Theme: Joy
Hymn 58
Elizabeth C. Adams
Father, we Thy loving children
Lift our hearts in joy today,
Knowing well that Thou wilt keep us
Ever in Thy blessed way.
Thou art Love and Thou art wisdom,
Thou art Life and Thou art All;
In Thy Spirit living, moving,
We shall neither faint nor fall.
Come we daily then, dear Father,
Open hearts and willing hands,
Eager ears, expectant, joyful,
Ready for Thy right commands.
We would hear no other voices,
We would heed no other call;
Thou alone art good and gracious,
Thou our Mind and Thou our All.
In Thy house securely dwelling,
Where Thy children live to bless,
Seeing only Thy creation,
We can share Thy happiness,
Share Thy joy and spend it freely.
Loyal hearts can feel no fear;
We Thy children know Thee, Father,
Love and Life forever near.
Readings from the Bible.
Job 8:19‑21
Behold, this is the joy of
his way, and out of the earth shall others grow. Behold, God will not cast away a perfect man,
neither will he help the evil doers: Till he fill thy mouth with laughing and
thy lips with rejoicing.
Job 38:1‑7 the
the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind,
and said, Who is this that darkeneth counsel by words without knowledge? Gird up now thy loins like a man: for I will
demand of thee, and answer thou me.
Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if
thou hast understanding. Who hath laid
the measures thereof, if thou knowest? or who hath stretched the line upon
it? Whereupon are the foundations
thereof fastened? or who laid the corner stone thereof; When the morning stars
sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?
Psalms 5:11 let,12
let all those that put their trust in thee
rejoice: let them ever shout for joy, because thou defendest them: let them
also that love thy name be joyful in thee.
For thou, Lord, wilt bless the righteous; with favour wilt thou compass
him as with a shield.
Psalms 16:1‑11
Preserve me, O God: for in
thee do I put my trust. O my soul, thou
hast said unto the Lord, Thou art my Lord: my goodness extendeth not to thee;
But to the saints that are in the earth, and to the excellent, in whom is all
my delight. Their sorrows shall be
multiplied that hasten after another god: their drink offerings of blood will I
not offer, nor take up their names into my lips.
The Lord is the portion of mine inheritance
and of my cup: thou maintainest my lot.
The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places; yea, I have a goodly
heritage. I will bless the Lord, who
hath given me counsel: my reins also instruct me in the night seasons. I have set the Lord always before me: because
he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.
Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth: my flesh also shall
rest in hope. For thou wilt not leave my
soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy
presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.
Psalms 30:1‑5
I will extol thee, O Lord;
for thou hast lifted me up, and hast not made my foes to rejoice over me. O Lord my God, I cried unto thee, and thou
hast healed me. O Lord, thou hast
brought up my soul from the grave: thou hast kept me alive, that I should not
go down to the pit. Sing unto the Lord,
O ye saints of his, and give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness. For his anger endureth but a moment; in his
favour is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.
Psalms 51:1,2,6‑8,10‑12
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.
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.
Isaiah 35:1‑10
The wilderness and the
solitary place shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice, and
blossom as the rose. It shall blossom
abundantly, and rejoice even with joy and singing: the glory of Lebanon shall
be given unto it, the excellency of Carmel and Sharon, they shall see the glory
of the Lord, and the excellency of our God.
#Strengthen ye the weak hands, and confirm the feeble knees. Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be
strong, fear not: behold, your God will come with vengeance, even God with a
recompence; he will come and save you.
Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf
shall be unstopped. Then shall the lame
man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing: for in the wilderness
shall waters break out, and streams in the desert. And the parched ground shall become a pool,
and the thirsty land springs of water: in the habitation of dragons, where each
lay, shall be grass with reeds and rushes.
And an highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called The way
of holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it; but it shall be for those: the
wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein. No lion shall be there, nor any ravenous
beast shall go up thereon, it shall not be found there; but the redeemed shall
walk there: And the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with
songs and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness,
and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.
Isaiah 55:6‑13
#Seek ye the Lord while he
may be found, call ye upon him while he is near: Let the wicked forsake his
way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord,
and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.
#For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord.
For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than
your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.
For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not
thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may
give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: So shall my word be that goeth
forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall
accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent
it. For ye shall go out with joy, and be
led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you
into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. Instead of the thorn shall come up the fir
tree, and instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree: and it shall be
to the Lord for a name, for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.
