Sunday, March 24th, 2019



SubjectMatter

Golden Text: Jeremiah 2 : 11



Hath a nation changed their gods, which are yet no gods?




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Responsive Reading: Isaiah 51 : 4-6; Isaiah 32 : 17, 18


4.     Hearken unto me, my people; and give ear unto me, O my nation: for a law shall proceed from me, and I will make my judgment to rest for a light of the people.

5.     My righteousness is near; my salvation is gone forth, and mine arms shall judge the people; the isles shall wait upon me, and on mine arm shall they trust.

6.     Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look upon the earth beneath: for the heavens shall vanish away like smoke, and the earth shall wax old like a garment, and they that dwell therein shall die in like manner: but my salvation shall be for ever, and my righteousness shall not be abolished.

17.     And the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance for ever.

18.     And my people shall dwell in a peaceable habitation, and in sure dwellings, and in quiet resting places.



Lesson Sermon



The Bible


1. Psalm 90 : 1, 2

1     Lord, thou hast been our dwelling place in all generations.

2     Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God.

2. Psalm 115 : 1-8, 11

1     Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory, for thy mercy, and for thy truth’s sake.

2     Wherefore should the heathen say, Where is now their God?

3     But our God is in the heavens: he hath done whatsoever he hath pleased.

4     Their idols are silver and gold, the work of men’s hands.

5     They have mouths, but they speak not: eyes have they, but they see not:

6     They have ears, but they hear not: noses have they, but they smell not:

7     They have hands, but they handle not: feet have they, but they walk not: neither speak they through their throat.

8     They that make them are like unto them; so is every one that trusteth in them.

11     Ye that fear the Lord, trust in the Lord: he is their help and their shield.

3. II Kings 6 : 1, 2, 4 (And)-7

1     And the sons of the prophets said unto Elisha, Behold now, the place where we dwell with thee is too strait for us.

2     Let us go, we pray thee, unto Jordan, and take thence every man a beam, and let us make us a place there, where we may dwell. And he answered, Go ye.

4     And when they came to Jordan, they cut down wood.

5     But as one was felling a beam, the axe head fell into the water: and he cried, and said, Alas, master! for it was borrowed.

6     And the man of God said, Where fell it? And he shewed him the place. And he cut down a stick, and cast it in thither; and the iron did swim.

7     Therefore said he, Take it up to thee. And he put out his hand, and took it.

4. Isaiah 10 : 15

15     Shall the axe boast itself against him that heweth therewith? or shall the saw magnify itself against him that shaketh it? as if the rod should shake itself against them that lift it up, or as if the staff should lift up itself, as if it were no wood.

5. Habakkuk 2 : 18-20

18     What profiteth the graven image that the maker thereof hath graven it; the molten image, and a teacher of lies, that the maker of his work trusteth therein, to make dumb idols?

19     Woe unto him that saith to the wood, Awake; to the dumb stone, Arise, it shall teach! Behold, it is laid over with gold and silver, and there is no breath at all in the midst of it.

20     But the Lord is in his holy temple: let all the earth keep silence before him.

6. Matthew 14 : 14

14     And Jesus went forth, and saw a great multitude, and was moved with compassion toward them, and he healed their sick.

7. John 6 : 1, 2, 5, 8-12, 16-21, 24-27

1     After these things Jesus went over the sea of Galilee, which is the sea of Tiberias.

2     And a great multitude followed him, because they saw his miracles which he did on them that were diseased.

5     When Jesus then lifted up his eyes, and saw a great company come unto him, he saith unto Philip, Whence shall we buy bread, that these may eat?

8     One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, saith unto him,

9     There is a lad here, which hath five barley loaves, and two small fishes: but what are they among so many?

10     And Jesus said, Make the men sit down. Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand.

11     And Jesus took the loaves; and when he had given thanks, he distributed to the disciples, and the disciples to them that were set down; and likewise of the fishes as much as they would.

12     When they were filled, he said unto his disciples, Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost.

16     And when even was now come, his disciples went down unto the sea,

17     And entered into a ship, and went over the sea toward Capernaum. And it was now dark, and Jesus was not come to them.

18     And the sea arose by reason of a great wind that blew.

19     So when they had rowed about five and twenty or thirty furlongs, they see Jesus walking on the sea, and drawing nigh unto the ship: and they were afraid.

20     But he saith unto them, It is I; be not afraid.

21     Then they willingly received him into the ship: and immediately the ship was at the land whither they went.

24     When the people therefore saw that Jesus was not there, neither his disciples, they also took shipping, and came to Capernaum, seeking for Jesus.

25     And when they had found him on the other side of the sea, they said unto him, Rabbi, when camest thou hither?

26     Jesus answered them and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Ye seek me, not because ye saw the miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves, and were filled.

27     Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed.

8. Matthew 6 : 19, 20, 24 (Ye), 25 (to .), 32 (for your), 33

19     Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:

20     But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:

24     Ye cannot serve God and mammon.

25     Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on.

32     …for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.

