Service for Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2014

Theme: New

 Hymn 392
 Laura C. Nourse 

 With love and peace and joy supreme
   We hail the new appearing;
 From out the darkness and the dream,
   The haven of rest is nearing.

 With gifts of healing in his wings
   To light the Christ now guides us,
 The heart that knows him burns and sings,
   For endless joy betides us.

 His touch the door of Life unseals
   And bids us freely enter,
 His word the heaven of heavens reveals
   With Love its bound and center.

 For God is all, and Christ the way;
   Our meek and bold defender
 Has cleft the night and lo, the day
   Bursts forth in mighty splendor.

Readings from the Bible

Psalms 33:1-9
Rejoice in the Lord, O ye righteous: for praise is comely for the upright.  Praise the Lord with harp: sing unto him with the psaltery and an instrument of ten strings.  Sing unto him a new song; play skilfully with a loud noise.  For the word of the Lord is right; and all his works are done in truth.  He loveth righteousness and judgment: the earth is full of the goodness of the Lord.  By the word of the Lord were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth.  He gathereth the waters of the sea together as an heap: he layeth up the depth in storehouses.  Let all the earth fear the Lord: let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him.  For he spake, and it was done; he commanded, and it stood fast.

Psalms 96:1-13
O sing unto the Lord a new song: sing unto the Lord, all the earth. Sing unto the Lord, bless his name; shew forth his salvation from day to day.  Declare his glory among the heathen, his wonders among all people.  For the Lord is great, and greatly to be praised: he is to be feared above all gods.  For all the gods of the nations are idols: but the Lord made the heavens.  Honour and majesty are before him: strength and beauty are in his sanctuary.  Give unto the Lord, O ye kindreds of the people, give unto the Lord glory and strength.  Give unto the Lord the glory due unto his name: bring an offering, and come into his courts.  O worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness: fear before him, all the earth.  Say among the heathen that the Lord reigneth: the world also shall be established that it shall not be moved: he shall judge the people righteously.  Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad; let the sea roar, and the fulness thereof.  Let the field be joyful, and all that is therein: then shall all the trees of the wood rejoice Before the Lord: for he cometh, for he cometh to judge the earth: he shall judge the world with righteousness, and the people with his truth.

Psalms 98:1-9
O sing unto the Lord a new song; for he hath done marvellous things: his right hand, and his holy arm, hath gotten him the victory.  The Lord hath made known his salvation: his righteousness hath he openly shewed in the sight of the heathen.  He hath remembered his mercy and his truth toward the house of Israel: all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.  Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all the earth: make a loud noise, and rejoice, and sing praise.  Sing unto the Lord with the harp; with the harp, and the voice of a psalm.  With trumpets and sound of cornet make a joyful noise before the Lord, the King.  Let the sea roar, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein.  Let the floods clap their hands: let the hills be joyful together Before the Lord; for he cometh to judge the earth: with righteousness shall he judge the world, and the people with equity.

Psalms 149:1-5 (to :)
Praise ye the Lord. Sing unto the Lord a new song, and his praise in the congregation of saints.  Let Israel rejoice in him that made him: let the children of Zion be joyful in their King.  Let them praise his name in the dance: let them sing praises unto him with the timbrel and harp.  For the Lord taketh pleasure in his people: he will beautify the meek with salvation.  Let the saints be joyful in glory:

Isaiah 42:5-10,16
#Thus saith God the Lord, he that created the heavens, and stretched them out; he that spread forth the earth, and that which cometh out of it; he that giveth breath unto the people upon it, and spirit to them that walk therein: I the Lord have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles; To open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house.  I am the Lord: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images.  Behold, the former things are come to pass, and new things do I declare: before they spring forth I tell you of them.  #Sing unto the Lord a new song, and his praise from the end of the earth, ye that go down to the sea, and all that is therein; the isles, and the inhabitants thereof. 

And I will bring the blind by a way that they knew not; I will lead them in paths that they have not known: I will make darkness light before them, and crooked things straight. These things will I do unto them, and not forsake them.

II Corinthians 5:17 if,18
 if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.  And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation;
Ephesians 4:17,18,20-24
This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind, Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart:

But ye have not so learned Christ; If so be that ye have heard him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus: That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.

