Theme: Preach
Hymn 12
Violet Hay
Arise ye people, take your stand,
Cast out your idols from the land,
Above all doctrine, form or creed
Is found the Truth that meets your need.
Christ's promise stands: they that believe
His works shall do, his power receive.
Go forward then, and as ye preach
So let your works confirm your speech,
And prove to all with following sign
The Word of God is power divine.
In love and healing ministry
Show forth the Truth that makes men free.
O Father‑Mother God, whose plan
Hath given dominion unto man,
In Thine own image we may see
Man pure and upright, whole and free.
And ever through our work shall shine
That light whose glory, Lord, is Thine.
Readings from the Bible.
Isaiah 61:1‑6 (to 2nd :),8
(to 1st ,),10,11
The Spirit of the Lord God is
upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the
meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the
captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; To proclaim the
acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort
all that mourn; To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them
beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the
spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the
planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified. #And they shall build the old wastes, they
shall raise up the former desolations, and they shall repair the waste cities,
the desolations of many generations. And
strangers shall stand and feed your flocks, and the sons of the alien shall be
your plowmen and your vinedressers. But
ye shall be named the Priests of the Lord: men shall call you the Ministers of
our God:
For I the Lord love judgment,
I will greatly rejoice in the
Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the
garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a
bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with
her jewels. For as the earth bringeth
forth her bud, and as the garden causeth the things that are sown in it to
spring forth; so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to spring
forth before all the nations.
Jonah 3:1‑10 the
the word of the Lord came
unto Jonah the second time, saying, Arise, go unto Nineveh, that great city,
and preach unto it the preaching that I bid thee. So Jonah arose, and went unto Nineveh,
according to the word of the Lord. Now Nineveh was an exceeding great city of
three days' journey. And Jonah began to
enter into the city a day's journey, and he cried, and said, Yet forty days,
and Nineveh shall be overthrown.
#So the
people of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth,
from the greatest of them even to the least of them. For word came unto the king of Nineveh, and
he arose from his throne, and he laid his robe from him, and covered him with sackcloth,
and sat in ashes. And he caused it to be
proclaimed and published through Nineveh by the decree of the king and his
nobles, saying, Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste any thing: let
them not feed, nor drink water: But let man and beast be covered with
sackcloth, and cry mightily unto God: yea, let them turn every one from his
evil way, and from the violence that is in their hands. Who can tell if God will turn and repent, and
turn away from his fierce anger, that we perish not? #And God saw their works, that they turned
from their evil way; and God repented of the evil, that he had said that he would
do unto them; and he did it not.
Matthew 10:1,5‑13 (to
:),16,18,26,27
And when he had called unto
him his twelve disciples, he gave them power against unclean spirits, to cast
them out, and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease.
These twelve Jesus sent
forth, and commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and
into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not: But go rather to the lost sheep
of the house of Israel. And as ye go,
preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand. Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the
dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give. Provide neither gold, nor silver, nor brass
in your purses, Nor scrip for your journey, neither two coats, neither shoes,
nor yet staves: for the workman is worthy of his meat. And into whatsoever city or town ye shall
enter, inquire who in it is worthy; and there abide till ye go thence. And when ye come into an house, salute
it. And if the house be worthy, let your
peace come upon it:
#Behold, I send you forth as
sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as
doves.
And ye shall be brought
before governors and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them and the
Gentiles.
Fear them not therefore: for
there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; and hid, that shall not
be known. What I tell you in darkness,
that speak ye in light: and what ye hear in the ear, that preach ye upon the
housetops.
Matthew 11:1‑6
And it came to pass, when
Jesus had made an end of commanding his twelve disciples, he departed thence to
teach and to preach in their cities. Now
when John had heard in the prison the works of Christ, he sent two of his
disciples, And said unto him, Art thou he that should come, or do we look for
another? Jesus answered and said unto
them, Go and shew John again those things which ye do hear and see: The blind
receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf
hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to
them. And blessed is he, whosoever shall
not be offended in me.
