Theme: Refreshed
Hymn 34
Marion Susan Campbell
Christ comes again with holy power,
To lift our blinded eyes to see;
The sick are healed, the sinner blest,
As on that eve in Galilee.
Once more the lonely heart is fed.
Who dwells with Love hath perfect ease,
Faith, hope, and joy are with us all;
Great are companions such as these.
The weak and thirsty are refreshed,
Again each empty cup is filled;
The tender Christ is here to bless,
And all the storms of earth are stilled.
In Truth there is no pain or death
Nor any shades of coming night;
The promise of our God still stands:
At eventide it shall be light.
Readings from the Bible.
Exodus 23:10‑12 six,20,25
six years thou shalt sow thy land, and shalt
gather in the fruits thereof: But the seventh year thou shalt let it rest and
lie still; that the poor of thy people may eat: and what they leave the beasts
of the field shall eat. In like manner thou shalt deal with thy vineyard, and
with thy oliveyard. Six days thou shalt
do thy work, and on the seventh day thou shalt rest: that thine ox and thine
ass may rest, and the son of thy handmaid, and the stranger, may be refreshed.
#Behold, I send an Angel
before thee, to keep thee in the way, and to bring thee into the place which I
have prepared.
And ye shall serve the Lord
your God, and he shall bless thy bread, and thy water; and I will take sickness
away from the midst of thee.
Nehemiah 2:1‑5 it,16‑18
it came to pass in the month Nisan, in the
twentieth year of Artaxerxes the king, that wine was before him: and I took up
the wine, and gave it unto the king. Now I had not been beforetime sad in his
presence. Wherefore the king said unto
me, Why is thy countenance sad, seeing thou art not sick? this is nothing else
but sorrow of heart. Then I was very sore afraid, And said unto the king, Let
the king live for ever: why should not my countenance be sad, when the city,
the place of my fathers' sepulchres, lieth waste, and the gates thereof are
consumed with fire? Then the king said
unto me, For what dost thou make request? So I prayed to the God of
heaven. And I said unto the king, If it
please the king, and if thy servant have found favour in thy sight, that thou
wouldest send me unto Judah, unto the city of my fathers' sepulchres, that I
may build it.
And the rulers knew not
whither I went, or what I did; neither had I as yet told it to the Jews, nor to
the priests, nor to the nobles, nor to the rulers, nor to the rest that did the
work. #Then said I unto them, Ye see the
distress that we are in, how Jerusalem lieth waste, and the gates thereof are
burned with fire: come, and let us build up the wall of Jerusalem, that we be
no more a reproach. Then I told them of
the hand of my God which was good upon me; as also the king's words that he had
spoken unto me. And they said, Let us rise up and build. So they strengthened
their hands for this good work.
Nehemiah 4:6
So built we the wall; and all
the wall was joined together unto the half thereof: for the people had a mind
to work.
Nehemiah 6:1‑3,16
Now it came to pass, when
Sanballat, and Tobiah, and Geshem the Arabian, and the rest of our enemies,
heard that I had builded the wall, and that there was no breach left therein;
(though at that time I had not set up the doors upon the gates;) That Sanballat
and Geshem sent unto me, saying, Come, let us meet together in some one of the
villages in the plain of Ono. But they thought to do me mischief. And I sent messengers unto them, saying, I am
doing a great work, so that I cannot come down: why should the work cease,
whilst I leave it, and come down to you?
And it came to pass, that
when all our enemies heard thereof, and all the heathen that were about us saw
these things, they were much cast down in their own eyes: for they perceived
that this work was wrought of our God.
Psalms 92:1‑5,10 my,12‑15
It is a good thing to give
thanks unto the Lord, and to sing praises unto thy name, O most High: To shew
forth thy lovingkindness in the morning, and thy faithfulness every night, Upon
an instrument of ten strings, and upon the psaltery; upon the harp with a
solemn sound. For thou, Lord, hast made
me glad through thy work: I will triumph in the works of thy hands. O Lord, how great are thy works! and thy thoughts are very deep.
my horn shalt thou exalt like the horn of an
unicorn: I shall be anointed with fresh oil.
The righteous shall flourish
like the palm tree: he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon. Those that be planted in the house of the
Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God.
They shall still bring forth fruit in old age; they shall be fat and
flourishing; To shew that the Lord is upright: he is my rock, and there is no
unrighteousness in him.
