First Church of Christ, Scientist, La Cañada Flintridge, California
Wednesday Meeting Readings
- Ps. 38:9 (to ;), 18, 21
9Lord, all my desire is before thee;
... 18For I will declare mine iniquity; I will be sorry for my sin.
... 21Forsake me not, O Lord: O my God, be not far from me.
- John 8:1-11, 31-36
1Jesus went unto the mount of Olives.
2And early in the morning he came again into the temple, and all the people came unto him; and he sat down, and taught them.
3And the scribes and Pharisees brought unto him a woman taken in adultery; and when they had set her in the midst,
4They say unto him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act.
5Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned: but what sayest thou?
6This they said, tempting him, that they might have to accuse him. But Jesus stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground, as though he heard them not.
7So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.
8And again he stooped down, and wrote on the ground.
9And they which heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even unto the last: and Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst.
10When Jesus had lifted up himself, and saw none but the woman, he said unto her, Woman, where are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee?
11She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.
31Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;
32And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
33¶ They answered him, We be Abraham’s seed, and were never in bondage to any man: how sayest thou, Ye shall be made free?
34Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin.
35And the servant abideth not in the house for ever: but the Son abideth ever.
36If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.
- Isa. 58:6, 8
6Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke?
8¶ Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the Lord shall be thy rereward.
- Rom. 6:17 God, 18
God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you.
18Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.
- Rom. 8:1-9 (to 1st .), 14-16
1There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
2For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.
3For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:
4That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
5For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit.
6For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.
7Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.
8So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.
9But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you.
... 14For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.
15For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.
16The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:
- II Sam. 11:2-4 (to 2nd ;), 5, 14, 15, 26, 27
2¶ And it came to pass in an eveningtide, that David arose from off his bed, and walked upon the roof of the king’s house: and from the roof he saw a woman washing herself; and the woman was very beautiful to look upon.
3And David sent and inquired after the woman. And one said, Is not this Bath–sheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?
4And David sent messengers, and took her; and she came in unto him, and he lay with her;
... 5And the woman conceived, and sent and told David, and said, I am with child.
14¶ And it came to pass in the morning, that David wrote a letter to Joab, and sent it by the hand of Uriah.
15And he wrote in the letter, saying, Set ye Uriah in the forefront of the hottest battle, and retire ye from him, that he may be smitten, and die.
26¶ And when the wife of Uriah heard that Uriah her husband was dead, she mourned for her husband.
27And when the mourning was past, David sent and fetched her to his house, and she became his wife, and bare him a son. But the thing that David had done displeased the Lord.
- II Sam. 12:1-7 (to .), 13 (to ;)
1And the Lord sent Nathan unto David. And he came unto him, and said unto him, There were two men in one city; the one rich, and the other poor.
2The rich man had exceeding many flocks and herds:
3But the poor man had nothing, save one little ewe lamb, which he had bought and nourished up: and it grew up together with him, and with his children; it did eat of his own meat, and drank of his own cup, and lay in his bosom, and was unto him as a daughter.
4And there came a traveller unto the rich man, and he spared to take of his own flock and of his own herd, to dress for the wayfaring man that was come unto him; but took the poor man’s lamb, and dressed it for the man that was come to him.
5And David’s anger was greatly kindled against the man; and he said to Nathan, As the Lord liveth, the man that hath done this thing shall surely die:
6And he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity.
7¶ And Nathan said to David, Thou art the man.
13And David said unto Nathan, I have sinned against the Lord. And Nathan said unto David, The Lord also hath put away thy sin;
- Ps. 51:1 (to 2nd ,), 2, 3, 6, 10, 12
1Have mercy upon me, O God,
... 2Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.
3For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me.
... 6Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom.
... 10Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.
... 12Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit.
- I John 3:4, 9, 11, 15, 17, 18
4Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.
... 9Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.
... 11For this is the message that ye heard from the beginning, that we should love one another.
... 15Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him.
... 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.
- Gal. 5:1, 13
1Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.
... 13For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another.
Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures
by Mary Baker Eddy
- SH 191:16-17
- SH 90:24-25
- SH 242:6
- SH 22:23-27
- SH 225:25-31
- SH 106:6
Like our nation, Christian Science has its Declaration of Independence. God has endowed man with inalien-Proper self-government able rights, among which are self-government, 9reason, and conscience. Man is properly self-governed only when he is guided rightly and governed by his Maker, divine Truth and Love.
- SH 224:28
Truth brings the elements of liberty. On its banner is the Soul-inspired motto, “Slavery is abolished.” The 30Mental emancipationpower of God brings deliverance to the cap-tive. No power can withstand divine Love. What is this supposed power, which opposes itself to God? 225 225:1Whence cometh it? What is it that binds man with iron shackles to sin, sickness, and death? Whatever enslaves 3man is opposed to the divine government. Truth makes man free.
- SH 226:5, 22-29
The voice of God in behalf of the African slave was 6still echoing in our land, when the voice of the herald of Liberty’s crusadethis new crusade sounded the keynote of uni-versal freedom, asking a fuller acknowledg-9ment of the rights of man as a Son of God, demanding that the fetters of sin, sickness, and death be stricken from the human mind and that its freedom be won, not 12through human warfare, not with bayonet and blood, but through Christ’s divine Science.
I saw before me the sick, wearing out years of servi-tude to an unreal master in the belief that the body gov-24erned them, rather than Mind.
The lame, the deaf, the dumb, the blind, the sick, the sensual, the sinner, I wished to save from the slavery of 27House of bondagetheir own beliefs and from the educational systems of the Pharaohs, who to-day, as of yore, hold the children of Israel in bondage.
- SH 227:3-16 (to 1st .), 19-29
I saw that the law of mortal belief included all error, and that, even as oppressive laws are disputed and mor-Higher law ends bondagetals are taught their right to freedom, so the 6claims of the enslaving senses must be de-nied and superseded. The law of the divine Mind must end human bondage, or mortals will continue unaware 9of man’s inalienable rights and in subjection to hope-less slavery, because some public teachers permit an ignorance of divine power, — an ignorance that 12is the foundation of continued bondage and of human suffering.
Discerning the rights of man, we cannot fail to fore-15see the doom of all oppression. Slavery is not the legiti-Native freedommate state of man.Love and Truth make free, but evil and error lead into captivity.
21 Christian Science raises the standard of liberty and cries: “Follow me! Escape from the bondage of sick-Standard of libertyness, sin, and death!” Jesus marked out the 24way. Citizens of the world, accept the “glori-ous liberty of the children of God,” and be free! This is your divine right. The illusion of material sense, not 27divine law, has bound you, entangled your free limbs, crippled your capacities, enfeebled your body, and de-faced the tablet of your being.
- SH 228:11
The enslavement of man is not legitimate. It will 12cease when man enters into his heritage of freedom, his God-given dominionGod-given dominion over the material senses. Mortals will some day assert their freedom in 15the name of Almighty God. Then they will control their own bodies through the understanding of divine Science. Dropping their present beliefs, they will recognize har -18mony as the spiritual reality and discord as the material unreality.
- SH 481:2
- SH 118:10
Hymn 412: “O dreamer, leave thy dreams for joyful waking”
Hymn 585: “For sin destroyed, for sorrow healed, For health and peace restored”
Hymn 554: “… One by one, pure thoughts and holy Lift us out of self and sin”