Service for Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2014

Theme: Steadfast

 Hymn 37
 Samuel Johnson* 

 City of God, how broad and far       
   Outspread thy walls sublime;
 The true thy chartered freemen are,
   Of every age and clime.

 One holy church, one army strong,
   One steadfast high intent,
 One working band, one harvest song,
   One King omnipotent.

 How gleam thy watch fires through the night,
   With never fainting ray;
 How rise thy towers, serene and bright,
   To meet the dawning day.

 In vain the surge's angry shock,
   In vain the drifting sands;
 Unharmed upon th' eternal Rock,
   The heavenly city stands.

Readings from the Bible.

I Chronicles 28:1‑10 David
 David assembled all the princes of Israel, the princes of the tribes, and the captains of the companies that ministered to the king by course, and the captains over the thousands, and captains over the hundreds, and the stewards over all the substance and possession of the king, and of his sons, with the officers, and with the mighty men, and with all the valiant men, unto Jerusalem.  Then David the king stood up upon his feet, and said, Hear me, my brethren, and my people: As for me, I had in mine heart to build an house of rest for the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and for the footstool of our God, and had made ready for the building: But God said unto me, Thou shalt not build an house for my name, because thou hast been a man of war, and hast shed blood.  Howbeit the Lord God of Israel chose me before all the house of my father to be king over Israel for ever: for he hath chosen Judah to be the ruler; and of the house of Judah, the house of my father; and among the sons of my father he liked me to make me king over all Israel: And of all my sons, (for the Lord hath given me many sons,) he hath chosen Solomon my son to sit upon the throne of the kingdom of the Lord over Israel.  And he said unto me, Solomon thy son, he shall build my house and my courts: for I have chosen him to be my son, and I will be his father.  Moreover I will establish his kingdom for ever, if he be constant to do my commandments and my judgments, as at this day.  Now therefore in the sight of all Israel the congregation of the Lord, and in the audience of our God, keep and seek for all the commandments of the Lord your God: that ye may possess this good land, and leave it for an inheritance for your children after you for ever.  

#And thou, Solomon my son, know thou the God of thy father, and serve him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind: for the Lord searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts: if thou seek him, he will be found of thee; but if thou forsake him, he will cast thee off for ever.  Take heed now; for the Lord hath chosen thee to build an house for the sanctuary: be strong, and do it.

Psalms 71:1‑5
In thee, O Lord, do I put my trust: let me never be put to confusion.  Deliver me in thy righteousness, and cause me to escape: incline thine ear unto me, and save me.  Be thou my strong habitation, whereunto I may continually resort: thou hast given commandment to save me; for thou art my rock and my fortress.  Deliver me, O my God, out of the hand of the wicked, out of the hand of the unrighteous and cruel man.  For thou art my hope, O Lord God: thou art my trust from my youth.

Psalms 89:5‑18 the
 the heavens shall praise thy wonders, O Lord: thy faithfulness also in the congregation of the saints.  For who in the heaven can be compared unto the Lord? who among the sons of the mighty can be likened unto the Lord?  God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the saints, and to be had in reverence of all them that are about him.  O Lord God of hosts, who is a strong Lord like unto thee? or to thy faithfulness round about thee?  Thou rulest the raging of the sea: when the waves thereof arise, thou stillest them.  Thou hast broken Rahab in pieces, as one that is slain; thou hast scattered thine enemies with thy strong arm.  The heavens are thine, the earth also is thine: as for the world and the fulness thereof, thou hast founded them.  The north and the south thou hast created them: Tabor and Hermon shall rejoice in thy name.  Thou hast a mighty arm: strong is thy hand, and high is thy right hand.  Justice and judgment are the habitation of thy throne: mercy and truth shall go before thy face.  Blessed is the people that know the joyful sound: they shall walk, O Lord, in the light of thy countenance.  In thy name shall they rejoice all the day: and in thy righteousness shall they be exalted.  For thou art the glory of their strength: and in thy favour our horn shall be exalted.  For the Lord is our defence; and the Holy One of Israel is our king. 

