First Church of Christ, Scientist, La Cañada Flintridge
Wednesday Meeting Readings
- Ps. 55:22
22Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.
- I Sam. 1:8-17
8Then said Elkanah her husband to her, Hannah, why weepest thou? and why eatest thou not? and why is thy heart grieved? am not I better to thee than ten sons?
9¶ So Hannah rose up after they had eaten in Shiloh, and after they had drunk. Now Eli the priest sat upon a seat by a post of the temple of the Lord.
10And she was in bitterness of soul, and prayed unto the Lord, and wept sore.
11And she vowed a vow, and said, O Lord of hosts, if thou wilt indeed look on the affliction of thine handmaid, and remember me, and not forget thine handmaid, but wilt give unto thine handmaid a man child, then I will give him unto the Lord all the days of his life, and there shall no razor come upon his head.
12And it came to pass, as she continued praying before the Lord, that Eli marked her mouth.
13Now Hannah, she spake in her heart; only her lips moved, but her voice was not heard: therefore Eli thought she had been drunken.
14And Eli said unto her, How long wilt thou be drunken? put away thy wine from thee.
15And Hannah answered and said, No, my lord, I am a woman of a sorrowful spirit: I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but have poured out my soul before the Lord.
16Count not thine handmaid for a daughter of Belial: for out of the abundance of my complaint and grief have I spoken hitherto.
17Then Eli answered and said, Go in peace: and the God of Israel grant thee thy petition that thou hast asked of him.
- Ex. 3:1-3, 7, 8 (to ;), 10, 11, 12 (to ;)
1Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro his father in law, the priest of Midian: and he led the flock to the backside of the desert, and came to the mountain of God, even to Horeb.
2And the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed.
3And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt.
7¶ And the Lord said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows;
8And I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey;
... 10Come now therefore, and I will send thee unto Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring forth my people the children of Israel out of Egypt.
11¶ And Moses said unto God, Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt?
12And he said, Certainly I will be with thee;
- Ex. 4:1, 10, 11, 12
1And Moses answered and said, But, behold, they will not believe me, nor hearken unto my voice: for they will say, The Lord hath not appeared unto thee.
10¶ And Moses said unto the Lord, O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither heretofore, nor since thou hast spoken unto thy servant: but I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue.
11And the Lord said unto him, Who hath made man’s mouth? or who maketh the dumb, or deaf, or the seeing, or the blind? have not I the Lord?
... 12Now therefore go, and I will be with thy mouth, and teach thee what thou shalt say.
- Gen. 50:15-21
15¶ And when Joseph’s brethren saw that their father was dead, they said, Joseph will peradventure hate us, and will certainly requite us all the evil which we did unto him.
16And they sent a messenger unto Joseph, saying, Thy father did command before he died, saying,
17So shall ye say unto Joseph, Forgive, I pray thee now, the trespass of thy brethren, and their sin; for they did unto thee evil: and now, we pray thee, forgive the trespass of the servants of the God of thy father. And Joseph wept when they spake unto him.
18And his brethren also went and fell down before his face; and they said, Behold, we be thy servants.
19And Joseph said unto them, Fear not: for am I in the place of God?
20But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive.
21Now therefore fear ye not: I will nourish you, and your little ones. And he comforted them, and spake kindly unto them.
- Luke 12:32
32Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.
- Luke 15:11, 13, 17-20, 22, 24 (to 1st .), 25, 26, 29, 31
11¶ And he said, A certain man had two sons:
... 13And not many days after the younger son gathered all together, and took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance with riotous living.
... 17And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father’s have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger!
18I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee,
19And am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants.
20And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him.
... 22But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet:
... 24For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.
... 25Now his elder son was in the field: and as he came and drew nigh to the house, he heard music and dancing.
26And he called one of the servants, and asked what these things meant.
... 29And he answering said to his father, Lo, these many years do I serve thee, neither transgressed I at any time thy commandment: and yet thou never gavest me a kid, that I might make merry with my friends:
... 31And he said unto him, Son, thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine.
- Rom. 8:1, 2, 5-9 (to .), 15, 16, 28, 31
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.
... 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.
... 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:
... 28And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
... 31What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?
- Luke 16:13
13¶ No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
- Luke 10:1-11
1After these things the Lord appointed other seventy also, and sent them two and two before his face into every city and place, whither he himself would come.
2Therefore said he unto them, The harvest truly is great, but the labourers are few: pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth labourers into his harvest.
3Go your ways: behold, I send you forth as lambs among wolves.
4Carry neither purse, nor scrip, nor shoes: and salute no man by the way.
5And into whatsoever house ye enter, first say, Peace be to this house.
6And if the son of peace be there, your peace shall rest upon it: if not, it shall turn to you again.
7And in the same house remain, eating and drinking such things as they give: for the labourer is worthy of his hire. Go not from house to house.
8And into whatsoever city ye enter, and they receive you, eat such things as are set before you:
9And heal the sick that are therein, and say unto them, The kingdom of God is come nigh unto you.
10But into whatsoever city ye enter, and they receive you not, go your ways out into the streets of the same, and say,
11Even the very dust of your city, which cleaveth on us, we do wipe off against you: notwithstanding be ye sure of this, that the kingdom of God is come nigh unto you.