Mark 16:15‑18
And he said unto them, Go ye
into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be
saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. And these signs shall follow them that
believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new
tongues; They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it
shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.
Luke 4:16‑21
#And he came to Nazareth,
where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the
synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read. And there was delivered unto him the book of
the prophet Esaias. And when he had
opened the book, he found the place where it was written, The Spirit of the
Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor;
he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the
captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are
bruised, To preach the acceptable year of the Lord. And he closed the book, and he gave it again
to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the
synagogue were fastened on him. And he
began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.
Romans 10:15 how
how shall they preach, except they be sent? as
it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of
peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!
II Corinthians 4:5‑10 we,13‑18
we preach not ourselves, but
Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake. For 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.
We having the same spirit of
faith, according as it is written, I believed, and therefore have I spoken; we
also believe, and therefore speak; Knowing that he which raised up the Lord
Jesus shall raise up us also by Jesus, and shall present us with you. 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.
II Timothy 4:1‑5,7
I charge thee therefore
before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead
at his appearing and his kingdom; Preach the word; be instant in season, out of
season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. For the time will come when they will not
endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves
teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the
truth, and shall be turned unto fables.
But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an
evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry.
I have fought a good fight, I
have finished my course, I have kept the faith:
Revelation 14:6,7
And I saw another angel fly
in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that
dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people,
Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his
judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and
the fountains of waters.
Readings from Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy.
xi:9‑21
The physical healing of Christian Science
results now, as in Jesus' time, from the operation of divine Principle, before
which sin and disease lose their reality in human consciousness and disappear
as naturally and as necessarily as darkness gives place to light and sin to
reformation. Now, as then, these mighty
works are not supernatural, but supremely natural. They are the sign of Immanuel, or "God
with us,"‑‑a divine influence ever present in human consciousness and
repeating itself, coming now as was promised aforetime,
To preach deliverance to the captives [of
sense],
And recovering of sight to the blind,
To set at liberty them that are
bruised.
30:26
If we have triumphed sufficiently over the
errors of material sense to allow Soul to hold the control, we shall loathe sin
and rebuke it under every mask. Only in
this way can we bless our enemies, though they may not so construe our
words. We cannot choose for ourselves,
but must work out our salvation in the way Jesus taught. In meekness and might, he was found preaching
the gospel to the poor. Pride and fear
are unfit to bear the standard of Truth, and God will never place it in such
hands.
34:10‑28
If all who ever partook of the sacrament had
really commemorated the sufferings of Jesus and drunk of his cup, they would
have revolutionized the world. If all
who seek his commemoration through material symbols will take up the cross,
heal the sick, cast out evils, and preach Christ, or Truth, to the poor,‑‑the
receptive thought,‑‑they will bring in the millennium.
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.
37:16‑14
When will Jesus' professed followers learn to
emulate him in all his ways and to
imitate his mighty works? Those who
procured the martyrdom of that righteous man would gladly have turned his
sacred career into a mutilated doctrinal platform. May the Christians of to‑day take up the more
practical import of that career! It is
possible,‑‑yea, it is the duty and privilege of every child, man, and woman,‑‑to
follow in some degree the example of the Master by the demonstration of Truth
and Life, of health and holiness. Chris‑tians
claim to be his followers, but do they follow him in the way that he
commanded? Hear these imperative
commands: "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven
is perfect!" "Go ye into all
the world, and preach the gospel to every creature!" "Heal
the sick!"
Why has this Christian demand so little
inspiration to stir mankind to Christian effort? Because men are assured that this command was
intended only for a particular period and for a select number of
followers. This teaching is even more
pernicious than the old doctrine of foreordination,‑‑the election of a few to
be saved, while the rest are damned; and so it will be considered, when the
lethargy of mortals, produced by man‑made doctrines, is broken by the demands
of divine Science.
Jesus said: "These signs shall follow
them that believe; . . . they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall
recover." Who believes him? He was addressing his disciples, yet he did
not say, "These signs shall follow you,"
but them‑‑"them that
believe" in all time to come.
138:27
Our Master said to every follower: "Go
ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature! . . . Heal the sick! . . . Love thy neighbor as
thyself!" It was this theology of
Jesus which healed the sick and the sinning.
It is his theology in this book and the spiritual meaning of this
theology, which heals the sick and causes the wicked to "forsake his way,
and the unrighteous man his thoughts."
It was our Master's theology which the impious sought to destroy.
201:1‑3
The best sermon ever preached is Truth
practised and demonstrated by the destruction of sin, sickness, and death.
241:13
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.
271:20‑12
Our Master said, "But the Comforter . .
. shall teach you all things." When
the Science of Christianity appears, it will lead you into all truth. The Sermon on the Mount is the essence of
this Science, and the eternal life, not the death of Jesus, is its
outcome.
Those, who are willing to leave their nets or
to cast them on the right side for Truth, have the opportunity now, as
aforetime, to learn and to practise Christian healing. The Scriptures contain it. The spiritual import of the Word imparts this
power. But, as Paul says, "How
shall they hear without a preacher? and how shall they preach, except they be
sent?" If sent, how shall they
preach, convert, and heal multitudes, except the people hear?
The
spiritual sense of truth must be gained before Truth can be understood. This sense is assimilated only as we are
honest, unselfish, loving, and meek. In
the soil of an "honest and good heart" the seed must be sown; else it
beareth not much fruit, for the swinish element in human nature uproots
it. Jesus said: "Ye do err, not
knowing the Scriptures." The
spiritual sense of the Scriptures brings out the scientific sense, and is the
new tongue referred to in the last chapter of Mark's Gospel.
342:5
In the result of some unqualified
condemnations of scientific Mind‑healing, one may see with sorrow the sad
effects on the sick of denying Truth. He
that decries this Science does it presumptuously, in the face of Bible history
and in defiance of the direct command of Jesus, "Go ye into all the world,
and preach the gospel," to which command was added the promise that his
students should cast out evils and heal the sick. He bade the seventy disciples, as well as the
twelve, heal the sick in any town where they should be hospitably
received.
347:12
Critics should consider that the so‑called
mortal man is not the reality of man.
Then they would behold the signs of Christ's coming. Christ, as the spiritual or true idea of God,
comes now as of old, preaching the gospel to the poor, healing the sick, and
casting out evils. Is it error which is
restoring an essential element of Christianity,‑‑namely, apostolic, divine
healing? No; it is the Science of
Christianity which is restoring it, and is the light shining in darkness, which
the darkness comprehends not.
418:26
Include moral as well as physical belief in
your efforts to destroy error. Cast out
all manner of evil. "Preach the
gospel to every creature." Speak
the truth to every form of error.
Tumors, ulcers, tubercles, inflammation, pain, deformed joints, are
waking dream‑shadows, dark images of mortal thought, which flee before the
light of Truth.
Silent prayer followed by the audible repetition of the Lord’s Prayer.
Hymn 168
10th Century – Richard Mant, Tr. – Adapted
Let all the earth with songs rejoice;
Let heaven return the joyful voice;
All mindful of our God's great name,
Let every man His praise proclaim.
Ye servants who once bore the light
Of Gospel truth o'er darkest night,
Still may our work that light impart,
To glad the eyes and cheer the heart.
O God, by whom to them was given
The key that shuts and opens heaven,
Our chains unbind, our loss repair,
Reveal Thy power through answered prayer.
For at Thy will they preached the Word
Which cured disease, which health conferred:
And now, that healing power once more
Our peace and health to us restore.
Sharing of experiences, testimonies and remarks by members of the congregation.
Hymn 331
Thomas Scott*
The lifted eye and bended knee
Are but vain homage, Lord, to Thee;
In vain our lips Thy praise prolong,
The heart a stranger to the song.
The pure, the humble, contrite mind,
Sincere and to Thy will resigned,
To Thee a nobler offering yields
Than Sheba's groves or Sharon's fields.
Love God and man: this great command
Doth on eternal pillars stand;
This did Thine ancient prophets teach,
And this Thy Well‑Beloved preach.
