First Church of Christ, Scientist, La Cañada Flintridge, California
Wednesday Meeting Readings
- Phil. 4:1, 4-6, 19 my
1Therefore, my brethren dearly beloved and longed for, my joy and crown, so stand fast in the Lord, my dearly beloved.
... 4Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice.
5Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand.
6Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.
... my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.
- II Cor. 8:7, 9, 11-15, 21
7Therefore, as ye abound in every thing, in faith, and utterance, and knowledge, and in all diligence, and in your love to us, see that ye abound in this grace also.
... 9For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich.
... 11Now therefore perform the doing of it; that as there was a readiness to will, so there may be a performance also out of that which ye have.
12For if there be first a willing mind, it is accepted according to that a man hath, and not according to that he hath not.
13For I mean not that other men be eased, and ye burdened:
14But by an equality, that now at this time your abundance may be a supply for their want, that their abundance also may be a supply for your want: that there may be equality:
15As it is written, He that had gathered much had nothing over; and he that had gathered little had no lack.
... 21Providing for honest things, not only in the sight of the Lord, but also in the sight of men.
- Deut. 15:4-8, 11
4Save when there shall be no poor among you; for the Lord shall greatly bless thee in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee for an inheritance to possess it:
5Only if thou carefully hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe to do all these commandments which I command thee this day.
6For the Lord thy God blesseth thee, as he promised thee: and thou shalt lend unto many nations, but thou shalt not borrow; and thou shalt reign over many nations, but they shall not reign over thee.
7¶ If there be among you a poor man of one of thy brethren within any of thy gates in thy land which the Lord thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not harden thine heart, nor shut thine hand from thy poor brother:
8But thou shalt open thine hand wide unto him, and shalt surely lend him sufficient for his need, in that which he wanteth.
11For the poor shall never cease out of the land: therefore I command thee, saying, Thou shalt open thine hand wide unto thy brother, to thy poor, and to thy needy, in thy land.
- I John 3:1 (to :), 10, 11, 17, 18, 21-24
1Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God:
... 10In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother.
11For this is the message that ye heard from the beginning, that we should love one another.
... 17But whoso hath this world’s good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?
18My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.
... 21Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God.
22And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight.
23And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment.
24And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us.
- Matt. 14:14-36 Jesus
Jesus went forth, and saw a great multitude, and was moved with compassion toward them, and he healed their sick.
15¶ And when it was evening, his disciples came to him, saying, This is a desert place, and the time is now past; send the multitude away, that they may go into the villages, and buy themselves victuals.
16But Jesus said unto them, They need not depart; give ye them to eat.
17And they say unto him, We have here but five loaves, and two fishes.
18He said, Bring them hither to me.
19And he commanded the multitude to sit down on the grass, and took the five loaves, and the two fishes, and looking up to heaven, he blessed, and brake, and gave the loaves to his disciples, and the disciples to the multitude.
20And they did all eat, and were filled: and they took up of the fragments that remained twelve baskets full.
21And they that had eaten were about five thousand men, beside women and children.
22¶ And straightway Jesus constrained his disciples to get into a ship, and to go before him unto the other side, while he sent the multitudes away.
23And when he had sent the multitudes away, he went up into a mountain apart to pray: and when the evening was come, he was there alone.
24But the ship was now in the midst of the sea, tossed with waves: for the wind was contrary.
25And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea.
26And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and they cried out for fear.
27But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid.
28And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water.
29And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus.
30But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me.
31And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?
32And when they were come into the ship, the wind ceased.
33Then they that were in the ship came and worshipped him, saying, Of a truth thou art the Son of God.
34¶ And when they were gone over, they came into the land of Gennesaret.
35And when the men of that place had knowledge of him, they sent out into all that country round about, and brought unto him all that were diseased;
36And besought him that they might only touch the hem of his garment: and as many as touched were made perfectly whole.
- Matt. 15:29-38
29And Jesus departed from thence, and came nigh unto the sea of Galilee; and went up into a mountain, and sat down there.
