Theme: Image
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
Genesis 1:26 God,27
God said, Let us make man in our image, after
our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the
fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every
creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him;
male and female created he them.
Psalms 17:6‑8,15
I have called upon thee, for
thou wilt hear me, O God: incline thine ear unto me, and hear my speech. Shew thy marvellous lovingkindness, O thou
that savest by thy right hand them which put their trust in thee from those
that rise up against them. Keep me as
the apple of the eye, hide me under the shadow of thy wings,
As for me, I will behold thy
face in righteousness: I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with thy likeness.
Acts 14:8‑11 there
there sat a certain man at Lystra, impotent in
his feet, being a cripple from his mother's womb, who never had walked: The
same heard Paul speak: who stedfastly beholding him, and perceiving that he had
faith to be healed, Said with a loud voice, Stand upright on thy feet. And he
leaped and walked. And when the people
saw what Paul had done, they lifted up their voices, saying in the speech of
Lycaonia, The gods are come down to us in the likeness of men.
I Corinthians 15:45‑54 it
it is written, The first man Adam was made a
living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit. Howbeit that was not first which is
spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual. The first man is of the earth, earthy: the
second man is the Lord from heaven. As
is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such
are they also that are heavenly. And as
we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the
heavenly.
Now this I say, brethren, that
flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption
inherit incorruption. Behold, I shew you
a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in
the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and
the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on
incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on
incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be
brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.
II Corinthians 3:18 we
we all, with open face beholding as in a glass
the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory,
even as by the Spirit of the Lord.
Philippians 2:1‑13
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: Who, being in
the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself
of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the
likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and
became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him,
and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every
knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the
earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the
glory of God the Father. Wherefore, my
beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much
more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God which worketh in you both to
will and to do of his good pleasure.
Colossians 1:2‑16 Grace
Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our
Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. We
give thanks to God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for
you, Since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus, and of the love which ye
have to all the saints, For the hope which is laid up for you in heaven,
whereof ye heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel; Which is come
unto you, as it is in all the world; and bringeth forth fruit, as it doth also
in you, since the day ye heard of it, and knew the grace of God in truth: As ye
also learned of Epaphras our dear fellowservant, who is for you a faithful
minister of Christ; Who also declared unto us your love in the Spirit.
For this cause we also, since the day we
heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled
with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; That
ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every
good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God; Strengthened with all might,
according to his glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with
joyfulness; Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be
partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: Who hath delivered us from
the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:
In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins: Who
is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: For by him
were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and
invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers:
all things were created by him, and for him:
Colossians 3:9,10,12‑15
Lie not one to another,
seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds; And have put on the new
man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him:
Put on therefore, as the
elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of
mind, meekness, longsuffering; Forbearing one another, and forgiving one
another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so
also do ye. And above all these things
put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness. And let the peace of God rule in your hearts,
to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful.
Hebrews 1:1‑3
God, who at sundry times and
in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, Hath in
these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all
things, by whom also he made the worlds; Who being the brightness of his glory,
and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of
his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand
of the Majesty on high;
Readings from Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy.
3:12
The Divine Being must be reflected by man,‑‑else
man is not the image and likeness of the patient, tender, and true, the One
"altogether lovely;" but to understand God is the work of eternity,
and demands absolute consecration of thought, energy, and desire.
13:20
If we pray to God as a corporeal person, this
will prevent us from relinquishing the human doubts and fears which attend such
a belief, and so we cannot grasp the wonders wrought by infinite, incorporeal
Love, to whom all things are possible.
Because of human ignorance of the divine Principle, Love, the Father of
all is represented as a corporeal creator; hence men recognize themselves as
merely physical, and are ignorant of man as God's image or reflection and of
man's eternal incorporeal existence. The
world of error is ignorant of the world of Truth,‑‑blind to the reality of
man's existence,‑‑for the world of sensation is not cognizant of life in Soul,
not in body.
73:8
The belief that one man, as spirit, can
control another man, as matter, upsets both the individuality and the Science
of man, for man is image. God controls
man, and God is the only Spirit. Any
other control or attraction of so‑called spirit is a mortal belief, which ought
to be known by its fruit,‑‑the repetition of evil.
94:1‑6
Jesus taught but one God, one Spirit, who
makes man in the image and likeness of Himself,‑‑of Spirit, not of matter. Man reflects infinite Truth, Life, and
Love. The nature of man, thus
understood, includes all that is implied by the terms "image" and
"likeness" as used in Scripture.
115:19
SCIENTIFIC TRANSLATION OF MORTAL MIND
116:1‑5
Third Degree: Understanding.
SPIRITUAL.
Wisdom, purity, spiritual understanding, spiritual power, love, health,
holiness.
In the third degree mortal mind disappears,
and man as God's image appears.
