Theme: Perfect
Hymn 20
Kate L. Colby – Adapted
Be true and list the voice within,
Be true unto thy high ideal,
Thy perfect self, that knows no sin,
That self that is the only real.
God is the only perfect One:
My perfect self is one with Him;
So man is seen as God's own son,
When Truth dispels the shadows dim.
True to our God whose name is Love,
We shall fulfill our Father's plan;
For true means true to God above,
To self, and to our fellow man.
Readings from the Bible.
Deuteronomy18:13
Thou shalt be perfect with
the Lord thy God.
II Samuel 22:29‑34 thou
thou art my lamp, O Lord; and the Lord will
lighten my darkness. For by thee I have
run through a troop: by my God have I leaped over a wall. As for God, his way is perfect; the word of
the Lord is tried: he is a buckler to all them that trust in him. For who is God, save the Lord? and who is a rock, save our God? God is my strength and power: and he maketh
my way perfect. He maketh my feet like
hinds' feet: and setteth me upon my high places.
Psalms 18:25,26 (to ;),28‑32
With the merciful thou wilt
shew thyself merciful; with an upright man thou wilt shew thyself upright; With
the pure thou wilt shew thyself pure;
For thou wilt light my
candle: the Lord my God will enlighten my darkness. For by thee I have run through a troop; and
by my God have I leaped over a wall. As
for God, his way is perfect: the word of the Lord is tried: he is a buckler to
all those that trust in him. For who is
God save the Lord? or who is a rock save
our God? It is God that girdeth me with
strength, and maketh my way perfect.
Psalms 37:37
Mark the perfect man, and
behold the upright: for the end of that man is peace.
Psalms 138:1‑8
I will praise thee with my
whole heart: before the gods will I sing praise unto thee. I will worship toward thy holy temple, and
praise thy name for thy lovingkindness and for thy truth: for thou hast
magnified thy word above all thy name.
In the day when I cried thou answeredst me, and strengthenedst me with
strength in my soul. All the kings of
the earth shall praise thee, O Lord, when they hear the words of thy
mouth. Yea, they shall sing in the ways
of the Lord: for great is the glory of the Lord. Though the Lord be high, yet hath he respect
unto the lowly: but the proud he knoweth afar off. Though I walk in the midst of trouble, thou
wilt revive me: thou shalt stretch forth thine hand against the wrath of mine
enemies, and thy right hand shall save me.
The Lord will perfect that which concerneth me: thy mercy, O Lord,
endureth for ever: forsake not the works of thine own hands.
Isaiah 26:2‑4
Open ye the gates, that the
righteous nation which keepeth the truth may enter in. Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose
mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee. Trust ye in the Lord for ever: for in the
Lord JEHOVAH is everlasting strength:
Matthew 5:1‑16 seeing,48
seeing the multitudes, he went up into a
mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him: And he opened his
mouth, and taught them, saying, Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is
the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are they
that mourn: for they shall be comforted.
Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst
after righteousness: for they shall be filled.
Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall
see God. Blessed are the peacemakers:
for they shall be called the children of God.
Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for
theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed
are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner
of evil against you falsely, for my sake.
Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for
so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.
#Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the
salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good
for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men. Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be
hid. Neither do men light a candle, and
put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that
are in the house. Let your light so
shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father
which is in heaven.
Be ye therefore perfect, even
as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.
Romans 12:1‑18
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.
II Corinthians 13:11
Finally, brethren, farewell.
Be perfect, be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace; and the God of
love and peace shall be with you.
Readings from Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy.
37:27
Hear these imperative
commands: "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven
is perfect!" "Go ye into all
the world, and preach the gospel to every creature!" "Heal
the sick!"
69:13
Spiritually to understand
that there is but one creator, God, unfolds all creation, confirms the
Scriptures, brings the sweet assurance of no parting, no pain, and of man
deathless and perfect and eternal.
76:22
The sinless joy,‑‑the perfect harmony and
immortality of Life, possessing unlimited divine beauty and goodness without a
single bodily pleasure or pain,‑‑constitutes the only veritable, indestructible
man, whose being is spiritual. This
state of existence is scientific and intact,‑‑a perfection discernible only by
those who have the final understanding of Christ in divine Science. Death can never hasten this state of
existence, for death must be overcome, not submitted to, before immortality appears.
99:23
The calm, strong currents of true
spirituality, the manifestations of which are health, purity, and self‑immolation,
must deepen human experience, until the beliefs of material existence are seen
to be a bald imposition, and sin, disease, and death give everlasting place to
the scientific demonstration of divine Spirit and to God's spiritual, perfect
man.