Jeremiah  32:36 therefore (to 1st ,),37‑41
therefore thus saith the Lord,

Behold, I will gather them out of all countries, whither I have driven them in mine anger, and in my fury, and in great wrath; and I will bring them again unto this place, and I will cause them to dwell safely: And they shall be my people, and I will be their God: And I will give them one heart, and one way, that they may fear me for ever, for the good of them, and of their children after them: And I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from them, to do them good; but I will put my fear in their hearts, that they shall not depart from me.  Yea, I will rejoice over them to do them good, and I will plant them in this land assuredly with my whole heart and with my whole soul.

Acts 2:17,26‑28,36
And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams:

Therefore did my heart rejoice, and my tongue was glad; moreover also my flesh shall rest in hope: Because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.  Thou hast made known to me the ways of life; thou shalt make me full of joy with thy countenance. 

Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ.

Romans 12:1‑10,18,21
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;

If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men. 

Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.

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.

Readings from Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy.

120:15
  Health is not a condition of matter, but of Mind; nor can the material senses bear reliable testimony on the subject of health.  The Science of Mind‑healing shows it to be impossible for aught but Mind to testify truly or to exhibit the real status of man.  Therefore the divine Principle of Science, reversing the testimony of the physical senses, reveals man as harmoniously existent in Truth, which is the only basis of health; and thus Science denies all disease, heals the sick, overthrows false evidence, and refutes materialistic logic. 

167:24
There is but one way‑‑namely, God and His idea‑‑which leads to spiritual being.  The scientific government of the body must be attained through the divine Mind.  It is impossible to gain control over the body in any other way.  On this fundamental point, timid conservatism is absolutely inadmissible.  Only through radical reliance on Truth can scientific healing power be realized. 

192:4
  We are Christian Scientists, only as we quit our reliance upon that which is false and grasp the true.  We are not Christian Scientists until we leave all for Christ.  Human opinions are not spiritual.  They come from the hearing of the ear, from corporeality instead of from Principle, and from the mortal instead of from the immortal.  Spirit is not separate from God.  Spirit is God. 

203:7
  If God were understood instead of being merely believed, this understanding would establish health.  The accusation of the rabbis, "He made himself the Son of God," was really the justification of Jesus, for to the Christian the only true spirit is Godlike.  This thought incites to a more exalted worship and self‑abnegation.  Spiritual perception brings out the possibilities of being, destroys reliance on aught but God, and so makes man the image of his Maker in deed and in truth. 

260:31‑30
  If we look to the body for pleasure, we find pain; for Life, we find death; for Truth, we find error; for Spirit, we find its opposite, matter.  Now reverse this action.  Look away from the body into Truth and Love, the Principle of all happiness, harmony, and immortality.  Hold thought steadfastly to the enduring, the good, and the true, and you will bring these into your experience proportionably to their occupancy of your thoughts. 
  The effect of mortal mind on health and happiness is seen in this:  If one turns away from the body with such absorbed interest as to forget it, the body experiences no pain.  Under the strong impulse of a desire to perform his part, a noted actor was accustomed night after night to go upon the stage and sustain his appointed task, walking about as actively as the youngest member of the company.  This old man was so lame that he hobbled every day to the theatre, and sat aching in his chair till his cue was spoken,‑‑a signal which made him as oblivious of physical infirmity as if he had inhaled chloroform, though he was in the full possession of his so‑called senses. 
  Detach sense from the body, or matter, which is only a form of human belief, and you may learn the meaning of God, or good, and the nature of the immutable and immortal.  Breaking away from the mutations of time and sense, you will neither lose the solid objects and ends of life nor your own identity.  Fixing your gaze on the realities supernal, you will rise to the spiritual consciousness of being, even as the bird which has burst from the egg and preens its wings for a skyward flight. 
414:15
  To fix truth steadfastly in your patients' thoughts, explain Christian Science to them, but not too soon,‑‑not until your patients are prepared for the explanation,‑‑lest you array the sick against their own interests by troubling and perplexing their thought.  The Christian Scientist's argument rests on the Christianly scientific basis of being.  The Scripture declares, "The Lord He is God [good]; there is none else beside Him."  Even so, harmony is universal, and discord is unreal.  Christian Science declares that Mind is substance, also that matter neither feels, suffers, nor enjoys.  Hold these points strongly in view.  Keep in mind the verity of being,‑‑that man is the image and likeness of God, in whom all being is painless and permanent.  Remember that man's perfection is real and unimpeachable, whereas imperfection is blameworthy, unreal, and is not brought about by divine Love. 

