Service for Sunday, May 4, 2014

Subject: Everlasting Punishment

 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 scriptural selections are from Psalms.

Psalms 31:1‑7
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.  Pull me out of the net that they have laid privily for me: for thou art my strength.  Into thine hand I commit my spirit: thou hast redeemed me, O Lord God of truth.  I have hated them that regard lying vanities: but I trust in the Lord.  I will be glad and rejoice in thy mercy: for thou hast considered my trouble; thou hast known my soul in adversities;

Psalms 85:1,2 (to 1st .),3‑7
Lord, thou hast been favourable unto thy land: thou hast brought back the captivity of Jacob.  Thou hast forgiven the iniquity of thy people, thou hast covered all their sin.

Thou hast taken away all thy wrath: thou hast turned thyself from the fierceness of thine anger.  Turn us, O God of our salvation, and cause thine anger toward us to cease.  Wilt thou be angry with us for ever? wilt thou draw out thine anger to all generations?  Wilt thou not revive us again: that thy people may rejoice in thee? Shew us thy mercy, O Lord, and grant us thy salvation.

Silent prayer, followed by the audible repetition of 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.

 Hymn 318 
 Based on the Danish of Nikolaj F. S. Grundtvig

 Suffer the children to come to me,
 This was the Master's tender plea;
 Gentle and loving, they are mine,
 Ah, will not ye who see this sign
        Come unto me?

 He who receiveth the Word as they,
 Teachable, ready to choose my way,
 He shall have peace of sin forgiven,
 He shall in this wise enter heaven;
        Come unto me.

 See ye the lilies, how fair they grow,
 Clothed in a glory kings ne'er know;
 They, like the sparrows, praise the Lord,
 Publish my call with clear accord,
        Come unto me.


This being the first Sunday of the month, Article VIII , Section 1, is read from the Manual of The Mother Church:
A Rule for Motives and Acts.
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.
 

Solo: “In the Time of Trouble”

Explanatory Note
Friends:
The Bible and the Christian Science textbook are our only preachers. We shall now read Scriptural texts, and their correlative passages from our denominational textbook; these comprise our sermon.

The canonical writings, together with the word of our textbook, corroborating and explaining the Bible texts in their spiritual import and application to all ages, past, present, and future, constitute a sermon undivorced from truth, uncontaminated and unfettered by human hypotheses, and divinely authorized.

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 178 
 Based on the Danish of Nikolaj F. S. Grundtvig

 Love is life's true crown and glory,
   Love the splendor of the light,
 Truly is God's counsel gentle,
   Truly all His ways are bright;
 Jesus knew the law of kindness,
 Healing mind and heart of blindness;
   And in heavenly wisdom taught
   Holy works of love he wrought.

 Love, the Golden Rule of living,
   Showeth forth the perfect Mind;
 Love, our debt to God who gives it,
   All compassion is, and kind;
 Charity the law fulfilleth,
 Mid the nations rancor stilleth;
   Loving hearts in friendship blend,
   One in Him, our heavenly Friend.

"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
Ephesians 4:32 be

 be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.

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