First Church of Christ, Scientist, La Cañada Flintridge

Wednesday Meeting Readings

Concord 1.html
Defending our agelessness
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
The Bible
  1. Josh 14:6-11

    6¶Then the children of Judah came unto Joshua in Gilgal: and Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenezite said unto him, Thou knowest the thing that the Lord said unto Moses the man of God concerning me and thee in Kadesh-barnea.

    7Forty years old was I when Moses the servant of the Lord sent me from Kadesh-barnea to espy out the land; and I brought him word again as it was in mine heart.

    8Nevertheless my brethren that went up with me made the heart of the people melt: but I wholly followed the Lord my God.

    9And Moses sware on that day, saying, Surely the land whereon thy feet have trodden shall be thine inheritance, and thy children's for ever, because thou hast wholly followed the Lord my God.

    10And now, behold, the Lord hath kept me alive, as he said, these forty and five years, even since the Lord spake this word unto Moses, while the children of Israel wandered in the wilderness: and now, lo, I am this day fourscore and five years old.

    11As yet I am as strong this day as I was in the day that Moses sent me: as my strength was then, even so is my strength now, for war, both to go out, and to come in.

  2. Ps 71:1, 3, 5, 7-9, 16-18, 21

    1In thee, O Lord, do I put my trust: let me never be put to confusion.

    3Be thou my strong habitation, whereunto I may continually resort: thou hast given commandment to save me; for thou art my rock and my fortress.

    5For thou art my hope, O Lord God: thou art my trust from my youth.

    7I am as a wonder unto many; but thou art my strong refuge.

    8Let my mouth be filled with thy praise and with thy honour all the day.

    9Cast me not off in the time of old age; forsake me not when my strength faileth.

    16I will go in the strength of the Lord God: I will make mention of thy righteousness, even of thine only.

    17O God, thou hast taught me from my youth: and hitherto have I declared thy wondrous works.

    18Now also when I am old and greyheaded, O God, forsake me not; until I have shewed thy strength unto this generation, and thy power to every one that is to come.

    21Thou shalt increase my greatness, and comfort me on every side.

  3. Ps 1:1-3

    1Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.

    2But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.

    3And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.

  4. Prov 4:7-10

    7Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding.

    8Exalt her, and she shall promote thee: she shall bring thee to honour, when thou dost embrace her.

    9She shall give to thine head an ornament of grace: a crown of glory shall she deliver to thee.

    10Hear, O my son, and receive my sayings; and the years of thy life shall be many.

  5. Hos 14:5-7

    5I will be as the dew unto Israel: he shall grow as the lily, and cast forth his roots as Lebanon.

    6His branches shall spread, and his beauty shall be as the olive tree, and his smell as Lebanon.

    7They that dwell under his shadow shall return; they shall revive as the corn, and grow as the vine: the scent thereof shall be as the wine of Lebanon.

  6. Mark 8:27 (to :)

    27¶And Jesus went out, and his disciples, into the towns of Caesarea Philippi:

  7. Mark 9:1-4, 7, 8

    1And he said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That there be some of them that stand here, which shall not taste of death, till they have seen the kingdom of God come with power.

    2¶And after six days Jesus taketh with him Peter, and James, and John, and leadeth them up into an high mountain apart by themselves: and he was transfigured before them.

    3And his raiment became shining, exceeding white as snow; so as no fuller on earth can white them.

    4And there appeared unto them Elias with Moses: and they were talking with Jesus.

    7And there was a cloud that overshadowed them: and a voice came out of the cloud, saying, This is my beloved Son: hear him.

    8And suddenly, when they had looked round about, they saw no man any more, save Jesus only with themselves.

  8. Matt 13:24-30, 36-42 (to :)

    24¶Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field:

    25But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way.

    26But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also.

    27So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? from whence then hath it tares?

    28He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up?

    29But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them.

    30Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.

    36Then Jesus sent the multitude away, and went into the house: and his disciples came unto him, saying, Declare unto us the parable of the tares of the field.

    37He answered and said unto them, He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man;

    38The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one;

    39The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels.

    40As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world.

    41The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity;

    42And shall cast them into a furnace of fire:

  9. Titus 2:1-8 speak, 11-14

    1speak thou the things which become sound doctrine:

    2That the aged men be sober, grave, temperate, sound in faith, in charity, in patience.

