Theme: Freedom
Hymn 65
Frances R. Havergal – Adapted
From glory unto glory,
Be this our joyous song;
From glory unto glory,
'Tis Love that leads us on;
As wider yet and wider,
The rising splendors glow,
What wisdom is revealed to us,
What freedom we may know.
The fullness of His blessing
Encompasseth our way;
The fullness of His promise
Crowns every dawning day;
The fullness of His glory
Is shining from above,
While more and more we learn to know
The fullness of His love.
From glory unto glory,
What great things He hath done,
What wonders He hath shown us,
What triumphs Love hath won.
From glory unto glory,
From strength to strength we go,
While grace for grace abundantly
Doth from His fullness flow.
Readings from the Bible:
Psalms 51:1‑12
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. For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my
sin is ever before me. Against thee,
thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest
be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest. Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin
did my mother conceive me.
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.
Isaiah 58:5,6
Is it such a fast that I have
chosen? a day for a man to afflict his soul? is it to bow down his head as a
bulrush, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? wilt thou call this a
fast, and an acceptable day to the Lord?
Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of
wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and
that ye break every yoke?
John 8:31 If,32,36
If ye continue in my word,
then are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth
shall make you free.
If the Son therefore shall
make you free, ye shall be free indeed.
Romans 6:1‑18
What shall we say then? Shall
we continue in sin, that grace may abound?
God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer
therein? Know ye not, that so many of us
as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore we are buried with him by baptism
into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the
Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been planted together in the
likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection:
Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin
might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. For he that is dead is freed from sin. Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe
that we shall also live with him: Knowing that Christ being raised from the
dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him. For in that he died, he died unto sin once:
but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God.
Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive
unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it
in the lusts thereof. Neither yield ye
your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves
unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as
instruments of righteousness unto God.
For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law,
but under grace. What then? shall we
sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid. Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves
servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto
death, or of obedience unto righteousness?
But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed
from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you. Being then made free from sin, ye became the
servants of righteousness.
Romans 8:1‑19
THERE is therefore now no
condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh,
but after the Spirit. For the law of the
Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and
death. For what the law could not do, in
that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of
sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: That the righteousness
of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after
the Spirit. For they that are after the
flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the
things of the Spirit. For to be carnally
minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.
Because the carnal mind is enmity against
God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot
please God. But ye are not in the flesh,
but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man
have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. And if Christ be in you, the body is dead
because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus
from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also
quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.
Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to
the flesh, to live after the flesh. For
if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do
mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.
For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of
God. For ye have not received the spirit
of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby
we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit itself
beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: And if
children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint‑heirs with Christ; if so be that
we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together. For I reckon that the sufferings of this
present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be
revealed in us. For the earnest
expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God.
Galatians 4:31 brethren
brethren, we are not children
of the bondwoman but of the free.
Galatians 5:1
Stand fast therefore in the
liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the
yoke of bondage.
Rev 21:1‑7
And I saw a new heaven and a
new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there
was no more sea. And I John saw the holy
city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride
adorned for her husband. And I heard a
great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men,
and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself
shall be with them, and be their God.
And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no
more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain:
for the former things are passed away.
And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And
he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful. And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the
end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life
freely. He that overcometh shall inherit
all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.
Rev 22:17
And the Spirit and the bride
say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst
come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.
Readings from Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy.
22:23
Final deliverance from error, whereby we
rejoice in immortality, boundless freedom, and sinless sense, is not reached
through paths of flowers nor by pinning one's faith without works to another's
vicarious effort. Whosoever believeth
that wrath is righteous or that divinity is appeased by human suffering, does
not understand God.
89:18
Mind is not necessarily dependent upon
educational processes. It possesses of
itself all beauty and poetry, and the power of expressing them. Spirit, God, is heard when the senses are
silent. We are all capable of more than we do.
The influence or action of Soul confers a freedom, which explains the
phenomena of improvisation and the fervor of untutored lips.
117:29‑12
Jesus bade his disciples beware of the leaven
of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees, which he defined as human
doctrines. His parable of the
"leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till the
whole was leavened," impels the inference that the spiritual leaven
signifies the Science of Christ and its spiritual interpretation,‑‑an inference
far above the merely ecclesiastical and formal applications of the
illustration.
Did not this parable point a moral with a
prophecy, foretelling the second appearing in the flesh of the Christ, Truth,
hidden in sacred secrecy from the visible world?
Ages pass, but this leaven of Truth is ever
at work. It must destroy the entire mass
of error, and so be eternally glorified in man's spiritual freedom.
225:5‑31
You may know when first Truth leads by the
fewness and faithfulness of its followers.