John 15:1‑11
I am the true vine, and my
Father is the husbandman. Every branch
in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth
fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit. Now ye are clean through the word which I
have spoken unto you. Abide in me, and I
in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine;
no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I
am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same
bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as
a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire,
and they are burned. If ye abide in me,
and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto
you. Herein is my Father glorified, that
ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples. As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved
you: continue ye in my love. If ye keep
my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's
commandments, and abide in his love.
These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you,
and that your joy might be full.
Galatians 5:22 the,23
the fruit of the Spirit is
love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness,
temperance: against such there is no law.
Philippians 2:1‑5
If there be therefore any
consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit,
if any bowels and mercies, Fulfil ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the
same love, being of one accord, of one mind.
Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of
mind let each esteem other better than themselves. Look not every man on his own things, but
every man also on the things of others.
Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:
Jude 1:24,25
Now unto him that is able to
keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his
glory with exceeding joy, To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and
majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen.
Readings from Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy.
14:12
Become conscious for a single moment that
Life and intelligence are purely spiritual,‑‑neither in nor of matter,‑‑and the
body will then utter no complaints. If
suffering from a belief in sickness, you will find yourself suddenly well. Sorrow is turned into joy when the body is
controlled by spiritual Life, Truth, and Love.
Hence the hope of the promise Jesus bestows: "He that believeth on
me, the works that I do shall he do also; . . . because I go unto my
Father,"‑‑[because the Ego is absent from the body, and present with Truth
and Love.] The Lord's Prayer is the
prayer of Soul, not of material sense.
21:9
If the disciple is advancing spiritually, he
is striving to enter in. He constantly
turns away from material sense, and looks towards the imperishable things of
Spirit. If honest, he will be in earnest
from the start, and gain a little each day in the right direction, till at last
he finishes his course with joy.
66:11
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.
76:18‑31
Suffering, sinning, dying beliefs are
unreal. When divine Science is
universally understood, they will have no power over man, for man is immortal
and lives by divine authority.
The sinless joy,‑‑the perfect harmony and
immortality of Life, possessing unlimited divine beauty and goodness without a
single bodily pleasure or pain,‑‑constitutes the only veritable, indestructible
man, whose being is spiritual. This
state of existence is scientific and intact,‑‑a perfection discernible only by
those who have the final understanding of Christ in divine Science. Death can never hasten this state of
existence, for death must be overcome, not submitted to, before immortality appears.
175:9
What an abuse of natural beauty to say that a
rose, the smile of God, can produce suffering!
The joy of its presence, its beauty and fragrance, should uplift the
thought, and dissuade any sense of fear or fever. It is profane to fancy that the perfume of
clover and the breath of new‑mown hay can cause glandular inflammation,
sneezing, and nasal pangs.
241:31
It is "easier for a camel to go through
the eye of a needle," than for sinful beliefs to enter the kingdom of
heaven, eternal harmony. Through
repentance, spiritual baptism, and regeneration, mortals put off their material
beliefs and false individuality. It is
only a question of time when "they shall all know Me [God], from the least
of them unto the greatest." Denial of the claims of matter is a great step
towards the joys of Spirit, towards human freedom and the final triumph over
the body.
265:23
Who that has felt the loss of human peace has
not gained stronger desires for spiritual joy?
The aspiration after heavenly good comes even before we discover what
belongs to wisdom and Love. The loss of
earthly hopes and pleasures brightens the ascending path of many a heart. The pains of sense quickly inform us that the
pleasures of sense are mortal and that joy is spiritual.
298:8‑24
What is termed material sense can report only
a mortal temporary sense of things, whereas spiritual sense can bear witness
only to Truth. To material sense, the
unreal is the real until this sense is corrected by Christian Science.
Spiritual sense, contradicting the material
senses, involves intuition, hope, faith, understanding, fruition, reality. Material sense expresses the belief that mind
is in matter. This human belief,
alternating between a sense of pleasure and pain, hope and fear, life and
death, never reaches beyond the boundary of the mortal or the unreal. When the real is attained, which is announced
by Science, joy is no longer a trembler, nor is hope a cheat. Spiritual ideas, like numbers and notes,
start from Principle, and admit no materialistic beliefs. Spiritual ideas lead up to their divine
origin, God, and to the spiritual sense of being.
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."
390:4
We cannot deny that Life is self‑sustained,
and we should never deny the everlasting harmony of Soul, simply because, to
the mortal senses, there is seeming discord.
