, in Him we find

   Joy, health, hope, for all mankind.

Thanksgiving Proclamation of the President of the United States

On Thanksgiving Day, Americans everywhere gather with family and friends to recount the joys and blessings of the past year. This day is a time to take stock of the fortune we have known and the kindnesses we have shared, grateful for the God-given bounty that enriches our lives. As many pause to lend a hand to those in need, we are also reminded of the indelible spirit of compassion and mutual responsibility that has distinguished our Nation since its earliest days.

Many Thanksgivings have offered opportunities to celebrate community during times of hardship. When the Pilgrims at Plymouth Colony gave thanks for a bountiful harvest nearly four centuries ago, they enjoyed the fruits of their labor with the Wampanoag tribe -- a people who had shared vital knowledge of the land in the difficult months before. When President George Washington marked our democracy's first Thanksgiving, he prayed to our Creator for peace, union, and plenty through the trials that would surely come. And when our Nation was torn by bitterness and civil war, President Abraham Lincoln reminded us that we were, at heart, one Nation, sharing a bond as Americans that could bend but would not break. Those expressions of unity still echo today, whether in the contributions that generations of Native Americans have made to our country, the Union our forebears fought so hard to preserve, or the providence that draws our families together this season.

As we reflect on our proud heritage, let us also give thanks to those who honor it by giving back. This Thanksgiving, thousands of our men and women in uniform will sit down for a meal far from their loved ones and the comforts of home. We honor their service and sacrifice. We also show our appreciation to Americans who are serving in their communities, ensuring their neighbors have a hot meal and a place to stay. Their actions reflect our age-old belief that we are our brothers' and sisters' keepers, and they affirm once more that we are a people who draw our deepest strength not from might or wealth, but from our bonds to each other.

On Thanksgiving Day, individuals from all walks of life come together to celebrate this most American tradition, grateful for the blessings of family, community, and country. Let us spend this day by lifting up those we love, mindful of the grace bestowed upon us by God and by all who have made our lives richer with their presence.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim Thursday, November 22, 2012, as a National Day of Thanksgiving. I encourage the people of the United States to join together -- whether in our homes, places of worship, community centers, or any place of fellowship for friends and neighbors -- and give thanks for all we have received in the past year, express appreciation to those whose lives enrich our own, and share our bounty with others.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twentieth day of November, in the year of our Lord two thousand twelve, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-seventh.

The scriptural selections are from Psalms.

Psalms 104:1‑5,24,31,33

Bless the Lord, O my soul. O Lord my God, thou art very great; thou art clothed with honour and majesty.  Who coverest thyself with light as with a garment: who stretchest out the heavens like a curtain: Who layeth the beams of his chambers in the waters: who maketh the clouds his chariot: who walketh upon the wings of the wind: Who maketh his angels spirits; his ministers a flaming fire: Who laid the foundations of the earth, that it should not be removed for ever. 

O Lord, how manifold are thy works! in wisdom hast thou made them all: the earth is full of thy riches. 

The glory of the Lord shall endure for ever: the Lord shall rejoice in his works. 

I will sing unto the Lord as long as I live: I will sing praise to my God while I have my being.

Psalms 147:1‑9,12‑14,20 Praise

Praise ye the Lord: for it is good to sing praises unto our God; for it is pleasant; and praise is comely.  The Lord doth build up Jerusalem: he gathereth together the outcasts of Israel.  He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds.  He telleth the number of the stars; he calleth them all by their names.  Great is our Lord, and of great power: his understanding is infinite.  The Lord lifteth up the meek: he casteth the wicked down to the ground.  Sing unto the Lord with thanksgiving; sing praise upon the harp unto our God: Who covereth the heaven with clouds, who prepareth rain for the earth, who maketh grass to grow upon the mountains.  He giveth to the beast his food, and to the young ravens which cry. 

Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem; praise thy God, O Zion.  For he hath strengthened the bars of thy gates; he hath blessed thy children within thee.  He maketh peace in thy borders, and filleth thee with the finest of the wheat. 

