Theme: Comfort
Hymn 174
Maria Louise Baum
Like as a mother, God comforteth His children;
Comfort is calm, that bids all tumult cease;
Comfort is hope and courage for endeavor,
Comfort is love, whose home abides in peace.
Love is true solace and giveth joy for sorrow,‑‑
O, in that light, all earthly loss is gain;
Joy must endure, Love's giving is forever;
Life is of God, whose radiance cannot wane.
O holy presence, that stills all our
demanding,
O love of God, that needs but to be known!
Heaven is at hand, when thy pure touch
persuades us,
Comfort of God, that seeks and finds His
own.
Readings from the Bible.
Psalms 23:1‑6
The Lord is my shepherd; I
shall not want. He maketh me to lie down
in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the
paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will
fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the
presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth
over. Surely goodness and mercy shall
follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord
for ever.
Psalms 71:1‑3,16,17,21
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.
I will go in the strength of
the Lord God: I will make mention of thy righteousness, even of thine
only. O God, thou hast taught me from my
youth: and hitherto have I declared thy wondrous works.
Thou shalt increase my
greatness, and comfort me on every side.
Isaiah 40:1‑5,10,11,13‑15,26,28‑31
Comfort ye, comfort ye my
people, saith your God. Speak ye
comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished,
that her iniquity is pardoned: for she hath received of the Lord's hand double
for all her sins. #The voice of him that
crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the
desert a highway for our God. Every
valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the
crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain: And the glory of
the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth
of the Lord hath spoken it.
Behold, the Lord God will
come with strong hand, and his arm shall rule for him: behold, his reward is
with him, and his work before him. He
shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm,
and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with
young.
Who hath directed the Spirit
of the Lord, or being his counseller hath taught him? With whom took he counsel, and who instructed
him, and taught him in the path of judgment, and taught him knowledge, and
shewed to him the way of understanding?
Behold, the nations are as a drop of a bucket, and are counted as the
small dust of the balance: behold, he taketh up the isles as a very little
thing.
Lift up your eyes on high,
and behold who hath created these things, that bringeth out their host by
number: he calleth them all by names by the greatness of his might, for that he
is strong in power; not one faileth.
#Hast thou not known? hast
thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of
the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his
understanding. He giveth power to the
faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and
the young men shall utterly fall: But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew
their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and
not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.
Isaiah 51:3 the
the Lord shall comfort Zion: he will comfort
all her waste places; and he will make her wilderness like Eden, and her desert
like the garden of the Lord; joy and gladness shall be found therein,
thanksgiving, and the voice of melody.
Isaiah 66:10,13
Rejoice ye with Jerusalem,
and be glad with her, all ye that love her: rejoice for joy with her, all ye
that mourn for her:
As one whom his mother
comforteth, so will I comfort you; and ye shall be comforted in Jerusalem.
Mark 10:46‑52 they
they came to Jericho: and as
he went out of Jericho with his disciples and a great number of people, blind
Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by the highway side begging. And when he heard that it was Jesus of
Nazareth, he began to cry out, and say, Jesus, thou Son of David, have mercy on
me. And many charged him that he should
hold his peace: but he cried the more a great deal, Thou Son of David, have
mercy on me. And Jesus stood still, and
commanded him to be called. And they call the blind man, saying unto him, Be of
good comfort, rise; he calleth thee. And
he, casting away his garment, rose, and came to Jesus. And Jesus answered and said unto him, What
wilt thou that I should do unto thee? The blind man said unto him, Lord, that I
might receive my sight. And Jesus said
unto him, Go thy way; thy faith hath made thee whole. And immediately he
received his sight, and followed Jesus in the way.
Luke 8:43‑48 a
a woman having an issue of
blood twelve years, which had spent all her living upon physicians, neither
could be healed of any, Came behind him, and touched the border of his garment:
and immediately her issue of blood stanched.
And Jesus said, Who touched me?
When all denied, Peter and they that were with him said, Master, the
multitude throng thee and press thee, and sayest thou, Who touched me? And Jesus said, Somebody hath touched me: for
I perceive that virtue is gone out of me.
And when the woman saw that she was not hid, she came trembling, and
falling down before him, she declared unto him before all the people for what
cause she had touched him, and how she was healed immediately. And he said unto her, Daughter, be of good
comfort: thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace.
Romans 15:4 whatsoever
whatsoever things were written aforetime were
written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the
scriptures might have hope.
Philippians 2:1‑13
If there be therefore any
consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit,
if any bowels and mercies, Fulfil ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the
same love, being of one accord, of one mind.
Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of
mind let each esteem other better than themselves. Look not every man on his own things, but
every man also on the things of others.
Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in
the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself
of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the
likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and
became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him,
and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every
knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the
earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the
glory of God the Father. Wherefore, my
beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much
more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God which worketh in you both to
will and to do of his good pleasure.
II Corinthians 1:2‑7
Grace be to you and peace
from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ. Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord
Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; Who comforteth
us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any
trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God. For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us,
so our consolation also aboundeth by Christ.
And whether we be afflicted, it is for your consolation and salvation,
which is effectual in the enduring of the same sufferings which we also suffer:
or whether we be comforted, it is for your consolation and salvation. And our hope of you is stedfast, knowing,
that as ye are partakers of the sufferings, so shall ye be also of the
consolation.
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.
xii:23
In the spirit of Christ's charity,‑‑as one
who "hopeth all things, endureth all things," and is joyful to bear
consolation to the sorrowing and healing to the sick,‑‑she commits these pages
to honest seekers for Truth.
