Service for Sunday, Dec. 12, 2010

Subject: God the Preserver of Man

 Hymn 216 

 From the German of – Georg Neumark

 O he who trusts in God's protection

   And hopes in Him when fears alarm,

 Is sheltered by His lovingkindness,

   Delivered by His mighty arm;

 If ye God's law can understand,

 Ye have not builded on the sand.

 O wait on Him with veneration,

   Be silent in humility;

 He leads you after His own counsel,

   His will is done and still shall be;

 All good for you His wisdom planned;

 O trust in God and understand.

The scriptural selections are from Psalms.

Psalms 61:1‑8

Hear my cry, O God; attend unto my prayer.  From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee, when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher than I.  For thou hast been a shelter for me, and a strong tower from the enemy.  I will abide in thy tabernacle for ever: I will trust in the covert of thy wings. For thou, O God, hast heard my vows: thou hast given me the heritage of those that fear thy name.  Thou wilt prolong the king's life: and his years as many generations.  He shall abide before God for ever: O prepare mercy and truth, which may preserve him.  So will I sing praise unto thy name for ever, that I may daily perform my vows. 

Psalms 139:7‑11,17,18

Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence?  If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there.  If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me.  If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me; even the night shall be light about me. 

How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God! how great is the sum of them!  If I should count them, they are more in number than the sand: when I awake, I am still with thee. 

Silent prayer, followed by the audible repetition of the Lord’s prayer, with its spiritual interpretation as given in the Christian Science textbook.

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.

 Hymn 304

 "Feed My Sheep"– The words of this hymn were written by Mary Baker Eddy

 Shepherd, show me how to go

   O'er the hillside steep,

 How to gather, how to sow,‑‑

   How to feed Thy sheep;

 I will listen for Thy voice,

   Lest my footsteps stray;

 I will follow and rejoice

   All the rugged way.

 Thou wilt bind the stubborn will,

   Wound the callous breast,

 Make self‑righteousness be still,

   Break earth's stupid rest.

 Strangers on a barren shore,

   Lab'ring long and lone,

 We would enter by the door,

   And Thou know'st Thine own;

 So, when day grows dark and cold,

   Tear or triumph harms,

 Lead Thy lambkins to the fold,

   Take them in Thine arms;

 Feed the hungry, heal the heart,

   Till the morning's beam;

 White as wool, ere they depart,

   Shepherd, wash them clean.

Solo: “Thy Secret Place”

The lesson-sermon from the Bible and the Christian Science textbook, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, by Mary Baker Eddy, read by the First and Second Readers.

The content of the Lesson Sermon may be found in the Christian Science Quarterly. You may also read the Lesson-Sermon for this week online by clicking here.

 Hymn 213 

 Isaac Watts*

 O God, our help in ages past,

   Our hope for time to come,

 Our shelter from the stormy blast,

   And our eternal home.

 Before the hills in order stood,

   Or earth received her frame,

 From everlasting Thou art God,

   To endless years the same.

 A thousand ages in Thy sight

   Are like an evening gone,

 Short as the watch that ends the night

   Before the rising sun.

 O God, our help in ages past,

   Our hope for time to come,

 Thou art our guard while ages last,

   And our eternal home.

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 91:4

He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler.