Service for Wednesday, May 15, 2013


Theme: Care

 Hymn 10
 Frederic W. Root – Based on hymn by Martin Luther

 All power is given unto our Lord,
   On Him we place reliance;
 With truth from out His sacred word
   We bid our foes defiance.
     With Him we shall prevail,
     Whatever may assail;
     He is our shield and tower,
     Almighty is His power;
     His kingdom is forever.

 Rejoice, ye people, praise His name,
   His care doth e'er surround us.
 His love to error's thralldom came,
   And from its chains unbound us.
     Our Lord is God alone,
     No other power we own;
     No other voice we heed,
     No other help we need;
     His kingdom is forever.

 O then give thanks to God on high,
   Who life to all is giving;
 The hosts of death before Him fly,
   In Him we all are living.
     Then let us know no fear,
     Our King is ever near;
     Our stay and fortress strong,
     Our strength, our hope, our song;
     His kingdom is forever.

Readings from the Bible.

II Kings 4:8‑17 it
it fell on a day, that Elisha passed to Shunem, where was a great woman; and she constrained him to eat bread. And so it was, that as oft as he passed by, he turned in thither to eat bread.  And she said unto her husband, Behold now, I perceive that this is an holy man of God, which passeth by us continually.  Let us make a little chamber, I pray thee, on the wall; and let us set for him there a bed, and a table, and a stool, and a candlestick: and it shall be, when he cometh to us, that he shall turn in thither.  

And it fell on a day, that he came thither, and he turned into the chamber, and lay there.  And he said to Gehazi his servant, Call this Shunammite. And when he had called her, she stood before him.  And he said unto him, Say now unto her, Behold, thou hast been careful for us with all this care; what is to be done for thee?  wouldest thou be spoken for to the king, or to the captain of the host? And she answered, I dwell among mine own people.  And he said, What then is to be done for her? and Gehazi answered, Verily she hath no child, and her husband is old.  And he said, Call her. And when he had called her, she stood in the door.  And he said, About this season, according to the time of life, thou shalt embrace a son. And she said, Nay, my lord, thou man of God, do not lie unto thine handmaid.  And the woman conceived, and bare a son at that season that Elisha had said unto her, according to the time of life.

Luke 10:30‑37 A
 A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead.  And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.  And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side.  But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him, And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him.  And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee.  Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves?  And he said, He that shewed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise.

Philippians 4:4‑9
Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice.  Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand.  Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.  And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.  Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.  Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you.

Titus 3:4‑8 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.  This is a faithful saying, and these things I will that thou affirm constantly, that they which have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works.  These things are good and profitable unto men.

I Peter 5:2‑11
Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind; Neither as being lords over God's heritage, but being ensamples to the flock.  And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away.  Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble.  Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.  Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.  But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you.  To him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

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

62:20
  We must not attribute more and more intelligence to matter, but less and less, if we would be wise and healthy.  The divine Mind, which forms the bud and blossom, will care for the human body, even as it clothes the lily; but let no mortal interfere with God's government by thrusting in the laws of erring, human concepts. 

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. 

84:3‑18
  The ancient prophets gained their foresight from a spiritual, incorporeal standpoint, not by foreshadowing evil and mistaking fact for fiction,‑‑predicting the future from a groundwork of corporeality and human belief.  When sufficiently advanced in Science to be in harmony with the truth of being, men become seers and prophets involuntarily, controlled not by demons, spirits, or demigods, but by the one Spirit.  It is the prerogative of the ever‑present, divine Mind, and of thought which is in rapport with this Mind, to know the past, the present, and the future. 
  Acquaintance with the Science of being enables us to commune more largely with the divine Mind, to foresee and foretell events which concern the universal welfare, to be divinely inspired,‑‑yea, to reach the range of fetterless Mind. 

92:21
  Uncover error, and it turns the lie upon you.  Until the fact concerning error‑‑namely, its nothingness‑‑appears, the moral demand will not be met, and the ability to make nothing of error will be wanting.  We should blush to call that real which is only a mistake.  The foundation of evil is laid on a belief in something besides God.  This belief tends to support two opposite powers, instead of urging the claims of Truth alone.  The mistake of thinking that error can be real, when it is merely the absence of truth, leads to belief in the superiority of error. 

