Theme: Supply
Hymn 6
William H. Burleigh – Adapted
Abide not in the realm of dreams,
O man, however fair it seems;
But with clear eye the present scan,
And hear the call of God and man.
Think not in sleep to fold thy hands,
Forgetful of thy Lord's commands:
From duty's claims no life is free,
Behold, today hath need of thee.
The present hour allots thy task,
For present strength and patience ask;
And trust His love whose sure supply
Meets all thy need abundantly.
Readings from the Bible.
Psalms 37:3‑7 (to :),11 the
Trust in the Lord, and do
good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed. Delight thyself also in the Lord; and he
shall give thee the desires of thine heart.
Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him; and he shall bring it
to pass. And he shall bring forth thy
righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noonday. Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him:
the meek shall inherit the earth; and shall
delight themselves in the abundance of peace.
Psalms 72:1‑8
Give the king thy judgments,
O God, and thy righteousness unto the king's son. He shall judge thy people with righteousness,
and thy poor with judgment. The
mountains shall bring peace to the people, and the little hills, by
righteousness. He shall judge the poor
of the people, he shall save the children of the needy, and shall break in
pieces the oppressor. They shall fear
thee as long as the sun and moon endure, throughout all generations. He shall come down like rain upon the mown
grass: as showers that water the earth. In his days shall the righteous flourish; and
abundance of peace so long as the moon endureth. He shall have dominion also from sea to sea,
and from the river unto the ends of the earth.
Romans 12:1‑18,20 (to :),21
I beseech you therefore,
brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living
sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye
transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good,
and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among
you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think
soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.
For as we have many members in one body, and
all members have not the same office: So we, being many, are one body in
Christ, and every one members one of another.
Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us,
whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith; Or
ministry, let us wait on our ministering: or he that teacheth, on teaching; Or
he that exhorteth, on exhortation: he that giveth, let him do it with
simplicity; he that ruleth, with diligence; he that sheweth mercy, with
cheerfulness. Let love be without
dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good. Be kindly affectioned one to another with
brotherly love; in honour preferring one another; Not slothful in business;
fervent in spirit; serving the Lord; Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation;
continuing instant in prayer; Distributing to the necessity of saints; given to
hospitality.
Bless them which persecute
you: bless, and curse not. Rejoice with
them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep. Be of the same mind one toward another. Mind
not high things, but condescend to men of low estate. Be not wise in your own
conceits. Recompense to no man evil for
evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men. If it be possible, as much as lieth in you,
live peaceably with all men.
Therefore if thine enemy
hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink:
Be not overcome of evil, but
overcome evil with good.
II Corinthians 8:7‑15 as
as ye abound in every thing, in faith, and
utterance, and knowledge, and in all diligence, and in your love to us, see
that ye abound in this grace also. I
speak not by commandment, but by occasion of the forwardness of others, and to
prove the sincerity of your love. For ye
know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your
sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich.
And herein I give my advice: for this is
expedient for you, who have begun before, not only to do, but also to be
forward a year ago. Now therefore
perform the doing of it; that as there was a readiness to will, so there may be
a performance also out of that which ye have.
For if there be first a willing mind, it is accepted according to that a
man hath, and not according to that he hath not. For I mean not that other men be eased, and
ye burdened: But by an equality, that now at this time your abundance may be a
supply for their want, that their abundance also may be a supply for your want:
that there may be equality: As it is written, He that had gathered much had
nothing over; and he that had gathered little had no lack.
Philippians 1:2‑19
Grace be unto you, and peace,
from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ. I thank my God upon every remembrance of you,
Always in every prayer of mine for you all making request with joy, For your
fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now; Being confident of this
very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the
day of Jesus Christ: Even as it is meet for me to think this of you all,
because I have you in my heart; inasmuch as both in my bonds, and in the
defence and confirmation of the gospel, ye all are partakers of my grace.
For God is my record, how greatly I long
after you all in the bowels of Jesus Christ.
And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in
knowledge and in all judgment; That ye may approve things that are excellent;
that ye may be sincere and without offence till the day of Christ; Being filled
with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and
praise of God. But I would ye should
understand, brethren, that the things which happened unto me have fallen out
rather unto the furtherance of the gospel; So that my bonds in Christ are
manifest in all the palace, and in all other places; And many of the brethren
in the Lord, waxing confident by my bonds, are much more bold to speak the word
without fear.