115:15
MAN: God's spiritual idea, individual,
perfect, eternal.
200:16
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.
205:7‑13
When will the error of believing that there
is life in matter, and that sin, sickness, and death are creations of God, be
unmasked? When will it be understood
that matter has neither intelligence, life, nor sensation, and that the
opposite belief is the prolific source of all suffering? God created all through Mind, and made all
perfect and eternal.
208:25
Mind, not matter, is causation. A material body only expresses a material and
mortal mind. A mortal man possesses this
body, and he makes it harmonious or discordant according to the images of
thought impressed upon it. You embrace
your body in your thought, and you should delineate upon it thoughts of health,
not of sickness. You should banish all
thoughts of disease and sin and of other beliefs included in matter. Man, being immortal, has a perfect
indestructible life. It is the mortal
belief which makes the body discordant and diseased in proportion as ignorance,
fear, or human will governs
mortals.
245:32‑16
The infinite never began nor will it ever
end. Mind and its formations can never
be annihilated. Man is not a pendulum,
swinging between evil and good, joy and sorrow, sickness and health, life and
death. Life and its faculties are not
measured by calendars. The perfect and
immortal are the eternal likeness of their Maker. Man is by no means a material germ rising
from the imperfect and endeavoring to reach Spirit above his origin. The stream rises no higher than its
source.
The measurement of life by solar years robs
youth and gives ugliness to age. The
radiant sun of virtue and truth coexists with being. Manhood is its eternal noon, undimmed by a
declining sun. As the physical and
material, the transient sense of beauty fades, the radiance of Spirit should
dawn upon the enraptured sense with bright and imperishable glories.
253:32
The divine demand, "Be ye therefore
perfect," is scientific, and the human footsteps leading to perfection are
indispensable. Individuals are
consistent who, watching and praying, can "run, and not be weary; . .
. walk, and not faint," who gain
good rapidly and hold their position, or attain slowly and yield not to
discouragement. God requires perfection,
but not until the battle between Spirit and flesh is fought and the victory
won. To stop eating, drinking, or being
clothed materially before the spiritual facts of existence are gained step by
step, is not legitimate. When we wait
patiently on God and seek Truth righteously, He directs our path. Imperfect mortals grasp the ultimate of
spiritual perfection slowly; but to begin
aright and to continue the strife of demonstrating the great problem of being,
is doing much.
259:6
In divine Science, man is the true image of
God. The divine nature was best
expressed in Christ Jesus, who threw upon mortals the truer reflection of God
and lifted their lives higher than their poor thought‑models would allow,‑‑thoughts
which presented man as fallen, sick, sinning, and dying. The Christlike understanding of scientific
being and divine healing includes a perfect Principle and idea,‑‑perfect God
and perfect man,‑‑as the basis of thought and demonstration.
276:17
If God is admitted to be the only Mind and
Life, there ceases to be any opportunity for sin and death. When we learn in Science how to be perfect
even as our Father in heaven is perfect, thought is turned into new and healthy
channels,‑‑towards the contemplation of things immortal and away from
materiality to the Principle of the universe, including harmonious man.
302:3‑24
The material body and mind are temporal, but
the real man is spiritual and eternal.
The identity of the real man is not lost, but found through this
explanation; for the conscious infinitude of existence and of all identity is
thereby discerned and remains unchanged.
It is impossible that man should lose aught that is real, when God is
all and eternally his. The notion that
mind is in matter, and that the so‑called pleasures and pains, the birth, sin,
sickness, and death of matter, are real, is a mortal belief; and this belief is
all that will ever be lost.
Continuing our definition of man, let us remember that harmonious and
immortal man has existed forever, and is always beyond and above the mortal
illusion of any life, substance, and intelligence as existent in matter. This statement is based on fact, not fable.
The Science of being reveals man as perfect, even as the Father is perfect,
because the Soul, or Mind, of the spiritual man is God, the divine Principle of
all being, and because this real man is governed by Soul instead of sense, by
the law of Spirit, not by the so‑called laws of matter.
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 93
William P. McKenzie
Happy the man whose heart can rest,
Assured God's goodness ne'er will cease;
Each day, complete, with joy is blessed,
God keepeth him in perfect peace.
God keepeth him, and God is one,
One Life, forevermore the same,
One Truth unchanged while ages run;
Eternal Love His holiest name.
Dwelling in Love that cannot change,
From anxious fear man finds release;
No more his homeless longings range,
God keepeth him in perfect peace.
In perfect peace, with tumult stilled,
Enhavened where no storms arise,
There man can work what God hath willed;
The joy of perfect work his prize.
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