 Praise ye the Lord. 

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 150 

 William P. McKenzie

 In mercy, in goodness, how great is our King;

 Our tribute, thanksgiving, with glad hearts we bring.

 Thou art the Renewer, the Ancient of Days,

 Who givest, for mourning, the garment of praise.

 We thank Thee for work in the wide harvest field,

 For gladness that ripens when sorrow is healed;

 Made strong with Thy goodness that meets every need,

 We gather the fruit of the Sower's good seed.

 Dear Father and Saviour, we thank Thee for life,

 And courage that rises undaunted by strife,

 For confident giving and giving's reward,

 For beauty and love in the life of our Lord.

Friends:
The Bible and the Christian Science textbook are our only preachers. We shall now read Scriptural texts, and their correlative passages from our denominational textbook; these comprise our sermon.

The canonical writings, together with the word of our textbook, corroborating and explaining the Bible texts in their spiritual import and application to all ages, past, present, and future, constitute a sermon undivorced from truth, uncontaminated and unfettered by human hypotheses, and divinely authorized.

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.

Solo: "Bless the Lord, Oh My Soul"

Sharing of testimonies appropriate for the occasion by members of the congregation. 

 Hymn 283 

 From the German of Joachim Neander

 Praise we the Lord, for His mercy endureth forever.

 Let us extol Him with joyous and loving endeavor;

        Come let us sing,

        Praising our God and our King,

 Should we be silent?  Ah, never.

 Praise we the Lord, who our footsteps still holdeth

          from sliding;

 Daily He campeth about us, protecting and guiding;

        E'en while we sleep

        Watch doth He tenderly keep;

 Ever new mercies providing.

 Praise we the Lord with a joyous and glad adoration;

 Lo, unto them that believe there is no condemnation;

        Now will we raise

        Songs of thanksgiving and praise,

 Christ is become our salvation.

"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 95:1,2

O come, let us sing unto the Lord: let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation.  Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise unto him with psalms.

Service for Wednesday, Nov. 21, 2012

Theme: New

 Hymn 247

 Thomas H. Gill* 

 O walk with God along the road,

   Your strength He will renew;

 Wait on the everlasting God,

   And He will walk with you.

 Ye shall not to your daily task

   Without your God repair,

 But on your work His blessing ask

   And prove His glory there.

 Ye shall not faint, ye shall not fail;

   In Spirit ye are strong;

 Each task divine ye still shall hail,

   And blend it with a song.

Readings from the Bible

Psalms 33:1‑9

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. 

Psalms 96:1‑13

O sing unto the Lord a new song: sing unto the Lord, all the earth. Sing unto the Lord, bless his name; shew forth his salvation from day to day.  Declare his glory among the heathen, his wonders among all people.  For the Lord is great, and greatly to be praised: he is to be feared above all gods.  For all the gods of the nations are idols: but the Lord made the heavens.  Honour and majesty are before him: strength and beauty are in his sanctuary.  Give unto the Lord, O ye kindreds of the people, give unto the Lord glory and strength.  Give unto the Lord the glory due unto his name: bring an offering, and come into his courts.  O worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness: fear before him, all the earth.  Say among the heathen that the Lord reigneth: the world also shall be established that it shall not be moved: he shall judge the people righteously.  Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad; let the sea roar, and the fulness thereof.  Let the field be joyful, and all that is therein: then shall all the trees of the wood rejoice Before the Lord: for he cometh, for he cometh to judge the earth: he shall judge the world with righteousness, and the people with his truth.

Psalms 98:1‑9

O sing unto the Lord a new song; for he hath done marvellous things: his right hand, and his holy arm, hath gotten him the victory.  The Lord hath made known his salvation: his righteousness hath he openly shewed in the sight of the heathen.  He hath remembered his mercy and his truth toward the house of Israel: all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.  Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all the earth: make a loud noise, and rejoice, and sing praise.  Sing unto the Lord with the harp; with the harp, and the voice of a psalm.  With trumpets and sound of cornet make a joyful noise before the Lord, the King.  Let the sea roar, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein.  Let the floods clap their hands: let the hills be joyful together Before the Lord; for he cometh to judge the earth: with righteousness shall he judge the world, and the people with equity.