Some indeed preach Christ
even of envy and strife; and some also of good will: The one preach Christ of
contention, not sincerely, supposing to add affliction to my bonds: But the
other of love, knowing that I am set for the defence of the gospel. What then? notwithstanding, every way,
whether in pretence, or in truth, Christ is preached; and I therein do rejoice,
yea, and will rejoice. For I know that
this shall turn to my salvation through your prayer, and the supply of the
Spirit of Jesus Christ,
Philippians 4:4‑9,13,19,20
(to 1st .)
Rejoice in the Lord alway:
and again I say, Rejoice. Let your
moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand. Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by
prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto
God. And the peace of God, which passeth
all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are
true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever
things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good
report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these
things. Those things, which ye have both
learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace
shall be with you.
I can do all things through
Christ which strengtheneth me.
But my God shall supply all
your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus. Now unto God and our Father be glory for ever
and ever.
II Timothy 3:14‑17 continue
continue thou in the things
which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast
learned them; And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which
are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ
Jesus. All scripture is given by
inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for
correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be
perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.
II Peter 1:2‑8
Grace and peace be multiplied
unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord, According as his
divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and
godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue:
Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these
ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that
is in the world through lust. And beside
this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge;
And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience
godliness; And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness
charity. For if these things be in you,
and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the
knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Readings from Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy.
7:23
God is not influenced by
man. The "divine ear" is not
an auditory nerve. It is the all‑hearing
and all‑knowing Mind, to whom each need of man is always known and by whom it
will be supplied.
98:31
The way through which immortality and life
are learned is not ecclesiastical but Christian, not human but divine, not
physical but metaphysical, not material but scientifically spiritual. Human philosophy, ethics, and superstition
afford no demonstrable divine Principle by which mortals can escape from sin;
yet to escape from sin, is what the Bible demands. "Work out your own salvation with fear
and trembling," says the apostle, and he straightway adds: "for it is
God which worketh in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure"
(Philippians ii. 12, 13). Truth has
furnished the key to the kingdom, and with this key Christian Science has
opened the door of the human understanding.
None may pick the lock nor enter by some other door. The ordinary teachings are material and not
spiritual. Christian Science teaches
only that which is spiritual and divine, and not human. Christian Science is unerring and Divine; the
human sense of things errs because it is human.
106:6
Like our nation, Christian Science has its
Declaration of Independence. God has
endowed man with inalienable rights, among which are self‑government, reason,
and conscience. Man is properly self‑governed
only when he is guided rightly and governed by his Maker, divine Truth and
Love.
206:15‑31
In the scientific relation of God to man, we
find that whatever blesses one blesses all, as Jesus showed with the loaves and
the fishes,‑‑Spirit, not matter, being the source of supply.
Does God send sickness, giving the mother her
child for the brief space of a few years and then taking it away by death? Is God creating anew what He has already
created? The Scriptures are definite on
this point, declaring that His work was finished,
nothing is new to God, and that it was good.
Can there be any birth or death for man, the
spiritual image and likeness of God?
Instead of God sending sickness and death, He destroys them, and brings
to light immortality. Omnipotent and
infinite Mind made all and includes all.
This Mind does not make mistakes and subsequently correct them. God does not cause man to sin, to be sick, or
to die.
216:11
The understanding that the Ego is Mind, and
that there is but one Mind or intelligence, begins at once to destroy the
errors of mortal sense and to supply the truth of immortal sense. This understanding makes the body harmonious;
it makes the nerves, bones, brain, etc., servants, instead of masters. If man is governed by the law of divine Mind,
his body is in submission to everlasting Life and Truth and Love. The great mistake of mortals is to suppose
that man, God's image and likeness, is both matter and Spirit, both good and
evil.
248:8
Immortal Mind feeds the body
with supernal freshness and fairness, supplying it with beautiful images of
thought and destroying the woes of sense which each day brings to a nearer
tomb.
323:13
In order to apprehend more, we must put into
practice what we already know. We must
recollect that Truth is demonstrable when understood, and that good is not
understood until demonstrated. If
"faithful over a few things," we shall be made rulers over many; but
the one unused talent decays and is lost.
When the sick or the sinning awake to realize their need of what they
have not, they will be receptive of divine Science, which gravitates towards
Soul and away from material sense, removes thought from the body, and elevates
even mortal mind to the contemplation of something better than disease or
sin. The true idea of God gives the true
understanding of Life and Love, robs the grave of victory, takes away all sin
and the delusion that there are other minds, and destroys mortality.
