Wednesday Meeting Readings

First Church of Christ, Scientist, La Cañada Flintridge

Wednesday Meeting Readings

100120-NaturalDisasters

Prayer in dealing with natural disasters

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Section I

The Bible:

Isa 24:19,20 (to ;)

19The earth is utterly broken down, the earth is clean dissolved, the earth is moved exceedingly.

20The earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard, and shall be removed like a cottage;

Isa 25:2 (to 2nd ;),4 thou,9 (to :)

2For thou hast made of a city an heap; of a defenced city a ruin: a palace of strangers to be no city;

4thou hast been a strength to the poor, a strength to the needy in his distress, a refuge from the storm, a shadow from the heat, when the blast of the terrible ones is as a storm against the wall.

9¶And it shall be said in that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, and he will save us:

Nah 1:3 the Lord,5,6 his fury,7

3the Lord hath his way in the whirlwind and in the storm, and the clouds are the dust of his feet.

5The mountains quake at him, and the hills melt, and the earth is burned at his presence, yea, the world, and all that dwell therein.

6his fury is poured out like fire, and the rocks are thrown down by him.

7The Lord is good, a strong hold in the day of trouble; and he knoweth them that trust in him.

Heb 12:18 ye,22,27,28

18ye are not come unto the mount that might be touched, and that burned with fire, nor unto blackness, and darkness, and tempest,

22But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels,

27And this word, Yet once more, signifieth the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain.

28Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear:

Josh 3:14 (to 3rd ,),15,16 (to heap),17

14¶And it came to pass, when the people removed from their tents, to pass over Jordan,

15And as they that bare the ark were come unto Jordan, and the feet of the priests that bare the ark were dipped in the brim of the water, (for Jordan overfloweth all his banks all the time of harvest,)

16That the waters which came down from above stood and rose up upon an heap

17And the priests that bare the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood firm on dry ground in the midst of Jordan, and all the Israelites passed over on dry ground, until all the people were passed clean over Jordan.

Josh 4:18

18And it came to pass, when the priests that bare the ark of the covenant of the Lord were come up out of the midst of Jordan, and the soles of the priests' feet were lifted up unto the dry land, that the waters of Jordan returned unto their place, and flowed over all his banks, as they did before.

Isa 54:10,11,13

10For the mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed; but my kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed, saith the Lord that hath mercy on thee.

11¶O thou afflicted, tossed with tempest, and not comforted, behold, I will lay thy stones with fair colours, and lay thy foundations with sapphires.

13And all thy children shall be taught of the Lord; and great shall be the peace of thy children.

Matt 8:23-26

23¶And when he was entered into a ship, his disciples followed him.

24And, behold, there arose a great tempest in the sea, insomuch that the ship was covered with the waves: but he was asleep.

25And his disciples came to him, and awoke him, saying, Lord, save us: we perish.

26And he saith unto them, Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? Then he arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm.

Acts 27:9-11,13,14 (to ,),15,18,20-22,25,44 And so

9Now when much time was spent, and when sailing was now dangerous, because the fast was now already past, Paul admonished them,

10And said unto them, Sirs, I perceive that this voyage will be with hurt and much damage, not only of the lading and ship, but also of our lives.

11Nevertheless the centurion believed the master and the owner of the ship, more than those things which were spoken by Paul.

13And when the south wind blew softly, supposing that they had obtained their purpose, loosing thence, they sailed close by Crete.

14But not long after there arose against it a tempestuous wind,

15And when the ship was caught, and could not bear up into the wind, we let her drive.

18And we being exceedingly tossed with a tempest, the next day they lightened the ship;

20And when neither sun nor stars in many days appeared, and no small tempest lay on us, all hope that we should be saved was then taken away.

21But after long abstinence Paul stood forth in the midst of them, and said, Sirs, ye should have hearkened unto me, and not have loosed from Crete, and to have gained this harm and loss.

22And now I exhort you to be of good cheer: for there shall be no loss of any man's life among you, but of the ship.

25Wherefore, sirs, be of good cheer: for I believe God, that it shall be even as it was told me.

44And so it came to pass, that they escaped all safe to land.

Ps 46:1-3 (to .),4,5

1God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.

2Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea;

3Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof.

4There is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacles of the most High.

5God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved: God shall help her, and that right early.

Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures
by Mary Baker Eddy

293:13-31

The material so-called gases and forces are counter‐
feits of the spiritual forces of divine Mind, whose potency
15is 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 coun‐
18terfeits the true essence of spirituality or truth, — the
great difference being that electricity is not intelligent,
while spiritual truth is Mind.

21There is no vapid fury of mortal mind — expressed in
earthquake, wind, wave, lightning, fire, bestial ferocity
The counterfeit
forces — and this so-called mind is self-destroyed.
24The manifestations of evil, which counterfeit
divine justice, are called in the Scriptures, "The anger
of the Lord." In reality, they show the self-destruction
27of 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 har‐
30mony, the entireness of God, good, and the nothingness
of evil.

93:17

Destructive electricity is not the offspring of in‐
18finite good. Whatever contradicts the real nature of the
divine Esse, though human faith may clothe it with angelic
vestments, is without foundation.