Revelation 21:1-7 I saw,10,11
 I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.  And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.  And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.  And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.  And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.  And he said unto me, It is done.  I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.  He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son. 

And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, Having the glory of God: and her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal;

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

20:8-23
Jesus' history made a new calendar, which we call the Christian era; but he established no ritualistic worship.  He knew that men can be baptized, partake of the Eucharist, support the clergy, observe the Sabbath, make long prayers, and yet be sensual and sinful. 
  Jesus bore our infirmities; he knew the error of mortal belief, and "with his stripes [the rejection of error] we are healed."  "Despised and rejected of men," returning blessing for cursing, he taught mortals the opposite of themselves, even the nature of God; and when error felt the power of Truth, the scourge and the cross awaited the great Teacher.  Yet he swerved not, well knowing that to obey the divine order and trust God, saves retracing and traversing anew the path from sin to holiness. 

33:18
  When the human element in him struggled with the divine, our great Teacher said: "Not my will, but Thine, be done!"--that is, Let not the flesh, but the Spirit, be represented in me.  This is the new understanding of spiritual Love.  It gives all for Christ, or Truth.  It blesses its enemies, heals the sick, casts out error, raises the dead from trespasses and sins, and preaches the gospel to the poor, the meek in heart. 

34:29-29 np
  What a contrast between our Lord's last supper and his last spiritual breakfast with his disciples in the bright morning hours at the joyful meeting on the shore of the Galilean Sea!  His gloom had passed into glory, and his disciples' grief into repentance,--hearts chastened and pride rebuked.  Convinced of the fruitlessness of their toil in the dark and wakened by their Master's voice, they changed their methods, turned away from material things, and cast their net on the right side.  Discerning Christ, Truth, anew on the shore of time, they were enabled to rise somewhat from mortal sensuousness, or the burial of mind in matter, into newness of life as Spirit. 
  This spiritual meeting with our Lord in the dawn of a new light is the morning meal which Christian Scientists commemorate.  They bow before Christ, Truth, to receive more of his reappearing and silently to commune with the divine Principle, Love.  They celebrate their Lord's victory over death, his probation in the flesh after death, its exemplification of human probation, and his spiritual and final ascension above matter, or the flesh, when he rose out of material sight. 
  Our baptism is a purification from all error.  Our church is built on the divine Principle, Love.  We can unite with this church only as we are new-born of Spirit, as we reach the Life which is Truth and the Truth which is Life by bringing forth the fruits of Love,--casting out error and healing the sick.  Our Eucharist is spiritual communion with the one God.  Our bread, "which cometh down from heaven," is Truth.  Our cup is the cross.  Our wine the inspiration of Love, the draught our Master drank and commended to his followers. 

66:6
  Trials teach mortals not to lean on a material staff,--a broken reed, which pierces the heart.  We do not half remember this in the sunshine of joy and prosperity.  Sorrow is salutary.  Through great tribulation we enter the kingdom.  Trials are proofs of God's care. Spiritual development germinates not from seed sown in the soil of material hopes, but when these decay, Love propagates anew the higher joys of Spirit, which have no taint of earth.  Each successive stage of experience unfolds new views of divine goodness and love. 

91:1-8
  The Revelator tells us of "a new heaven and a new earth."  Have you ever pictured this heaven and earth, inhabited by beings under the control of supreme wisdom? 
  Let us rid ourselves of the belief that man is separated from God, and obey only the divine Principle, Life and Love.  Here is the great point of departure for all true spiritual growth. 

109:4-27
  Christian Science reveals incontrovertibly that Mind is All-in-all, that the only realities are the divine Mind and idea.  This great fact is not, however, seen to be supported by sensible evidence, until its divine Principle is demonstrated by healing the sick and thus proved absolute and divine.  This proof once seen, no other conclusion can be reached. 
  For three years after my discovery, I sought the solution of this problem of Mind-healing, searched the Scriptures and read little else, kept aloof from society, and devoted time and energies to discovering a positive rule.  The search was sweet, calm, and buoyant with hope, not selfish nor depressing.  I knew the Principle of all harmonious Mind-action to be God, and that cures were produced in primitive Christian healing by holy, uplifting faith; but I must know the Science of this healing, and I won my way to absolute conclusions through divine revelation, reason, and demonstration.  The revelation of Truth in the understanding came to me gradually and apparently through divine power.  When a new spiritual idea is borne to earth, the prophetic Scripture of Isaiah is renewedly fulfilled: "Unto us a child is born, . . . and his name shall be called Wonderful."