Thus it is that the march of time bears onward freedom's banner. The powers of this world will fight, and will
command their sentinels not to let truth pass the guard until it subscribes to
their systems; but Science, heeding not the pointed bayonet, marches on. There is always some tumult, but there is a
rallying to truth's standard.
The history of our country, like all history,
illustrates the might of Mind, and shows human power to be proportionate to its
embodiment of right thinking. A few
immortal sentences, breathing the omnipotence of divine justice, have been
potent to break despotic fetters and abolish the whipping‑post and slave
market; but oppression neither went down in blood, nor did the breath of
freedom come from the cannon's mouth.
Love is the liberator.
Legally to abolish unpaid servitude in the
United States was hard; but the abolition of mental slavery is a more difficult
task. The despotic tendencies, inherent in mortal mind and always germinating
in new forms of tyranny, must be rooted out through the action of the divine
Mind.
Men and women of all climes and races are
still in bondage to material sense, ignorant how to obtain their freedom.
228:3‑19
The transmission of disease or of certain
idiosyncrasies of mortal mind would be impossible if this great fact of being
were learned,‑‑namely, that nothing inharmonious can enter being, for Life is God.
Heredity is a prolific subject for mortal belief to pin theories upon;
but if we learn that nothing is real but the right, we shall have no dangerous
inheritances, and fleshly ills will disappear.
The enslavement of man is not
legitimate. It will cease when man
enters into his heritage of freedom, his God‑given dominion over the material
senses. Mortals will some day assert
their freedom in the name of Almighty God.
Then they will control their own bodies through the understanding of
divine Science. Dropping their present
beliefs, they will recognize harmony as the spiritual reality and discord as
the material unreality.
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.
366:3
In order to cure his patient, the
metaphysician must first cast moral evils out of himself and thus attain the
spiritual freedom which will enable him to cast physical evils out of his
patient; but heal he cannot, while his own spiritual barrenness debars him from
giving drink to the thirsty and hinders him from reaching his patient's
thought,‑‑yea, while mental penury chills his faith and understanding.
454:14
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."
480:26
The Bible declares: "All things were
made by Him [the divine Word]; and without Him was not anything made that was
made." This is the eternal verity
of divine Science. If sin, sickness, and
death were understood as nothingness, they would disappear. As vapor melts before the sun, so evil would
vanish before the reality of good. One
must hide the other. How important,
then, to choose good as the reality! Man
is tributary to God, Spirit, and to nothing else. God's being is infinity, freedom, harmony,
and boundless bliss. "Where the
Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty."
Like the archpriests of yore, man is free "to enter into the
holiest,"‑‑the realm of God.
547:23‑8
The Scriptures are very sacred. Our aim must be to have them understood
spiritually, for only by this understanding can truth be gained. The true theory of the universe, including
man, is not in material history but in spiritual development. Inspired thought relinquishes a material,
sensual, and mortal theory of the universe, and adopts the spiritual and
immortal.
It is this spiritual perception of Scripture,
which lifts humanity out of disease and death and inspires faith. "The Spirit and the bride say, Come! . .
. and whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely." Christian Science separates error from truth,
and breathes through the sacred pages the spiritual sense of life, substance,
and intelligence. In this Science, we
discover man in the image and likeness of God.
We see that man has never lost his spiritual estate and his eternal
harmony.
Silent prayer followed by the audible repetition of the Lord’s Prayer.
Hymn 136
Violet Hay
I love Thy way of freedom, Lord,
To serve Thee is my choice,
In Thy clear light of Truth I rise
And, listening for Thy voice,
I hear Thy promise old and new,
That bids all fear to cease:
My presence still shall go with thee
And I will give thee peace.
Though storm or discord cross my path
Thy power is still my stay,
Though human will and woe would check
My upward‑soaring way;
All unafraid I wait, the while
Thy angels bring release,
For still Thy presence is with me,
And Thou dost give me peace.
I climb, with joy, the heights of Mind,
To soar o'er time and space;
I yet shall know as I am known
And see Thee face to face.
Till time and space and fear are naught
My quest shall never cease,
Thy presence ever goes with me
And Thou dost give me peace.
Sharing of experiences, testimonies and remarks by members of the congregation.
Hymn 276
Charles Wesley – Adapted
Peace be to this congregation;
Peace to every heart therein;
Peace, the earnest of salvation;
Peace, the fruit of conquered sin;
Peace, that speaks the heavenly Giver;
Peace, to worldly minds unknown;
Peace, that floweth as a river
From th' eternal source alone.
O Thou God of peace, be near us,
Fix within our hearts Thy home;
With Thy bright appearing cheer us,
In Thy blessed freedom come.
Come with all Thy revelations,
Truth which we so long have sought;
Come with Thy deep consolations,
Peace of God which passeth thought.
