Theme: Renew
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 51:1,2,6‑12,15
Have mercy upon me, O God,
according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender
mercies blot out my transgressions. Wash
me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.
Behold, thou desirest truth
in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know
wisdom. Purge me with hyssop, and I shall
be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the
bones which thou hast broken may rejoice.
Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew
a right spirit within me. Cast me not
away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me. Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and
uphold me with thy free spirit.
O Lord, open thou my lips;
and my mouth shall shew forth thy praise.
Psalms 103:1‑5
Bless the Lord, O my soul:
and all that is within me, bless his holy name.
Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits: Who
forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases; Who redeemeth thy
life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender
mercies; Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is
renewed like the eagle's.
Isaiah 40:1,4,5,9‑15,25,28‑31
Comfort ye, comfort ye my
people, saith your God.
Every valley shall be
exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall
be made straight, and the rough places plain: And the glory of the Lord shall
be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the Lord
hath spoken it.
#O Zion, that bringest good
tidings, get thee up into the high mountain; O Jerusalem, that bringest good
tidings, lift up thy voice with strength; lift it up, be not afraid; say unto
the cities of Judah, Behold your God!
Behold, the Lord God will come with strong hand, and his arm shall rule
for him: behold, his reward is with him, and his work before him. He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he
shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall
gently lead those that are with young.
#Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and meted out
heaven with the span, and comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure, and
weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance? Who hath directed the Spirit of the Lord, or
being his counseller hath taught him?
With whom took he counsel, and who instructed him, and taught him in the
path of judgment, and taught him knowledge, and shewed to him the way of
understanding? Behold, the nations are
as a drop of a bucket, and are counted as the small dust of the balance:
behold, he taketh up the isles as a very little thing.
To whom then will ye liken
me, or shall I be equal? saith the Holy One.
#Hast thou not known? hast
thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of
the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his
understanding. He giveth power to the
faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and
the young men shall utterly fall: But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew
their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and
not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.
Romans 12:1‑15,18
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; Not slothful in business;
fervent in spirit; serving the Lord; Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation;
continuing instant in prayer; Distributing to the necessity of saints; given to
hospitality. Bless them which persecute
you: bless, and curse not. Rejoice with
them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep.
If it be possible, as much as
lieth in you, live peaceably with all men.
II Corinthians 4:6‑10 God,15‑18
God, who commanded the light to shine out of
darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the
glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the
power may be of God, and not of us. We
are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in
despair; Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed; Always
bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of
Jesus might be made manifest in our body.
For all things are for your
sakes, that the abundant grace might through the thanksgiving of many redound
to the glory of God. For which cause we
faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day
by day. For our light affliction, which
is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of
glory; While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which
are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which
are not seen are eternal.
Colossians 3:1‑4,9,10,12‑17
If ye then be risen with
Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right
hand of God. Set your affection on
things above, not on things on the earth.
For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, shall appear,
then shall ye also appear with him in glory.
Lie not one to another,
seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds; And have put on the new
man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him:
Put on therefore, as the
elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of
mind, meekness, longsuffering; Forbearing one another, and forgiving one
another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so
also do ye. And above all these things
put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness. And let the peace of God rule in your hearts,
to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in
all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and
spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all
in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.
Titus 3:4‑7 after
after that the kindness and
love of God our Saviour toward man appeared, Not by works of righteousness
which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of
regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; Which he shed on us abundantly
through Jesus Christ our Saviour; That being justified by his grace, we should
be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
Readings from Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy.
24:11
He to whom "the arm of the Lord" is
revealed will believe our report, and rise into newness of life with
regeneration. This is having part in the
atonement; this is the understanding, in which Jesus suffered and
triumphed. The time is not distant when
the ordinary theological views of atonement will undergo a great change,‑‑a
change as radical as that which has come over popular opinions in regard to
predestination and future punishment.
34:18‑29 np
Through all the disciples experienced, they
became more spiritual and understood better what the Master had taught. His resurrection was also their
resurrection. It helped them to raise
themselves and others from spiritual dulness and blind belief in God into the
perception of infinite possibilities.
They needed this quickening, for soon their dear Master would rise again
in the spiritual realm of reality, and ascend far above their apprehension. As the reward for his faithfulness, he would
disappear to material sense in that change which has since been called the
ascension.
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.
Our baptism is a purification from all
error. Our church is built on the divine
Principle, Love. We can unite with this
church only as we are new‑born of Spirit, as we reach the Life which is Truth
and the Truth which is Life by bringing forth the fruits of Love,‑‑casting out
error and healing the sick. Our
Eucharist is spiritual communion with the one God. Our bread, "which cometh down from
heaven," is Truth. Our cup is the
cross. Our wine the inspiration of Love,
the draught our Master drank and commended to his followers.
49:14
The meek demonstrator of good, the highest
instructor and friend of man, met his earthly fate alone with God. No human eye was there to pity, no arm to
save. Forsaken by all whom he had
blessed, this faithful sentinel of God at the highest post of power, charged
with the grandest trust of heaven, was ready to be transformed by the renewing
of the infinite Spirit. He was to prove
that the Christ is not subject to material conditions, but is above the reach
of human wrath, and is able, through Truth, Life, and Love, to triumph over
sin, sickness, death, and the grave.
