Theme: Strengthen
Hymn 123
"K" in Rippon's Selection, 1787 –
Adapted
How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord,
Is laid for your faith in His excellent Word.
What more can He say than to you He hath said,
To you who to God for your refuge have fled:
Fear not, I am with thee, O be not dismayed,
For I am thy God, I will still give thee aid;
I'll strengthen thee, help thee, and cause
thee to
stand,
Upheld by My gracious, omnipotent hand;
When through fiery trials thy pathway shall
lie,
My grace, all sufficient, shall be thy supply;
The flame shall not hurt thee; I only design
Thy dross to consume and thy gold to refine.
Readings from the Bible.
Psalms 18:1‑6,32
I will love thee, O Lord, my
strength. The Lord is my rock, and my
fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my
buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower. I will call upon the
Lord, who is worthy to be praised: so shall I be saved from mine enemies. The sorrows of death compassed me, and the
floods of ungodly men made me afraid.
The sorrows of hell compassed me about: the snares of death prevented
me. In my distress I called upon the
Lord, and cried unto my God: he heard my voice out of his temple, and my cry
came before him, even into his ears.
It is God that girdeth me
with strength, and maketh my way perfect.
Psalms 27:1‑14
The Lord is my light and my
salvation; whom shall I fear? the Lord is the strength of my life; of whom
shall I be afraid? When the wicked, even
mine enemies and my foes, came upon me to eat up my flesh, they stumbled and
fell. Though an host should encamp
against me, my heart shall not fear: though war should rise against me, in this
will I be confident. One thing have I
desired of the Lord, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of
the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to
inquire in his temple. For in the time
of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion: in the secret of his tabernacle
shall he hide me; he shall set me up upon a rock. And now shall mine head be lifted up above
mine enemies round about me: therefore will I offer in his tabernacle
sacrifices of joy; I will sing, yea, I will sing praises unto the Lord. Hear, O Lord, when I cry with my voice: have
mercy also upon me, and answer me. When
thou saidst, Seek ye my face; my heart said unto thee, Thy face, Lord, will I
seek. Hide not thy face far from me; put
not thy servant away in anger: thou hast been my help; leave me not, neither
forsake me, O God of my salvation. When
my father and my mother forsake me, then the Lord will take me up. Teach me thy way, O Lord, and lead me in a
plain path, because of mine enemies.
Deliver me not over unto the will of mine enemies: for false witnesses
are risen up against me, and such as breathe out cruelty. I had fainted, unless I had believed to see
the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait on the Lord: be of good
courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord.
Psalms 31:1‑3,7,21,23,24
In thee, O Lord, do I put my
trust; let me never be ashamed: deliver me in thy righteousness. Bow down thine ear to me; deliver me
speedily: be thou my strong rock, for an house of defence to save me. For thou art my rock and my fortress;
therefore for thy name's sake lead me, and guide me.
I will be glad and rejoice in
thy mercy: for thou hast considered my trouble; thou hast known my soul in
adversities;
Blessed be the Lord: for he
hath shewed me his marvellous kindness in a strong city.
O love the Lord, all ye his
saints: for the Lord preserveth the faithful, and plentifully rewardeth the
proud doer. Be of good courage, and he
shall strengthen your heart, all ye that hope in the Lord.
Psalms 46:1‑3 (to 1st .),7
(to 1st .)
God is our refuge and
strength, a very present help in trouble.
Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the
mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; Though the waters thereof roar and
be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof.
The Lord of hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our refuge.
Psalms 105:1‑4
O give thanks unto the Lord;
call upon his name: make known his deeds among the people. Sing unto him, sing psalms unto him: talk ye
of all his wondrous works. Glory ye in
his holy name: let the heart of them rejoice that seek the Lord. Seek the Lord, and his strength: seek his
face evermore.
Isaiah 35:3‑10
#Strengthen ye the weak
hands, and confirm the feeble knees. Say
to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not: behold, your God will
come with vengeance, even God with a recompence; he will come and save
you. Then the eyes of the blind shall be
opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and
the tongue of the dumb sing: for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and
streams in the desert. And the parched
ground shall become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water: in the
habitation of dragons, where each lay, shall be grass with reeds and
rushes. And an highway shall be there,
and a way, and it shall be called The way of holiness; the unclean shall not
pass over it; but it shall be for those: the wayfaring men, though fools, shall
not err therein. No lion shall be there,
nor any ravenous beast shall go up thereon, it shall not be found there; but
the redeemed shall walk there: And the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and
come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain
joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.
Isaiah 41:10
#Fear thou not; for I am with
thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will
help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.
I Peter 5:2‑11
Feed the flock of God which
is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly;
not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind; Neither as being lords over God's
heritage, but being ensamples to the flock.
And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of
glory that fadeth not away. Likewise, ye
younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to
another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth
grace to the humble. Humble yourselves
therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:
Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you. Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary
the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: Whom
resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are
accomplished in your brethren that are in the world. But the God of all grace, who hath called us
unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while,
make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you. To him be glory and dominion for ever and
ever. Amen.
Revelation 12:10
And I heard a loud voice
saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our
God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down,
which accused them before our God day and night.
Readings from Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy.
58:5
Ill‑arranged notes produce discord. Tones of the human mind may be different, but
they should be concordant in order to blend properly. Unselfish ambition, noble life‑motives, and
purity,‑‑these constituents of thought, mingling, constitute individually and
collectively true happiness, strength, and permanence.
79:29
Mind‑science teaches that mortals need
"not be weary in well doing."
It dissipates fatigue in doing good.
