Theme: Sufficiency
Hymn 123
"K" in Rippon's Selection, 1787 –
Adapted
How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord,
Is laid for your faith in His excellent Word.
What more can He say than to you He hath said,
To you who to God for your refuge have fled:
Fear not, I am with thee, O be not dismayed,
For I am thy God, I will still give thee aid;
I'll strengthen thee, help thee, and cause
thee to
stand,
Upheld by My gracious, omnipotent hand;
When through fiery trials thy pathway shall
lie,
My grace, all sufficient, shall be thy supply;
The flame shall not hurt thee; I only design
Thy dross to consume and thy gold to refine.
Readings from the Bible.
Genesis 33:1‑11 Jacob (to 1st
.)
Jacob lifted up his eyes, and
looked, and, behold, Esau came, and with him four hundred men. And he divided
the children unto Leah, and unto Rachel, and unto the two handmaids. And he put the handmaids and their children
foremost, and Leah and her children after, and Rachel and Joseph
hindermost. And he passed over before
them, and bowed himself to the ground seven times, until he came near to his
brother.
And Esau ran to meet him, and
embraced him, and fell on his neck, and kissed him: and they wept. And he lifted up his eyes, and saw the women
and the children; and said, Who are those with thee? And he said, The children
which God hath graciously given thy servant.
Then the handmaidens came near, they and their children, and they bowed
themselves. And Leah also with her
children came near, and bowed themselves: and after came Joseph near and Rachel,
and they bowed themselves.
And he said,
What meanest thou by all this drove which I met? And he said, These are to find
grace in the sight of my lord. And Esau
said, I have enough, my brother; keep that thou hast unto thyself. And Jacob said, Nay, I pray thee, if now I
have found grace in thy sight, then receive my present at my hand: for
therefore I have seen thy face, as though I had seen the face of God, and thou
wast pleased with me. Take, I pray thee,
my blessing that is brought to thee; because God hath dealt graciously with me,
and because I have enough.
Proverbs 3:5‑10
#Trust in the Lord with all
thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall
direct thy paths. #Be not wise in thine
own eyes: fear the Lord, and depart from evil.
It shall be health to thy navel, and marrow to thy bones. Honour the Lord with thy substance, and with
the firstfruits of all thine increase: So shall thy barns be filled with
plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine.
Malachi 3:10
Bring ye all the tithes into
the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now
herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of
heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to
receive it.
Luke 15:11‑24 A
A certain man had two sons:
And the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of
goods that falleth to me. And he divided unto them his living. And not many days after the younger son
gathered all together, and took his journey into a far country, and there
wasted his substance with riotous living.
And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that land; and
he began to be in want.
And he went and
joined himself to a citizen of that country; and he sent him into his fields to
feed swine. And he would fain have
filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat: and no man gave unto
him. And when he came to himself, he
said, How many hired servants of my father's have bread enough and to spare,
and I perish with hunger! I will arise
and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against
heaven, and before thee, And am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as
one of thy hired servants. And he arose,
and came to his father.
But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw
him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him. And the son said unto him, Father, I have
sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy
son. But the father said to his
servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his
hand, and shoes on his feet: And bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and
let us eat, and be merry: For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was
lost, and is found. And they began to be merry.
II Corinthians 3:4‑6 such
such trust have we through
Christ to God‑ward: Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing
as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God; Who also hath made us able
ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the
letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life.
II Corinthians 9:6‑8 this
this I say, He which soweth
sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap
also bountifully. Every man according as
he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity:
for God loveth a cheerful giver. And God
is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all
sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work:
II Corinthians 12:8 I
besought (to ,),9,10
I besought the Lord thrice,
And he said unto me, My grace
is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most
gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of
Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take
pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in
distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.
Readings from Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy.
S&H 4:3‑16
What we most need is the prayer of fervent
desire for growth in grace, expressed in patience, meekness, love, and good
deeds. To keep the commandments of our
Master and follow his example, is our proper debt to him and the only worthy
evidence of our gratitude for all that he has done. Outward worship is not of itself sufficient
to express loyal and heartfelt gratitude, since he has said: "If ye love
me, keep my commandments."
The habitual struggle to be always good is
unceasing prayer. Its motives are made
manifest in the blessings they bring,‑‑blessings which, even if not
acknowledged in audible words, attest our worthiness to be partakers of
Love.
9:32‑16
Consistent prayer is the
desire to do right. Prayer means that we
desire to walk and will walk in the light so far as we receive it, even though
with bleeding footsteps, and that waiting patiently on the Lord, we will leave
our real desires to be rewarded by Him.
The world must grow to the spiritual
understanding of prayer. If good enough
to profit by Jesus' cup of earthly sorrows, God will sustain us under these
sorrows. Until we are thus divinely
qualified and are willing to drink his cup, millions of vain repetitions will
never pour into prayer the unction of Spirit in demonstration of power and
"with signs following." Christian Science reveals a necessity for
overcoming the world, the flesh, and evil, and thus destroying all error.
Seeking is not sufficient. It is striving that enables us to enter. Spiritual attainments open the door to a
higher understanding of the divine Life.
28:32
There is too much animal courage in society
and not sufficient moral courage.
Christians must take up arms against error at home and abroad. They must grapple with sin in themselves and
in others, and continue this warfare until they have finished their
course. If they keep the faith, they
will have the crown of rejoicing.
257:22
Finite mind manifests all sorts of errors,
and thus proves the material theory of mind in matter to be the antipode of
Mind. Who hath found finite life or love
sufficient to meet the demands of human want and woe,‑‑to still the desires, to
satisfy the aspirations? Infinite Mind
cannot be limited to a finite form, or Mind would lose its infinite character
as inexhaustible Love, eternal Life, omnipotent Truth.
266:6
Would existence without personal friends be
to you a blank? Then the time will come
when you will be solitary, left without sympathy; but this seeming vacuum is
already filled with divine Love. When
this hour of development comes, even if you cling to a sense of personal joys,
spiritual Love will force you to accept what best promotes your growth. Friends will betray and enemies will slander,
until the lesson is sufficient to exalt you; for "man's extremity is God's
opportunity." The author has
experienced the foregoing prophecy and its blessings. Thus He teaches mortals to lay down their
fleshliness and gain spirituality. This
is done through self‑abnegation.
Universal Love is the divine way in Christian Science.
453:29‑24
A Christian Scientist's
medicine is Mind, the divine Truth that makes man free. A Christian Scientist never recommends
material hygiene, never manipulates. He
does not trespass on the rights of mind nor can he practise animal magnetism or
hypnotism. It need not be added that the
use of tobacco or intoxicating drinks is not in harmony with Christian
Science.
Teach your students the omnipotence of Truth,
which illustrates the impotence of error.
The understanding, even in a degree, of the divine All‑power destroys
fear, and plants the feet in the true path, ‑‑the path which leads to the house
built without hands "eternal in the heavens." Human hate has no legitimate mandate and no
kingdom. Love is enthroned. That evil or matter has neither intelligence
nor power, is the doctrine of absolute Christian Science, and this is the great
truth which strips all disguise from error.
He, who understands in a sufficient degree
the Principle of Mind‑healing, points out to his student error as well as
truth, the wrong as well as the right practice.
Love for God and man is the true incentive in both healing and
teaching. Love inspires, illumines,
designates, and leads the way. Right
motives give pinions to thought, and strength and freedom to speech and
action. Love is priestess at the altar
of Truth. Wait patiently for divine Love
to move upon the waters of mortal mind, and form the perfect concept. Patience must "have her perfect
work."
487:25‑6
The Apostle James said, "Show me thy
faith without thy works, and I will show thee my faith by my works." The
understanding that Life is God, Spirit, lengthens our days by strengthening our
trust in the deathless reality of Life, its almightiness and immortality.
This faith relies upon an understood
Principle. This Principle makes whole
the diseased, and brings out the enduring and harmonious phases of things. The result of our teachings is their
sufficient confirmation. When, on the
strength of these instructions, you are able to banish a severe malady, the
cure shows that you understand this teaching, and therefore you receive the
blessing of Truth.
496:31‑27
The following is a brief
exposition of the important points, or religious tenets, of Christian Science:‑‑
1. As adherents of Truth, we take the
inspired Word of the Bible as our sufficient guide to eternal Life.
2. We acknowledge and adore one supreme and
infinite God. We acknowledge His Son,
one Christ; the Holy Ghost or divine Comforter; and man in God's image and
likeness.
3. We acknowledge God's forgiveness of sin in
the destruction of sin and the spiritual understanding that casts out evil as
unreal. But the belief in sin is
punished so long as the belief lasts.
4. We acknowledge Jesus' atonement as the
evidence of divine, efficacious Love, unfolding man's unity with God through
Christ Jesus the Way‑shower; and we acknowledge that man is saved through
Christ, through Truth, Life, and Love as demonstrated by the Galilean Prophet
in healing the sick and overcoming sin and death.
5. We acknowledge that the crucifixion of
Jesus and his resurrection served to uplift faith to understand eternal Life,
even the allness of Soul, Spirit, and the nothingness of matter.
6. And we solemnly promise to watch, and pray
for that Mind to be in us which was also in Christ Jesus; to do unto others as we
would have them do unto us; and to be merciful, just, and pure.
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 169
John Henry Newman
Lead, kindly Light, amid the encircling gloom,
Lead Thou me on;
The night is dark, and I am far from home,
Lead Thou me on.
Keep Thou my feet; I do not ask to see
The distant scene; one step enough for me.
I was not ever thus, nor prayed that Thou
Shouldst lead me on;
I loved to choose and see my path; but now
Lead Thou me on.
I loved the garish day, and, spite of fears,
Pride ruled my will: remember not past years.
So long Thy power hath blest me, sure it still
Will lead me on
O'er moor and fen, o'er crag and torrent, till
The night is gone,
And with the morn those angel faces smile,
Which I have loved long since, and lost
awhile.
Sharing of experiences,
testimonies and remarks by members of the congregation.
Hymn 291
John Newton*
Quiet, Lord, my froward heart,
Make me gentle, pure, and mild,
Upright, simple, free from art;
Make me as a little child,
From distrust and envy free,
Pleased with all that pleaseth Thee.
What Thou shalt today provide
Let me as a child receive,
What tomorrow may betide
Calmly to Thy wisdom leave;
'Tis enough that Thou wilt care,
Why should I the burden bear?
As a little child relies
On a care beyond its own,
Being neither strong nor wise,
Will not take a step alone,
Let me thus with Thee abide,
As my Father, Friend, and Guide.
