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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