Psalms 149:1‑5 (to :)

Praise ye the Lord. Sing unto the Lord a new song, and his praise in the congregation of saints.  Let Israel rejoice in him that made him: let the children of Zion be joyful in their King.  Let them praise his name in the dance: let them sing praises unto him with the timbrel and harp.  For the Lord taketh pleasure in his people: he will beautify the meek with salvation.  Let the saints be joyful in glory:

Isaiah 42:5‑10

#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, neither my praise to graven images.  Behold, the former things are come to pass, and new things do I declare: before they spring forth I tell you of them.  #Sing unto the Lord a new song, and his praise from the end of the earth, ye that go down to the sea, and all that is therein; the isles, and the inhabitants thereof.

Lamentations 3:22‑26

It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not.  They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.  The Lord is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him.  The Lord is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him.  It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord.

II Corinthians 5:16 henceforth,17

 henceforth know we no man after the flesh: yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more.  Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

Ephesians 4:17,18,20‑24

This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind, Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart:

But ye have not so learned Christ; If so be that ye have heard him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus: That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.

Revelation 21:1‑7

And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.  And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.  And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.  And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.  And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.  And he said unto me, It is done.  I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.  He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.

Readings from Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy.

vii:1‑26

  To those leaning on the sustaining infinite, to‑day is big with blessings.  The wakeful shepherd beholds the first faint morning beams, ere cometh the full radiance of a risen day.  So shone the pale star to the prophet‑shepherds; yet it traversed the night, and came where, in cradled obscurity, lay the Bethlehem babe, the human herald of Christ, Truth, who would make plain to benighted understanding the way of salvation through Christ Jesus, till across a night of error should dawn the morning beams and shine the guiding star of being.  The Wisemen were led to behold and to follow this daystar of divine Science, lighting the way to eternal harmony. 

  The time for thinkers has come.  Truth, independent of doctrines and time‑honored systems, knocks at the portal of humanity.  Contentment with the past and the cold conventionality of materialism are crumbling away.  Ignorance of God is no longer the stepping‑stone to faith.  The only guarantee of obedience is a right apprehension of Him whom to know aright is Life eternal.  Though empires fall, "the Lord shall reign forever."

  A book introduces new thoughts, but it cannot make them speedily understood.  It is the task of the sturdy pioneer to hew the tall oak and to cut the rough granite.  Future ages must declare what the pioneer has accomplished. 

33:18

  When the human element in him struggled with the divine, our great Teacher said: "Not my will, but Thine, be done!"‑‑that is, Let not the flesh, but the Spirit, be represented in me.  This is the new understanding of spiritual Love.  It gives all for Christ, or Truth.  It blesses its enemies, heals the sick, casts out error, raises the dead from trespasses and sins, and preaches the gospel to the poor, the meek in heart. 

34:29‑18

  What a contrast between our Lord's last supper and his last spiritual breakfast with his disciples in the bright morning hours at the joyful meeting on the shore of the Galilean Sea!  His gloom had passed into glory, and his disciples' grief into repentance,‑‑hearts chastened and pride rebuked.  Convinced of the fruitlessness of their toil in the dark and wakened by their Master's voice, they changed their methods, turned away from material things, and cast their net on the right side.  Discerning Christ, Truth, anew on the shore of time, they were enabled to rise somewhat from mortal sensuousness, or the burial of mind in matter, into newness of life as Spirit. 

  This spiritual meeting with our Lord in the dawn of a new light is the morning meal which Christian Scientists commemorate.  They bow before Christ, Truth, to receive more of his reappearing and silently to commune with the divine Principle, Love.  They celebrate their Lord's victory over death, his probation in the flesh after death, its exemplification of human probation, and his spiritual and final ascension above matter, or the flesh, when he rose out of material sight. 