18:1
Atonement is the exemplification of man's
unity with God, whereby man reflects divine Truth, Life, and Love. Jesus of Nazareth taught and demonstrated
man's oneness with the Father, and for this we owe him endless homage. His mission was both individual and
collective. He did life's work aright
not only in justice to himself, but in mercy to mortals,‑‑to show them how to
do theirs, but not to do it for them nor to relieve them of a single
responsibility. Jesus acted boldly,
against the accredited evidence of the senses, against Pharisaical creeds and
practices, and he refuted all opponents with his healing power.
32:28‑26
The
Passover, which Jesus ate with his disciples in the month Nisan on the night
before his crucifixion, was a mournful occasion, a sad supper taken at the
close of day, in the twilight of a glorious career with shadows fast falling
around; and this supper closed forever Jesus' ritualism or concessions to
matter.
His followers, sorrowful and silent,
anticipating the hour of their Master's betrayal, partook of the heavenly
manna, which of old had fed in the wilderness the persecuted followers of
Truth. Their bread indeed came down from
heaven. It was the great truth of
spiritual being, healing the sick and casting out error. Their Master had explained it all before, and
now this bread was feeding and sustaining them.
They had borne this bread from house to house, breaking (explaining) it to others, and now it comforted
themselves.
For this truth of spiritual being, their
Master was about to suffer violence and drain to the dregs his cup of
sorrow. He must leave them. With the great glory of an everlasting
victory overshadowing him, he gave thanks and said, "Drink ye all of
it."
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.
78:28
Spirit blesses man, but man cannot "tell
whence it cometh." By it the sick
are healed, the sorrowing are comforted, and the sinning are reformed. These are the effects of one universal God,
the invisible good dwelling in eternal Science.
234:1‑18
Spiritual draughts heal, while material
lotions interfere with truth, even as ritualism and creed hamper
spirituality. If we trust matter, we
distrust Spirit.
Whatever inspires with wisdom, Truth, or Love‑‑be
it song, sermon, or Science‑‑blesses the human family with crumbs of comfort
from Christ's table, feeding the hungry and giving living waters to the
thirsty.
We should become more familiar with good than
with evil, and guard against false beliefs as watchfully as we bar our doors
against the approach of thieves and murderers.
We should love our enemies and help them on the basis of the Golden
Rule; but avoid casting pearls before those who trample them under foot,
thereby robbing both themselves and others.
If mortals would keep proper ward over mortal
mind, the brood of evils which infest it would be cleared out.
270:14‑30
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.
The pride of priesthood is the prince of this
world. It has nothing in Christ. Meekness and charity have divine authority. Mortals think wickedly; consequently they are
wicked. They think sickly thoughts, and
so become sick. If sin makes sinners,
Truth and Love alone can unmake them. If
a sense of disease produces suffering and a sense of ease antidotes suffering,
disease is mental, not material. Hence
the fact that the human mind alone suffers, is sick, and that the divine Mind
alone heals.
384:3
We should relieve our minds from the
depressing thought that we have transgressed a material law and must of
necessity pay the penalty. Let us
reassure ourselves with the law of Love.
God never punishes man for doing right, for honest labor, or for deeds
of kindness, though they expose him to fatigue, cold, heat, contagion. If man seems to incur the penalty through
matter, this is but a belief of mortal mind, not an enactment of wisdom, and
man has only to enter his protest against this belief in order to annul
it. Through this action of thought and
its results upon the body, the student will prove to himself, by small
beginnings, the grand verities of Christian Science.
578:4‑18
PSALM XXIII
[Divine Love] is my shepherd; I shall not
want.
[Love] maketh me to lie down in green
pastures: [Love] leadeth me beside the still waters.
[Love] restoreth my soul [spiritual
sense]: [Love] leadeth me in the paths
of righteousness for His name's sake.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the
shadow of death, I will fear no evil:
for [Love] is with me; [Love's] rod and [Love's] staff they comfort me.
[Love] prepareth a table before me in the
presence of mine enemies: [Love]
anointeth my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all
the days of my life; and I will dwell in the house [the consciousness] of
[Love] for ever.
582:4 (to 1st .), 9
BENJAMIN (Jacob's son).
Renewal of affections; self‑offering; an
improved state of mortal mind; the introduction of a more spiritual origin; a
gleam of the infinite idea of the infinite Principle; a spiritual type; that
which comforts, consoles, and supports.
Silent prayer followed by the audible repetition of the Lord’s Prayer.
Hymn 390
William F. Sherwin – Adapted
Why is thy faith in God's great love so small?
Why doth thy heart shrink back at duty's call?
Art thou obeying this: Abide in me;
And doth the Master's word abide in thee?
O blest assurance from our risen Lord;
O precious comfort breathing from the Word.
How great the promise, could there greater be?
Ask what thou wilt, it shall be done for thee.
Ask what thou wilt, but O, remember this,
We ask and have not when we ask amiss.
If weak in faith, we only half believe
That what we ask we really shall receive.
Sharing of experiences, testimonies and remarks by members of the congregation.
Hymn 8
Henry Francis Lyte
Abide with me; fast falls the eventide;
The darkness deepens; Lord, with me abide.
When other helpers fail, and comforts flee,
Help of the helpless, O abide with me.
I need Thy presence every passing hour;
What but Thy grace can foil the tempter's
power?
Who like Thyself my guide and stay can be?
Through cloud and sunshine, O abide with me.
I fear no foe, with Thee at hand to bless;
Ills have no weight, and tears no bitterness;
Where is death's sting? where, grave, thy victory?
I triumph still, if Thou abide with me.