Acts 3:1‑9,11,12,19
Now Peter and John went up
together into the temple at the hour of prayer, being the ninth hour. And a certain man lame from his mother's womb
was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called
Beautiful, to ask alms of them that entered into the temple; Who seeing Peter
and John about to go into the temple asked an alms. And Peter, fastening his eyes upon him with
John, said, Look on us. And he gave heed
unto them, expecting to receive something of them. Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none;
but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up
and walk. And he took him by the right
hand, and lifted him up: and immediately his feet and ancle bones received
strength. And he leaping up stood, and
walked, and entered with them into the temple, walking, and leaping, and
praising God. And all the people saw him
walking and praising God:
And as the lame man which was
healed held Peter and John, all the people ran together unto them in the porch
that is called Solomon's, greatly wondering.
#And when Peter saw it, he answered unto the people, Ye men of Israel,
why marvel ye at this? or why look ye so earnestly on us, as though by our own
power or holiness we had made this man to walk?
#Repent ye therefore, and be
converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing
shall come from the presence of the Lord;
Romans 15:4‑7
whatsoever,13,14,30‑32
whatsoever things were written aforetime were
written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the
scriptures might have hope. Now the God
of patience and consolation grant you to be likeminded one toward another
according to Christ Jesus: That ye may with one mind and one mouth glorify God,
even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Wherefore receive ye one another, as Christ also received us to the
glory of God.
Now the God of hope fill you
with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the
power of the Holy Ghost. And I myself
also am persuaded of you, my brethren, that ye also are full of goodness,
filled with all knowledge, able also to admonish one another.
Now I beseech you, brethren,
for the Lord Jesus Christ's sake, and for the love of the Spirit, that ye
strive together with me in your prayers to God for me; That I may be delivered
from them that do not believe in Judaea; and that my service which I have for
Jerusalem may be accepted of the saints; That I may come unto you with joy by
the will of God, and may with you be refreshed.
II Timothy 2:1‑7 my
my son, be strong in the grace that is in
Christ Jesus. And the things that thou
hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men,
who shall be able to teach others also.
Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No man that warreth entangleth himself with
the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a
soldier. And if a man also strive for
masteries, yet is he not crowned, except he strive lawfully. The husbandman that laboureth must be first
partaker of the fruits. Consider what I
say; and the Lord give thee understanding in all things.
Readings from Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy.
24:11‑15
He to whom "the arm of the Lord" is
revealed will believe our report, and rise into newness of life with
regeneration. This is having part in the
atonement; this is the understanding, in which Jesus suffered and triumphed.
32:20
The true sense is spiritually lost, if the
sacrament is confined to the use of bread and wine. The disciples had eaten, yet Jesus prayed and
gave them bread. This would have been
foolish in a literal sense; but in its spiritual signification, it was natural
and beautiful. Jesus prayed; he withdrew
from the material senses to refresh his heart with brighter, with spiritual
views.
35:19‑25
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.
138:14‑26
The supremacy of Spirit was
the foundation on which Jesus built. His
sublime summary points to the religion of Love.
Jesus established in the Christian era the
precedent for all Christianity, theology, and healing. Christians are under as direct orders now, as
they were then, to be Christlike, to possess the Christ‑spirit, to follow the
Christ‑example, and to heal the sick as well as the sinning. It is easier for Christianity to cast out
sickness than sin, for the sick are more willing to part with pain than are
sinners to give up the sinful, so‑called pleasure of the senses. The Christian can prove this to‑day as
readily as it was proved centuries ago.
201:1‑19
The best sermon ever preached is Truth
practised and demonstrated by the destruction of sin, sickness, and death. Knowing this and knowing too that one
affection would be supreme in us and take the lead in our lives, Jesus said,
"No man can serve two masters."
We cannot build safely on false
foundations. Truth makes a new creature,
in whom old things pass away and "all things are become new." Passions, selfishness, false appetites,
hatred, fear, all sensuality, yield to spirituality, and the superabundance of
being is on the side of God, good.
We cannot fill vessels already full. They must first be emptied. Let us disrobe
error. Then, when the winds of God blow,
we shall not hug our tatters close about us.
The way to extract error from mortal mind is
to pour in truth through flood‑tides of Love.
Christian perfection is won on no other basis.
226:14
God has built a higher platform of human
rights, and He has built it on diviner claims.
These claims are not made through code or creed, but in demonstration of
"on earth peace, good‑will toward men." Human codes, scholastic
theology, material medicine and hygiene, fetter faith and spiritual
understanding. Divine Science rends
asunder these fetters, and man's birthright of sole allegiance to his Maker
asserts itself.
241:19‑30
The substance of all devotion is the
reflection and demonstration of divine Love, healing sickness and destroying
sin. Our Master said, "If ye love
me, keep my commandments."