66:6

  Trials teach mortals not to lean on a material staff,‑‑a broken reed, which pierces the heart.  We do not half remember this in the sunshine of joy and prosperity.  Sorrow is salutary.  Through great tribulation we enter the kingdom.  Trials are proofs of God's care. Spiritual development germinates not from seed sown in the soil of material hopes, but when these decay, Love propagates anew the higher joys of Spirit, which have no taint of earth.  Each successive stage of experience unfolds new views of divine goodness and love. 

91:1‑8

  The Revelator tells us of "a new heaven and a new earth."  Have you ever pictured this heaven and earth, inhabited by beings under the control of supreme wisdom? 

  Let us rid ourselves of the belief that man is separated from God, and obey only the divine Principle, Life and Love.  Here is the great point of departure for all true spiritual growth. 

109:4‑27

  Christian Science reveals incontrovertibly that Mind is All‑in‑all, that the only realities are the divine Mind and idea.  This great fact is not, however, seen to be supported by sensible evidence, until its divine Principle is demonstrated by healing the sick and thus proved absolute and divine.  This proof once seen, no other conclusion can be reached. 

  For three years after my discovery, I sought the solution of this problem of Mind‑healing, searched the Scriptures and read little else, kept aloof from society, and devoted time and energies to dis‑covering a positive rule.  The search was sweet, calm, and buoyant with hope, not selfish nor depressing.  I knew the Principle of all harmonious Mind‑action to be God, and that cures were produced in primitive Christian healing by holy, uplifting faith; but I must know the Science of this healing, and I won my way to absolute conclusions through divine revelation, reason, and demonstration.  The revelation of Truth in the understanding came to me gradually and apparently through divine power.  When a new spiritual idea is borne to earth, the prophetic Scripture of Isaiah is renewedly fulfilled: "Unto us a child is born, . . . and his name shall be called Wonderful."

191:8

  As a material, theoretical life‑basis is found to be a misapprehension of existence, the spiritual and divine Principle of man dawns upon human thought, and leads it to "where the young child was," ‑‑even to the birth of a new‑old idea, to the spiritual sense of being and of what Life includes.  Thus the whole earth will be transformed by Truth on its pinions of light, chasing away the darkness of error. 

201:7

  We cannot build safely on false foundations.  Truth makes a new creature, in whom old things pass away and "all things are become new."  Passions, selfishness, false appetites, hatred, fear, all sensuality, yield to spirituality, and the superabundance of being is on the side of God, good. 

276:17

  If God is admitted to be the only Mind and Life, there ceases to be any opportunity for sin and death.  When we learn in Science how to be perfect even as our Father in heaven is perfect, thought is turned into new and healthy channels,‑‑towards the contemplation of things immortal and away from materiality to the Principle of the universe, including harmonious man. 

323:28

  The effects of Christian Science are not so much seen as felt.  It is the "still, small voice" of Truth uttering itself.  We are either turning away from this utterance, or we are listening to it and going up higher.  Willingness to become as a little child and to leave the old for the new, renders thought receptive of the advanced idea.  Gladness to leave the false landmarks and joy to see them disappear,‑‑this disposition helps to precipitate the ultimate harmony.  The purification of sense and self is a proof of progress.  "Blessed are the pure in heart:  for they shall see God."

518:27

  The divine Principle, or Spirit, comprehends and expresses all, and all must therefore be as perfect as the divine Principle is perfect.  Nothing is new to Spirit.  Nothing can be novel to eternal Mind, the author of all things, who from all eternity knoweth His own ideas.  Deity was satisfied with His work.  How could He be otherwise, since the spiritual creation was the outgrowth, the emanation, of His infinite self‑containment and immortal wisdom? 

592:18

  NEW JERUSALEM.  Divine Science; the spiritual facts and harmony of the universe; the kingdom of heaven, or reign of harmony. 