191:8
  As a material, theoretical life-basis is found to be a misapprehension of existence, the spiritual and divine Principle of man dawns upon human thought, and leads it to "where the young child was," --even to the birth of a new-old idea, to the spiritual sense of being and of what Life includes.  Thus the whole earth will be transformed by Truth on its pinions of light, chasing away the darkness of error. 

270:14
  The prophets of old looked for something higher than the systems of their times; hence their foresight of the new dispensation of Truth.  But they knew not what would be the precise nature of the teaching and demonstration of God, divine Mind, in His more infinite meanings,--the demonstration which was to destroy sin, sickness, and death, establish the definition of omnipotence, and maintain the Science of Spirit. 

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. 

323:28
  The effects of Christian Science are not so much seen as felt.  It is the "still, small voice" of Truth uttering itself.  We are either turning away from this utterance, or we are listening to it and going up higher.  Willingness to become as a little child and to leave the old for the new, renders thought receptive of the advanced idea.  Gladness to leave the false landmarks and joy to see them disappear,--this disposition helps to precipitate the ultimate harmony.  The purification of sense and self is a proof of progress.  "Blessed are the pure in heart:  for they shall see God."

535:29
  In the first chapter of Genesis we read: "And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called He Seas."  In the Apocalypse it is written: "And I saw a new heaven and a new earth:  for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea."  In St.  John's vision, heaven and earth stand for spiritual ideas, and the sea, as a symbol of tempest-tossed human concepts advancing and receding, is represented as having passed away.  The divine understanding reigns, is all, and there is no other consciousness. 

572:19-17
  In Revelation xxi. 1 we read:--

  And I saw a new heaven and a new earth:  for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. 

  The Revelator had not yet passed the transitional stage in human experience called death, but he already saw a new heaven and a new earth.  Through what sense came this vision to St. John?  Not through the material visual organs for seeing, for optics are inadequate to take in so wonderful a scene.  Were this new heaven and new earth terrestrial or celestial, material or spiritual?  They could not be the former, for the human sense of space is unable to grasp such a view.  The Revelator was on our plane of existence, while yet beholding what the eye cannot see,--that which is invisible to the uninspired thought.  This testimony of Holy Writ sustains the fact in Science, that the heavens and earth to one human consciousness, that consciousness which God bestows, are spiritual, while to another, the unillumined human mind, the vision is material.  This shows unmistakably that what the human mind terms matter and spirit indicates states and stages of consciousness. 
  Accompanying this scientific consciousness was another revelation, even the declaration from heaven, supreme harmony, that God, the divine Principle of harmony, is ever with men, and they are His people.

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


 Hymn 218
 Samuel Longfellow 

 O Life that maketh all things new,
   The blooming earth, the thoughts of men;
 Our pilgrim feet, wet with Thy dew,
   In gladness hither turn again.

 From hand to hand the greeting flows,
   From eye to eye the signals run,
 From heart to heart the bright hope glows,
   The seekers of the Light are one:

 One in the freedom of the truth,
   One in the joy of paths untrod,
 One in the heart's perennial youth,
   One in the larger thought of God;--

 The freer step, the fuller breath,
   The wide horizon's grander view;
 The sense of Life that knows no death,--
   The Life that maketh all things new.

Sharing of experiences, testimonies and remarks by members of the congregation.


 Hymn 414 
 Katherine Hankey

 I love to tell the story
   Of unseen things above,
 Of Jesus and his glory,
   Of Jesus and his love,
 I love to tell the story
   Because I know 'tis true,
 It satisfies my longing
   As nothing else can do.

         Refrain
 I love to tell the story,
 It is my theme in glory
 To tell the old, old story
 Of Jesus and his love.

 I love to tell the story,
   'Tis pleasant to repeat
 What seems, each time I tell it,
   More wonderfully sweet.
 I love to tell the story,
   For some have never heard
 The message of salvation
   From God's own holy word.
         [Refrain]

 I love to tell the story,
   For those who know it best
 Seem hungering and thirsting
   To hear it like the rest,
 I love to tell the story,
   To sing the new, new song
 That is the old, old story
   That I have loved so long.

         [Refrain]

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