162:4‑28
Christian Science brings to the body the
sunlight of Truth, which invigorates and purifies. Christian Science acts as an alterative,
neutralizing error with Truth. It
changes the secretions, expels humors, dissolves tumors, relaxes rigid muscles,
restores carious bones to soundness. The
effect of this Science is to stir the human mind to a change of base, on which
it may yield to the harmony of the divine Mind.
Experiments have favored the fact that Mind
governs the body, not in one instance, but in every instance. The indestructible faculties of Spirit exist
without the conditions of matter and also without the false beliefs of a so‑called
material existence. Working out the
rules of Science in practice, the author has restored health in cases of both
acute and chronic disease in their severest forms. Secretions have been changed, the structure
has been renewed, shortened limbs have been elongated, ankylosed joints have
been made supple, and carious bones have been restored to healthy
conditions. I have restored what is
called the lost substance of lungs, and healthy organizations have been
established where disease was organic.
Christian Science heals organic disease as surely as it heals what is
called functional, for it requires only a fuller understanding of the divine
Principle of Christian Science to demonstrate the higher rule.
241:13‑30
The Bible teaches transformation of the body
by the renewal of Spirit. Take away the
spiritual signification of Scripture, and that compilation can do no more for
mortals than can moonbeams to melt a river of ice. The error of the ages is preaching without
practice.
The substance of all devotion is the
reflection and demonstration of divine Love, healing sickness and destroying
sin. Our Master said, "If ye love
me, keep my commandments."
One's aim, a point beyond faith, should be to
find the footsteps of Truth, the way to health and holiness. We should strive to reach the Horeb height
where God is revealed; and the corner‑stone of all spiritual building is
purity. The baptism of Spirit, washing
the body of all the impurities of flesh, signifies that the pure in heart see
God and are approaching spiritual Life and its demonstration.
249:1‑19
Let us accept Science, relinquish all
theories based on sense‑testimony, give up imperfect models and illusive
ideals; and so let us have one God, one Mind, and that one perfect, producing
His own models of excellence.
Let the "male and female" of God's
creating appear. Let us feel the divine
energy of Spirit, bringing us into newness of life and recognizing no mortal
nor material power as able to destroy.
Let us rejoice that we are subject to the divine "powers that
be." Such is the true Science of being.
Any other theory of Life, or God, is delusive and mythological.
Mind is not the author of matter, and the
creator of ideas is not the creator of illusions. Either there is no omnipotence, or
omnipotence is the only power. God is
the infinite, and infinity never began, will never end, and includes nothing
unlike God. Whence then is soulless
matter?
Life is, like Christ, "the same
yesterday, and to‑day, and forever."
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.
426:5
The discoverer of Christian Science finds the
path less difficult when she has the high goal always before her thoughts, than
when she counts her footsteps in endeavoring to reach it. When the destination is desirable,
expectation speeds our progress. The
struggle for Truth makes one strong instead of weak, resting instead of
wearying one. If the belief in death
were obliterated, and the understanding obtained that there is no death, this
would be a "tree of life," known by its fruits. Man should renew his energies and endeavors,
and see the folly of hypocrisy, while also learning the necessity of working
out his own salvation. When it is
learned that disease cannot destroy life, and that mortals are not saved from
sin or sickness by death, this understanding will quicken into newness of
life. It will master either a desire to
die or a dread of the grave, and thus destroy the great fear that besets mortal
existence.
519:25‑15
God rests in action. Imparting has not impoverished, can never
impoverish, the divine Mind. No
exhaustion follows the action of this Mind, according to the apprehension of
divine Science. The highest and sweetest
rest, even from a human standpoint, is in holy work.
Unfathomable Mind is expressed. The depth, breadth, height, might, majesty,
and glory of infinite Love fill all space.
That is enough! Human language
can repeat only an infinitesimal part of what exists. The absolute ideal, man, is no more seen nor
comprehended by mortals, than is his infinite Principle, Love. Principle and its idea, man, are coexistent
and eternal. The numerals of infinity,
called seven days, can never be
reckoned according to the calendar of time.
These days will appear as mortality disappears, and they will reveal
eternity, newness of Life, in which all sense of error forever disappears and
thought accepts the divine infinite calculus.
Silent prayer followed by the audible repetition of the Lord’s Prayer.
Hymn 218
Samuel Longfellow
O Life that maketh all things new,
The blooming earth, the thoughts of men;
Our pilgrim feet, wet with Thy dew,
In gladness hither turn again.
From hand to hand the greeting flows,
From eye to eye the signals run,
From heart to heart the bright hope glows,
The seekers of the Light are one:
One in the freedom of the truth,
One in the joy of paths untrod,
One in the heart's perennial youth,
One in the larger thought of God;‑‑
The freer step, the fuller breath,
The wide horizon's grander view;
The sense of Life that knows no death,‑‑
The Life that maketh all things new.
Sharings of experiences, testimonies and remarks 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.