It is our ignorance of God, the divine Principle, which produces
apparent discord, and the right understanding of Him restores harmony. Truth will at length compel us all to
exchange the pleasures and pains of sense for the joys of Soul.
513:26
God creates all forms of reality. His thoughts are spiritual realities. So‑called mortal mind‑‑being non‑existent and
consequently not within the range of immortal existence‑‑could not by
simulating deific power invert the divine creation, and afterwards recreate
persons or things upon its own plane, since nothing exists beyond the range of
all‑inclusive infinity, in which and of which God is the sole creator. Mind, joyous in strength, dwells in the realm
of Mind. Mind's infinite ideas run and
disport themselves. In humility they
climb the heights of holiness.
548:9
How little light or heat reach our earth when
clouds cover the sun's face! So
Christian Science can be seen only as the clouds of corporeal sense roll away. Earth has little light or joy for mortals
before Life is spiritually learned.
Every agony of mortal error helps error to destroy error, and so aids
the apprehension of immortal Truth. This
is the new birth going on hourly, by which men may entertain angels, the true
ideas of God, the spiritual sense of being.
566:1
As the children of Israel were guided
triumphantly through the Red Sea, the dark ebbing and flowing tides of human
fear,‑‑as they were led through the wilderness, walking wearily through the
great desert of human hopes, and anticipating the promised joy,‑‑so shall the
spiritual idea guide all right desires in their passage from sense to Soul,
from a material sense of existence to the spiritual, up to the glory prepared
for them who love God. Stately Science
pauses not, but moves before them, a pillar of cloud by day and of fire by
night, leading to divine heights.
575:7‑2
This sacred city, described in the Apocalypse
(xxi. 16) as one that "lieth foursquare" and cometh "down from
God, out of heaven," represents the light and glory of divine Science. The builder and maker of this New Jerusalem
is God, as we read in the book of Hebrews; and it is "a city which hath
foundations." The description is
metaphoric. Spiritual teaching must
always be by symbols. Did not Jesus
illustrate the truths he taught by the mustard‑seed and the prodigal? Taken in its allegorical sense, the
description of the city as foursquare has a profound meaning. The four sides of our city are the Word,
Christ, Christianity, and divine Science; "and the gates of it shall not
be shut at all by day: for there shall be no night there." This city is wholly spiritual, as its four
sides indicate.
As the Psalmist saith, "Beautiful for
situation, the joy of the whole earth, is mount Zion, on the sides of the
north, the city of the great King."
It is indeed a city of the Spirit, fair, royal, and square. Northward, its gates open to the North Star,
the Word, the polar magnet of Revelation; eastward, to the star seen by the
Wisemen of the Orient, who followed it to the manger of Jesus; southward, to
the genial tropics, with the Southern Cross in the skies, ‑‑the Cross of
Calvary, which binds human society into solemn union; westward, to the grand
realization of the Golden Shore of Love and the Peaceful Sea of Harmony.
Silent prayer followed by the audible repetition of the Lord’s Prayer.
Hymn 75
James Montgomery – Adapted
God comes, with succor speedy,
To those who suffer wrong;
To help the poor and needy,
And bid the weak be strong;
He comes to break oppression,
To set the captive free,
To take away transgression,
And rule in equity.
His blessings come as showers
Upon the thirsty earth;
And joy and hope, like flowers,
Spring in His path to birth.
Before Him on the mountains
Shall Peace, the herald, go;
From hill to vale the fountains
Of righteousness shall flow.
To Him shall prayer unceasing,
And daily vows, ascend;
His kingdom still increasing,
A kingdom without end.
The tide of time shall never
His covenant remove;
His name shall stand forever:
His changeless name of Love.
Sharing of experiences, testimonies and remarks by members of the congregation.
Hymn 93
William P. McKenzie
Happy the man whose heart can rest,
Assured God's goodness ne'er will cease;
Each day, complete, with joy is blessed,
God keepeth him in perfect peace.
God keepeth him, and God is one,
One Life, forevermore the same,
One Truth unchanged while ages run;
Eternal Love His holiest name.
Dwelling in Love that cannot change,
From anxious fear man finds release;
No more his homeless longings range,
God keepeth him in perfect peace.
In perfect peace, with tumult stilled,
Enhavened where no storms arise,
There man can work what God hath willed;
The joy of perfect work his prize.