- Luke 17:7, 9
7But which of you, having a servant plowing or feeding cattle, will say unto him by and by, when he is come from the field, Go and sit down to meat?
... 9Doth he thank that servant because he did the things that were commanded him? I trow not.
- Matt. 11:28-30
28¶ Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
29Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
30For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
- Phil. 2:13-15
13For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.
14Do all things without murmurings and disputings:
15That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world;
- Hab 2:1
1I will stand upon my watch, and set me upon the tower, and will watch to see what he will say unto me, and what I shall answer when I am reproved.
- Phil 1:6
6Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:
Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures
by Mary Baker Eddy
- SH 525:17-24
In the Gospel of John, it is declared that all things were 18made through the Word of God, “and without Him [the No baneful creationlogos, or word] was not anything made that was made.” Everything good or worthy, God 21made. Whatever is valueless or baneful, He did not make, — hence its unreality. In the Science of Genesis we read that He saw everything which He had made, 24“and, behold, it was very good.”
- SH 17:4
- SH 454:18
Love inspires, illumines, designates, and leads the way. Right motives give pinions to thought, and strength and freedom to 21speech 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. 24Patience must “have her perfect work.”
- SH 28:22
Remember, thou Christian martyr, it is enough if thou art found worthy to unloose the sandals of thy 24Persecution prolongedMaster’s feet! To suppose that persecution for righteousness’ sake belongs to the past, and that Christianity to-day is at peace with the world 27because it is honored by sects and societies, is to mis-take the very nature of religion. Error repeats itself. The trials encountered by prophet, disciple, and apostle, 30“of whom the world was not worthy,” await, in some form, every pioneer of truth.
- SH 122:1-7
122:1 The evidence of the physical senses often reverses the real Science of being, and so creates a reign of discord, — 3Opposing testimonyassigning seeming power to sin, sickness, and death; but the great facts of Life, rightly un-derstood, defeat this triad of errors, contradict their false 6witnesses, and reveal the kingdom of heaven, — the actual reign of harmony on earth.
- SH 442:22
Christ, Truth, gives mortals temporary food and clothing until the ma-24terial, transformed with the ideal, disappears, and man is clothed and fed spiritually. St. Paul says, “Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling:” Jesus 27said, “Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” This truth is Christian Science.
- SH 3:17-2
How empty are our conceptions of Deity! We admit 18theoretically that God is good, omnipotent, omni-Prayerful ingratitudepresent, infinite, and then we try to give information to this infinite Mind. We plead 21for unmerited pardon and for a liberal outpouring of benefactions. Are we really grateful for the good already received? Then we shall avail ourselves of the 24blessings we have, and thus be fitted to receive more. Gratitude is much more than a verbal expression of thanks. Action expresses more gratitude than speech.
27 If we are ungrateful for Life, Truth, and Love, and yet return thanks to God for all blessings, we are in-sincere and incur the sharp censure our Master pro-30nounces on hypocrites. In such a case, the only acceptable prayer is to put the finger on the lips and remember our blessings. While the heart is far from 4 4:1divine Truth and Love, we cannot conceal the ingrati-tude of barren lives.
- SH 4:3-5
- SH 128:11
The human 12mind, imbued with this spiritual understanding, becomes more elastic, is capable of greater endurance, escapes somewhat from itself, and requires less repose. A knowl-15edge of the Science of being develops the latent abilities and possibilities of man. It extends the atmosphere of thought, giving mortals access to broader and higher 18realms. It raises the thinker into his native air of insight and perspicacity.
- SH 206:10-18
Will-power is capable of all evil. It can never heal the sick, for it is the prayer of the unrighteous; while 12the exercise of the sentiments — hope, faith, love — is the prayer of the righteous. This prayer, governed by Science instead of the senses, heals the sick.
15 In the scientific relation of God to man, we find that whatever blesses one blesses all, as Jesus showed with the loaves and the fishes, — Spirit, not matter, being the 18source of supply.
- SH 393:16-18
- SH 89:18
18 Mind is not necessarily dependent upon educational processes. It possesses of itself all beauty and poetry, Scientific improvisationand the power of expressing them. Spirit, 21God, is heard when the senses are silent. We are all capable of more than we do. The influence or action of Soul confers a freedom, which explains the phe-24nomena of improvisation and the fervor of untutored lips.
- SH 462:9
9 If the student goes away to practise Truth’s teach-ings only in part, dividing his interests between God and Divided loyaltymammon and substituting his own views for 12Truth, he will inevitably reap the error he sows. Whoever would demonstrate the healing of Christian Science must abide strictly by its rules, heed every state-15ment, and advance from the rudiments laid down. There is nothing difficult nor toilsome in this task, when the way is pointed out; but self-denial, sincerity, Christianity, and 18persistence alone win the prize, as they usually do in every department of life.
- SH 323:6
6 Through the wholesome chastisements of Love, we are helped onward in the march towards righteousness, A bright outlookpeace, and purity, which are the landmarks 9of Science. Beholding the infinite tasks of truth, we pause, — wait on God. Then we push onward, until boundless thought walks enraptured, and concep-12tion unconfined is winged to reach the divine glory.
From the Christian Science Hymnal
Hymn 63: “Only God can give us gladness”
Hymn 437: “All my hope in God is founded”
Hymn 75: “God comes with succor speedy”