77:5-9

Existence continues to be a belief of corporeal sense
6until the Science of being is reached. Error brings its
Second
death own self-destruction both here and hereafter,
for mortal mind creates its own physical con‐
9ditions.

97:5

In reality, the more closely error simulates truth and
6so-called matter resembles its essence, mortal mind, the
Dangerous
resemblances more impotent error becomes as a belief. Ac‐
cording to human belief, the lightning is fierce
9and the electric current swift, yet in Christian Science
the flight of one and the blow of the other will become
harmless. The more destructive matter becomes, the
12more its nothingness will appear, until matter reaches
its mortal zenith in illusion and forever disappears. The
nearer a false belief approaches truth without passing
15the boundary where, having been destroyed by divine
Love, it ceases to be even an illusion, the riper it becomes
for destruction. The more material the belief, the more
18obvious its error, until divine Spirit, supreme in its do‐
main, dominates all matter, and man is found in the like‐
ness of Spirit, his original being.

273:21

21God never ordained a material law to annul the spiritual
law. If there were such a material law, it would oppose
Spiritual law
the only law the supremacy of Spirit, God, and impugn the
24wisdom of the creator. Jesus walked on the
waves, fed the multitude, healed the sick, and raised the
dead in direct opposition to material laws. His acts were
27the demonstration of Science, overcoming the false claims
of material sense or law.

336:25-28 God

God, the divine Principle of man, and man in
God's likeness are inseparable, harmonious, and eternal.
God the
parent Mind 27The Science of being furnishes the rule of per‐
fection, and brings immortality to light.

252:15-23 (to .),26-8

15The false evidence of material sense contrasts strikingly
with the testimony of Spirit. Material sense lifts its voice
with the arrogance of reality and says:

18I am wholly dishonest, and no man knoweth it. I can
cheat, lie, commit adultery, rob, murder, and I elude
Testimony
of sense detection by smooth-tongued villainy. Ani‐
21mal in propensity, deceitful in sentiment,
fraudulent in purpose, I mean to make my short span
of life one gala day.

But a touch, an accident, the law of God,
27may at any moment annihilate my peace, for all my
fancied joys are fatal. Like bursting lava, I expand but
to my own despair, and shine with the resplendency of
30consuming fire.

Spirit, bearing opposite testimony, saith:

I am Spirit. Man, whose senses are spiritual, is my
253:1likeness. He reflects the infinite understanding, for I am
Infinity. The beauty of holiness, the perfection of being,
Testimony
of Soul 3imperishable glory, — all are Mine, for I am
God. I give immortality to man, for I am
Truth. I include and impart all bliss, for I am Love.
6I give life, without beginning and without end, for I am
Life. I am supreme and give all, for I am Mind. I am
the substance of all, because I AM THAT I AM.

269:21

21The testimony of the material senses is neither abso‐
lute nor divine. I therefore plant myself unreservedly
Biblical
foundations on the teachings of Jesus, of his apostles, of
24the prophets, and on the testimony of the
Science of Mind. Other foundations there are none.
All other systems — systems based wholly or partly on
27knowledge gained through the material senses — are reeds
shaken by the wind, not houses built on the rock.

275:1-24

275:1Matter has no life to lose, and Spirit never dies. A
partnership of mind with matter would ignore omnipres‐
Spirit the
starting-point 3ent and omnipotent Mind. This shows that
matter did not originate in God, Spirit, and is
not eternal. Therefore matter is neither substantial, living,
6nor intelligent. The starting-point of divine Science is
that God, Spirit, is All-in-all, and that there is no other
might nor Mind, — that God is Love, and therefore He
9is divine Principle.

To grasp the reality and order of being in its Science,
you must begin by reckoning God as the divine Principle
Divine
synonyms 12of all that really is. Spirit, Life, Truth, Love,
combine as one, — and are the Scriptural names
for God. All substance, intelligence, wisdom, being, im‐
15mortality, cause, and effect belong to God. These are
His attributes, the eternal manifestations of the infinite
divine Principle, Love. No wisdom is wise but His
18wisdom; no truth is true, no love is lovely, no life is Life
but the divine; no good is, but the good God bestows.

Divine metaphysics, as revealed to spiritual understand‐
21ing, shows clearly that all is Mind, and that Mind is
The divine
completeness God, omnipotence, omnipresence, omniscience,
— that is, all power, all presence, all Science.
24Hence all is in reality the manifestation of Mind.

99:9-11

9 Truth has furnished
the key to the kingdom, and with this key Christian Sci‐
ence has opened the door of the human understanding.

559:8-16

The "still, small voice"
9of scientific thought reaches over continent and ocean
to the globe's remotest bound. The inaudible voice of
Truth is, to the human mind, "as when a lion roareth."
12It is heard in the desert and in dark places of fear. It
arouses the "seven thunders" of evil, and stirs their latent
forces to utter the full diapason of secret tones. Then is
15the power of Truth demonstrated, — made manifest in
the destruction of error.

From the Christian Science Hymnal:
Hymn 205: “O for a faith that will not shrink, though pressed by every foe”
Hymn 76: “…Hear His voice above the tempest: I have not forsaken thee”
Hymn 295: “Rock of ages, Truth divine, Be Thy strength forever mine”