393:4‑24
The body seems to be self‑acting, only
because mortal mind is ignorant of itself, of its own actions, and of their
results,‑‑ignorant that the predisposing, remote, and exciting cause of all bad
effects is a law of so‑called mortal mind, not of matter. Mind is the master of the corporeal senses,
and can conquer sickness, sin, and death.
Exercise this God‑given authority.
Take possession of your body, and govern its feeling and action. Rise in the strength of Spirit to resist all
that is unlike good. God has made man
capable of this, and nothing can vitiate the ability and power divinely
bestowed on man.
Be firm in your understanding that the divine
Mind governs, and that in Science man reflects God's government. Have no fear that matter can ache, swell, and
be inflamed as the result of a law of any kind, when it is self‑evident that
matter can have no pain nor inflammation.
Your body would suffer no more from tension or wounds than the trunk of
a tree which you gash or the electric wire which you stretch, were it not for
mortal mind.
521:23‑11
The Science and truth of the divine creation
have been presented in the verses already considered, and now the opposite
error, a material view of creation, is to be set forth. The second chapter of Genesis contains a
statement of this material view of God and the universe, a statement which is
the exact opposite of scientific truth as before recorded. The history of error or matter, if veritable,
would set aside the omnipotence of Spirit; but it is the false history in
contradistinction to the true.
The Science of the first record proves the
falsity of the second. If one is true, the other is false, for they are
antagonistic. The first record assigns
all might and government to God, and endows man out of God's perfection and
power. The second record chronicles man
as mutable and mortal,‑‑as having broken away from Deity and as revolving in an
orbit of his own. Existence, separate
from divinity, Science explains as impossible.
570:14‑21 np
Millions of unprejudiced minds‑‑simple
seekers for Truth, weary wanderers, athirst in the desert‑‑are waiting and
watching for rest and drink. Give them a
cup of cold water in Christ's name, and never fear the consequences. What if the old dragon should send forth a
new flood to drown the Christ‑idea? He
can neither drown your voice with its roar, nor again sink the world into the
deep waters of chaos and old night. In
this age the earth will help the woman; the spiritual idea will be
understood. Those ready for the blessing
you impart will give thanks. The waters
will be pacified, and Christ will command the wave.
When God heals the sick or the sinning, they
should know the great benefit which Mind has wrought. They should also know the great delusion of
mortal mind, when it makes them sick or sinful.
Many are willing to open the eyes of the people to the power of good
resident in divine Mind, but they are not so willing to point out the evil in
human thought, and expose evil's hidden mental ways of accomplishing iniquity.
Why this backwardness, since exposure is
necessary to ensure the avoidance of the evil?
Because people like you better when you tell them their virtues than
when you tell them their vices. It re‑quires
the spirit of our blessed Master to tell a man his faults, and so risk human
displeasure for the sake of doing right and benefiting our race. Who is telling mankind of the foe in ambush? Is the informer one who sees the foe? If so, listen and be wise. Escape from evil, and designate those as unfaithful
stewards who have seen the danger and yet have given no warning.
At all times and under all circumstances,
overcome evil with good. Know thyself,
and God will supply the wisdom and the occasion for a victory over evil. Clad in the panoply of Love, human hatred
cannot reach you. The cement of a higher
humanity will unite all interests in the one divinity.
Silent prayer followed by the audible repetition of the Lord’s Prayer.
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.
Sharing of experiences, testimonies and remarks by members of the congregation.
Hymn 342
Laura Lee Randall
This is the day the Lord hath made;
Be glad, give thanks, rejoice;
Stand in His presence, unafraid,
In praise lift up your voice.
All perfect gifts are from above,
And all our blessings show
The amplitude of God's dear love
Which every heart may know.
The Lord will hear before we call,
And every need supply;
Good things are freely given to all
Who on His word rely.
We come today to bring Him praise
Not for such gifts alone,
But for the higher, deeper ways
In which His love is shown.
For sin destroyed, for sorrow healed,
For health and peace restored;
For Life and Love by Truth revealed,
We thank and bless the Lord.
This is the day the Lord hath made,
In praise lift up your voice.
In shining robes of joy arrayed,
Be glad, give thanks, rejoice.