Giving does not impoverish us in the service of our Maker, neither does
withholding enrich us. We have strength
in proportion to our apprehension of the truth, and our strength is not
lessened by giving utterance to truth. A
cup of coffee or tea is not the equal of truth, whether for the inspiration of
a sermon or for the support of bodily endurance.
165:6
To measure intellectual capacity by the size
of the brain and strength by the exercise of muscle, is to subjugate
intelligence, to make mind mortal, and to place this so‑called mind at the
mercy of material organization and non‑intelligent matter.
183:16
The supposed laws which result in weariness
and disease are not His laws, for the legitimate and only possible action of
Truth is the production of harmony. Laws
of nature are laws of Spirit; but mortals commonly recognize as law that which
hides the power of Spirit. Divine Mind
rightly demands man's entire obedience, affection, and strength. No reservation is made for any lesser
loyalty. Obedience to Truth gives man
power and strength. Submission to error
superinduces loss of power.
192:17
Moral and spiritual might belong to Spirit,
who holds the "wind in His fists;" and this teaching accords with
Science and harmony. In Science, you can
have no power opposed to God, and the physical senses must give up their false
testimony. Your influence for good
depends upon the weight you throw into the right scale. The good you do and embody gives you the only
power obtainable. Evil is not
power. It is a mockery of strength,
which erelong betrays its weakness and falls, never to rise.
293:13‑31
The material so‑called gases and forces are
counterfeits of the spiritual forces of divine Mind, whose potency is Truth,
whose attraction is Love, whose adhesion and cohesion are Life, perpetuating
the eternal facts of being. Electricity
is the sharp surplus of materiality which counterfeits the true essence of
spirituality or truth,‑‑the great difference being that electricity is not
intelligent, while spiritual truth is Mind.
There is no vapid fury of mortal mind‑‑expressed
in earthquake, wind, wave, lightning, fire, bestial ferocity ‑‑and this so‑called
mind is self‑destroyed. The
manifestations of evil, which counterfeit divine justice, are called in the
Scriptures, "The anger of the Lord."
In reality, they show the self‑destruction of error or matter and point
to matter's opposite, the strength and permanency of Spirit. Christian Science brings to light Truth and
its supremacy, universal harmony, the entireness of God, good, and the
nothingness of evil.
371:27
The necessity for uplifting
the race is father to the fact that Mind can do it; for Mind can impart purity
instead of impurity, strength instead of weakness, and health instead of
disease. Truth is an alterative in the
entire system, and can make it "every whit whole."
390:27
"Agree to disagree" with
approaching symptoms of chronic or acute disease, whether it is cancer,
consumption, or smallpox. Meet the
incipient stages of disease with as powerful mental opposition as a legislator
would employ to defeat the passage of an inhuman law. Rise in the conscious strength of the spirit
of Truth to overthrow the plea of mortal mind, alias matter, arrayed against the supremacy of Spirit. Blot out the images of mortal thought and its
beliefs in sickness and sin. Then, when
thou art delivered to the judgment of Truth, Christ, the judge will say,
"Thou art whole!"
393:4‑24
The body seems to be self‑acting, only
because mortal mind is ignorant of itself, of its own actions, and of their
results,‑‑ignorant that the predisposing, remote, and exciting cause of all bad
effects is a law of so‑called mortal mind, not of matter. Mind is the master of the corporeal senses,
and can conquer sickness, sin, and death.
Exercise this God‑given authority.
Take possession of your body, and govern its feeling and action. Rise in the strength of Spirit to resist all
that is unlike good. God has made man
capable of this, and nothing can vitiate the ability and power divinely
bestowed on man.
Be firm in your understanding that the divine
Mind governs, and that in Science man reflects God's government. Have no fear that matter can ache, swell, and
be inflamed as the result of a law of any kind, when it is self‑evident that
matter can have no pain nor inflammation.
Your body would suffer no more from tension or wounds than the trunk of
a tree which you gash or the electric wire which you stretch, were it not for
mortal mind.
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.
454:14
He, who understands in a sufficient degree
the Principle of Mind‑healing, points out to his student error as well as
truth, the wrong as well as the right practice.
Love for God and man is the true incentive in both healing and
teaching. Love inspires, illumines,
designates, and leads the way. Right
motives give pinions to thought, and strength and freedom to speech and
action. Love is priestess at the altar
of Truth. Wait patiently for divine Love
to move upon the waters of mortal mind, and form the perfect concept. Patience must "have her perfect
work."
Silent prayer followed by the audible repetition of the Lord’s Prayer.
Hymn 199
Martin Rinkart – Catherine Winkworth, Tr.--
Adapted
Now thank we all our God
With grateful hearts and voices
Who wondrous things hath done,
In whom the world rejoices;
Who from the days of yore
Hath blessed us on our way
With countless gifts of love
And still is ours today.
We know our gracious God
Through all our life is near us,
To fill our thoughts with light,
To strengthen us and cheer us;
From His eternal care
We never shall remove,
Encompassed by His grace,
Enfolded in His love.
Sharing of experiences, testimonies and remarks by members of the congregation.
Hymn 227
William Cowper – Adapted
O Lord, where'er Thy people meet,
There they behold Thy mercy seat;
Where'er they seek Thee, Thou art found,
And every place is hallowed ground.
For Thou, within no walls confined,
Dwellest with them of humble mind;
Such ever bring Thee where they come;
And where Thou art they find their home.
Here we may prove the power of prayer
To strengthen faith and sweeten care;
To teach our faint desires to rise,
And bring all heaven before our eyes.