493:28‑24
  If Jesus awakened Lazarus from the dream, illusion, of death, this proved that the Christ could improve on a false sense.  Who dares to doubt this consummate test of the power and willingness of divine Mind to hold man forever intact in his perfect state, and to govern man's entire action?  Jesus said: "Destroy this temple [body], and in three days I [Mind] will raise it up;" and he did this for tired humanity's reassurance. 
  Is it not a species of infidelity to believe that so great a work as the Messiah's was done for himself or for God, who needed no help from Jesus' example to preserve the eternal harmony?  But mortals did need this help, and Jesus pointed the way for them.  Divine Love always has met and always will meet every human need.  It is not well to imagine that Jesus demonstrated the divine power to heal only for a select number or for a limited period of time, since to all mankind and in every hour, divine Love supplies all good. 
  The miracle of grace is no miracle to Love.  Jesus demonstrated the inability of corporeality, as well as the infinite ability of Spirit, thus helping erring human sense to flee from its own convictions and seek safety in divine Science.  Reason, rightly directed, serves to correct the errors of corporeal sense; but sin, sickness, and death will seem real (even as the experiences of the sleeping dream seem real) until the Science of man's eternal harmony breaks their illusion with the unbroken reality of scientific being. 

495:25‑19
  Question.‑‑How can I progress most rapidly in the understanding of Christian Science? 
  Answer.‑‑Study thoroughly the letter and imbibe the spirit.  Adhere to the divine Principle of Christian Science and follow the behests of God, abiding steadfastly in wisdom, Truth, and Love.  In the Science of Mind, you will soon ascertain that error cannot destroy error.  You will also learn that in Science there is no transfer of evil suggestions from one mortal to another, for there is but one Mind, and this ever‑present omnipotent Mind is reflected by man and governs the entire universe.  You will learn that in Christian Science the first duty is to obey God, to have one Mind, and to love another as yourself. 
  We all must learn that Life is God.  Ask yourself: Am I living the life that approaches the supreme good?  Am I demonstrating the healing power of Truth and Love?  If so, then the way will grow brighter "unto the perfect day."  Your fruits will prove what the understanding of God brings to man.  Hold perpetually this thought,‑‑that it is the spiritual idea, the Holy Ghost and Christ, which enables you to demonstrate, with scientific certainty, the rule of healing, based upon its divine Principle, Love, underlying, overlying, and encompassing all true being. 

Silent prayer followed by the audible repetition of the Lord’s Prayer.


 Hymn 176 
 Based on the Danish of Nikolaj F. S. Grundtvig

 Long hast thou stood, O church of God,
   Long mid the tempest's assailing,
 Founded secure on timeless rock
   Rises thy light, never failing;
 Shining that all may understand
 What has been wrought by God's command,
   O'er night and chaos prevailing.

 Let there be light, and light was there,
   Clear as the Word that declared it;
 Healing and peace to all it gave,
   Who in humility shared it.
 Ah, they were faithful, they who heard,
 Steadfast their trust in God's great Word,
   Steadfast the Love that prepared it.

 Let there be light, the Word shines forth,
   Lo, where the new morning whitens;
 O church of God, with Book unsealed,
   How its page beacons and brightens.
 Living stones we, each in his place,
 May we be worthy such a grace,
   While Truth the wide earth enlightens.

Sharing of experiences and remarks by members of the congregation. 

 Hymn 327
 Author Unknown 

 The God who made both heaven and earth
   And all that they contain
 Will never quit His steadfast truth
   Nor make His promise vain.

 The poor and all oppressed by wrong
   Are saved by His decree;
 He gives the hungry needful food
   And sets the captive free.

 By Him the blind receive their sight,
   By Him the fallen rise;
 With constant care, His tender love
   All human need supplies.


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