30And great multitudes came unto him, having with them those that were lame, blind, dumb, maimed, and many others, and cast them down at Jesus’ feet; and he healed them:
31Insomuch that the multitude wondered, when they saw the dumb to speak, the maimed to be whole, the lame to walk, and the blind to see: and they glorified the God of Israel.
32¶ Then Jesus called his disciples unto him, and said, I have compassion on the multitude, because they continue with me now three days, and have nothing to eat: and I will not send them away fasting, lest they faint in the way.
33And his disciples say unto him, Whence should we have so much bread in the wilderness, as to fill so great a multitude?
34And Jesus saith unto them, How many loaves have ye? And they said, Seven, and a few little fishes.
35And he commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground.
36And he took the seven loaves and the fishes, and gave thanks, and brake them, and gave to his disciples, and the disciples to the multitude.
37And they did all eat, and were filled: and they took up of the broken meat that was left seven baskets full.
38And they that did eat were four thousand men, beside women and children.
Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures
by Mary Baker Eddy
- SH 95:6-10
- SH 447:5-29
In men-6tal practice you must not forget that erring human opin-ions, conflicting selfish motives, and ignorant attempts to do good may render you incapable of knowing or 9judging accurately the need of your fellow-men. There-fore the rule is, heal the sick when called upon for aid, and save the victims of the mental assassins.
12 Ignorance, subtlety, or false charity does not for-ever conceal error; evil will in time disclose and pun-Expose sin without believing in itish itself. The recuperative action of the 15system, when mentally sustained by Truth, goes on naturally. When sin or sickness — the reverse of harmony — seems true to material sense, 18impart without frightening or discouraging the pa-tient the truth and spiritual understanding, which de -stroy disease. Expose and denounce the claims of 21evil and disease in all their forms, but realize no reality in them. A sinner is not reformed merely by assuring him that he cannot be a sinner because 24there is no sin. To put down the claim of sin, you must detect it, remove the mask, point out the illusion, and thus get the victory over sin and so prove 27its unreality. The sick are not healed merely by declaring there is no sickness, but by knowing that there is none.
- SH 518:13
God gives the lesser idea of Himself for a link to the greater, and in return, the higher always protects the 15Assistance in brotherhoodlower. The rich in spirit help the poor in one grand brotherhood, all having the same Principle, or Father; and blessed is that man who seeth 18his brother’s need and supplieth it, seeking his own in another’s good. Love giveth to the least spiritual idea might, immortality, and goodness, which shine through 21all as the blossom shines through the bud. All the varied expressions of God reflect health, holiness, immortality — infinite Life, Truth, and Love.
- SH 218:17
Why pray for the recovery of the sick, if you are with-18out faith in God’s willingness and ability to heal them? Sickness akin to sinIf you do believe in God, why do you sub-stitute drugs for the Almighty’s power, and 21employ means which lead only into material ways of obtaining help, instead of turning in time of need to God, divine Love, who is an ever-present help?
- SH 7:23
- SH 206:15
- SH 13:5-16
In public prayer we often go beyond our convictions, 6beyond the honest standpoint of fervent desire. If we Public exaggerationsare not secretly yearning and openly striv-ing for the accomplishment of all we ask, 9our prayers are “vain repetitions,” such as the heathen use. If our petitions are sincere, we labor for what we ask; and our Father, who seeth in secret, will reward 12us openly. Can the mere public expression of our de-sires increase them? Do we gain the omnipotent ear sooner by words than by thoughts? Even if prayer is 15sincere, God knows our need before we tell Him or our fellow-beings about it.
- SH 494:5
Is it not a species of infidelity to believe that so great 6a work as the Messiah’s was done for himself or for God, Inexhaustible divine Lovewho needed no help from Jesus’ example to preserve the eternal harmony? But mortals 9did need this help, and Jesus pointed the way for them. Divine Love always has met and always will meet every human need. It is not well to imagine that Jesus demon-12strated the divine power to heal only for a select number or for a limited period of time, since to all mankind and in every hour, divine Love supplies all good.
From the Christian Science Hymnal
Hymn 498: “...My grace, all sufficient, shall be your supply”
Hymn 469 : “Dear God of love, eternal Father-Mother, Supply our need”
Hymn 598: “Let not want or lack confine you, Love is ever your supply”