119:25
In viewing the sunrise, one finds that it
contradicts the evidence before the senses to believe that the earth is in
motion and the sun at rest. As astronomy
reverses the human perception of the movement of the solar system, so Christian
Science reverses the seeming relation of Soul and body and makes body tributary
to Mind. Thus it is with man, who is but the humble servant of the restful
Mind, though it seems otherwise to finite sense. But we shall never understand this while we
admit that soul is in body or mind in matter, and that man is included in non‑intelligence. Soul, or Spirit, is God, unchangeable and
eternal; and man coexists with and reflects Soul, God, for man is God's
image.
151:23
The divine Mind that made man
maintains His own image and likeness. The human mind is opposed to God and must
be put off, as St. Paul declares. All
that really exists is the divine Mind and its idea, and in this Mind the entire
being is found harmonious and eternal.
The straight and narrow way is to see and acknowledge this fact, yield
to this power, and follow the leadings of truth.
172:15
If man was first a material being, he must
have passed through all the forms of matter in order to become man. If the material body is man, he is a portion
of matter, or dust. On the contrary, man
is the image and likeness of Spirit; and the belief that there is Soul in sense
or Life in matter obtains in mortals, alias
mortal mind, to which the apostle refers when he says that we must "put
off the old man."
200:8‑19
Whoever is incompetent to explain Soul would
be wise not to undertake the explanation of body. Life is, always has been, and ever will be
independent of matter; for Life is God, and man is the idea of God, not formed
materially but spiritually, and not subject to decay and dust. The Psalmist said: "Thou madest him to
have dominion over the works of Thy hands.
Thou hast put all things under his feet."
The great truth in the Science of being, that
the real man was, is, and ever shall be perfect, is incontrovertible; for if
man is the image, reflection, of God, he is neither inverted nor subverted, but
upright and Godlike.
258:13
God expresses in man the infinite idea
forever developing itself, broadening and rising higher and higher from a
boundless basis. Mind manifests all that
exists in the infinitude of Truth. We
know no more of man as the true divine image and likeness, than we know of
God.
295:5
God creates and governs the universe,
including man. The universe is filled
with spiritual ideas, which He evolves, and they are obedient to the Mind that
makes them. Mortal mind would transform
the spiritual into the material, and then recover man's original self in order
to escape from the mortality of this error.
Mortals are not like immortals, created in God's own image; but infinite
Spirit being all, mortal consciousness will at last yield to the scientific
fact and disappear, and the real sense of being, perfect and forever intact,
will appear.
303:28
Spiritual man is the image or
idea of God, an idea which cannot be lost nor separated from its divine Principle. When the evidence before the material senses
yielded to spiritual sense, the apostle declared that nothing could alienate
him from God, from the sweet sense and presence of Life and Truth.
336:9 Immortal
Immortal man was and is God's
image or idea, even the infinite expression of infinite Mind, and immortal man
is coexistent and coeternal with that Mind.
He has been forever in the eternal Mind, God; but infinite Mind can
never be in man, but is reflected by man.
The spiritual man's consciousness and individuality are reflections of
God. They are the emanations of Him who
is Life, Truth, and Love. Immortal man
is not and never was material, but always spiritual and eternal.
468:8‑15
Question.‑‑What
is the scientific statement of being?
Answer.‑‑There
is no life, truth, intelligence, nor substance in matter. All is infinite Mind and its infinite
manifestation, for God is All‑in‑all.
Spirit is immortal Truth; matter is mortal error. Spirit is the real and eternal; matter is the
unreal and temporal. Spirit is God, and
man is His image and likeness. Therefore
man is not material; he is spiritual.
Silent prayer followed by the
audible repetition of the Lord’s Prayer.
Hymn 51
Mary Alice Dayton
Eternal Mind the Potter is,
And thought th' eternal clay:
The hand that fashions is divine,
His works pass not away.
Man is the noblest work of God,
His beauty, power and grace,
Immortal; perfect as his Mind
Reflected face to face.
God could not make imperfect man
His model infinite;
Unhallowed thought He could not plan,
Love's work and Love must fit.
Life, Truth and Love the pattern make,
Christ is the perfect heir;
The clouds of sense roll back, and show
The form divinely fair.
God's will is done; His kingdom come;
The Potter's work is plain.
The longing to be good and true
Has brought the light again.
And man does stand as God's own child,
The image of His love.
Let gladness ring from every tongue,
And heaven and earth approve.
Sharing of experiences, testimonies and remarks by members of the congregation.
Hymn 144
H. – Adapted
In atmosphere of Love divine,
We live, and move, and breathe;
Though mortal eyes may see it not,
'Tis sense that would deceive.
The mortal sense we must destroy,
If we would bring to light
The wonders of eternal Mind,
Where sense is lost in sight.
For God, immortal Principle,
Is with us everywhere;
He holds us perfect in His love,
And we His image bear.