One's aim, a point beyond faith, should be to
find the footsteps of Truth, the way to health and holiness. We should strive to reach the Horeb height
where God is revealed; and the corner‑stone of all spiritual building is
purity. The baptism of Spirit, washing
the body of all the impurities of flesh, signifies that the pure in heart see
God and are approaching spiritual Life and its demonstration.
249:1‑10
Let us accept Science, relinquish all
theories based on sense‑testimony, give up imperfect models and illusive
ideals; and so let us have one God, one Mind, and that one perfect, producing
His own models of excellence.
Let the "male and female" of God's
creating appear. Let us feel the divine
energy of Spirit, bringing us into newness of life and recognizing no mortal
nor material power as able to destroy.
Let us rejoice that we are subject to the divine "powers that
be." Such is the true Science of being.
288:9
Superstition and understanding can never
combine. When the final physical and
moral effects of Christian Science are fully apprehended, the conflict between
truth and error, understanding and belief, Science and material sense,
foreshadowed by the prophets and inaugurated by Jesus, will cease, and
spiritual harmony reign. The lightnings
and thunderbolts of error may burst and flash till the cloud is cleared and the
tumult dies away in the distance. Then
the raindrops of divinity refresh the earth.
As St. Paul says: "There remaineth therefore a rest to the people
of God" (of Spirit).
387:3
Because mortal mind is kept active, must it
pay the penalty in a softened brain? Who
dares to say that actual Mind can be overworked? When we reach our limits of mental endurance,
we conclude that intellectual labor has been carried sufficiently far; but when
we realize that immortal Mind is ever active, and that spiritual energies can
neither wear out nor can so‑called material law trespass upon God‑given powers
and resources, we are able to rest in Truth, refreshed by the assurances of
immortality, opposed to mortality.
426:5
The discoverer of Christian Science finds the
path less difficult when she has the high goal always before her thoughts, than
when she counts her footsteps in endeavoring to reach it. When the destination is desirable,
expectation speeds our progress. The
struggle for Truth makes one strong instead of weak, resting instead of
wearying one. If the belief in death
were obliterated, and the understanding obtained that there is no death, this
would be a "tree of life," known by its fruits. Man should renew his energies and endeavors,
and see the folly of hypocrisy, while also learning the necessity of working
out his own salvation. When it is
learned that disease cannot destroy life, and that mortals are not saved from
sin or sickness by death, this understanding will quicken into newness of
life. It will master either a desire to
die or a dread of the grave, and thus destroy the great fear that besets mortal
existence.
454:4
Teach your students the omnipotence of Truth,
which illustrates the impotence of error.
The understanding, even in a degree, of the divine All‑power destroys
fear, and plants the feet in the true path, ‑‑the path which leads to the house
built without hands "eternal in the heavens." Human hate has no legitimate mandate and no
kingdom. Love is enthroned. That evil or matter has neither intelligence
nor power, is the doctrine of absolute Christian Science, and this is the great
truth which strips all disguise from error.
520:3
Unfathomable Mind is expressed. The depth, breadth, height, might, majesty,
and glory of infinite Love fill all space.
That is enough! Human language
can repeat only an infinitesimal part of what exists. The absolute ideal, man, is no more seen nor
comprehended by mortals, than is his infinite Principle, Love. Principle and its idea, man, are coexistent
and eternal. The numerals of infinity,
called seven days, can never be
reckoned according to the calendar of time.
These days will appear as mortality disappears, and they will reveal
eternity, newness of Life, in which all sense of error forever disappears and
thought accepts the divine infinite calculus.
Silent prayer followed by the audible repetition of the Lord’s Prayer.
Hymn 260
Frederick L. Hosmer – Adapted
One thought I have, my ample creed,
So deep it is and broad,
And equal to my every need,‑‑
It is the thought of God.
Each morn unfolds His blessings new,
I take in trust my road;
And rising freshly to my view,
Shines forth the thought of God.
To this their secret strength they owed,
The martyr's path who trod;
The fountains of their patience flowed
From out their thought of God.
Be still the light upon my way,
My pilgrim staff and rod,
My rest by night, my strength by day,
O blessed thought of God.
Sharing of experiences, testimonies and remarks by members of the congregation.
Hymn 384
Hosea Ballou – Adapted
When God is seen with men to dwell,
And all creation makes anew,
What tongue can half the wonders tell,
What eye the dazzling glories view?
Celestial streams shall gently flow,
The wilderness shall joyful be;
On parched ground shall lilies grow
And gladness spring on every tree;
The weak be strong, the fearful bold,
The deaf shall hear, the dumb shall sing,
The lame shall walk, the blind behold,
And joy through all the earth shall ring.
