Sunday, July 29th, 2018



SubjectLove

Golden Text: I John 4 : 16



God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.




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Responsive Reading: I John 4 : 17-19; II Peter 1 : 4-8


17.     Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world.

18.     There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.

19.     We love him, because he first loved us.

4.     Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.

5.     And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge;

6.     And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness;

7.     And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity.

8.     For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.



Lesson Sermon



The Bible


1. James 1 : 17

17     Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.

2. Matthew 4 : 23

23     And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people.

3. Matthew 5 : 1, 2, 7

1     And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him:

2     And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying,

7     Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.

4. Luke 6 : 27 (Love)-36, 38

27     …Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you,

28     Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you.

29     And unto him that smiteth thee on the one cheek offer also the other; and him that taketh away thy cloke forbid not to take thy coat also.

30     Give to every man that asketh of thee; and of him that taketh away thy goods ask them not again.

31     And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise.

32     For if ye love them which love you, what thank have ye? for sinners also love those that love them.

33     And if ye do good to them which do good to you, what thank have ye? for sinners also do even the same.

34     And if ye lend to them of whom ye hope to receive, what thank have ye? for sinners also lend to sinners, to receive as much again.

35     But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil.

36     Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful.

38     Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.

5. Matthew 10 : 8

8     Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give.

6. Luke 21 : 1-4

1     And he looked up, and saw the rich men casting their gifts into the treasury.

2     And he saw also a certain poor widow casting in thither two mites.

3     And he said, Of a truth I say unto you, that this poor widow hath cast in more than they all:

4     For all these have of their abundance cast in unto the offerings of God: but she of her penury hath cast in all the living that she had.

7. I John 3 : 17 (whoso), 18

17     …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?

18     My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.

8. II Corinthians 9 : 6, 7

6     But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully.

7     Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.

9. Hebrews 13 : 1-3

1     Let brotherly love continue.

2     Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.

3     Remember them that are in bonds, as bound with them; and them which suffer adversity, as being yourselves also in the body.

10. Acts 3 : 1-8

1     Now Peter and John went up together into the temple at the hour of prayer, being the ninth hour.

2     And a certain man lame from his mother’s womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask alms of them that entered into the temple;

3     Who seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple asked an alms.

4     And Peter, fastening his eyes upon him with John, said, Look on us.

5     And he gave heed unto them, expecting to receive something of them.

6     Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk.

7     And he took him by the right hand, and lifted him up: and immediately his feet and ancle bones received strength.

8     And he leaping up stood, and walked, and entered with them into the temple, walking, and leaping, and praising God.

11. I Corinthians 13 : 1-5, 8, 11-13

1     Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.

2     And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing.

3     And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.

4     Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up,

5     Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil;

8     Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away.

11     When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.

12     For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.

13     And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.



Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures


1. 270 : 23-24

Meekness and charity have divine authority.

2. 570 : 14-18

Millions of unprejudiced minds — simple seekers for Truth, weary wanderers, athirst in the desert — are waiting and watching for rest and drink. Give them a cup of cold water in Christ's name, and never fear the consequences.

3. 454 : 17-24

Love for God and man is the true incentive in both healing and teaching. Love inspires, illumines, designates, and leads the way. Right motives give pinions to thought, and strength and freedom to speech and action. Love is priestess at the altar of Truth. Wait patiently for divine Love to move upon the waters of mortal mind, and form the perfect concept. Patience must "have her perfect work."

4. 192 : 23-24 (to 1st .)

The good you do and embody gives you the only power obtainable.

5. 79 : 29-3

Mind-science teaches that mortals need "not be weary in well doing." It dissipates fatigue in doing good. Giving does not impoverish us in the service of our Maker, neither does withholding enrich us. We have strength in proportion to our apprehension of the truth, and our strength is not lessened by giving utterance to truth.

6. 384 : 3-9

We should relieve our minds from the depressing thought that we have transgressed a material law and must of necessity pay the penalty. Let us reassure ourselves with the law of Love. God never punishes man for doing right, for honest labor, or for deeds of kindness, though they expose him to fatigue, cold, heat, contagion.

7. 385 : 1-18

It is proverbial that Florence Nightingale and other philanthropists engaged in humane labors have been able to undergo without sinking fatigues and exposures which ordinary people could not endure. The explanation lies in the support which they derived from the divine law, rising above the human. The spiritual demand, quelling the material, supplies energy and endurance surpassing all other aids, and forestalls the penalty which our beliefs would attach to our best deeds. Let us remember that the eternal law of right, though it can never annul the law which makes sin its own executioner, exempts man from all penalties but those due for wrong-doing.

Constant toil, deprivations, exposures, and all untoward conditions, if without sin, can be experienced without suffering. Whatever it is your duty to do, you can do without harm to yourself.

8. 25 : 13-16, 31-9

Jesus taught the way of Life by demonstration, that we may understand how this divine Principle heals the sick, casts out error, and triumphs over death.

The divinity of the Christ was made manifest in the humanity of Jesus.

While we adore Jesus, and the heart overflows with gratitude for what he did for mortals, — treading alone his loving pathway up to the throne of glory, in speechless agony exploring the way for us, — yet Jesus spares us not one individual experience, if we follow his commands faithfully; and all have the cup of sorrowful effort to drink in proportion to their demonstration of his love, till all are redeemed through divine Love.

9. 26 : 21-23

Jesus' teaching and practice of Truth involved such a sacrifice as makes us admit its Principle to be Love.

10. 138 : 27-2

Our Master said to every follower: "Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature! … Heal the sick! … Love thy neighbor as thyself!" It was this theology of Jesus which healed the sick and the sinning. It is his theology in this book and the spiritual meaning of this theology, which heals the sick and causes the wicked to "forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts."

11. 365 : 7-2

The benign thought of Jesus, finding utterance in such words as "Take no thought for your life," would heal the sick, and so enable them to rise above the supposed necessity for physical thought-taking and doctoring; but if the unselfish affections be lacking, and common sense and common humanity are disregarded, what mental quality remains, with which to evoke healing from the outstretched arm of righteousness?

If the Scientist reaches his patient through divine Love, the healing work will be accomplished at one visit, and the disease will vanish into its native nothingness like dew before the morning sunshine. If the Scientist has enough Christly affection to win his own pardon, and such commendation as the Magdalen gained from Jesus, then he is Christian enough to practise scientifically and deal with his patients compassionately; and the result will correspond with the spiritual intent.

If hypocrisy, stolidity, inhumanity, or vice finds its way into the chambers of disease through the would-be healer, it would, if it were possible, convert into a den of thieves the temple of the Holy Ghost, — the patient's spiritual power to resuscitate himself. The unchristian practitioner is not giving to mind or body the joy and strength of Truth. The poor suffering heart needs its rightful nutriment, such as peace, patience in tribulation, and a priceless sense of the dear Father's loving-kindness.

12. 366 : 16-19

Not having this spiritual affection, the physician lacks faith in the divine Mind and has not that recognition of infinite Love which alone confers the healing power.

13. 326 : 16-22

The purpose and motive to live aright can be gained now. This point won, you have started as you should. You have begun at the numeration-table of Christian Science, and nothing but wrong intention can hinder your advancement. Working and praying with true motives, your Father will open the way. "Who did hinder you, that ye should not obey the truth?"

14. 225 : 21-22

Love is the liberator.


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