    3The aged women likewise, that they be in behaviour as becometh holiness, not false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things;

    4That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children,

    5To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed.

    6Young men likewise exhort to be sober minded.

    7In all things shewing thyself a pattern of good works: in doctrine shewing uncorruptness, gravity, sincerity,

    8Sound speech, that cannot be condemned; that he that is of the contrary part may be ashamed, having no evil thing to say of you.

    11For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,

    12Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;

    13Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;

    14Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.

   
Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures
by Mary Baker Eddy
 
  1. S&H 244:23-27
    Man in Science is neither young nor old.
    He has
    24neither birth nor death.
    He is not a beast, a vegetable,
    Man not
    evolved
    nor a migratory mind.
    He does not pass from
    matter to Mind, from the mortal to the im-
    27mortal, from evil to good, or from good to evil.

  2. S&H 78:6-8
    6
    How unreasonable is the belief that we are wearing
    out life and hastening to death, and that at the same
    Absurd
    oracles
    time we are communing with immortality!

  3. S&H 91:16-8
    Absorbed in material selfhood we discern and reflect
    but faintly the substance of Life or Mind.
    The denial of
    18material selfhood aids the discernment of man's spirit-
    ual and eternal individuality, and destroys the erroneous
    knowledge gained from matter or through what are termed
    21the material senses.

    Certain erroneous postulates should be here considered
    Erroneous
    postulates
    in order that the spiritual facts may be better
    24apprehended.

    The first erroneous postulate of belief is, that substance,
    life, and intelligence are something apart from God.

    27
    The second erroneous postulate is, that man is both
    mental and material.

    The third erroneous postulate is, that mind is both evil
    30and good; whereas the real Mind cannot be evil nor the
    medium of evil, for Mind is God.

    The fourth erroneous postulate is, that matter is in-
    92:1telligent, and that man has a material body which is part
    of himself.

    3
    The fifth erroneous postulate is, that matter holds in
    itself the issues of life and death, ” that matter is not
    only capable of experiencing pleasure and pain, but also
    6capable of imparting these sensations.
    From the illusion
    implied in this last postulate arises the decomposition of
    mortal bodies in what is termed death.

  4. S&H 280:2-6
    Symbols and elements of discord and decay are not prod-
    The things
    of God are
    beautiful
    3ucts of the infinite, perfect, and eternal All.

    From Love and from the light and harmony
    which are the abode of Spirit, only reflections
    6of good can come.

  5. S&H 555:16-23
    Searching for the origin of man, who is the reflection
    of God, is like inquiring into the origin of God, the self-
    The origin
    of divinity
    18existent and eternal.
    Only impotent error
    would seek to unite Spirit with matter, good
    with evil, immortality with mortality, and call this
    21sham unity man, as if man were the offspring of both
    Mind and matter, of both Deity and humanity.
    Crea-
    tion rests on a spiritual basis.

  6. S&H 250:12
    12
    Man is not God, but like a ray of light which comes from
    the sun, man, the outcome of God, reflects God.

  7. S&H 336:9-12 Immortal, 14-16
    9
    Immortal man was and is God's image or idea,
    even the infinite expression of infinite Mind, and immor-
    The real
    manhood
    tal man is coexistent and coeternal with that
    12Mind.

    The spiritual man's consciousness
    15and individuality are reflections of God.
    They are the
    emanations of Him who is Life, Truth, and Love.

  8. S&H 310:31
    There is neither growth, maturity, nor decay in
    Soul.
    These changes are the mutations of material sense,
    311:1the varying clouds of mortal belief, which hide the truth
    of being.

  9. S&H 199:15-19
    15
    Mortals develop their own bodies or make them sick,
    according as they influence them through mortal mind.

    Latent fear
    subdued
    To know whether this development is produced
    18consciously or unconsciously, is of less impor-
    tance than a knowledge of the fact.

  10. S&H 595:5
    tares. Mortality; error; sin; sickness; disease;
    6death.

  11. S&H 72:9 As
    9
    As
    light destroys darkness and in the place of darkness all
    Spirits
    obsolete
    is light, so (in absolute Science) Soul, or God,
    12is the only truth-giver to man.
    Truth de-
    stroys mortality, and brings to light immortality.
    Mortal
    belief (the material sense of life) and immortal Truth
    15(the spiritual sense) are the tares and the wheat, which
    are not united by progress, but separated.

