Subject: Love
Hymn 49
John Greenleaf Whittier*
Dear Lord and Father of us all,
Forgive our foolish ways;
Reclothe us in our rightful mind;
In purer lives Thy service find,
In deeper reverence, praise.
In simple trust like theirs who heard,
Beside the Syrian sea,
The gracious calling of the Lord,
Let us, like them, without a word
Rise up and follow thee.
Breathe through the pulses of desire
Thy coolness and Thy balm;
Let sense be dumb, let flesh retire;
Speak through the earthquake, wind and fire,
O still small voice of calm.
Drop Thy still dews of quietness,
Till all our strivings cease;
Take from us now the strain and stress,
And let our ordered lives confess
The beauty of Thy peace.
The scriptural selection is from Ephesians
Ephesians 4:1-8,12-18,20-24
I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith
ye are called, With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in
love; Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body, and
one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; One Lord, one faith, one baptism,
One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all. But unto every one
of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ. Wherefore he saith, When he
ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men.
For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of
Christ: Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a
perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: That we henceforth be no
more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of
men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; But speaking the truth in love,
may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ: From whom the whole body
fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual
working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in
love. 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.
Silent Prayer, followed by the Lord’s Prayer with its spiritual interpretation as given in the Christian Science Textbook, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, by Mary Baker Eddy.
Our Father which art in heaven,
Our Father-Mother God, all-harmonious,
Hallowed be Thy name.
Adorable One.
Thy kingdom come.
Thy kingdom is come; Thou art ever-present.
Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
Enable us to know – as in heaven, so on earth
God is omnipotent, supreme.
Give us this day our daily bread;
Give us grace for today; feed the famished affections;
And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
And Love is reflected in love;
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil;
And God leadeth us not into temptation, but delivereth us from sin, disease, and death.
For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever.
For God is infinite, all-power, all Life, Truth, Love, over all, and All.
A Rule for Motives and Acts
This is from Article VIII, Section 1, of the Manual of the Mother Church, and is read as part of the service of the first Sunday in each month.
“Neither animosity nor mere personal attachment should impel the motives or acts of the members of The Mother Church. In Science, divine Love alone governs man; and a Christian Scientist reflects the sweet amenities of Love, in rebuking sin, in true brotherliness, charitableness, and forgiveness. The members of this Church should daily watch and pray to be delivered from all evil, from prophesying, judging, condemning, counseling, influencing or being influenced erroneously.”
Hymn 30
Love – Mary Baker Eddy
Brood o'er us with Thy shelt'ring wing,
'Neath which our spirits blend
Like brother birds, that soar and sing,
And on the same branch bend.
The arrow that doth wound the dove
Darts not from those who watch and love.
If thou the bending reed wouldst break
By thought or word unkind,
Pray that his spirit you partake,
Who loved and healed mankind:
Seek holy thoughts and heavenly strain,
That make men one in love remain.
Learn, too, that wisdom's rod is given
For faith to kiss, and know;
That greetings glorious from high heaven,
Whence joys supernal flow,
Come from that Love, divinely near,
Which chastens pride and earth-born fear,
Through God, who gave that word of might
Which swelled creation's lay:
"Let there be light, and there was light."
What chased the clouds away?
'Twas Love whose finger traced aloud
A bow of promise on the cloud.
Thou to whose power our hope we give,
Free us from human strife.
Fed by Thy love divine we live,
For Love alone is Life;
And life most sweet, as heart to heart
Speaks kindly when we meet and part.
Solo: “Teach Me to Love”
The content of the Lesson Sermons may be found in the Christian Science Quarterly. You may also read the Lesson-Sermon for this week online by clicking here.
Hymn 280
Henry Francis Lyte*
Praise, my soul, the King of heaven;
To His feet thy tribute bring.
Ransomed, healed, restored, forgiven,
Who like us His praise should sing?
Praise Him, praise Him, praise Him, praise Him,
Praise the everlasting King.
Fatherlike, He tends and spares us,
Well our daily needs He knows;
In His hand He gently bears us,
Rescues us from all our foes.
Praise Him, praise Him, praise Him, praise Him,
Widely as His mercy flows.
Praise Him for His grace and favor
To our fathers in distress;
Praise Him still the same forever,
Slow to chide, and swift to bless.
Praise Him, praise Him, praise Him, praise Him,
Glorious in His faithfulness.
"The Scientific Statement of Being" (S&H p. 468} and the correlative scripture according
to I John 3:1-3.
There is no life, truth, intelligence, nor substance in matter. All is infinite Mind and its infinite manifestation, for God is All-in-all. Spirit is immortal Truth; matter is mortal error. Spirit is the real and eternal; matter is the unreal and temporal. Spirit is God, and man is His image and likeness. Therefore man is not material; he is spiritual.
Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, p.468
1John.3
[1] Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.
[2] Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.
[3] And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.
Benediction
Psalms 86:5 thou
thou, Lord, art good, and ready to forgive; and plenteous in mercy unto all them that call upon
thee.
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