Silent prayer followed by the audible repetition of the Lord’s Prayer.

 Hymn 258 

 James Russell Lowell – Adapted

 Oft to every man and nation

   Comes the moment to decide,

 In the strife of Truth with falsehood,

   For the good or evil side.

 A great cause, God's new Messiah,

   Shows to each the bloom or blight,

 So can choice be made by all men

   Twixt the darkness and the light.

 New occasions teach new duties,

   Time makes ancient creeds uncouth;

 They must upward still and onward

   Who would keep abreast of Truth,

 And serenely down the future

   See the thought of men incline

 To the side of perfect justice

   And to God's supreme design.

 Though the cause of evil prosper,

   Yet 'tis Truth alone is strong;

 Though her portion be the scaffold,

   And upon the throne be wrong,

 Yet that scaffold sways the future,

   And behind the dim unknown

 Standeth God within the shadow

   Keeping watch above His own.

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!

Service for Sunday, Nov. 18, 2012

Subject: Soul and Body

 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.

The scriptural selections are from Luke and Psalms

Luke 11:1‑4 it,9,10,33‑36

it came to pass, that, as he was praying in a certain place, when he ceased, one of his disciples said unto him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.  And he said unto them, When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth.  Give us day by day our daily bread.  And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil. 

And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.  For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. 

No man, when he hath lighted a candle, putteth it in a secret place, neither under a bushel, but on a candlestick, that they which come in may see the light.  The light of the body is the eye: therefore when thine eye is single, thy whole body also is full of light; but when thine eye is evil, thy body also is full of darkness.  Take heed therefore that the light which is in thee be not darkness.  If thy whole body therefore be full of light, having no part dark, the whole shall be full of light, as when the bright shining of a candle doth give thee light.

Psalms 80:3,7‑11,17,19

Turn us again, O God, and cause thy face to shine; and we shall be saved. 

Turn us again, O God of hosts, and cause thy face to shine; and we shall be saved.  Thou hast brought a vine out of Egypt: thou hast cast out the heathen, and planted it.  Thou preparedst room before it, and didst cause it to take deep root, and it filled the land.  The hills were covered with the shadow of it, and the boughs thereof were like the goodly cedars.  She sent out her boughs unto the sea, and her branches unto the river. 

Let thy hand be upon the man of thy right hand, upon the son of man whom thou madest strong for thyself. 

Turn us again, O Lord God of hosts, cause thy face to shine; and we shall be saved.

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 181 

 Rosemary B. Hackett

 Loving Father, we Thy children

   Look to Thee in fear's dark night

 While the angels of Thy presence

   Guide us upward to the light.

 Then we feel the power that lifts us

   To Thy holy secret place,

 Where our gloom is lost in glory

   As we see Thee face to face.

 We would learn, O gracious Father,

   To reflect Thy healing love.

 May we all awake to praise Thee

   For Thy good gifts from above.

 Make us strong to bear the message

   To Thy children far and near:

 Fear shall have no more dominion.

   God is All, and heaven is here.

Solo: “Eye Hath Not Seen”                  

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 371 

 Margaret Morrison

 We lift our hearts in praise,

   O God of Life, to Thee,

 And would reflect in all our ways

   Thy purity.

 Thy thoughts our lives enfold,

   And free us from all fear;

 All strife is stilled, all grief consoled,

   For Thou art here.

 We lift our hearts in praise,

   O God of Truth, to Thee,

 And find within Thy perfect law

   Our liberty.

 We bless Thy mighty name

   In this exalted hour,

 And to the world in faith proclaim

   Thy healing power.

 We lift our hearts in praise,

   O God of Love, to Thee,

 With joy to find through darkened days

   Thy harmony.

 O Father‑Mother Love,

   We triumph 'neath Thy rod,

 We glory in Thy light, and prove

   That Thou art God.

"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

Proverbs 4:18 the

the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day.