  12. S&H 215:22-24
    With its divine proof, Science reverses the evidence of
    material sense.
    Every quality and condition of mortality
    24is lost, swallowed up in immortality.

  13. S&H 79:23
    The unscientific practitioner says: "You are ill.
    Your
    24brain is overtaxed, and you must rest.
    Your body is
    Mistaken
    methods
    weak, and it must be strengthened.
    You have
    nervous prostration, and must be treated for it."

    27
    Science objects to all this, contending for the rights of in-
    telligence and asserting that Mind controls body and brain.

  14. S&H 387:5
    When we reach
    6our limits of mental endurance, we conclude
    that intellectual labor has been carried sufficiently far;
    but when we realize that immortal Mind is ever active,
    9and that spiritual energies can neither wear out nor can
    so-called material law trespass upon God-given powers
    and resources, we are able to rest in Truth, refreshed by
    12the assurances of immortality, opposed to mortality.

  15. S&H 219:6-20
    6
    In mathematics, we do not multiply when we should
    subtract, and then say the product is correct.
    No more
    Affirmation
    and result
    can we say in Science that muscles give strength,
    9that nerves give pain or pleasure, or that matter
    governs, and then expect that the result will be harmony.

    Not muscles, nerves, nor bones, but mortal mind makes
    12the whole body "sick, and the whole heart faint;" whereas
    divine Mind heals.

    When this is understood, we shall never affirm concern-
    15ing the body what we do not wish to have manifested.
    We
    shall not call the body weak, if we would have it strong;
    for the belief in feebleness must obtain in the human
    18mind before it can be made manifest on the body, and
    the destruction of the belief will be the removal of its
    effects.

  16. S&H 377:16-18, 20-23
    Because a belief origi-
    nates unseen, the mental state should be continually
    18watched that it may not produce blindly its bad effects.

    Remove the
    21leading error or governing fear of this lower so-called mind,
    and you remove the cause of all disease as well as the mor-
    bid or excited action of any organ.

  17. S&H 243:16
    The clay cannot reply to the potter.
    The head, heart,
    lungs, and limbs do not inform us that they are dizzy,
    Mental
    telegraphy
    18diseased, consumptive, or lame.
    If this in-
    formation is conveyed, mortal mind conveys
    it.
    Neither immortal and unerring Mind nor matter,
    21the inanimate substratum of mortal mind, can carry
    on such telegraphy; for God is "of purer eyes than
    to behold evil," and matter has neither intelligence nor
    24sensation.

  18. S&H 407:21-24
    21
    If delusion says, "I have lost my memory," contra-
    dict it.
    No faculty of Mind is lost.
    In Science, all
    Immortal
    memory
    being is eternal, spiritual, perfect, harmoni-
    24ous in every action.

  19. S&H 87:19-25 (to 2nd .)
    The mine knows naught of the emeralds within its
    rocks; the sea is ignorant of the gems within its caverns,
    Buried
    secrets
    21of the corals, of its sharp reefs, of the tall ships
    that float on its bosom, or of the bodies which
    lie buried in its sands: yet these are all there.
    Do not
    24suppose that any mental concept is gone because you do
    not think of it.
    The true concept is never lost.

  20. S&H 550:15-23 The
    15
    The
    continual contemplation of existence as material and cor-
    Stages of
    existence
    poreal” as beginning and ending, and with
    18birth, decay, and dissolution as its component
    stages ” hides the true and spiritual Life, and causes
    our standard to trail in the dust.
    If Life has any starting-
    21point whatsoever, then the great I AM is a myth.
    If Life
    is God, as the Scriptures imply, then Life is not embry-
    onic, it is infinite.

  21. S&H 305:6-8
    6
    Man, in the
    Human
    reflection
    likeness of his Maker, reflects the central light
    of being, the invisible God.

 
From the Christian Science Hymnal  
Hymn 449: "My life flows on in endless song"   
Hymn 247: "O walk with God along the road"   
Hymn 150: "In mercy, in goodness, how great is our King"