33     But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.



Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures


1. 468 : 9 (There)-11

There is no life, truth, intelligence, nor substance in matter. All is infinite Mind and its infinite manifestation, for God is All-in-all.

2. 295 : 5-11

God creates and governs the universe, including man. The universe is filled with spiritual ideas, which He evolves, and they are obedient to the Mind that makes them. Mortal mind would trans-

form the spiritual into the material, and then recover man's original self in order to escape from the mortality of this error.

3. 335 : 7 (Spirit)-12

Spirit, God, has created all in and of Himself. Spirit never created matter. There is nothing in Spirit out of which matter could be made, for, as the Bible declares, without the Logos, the Æon or Word of God, "was not anything made that was made."

4. 134 : 21-8

The true Logos is demonstrably Christian Science, the natural law of harmony which overcomes discord, — not because this Science is supernatural or preternatural, nor because it is an infraction of divine law, but because it is the immutable law of God, good. Jesus said: "I knew that Thou hearest me always;" and he raised Lazarus from the dead, stilled the tempest, healed the sick, walked on the water. There is divine authority for believing in the superiority of spiritual power over material resistance.

A miracle fulfils God's law, but does not violate that law. This fact at present seems more mysterious than the miracle itself. The Psalmist sang: "What ailed thee, O thou sea, that thou fleddest? Thou Jordan, that thou wast driven back? Ye mountains, that ye skipped like rams, and ye little hills, like lambs? Tremble, thou earth, at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the God of Jacob." The miracle introduces no disorder, but unfolds the primal order, establishing the Science of God's unchangeable law.

5. 127 : 23-2 (to 1st .)

There is no physical science, inasmuch as all truth proceeds from the divine Mind. Therefore truth is not human, and is not a law of matter, for matter is not a lawgiver. Science is an emanation of divine Mind, and is alone able to interpret God aright. It has a spiritual, and not a material origin. It is a divine utterance, — the Comforter which leadeth into all truth.

Christian Science eschews what is called natural science, in so far as this is built on the false hypotheses that matter is its own lawgiver, that law is founded on material conditions, and that these are final and overrule the might of divine Mind.

6. 162 : 12-22

Experiments have favored the fact that Mind governs the body, not in one instance, but in every instance. The indestructible faculties of Spirit exist without the conditions of matter and also without the false beliefs of a so-called material existence. Working out the rules of Science in practice, the author has restored health in cases of both acute and chronic disease in their severest forms. Secretions have been changed, the structure has been renewed, shortened limbs have been elongated, ankylosed joints have been made supple, and carious bones have been restored to healthy conditions. 

7. 273 : 1-4, 7-18, 21-28

Matter and its claims of sin, sickness, and death are contrary to God, and cannot emanate from Him. There is no material truth. The physical senses can take no cognizance of God and spiritual Truth. …Deductions from material hypotheses are not scientific. They differ from real Science because they are not based on the divine law.

Divine Science reverses the false testimony of the material senses, and thus tears away the foundations of error. Hence the enmity between Science and the senses, and the impossibility of attaining perfect understanding till the errors of sense are eliminated.

The so-called laws of matter and of medical science have never made mortals whole, harmonious, and immortal. Man is harmonious when governed by Soul.

God never ordained a material law to annul the spiritual law. If there were such a material law, it would oppose the supremacy of Spirit, God, and impugn the wisdom 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 the demonstration of Science, overcoming the false claims of material sense or law.

8. 485 : 2-7

Material sense is an absurd phrase, for matter has no sensation. Science declares that Mind, not matter, sees, hears, feels, speaks. Whatever contradicts this statement is the false sense, which ever betrays mortals into sickness, sin, and death.

9. 479 : 8 only, 10-15

Matter is neither self-existent nor a product of Spirit. …Matter cannot see, feel, hear, taste, nor smell. It is not self-cognizant, — cannot feel itself, see itself, nor understand itself. Take away so-called mortal mind, which constitutes matter's supposed selfhood, and matter can take no cognizance of matter.

10. 205 : 7-13

When will the error of believing that there is life in matter, and that sin, sickness, and death are creations of God, be unmasked? When will it be understood that matter has neither intelligence, life, nor sensation, and that the opposite belief is the prolific source of all suffering? God created all through Mind, and made all perfect and eternal.

11. 492 : 13-21 (to 2nd .), 25-28

New thoughts are constantly obtaining the floor. These two contradictory theories — that matter is something, or that all is Mind — will dispute the ground, until one is acknowledged to be the victor. Discussing his campaign, General Grant said: "I propose to fight it out on this line, if it takes all summer." Science says: All is Mind and Mind's idea. You must fight it out on this line. Matter can afford you no aid. 

God is Mind, and God is infinite; hence all is Mind. On this statement rests the Science of being, and the Principle of this Science is divine, demonstrating harmony and immortality.

12. 390 : 32-6

Rise in the conscious strength of the spirit of Truth to overthrow the plea of mortal mind, alias matter, arrayed against the supremacy of Spirit. Blot out the images of mortal thought and its beliefs in sickness and sin. Then, when thou art delivered to the judgment of Truth, Christ, the judge will say, "Thou art whole!"


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