219:6‑22
  In mathematics, we do not multiply when we should subtract, and then say the product is correct.  No more can we say in Science that muscles give strength, that nerves give pain or pleasure, or that matter governs, and then expect that the result will be harmony.  Not muscles, nerves, nor bones, but mortal mind makes the whole body "sick, and the whole heart faint;" whereas divine Mind heals. 
  When this is understood, we shall never affirm concerning the body what we do not wish to have manifested.  We shall not call the body weak, if we would have it strong; for the belief in feebleness must obtain in the human mind before it can be made manifest on the body, and the destruction of the belief will be the removal of its effects.  Science includes no rule of discord, but governs harmoniously.  "The wish," says the poet, "is ever father to the thought."

231:20‑2
  To hold yourself superior to sin, because God made you superior to it and governs man, is true wisdom.  To fear sin is to misunderstand the power of Love and the divine Science of being in man's relation to God,‑‑to doubt His government and distrust His omnipotent care.  To hold yourself superior to sickness and death is equally wise, and is in accordance with divine Science.  To fear them is impossible, when you fully apprehend God and know that they are no part of His creation. 
  Man, governed by his Maker, having no other Mind,‑‑planted on the Evangelist's statement that "all things were made by Him [the Word of God]; and without Him was not anything made that was made,"‑‑can triumph over sin, sickness, and death. 

272:13‑25
  Jesus' parable of "the sower" shows the care our Master took not to impart to dull ears and gross hearts the spiritual teachings which dulness and grossness could not accept.  Reading the thoughts of the people, he said: "Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine."
  It is the spiritualization of thought and Christianization of daily life, in contrast with the results of the ghastly farce of material existence; it is chastity and purity, in contrast with the downward tendencies and earthward gravitation of sensualism and impurity, which really attest the divine origin and operation of Christian Science.

383:3
  We need a clean body and a clean mind,‑‑a body rendered pure by Mind as well as washed by water.  One says: "I take good care of my body." To do this, the pure and exalting influence of the divine Mind on the body is requisite, and the Christian Scientist takes the best care of his body when he leaves it most out of his thought, and, like the Apostle Paul, is "willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord."

494:15‑24 np
  The miracle of grace is no miracle to Love.  Jesus demonstrated the inability of corporeality, as well as the infinite ability of Spirit, thus helping erring human sense to flee from its own convictions and seek safety in divine Science.  Reason, rightly directed, serves to correct the errors of corporeal sense; but sin, sickness, and death will seem real (even as the experiences of the sleeping dream seem real) until the Science of man's eternal harmony breaks their illusion with the unbroken reality of scientific being. 
  Which of these two theories concerning man are you ready to accept?  One is the mortal testimony, changing, dying, unreal.  The other is the eternal and real evidence, bearing Truth's signet, its lap piled high with immortal fruits. 
  Our Master cast out devils (evils) and healed the sick.  It should be said of his followers also, that they cast fear and all evil out of themselves and others and heal the sick.  God will heal the sick through man, whenever man is governed by God.  Truth casts out error now as surely as it did nineteen centuries ago.  All of Truth is not understood; hence its healing power is not fully demonstrated. 
  If sickness is true or the idea of Truth, you cannot destroy sickness, and it would be absurd to try.  Then classify sickness and error as our Master did, when he spoke of the sick, "whom Satan hath bound," and find a sovereign antidote for error in the life‑giving power of Truth acting on human belief, a power which opens the prison doors to such as are bound, and sets the captive free physically and morally. 
  When the illusion of sickness or sin tempts you, cling steadfastly to God and His idea.  Allow nothing but His likeness to abide in your thought.  Let neither fear nor doubt overshadow your clear sense and calm trust, that the recognition of life harmonious‑‑as Life eternally is‑‑can destroy any painful sense of, or belief in, that which Life is not.  Let Christian Science, instead of corporeal sense, support your understanding of being, and this understanding will supplant error with Truth, replace mortality with immortality, and silence discord with harmony. 

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


 Hymn 402
 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 224
 John Ryland 
 Adapted

 O Lord, I would delight in Thee,
   And on Thy care depend;
 To Thee in every trouble flee,
   My best, my ever Friend.
 When all material streams are dried,
   Thy fullness is the same;
 May I with this be satisfied,
   And glory in Thy name.

 All good, where'er it may be found,
   Its source doth find in Thee;
 I must have all things and abound,
   While God is God to me.
 O that I had a stronger faith,
   To look within the veil,
 To credit what my Saviour saith,
   Whose word can never fail.

 He that has made my heaven secure,
   Will here all good provide;
 While Christ is rich, can I be poor?
   What can I want beside?
 O God, I cast my care on Thee;
   I triumph and adore;
 Henceforth my great concern shall be
   To love and praise Thee more.

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