First Church of Christ, Scientist, La Cañada Flintridge

Wednesday Meeting Readings

w191225
The joy that cannot be taken from you
Wednesday, December 25, 2019
w191225The Bible
  1. I Chron. 16:1 (to :), 7-9, 10-12 let, 14 his, 23, 24, 29 (to 1st :), 30, 31, 32-34 2nd let, 36

    1So they brought the ark of God, and set it in the midst of the tent that David had pitched for it:

    7Then on that day David delivered first this psalm to thank the Lord into the hand of Asaph and his brethren.

    8Give thanks unto the Lord, call upon his name, make known his deeds among the people.

    9Sing unto him, sing psalms unto him, talk ye of all his wondrous works.

    10 ... let the heart of them rejoice that seek the Lord.

    11Seek the Lord and his strength, seek his face continually.

    12Remember his marvellous works that he hath done, his wonders, and the judgments of his mouth;

    14 ... his judgments are in all the earth.

    ... 23Sing unto the Lord, all the earth; shew forth from day to day his salvation.

    24Declare his glory among the heathen; his marvellous works among all nations.

    ... 29Give unto the Lord the glory due unto his name:

    ... 30Fear before him, all the earth: the world also shall be stable, that it be not moved.

    31Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice: and let men say among the nations, The Lord reigneth.

    32 ... let the fields rejoice, and all that is therein.

    33Then shall the trees of the wood sing out at the presence of the Lord, because he cometh to judge the earth.

    34O give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever.

    ... 36Blessed be the Lord God of Israel for ever and ever. And all the people said, Amen, and praised the Lord.

  2. Ps. 96:8 (to :), 11-13 (to 1st :)

    8Give unto the Lord the glory due unto his name:

    ... 11Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad; let the sea roar, and the fulness thereof.

    12Let the field be joyful, and all that is therein: then shall all the trees of the wood rejoice

    13Before the Lord:

  3. Luke 2:8-11, 13, 14

    8And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.

    9And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.

    10And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.

    11For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

    ... 13And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,

    14Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

  4. Luke 10:1-3, 8 into, 9, 17-21 (to :)

    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.

    8 ... 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.

    17And the seventy returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name.

    18And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven.

    19Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.

    20Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven.

    21In that hour Jesus rejoiced in spirit, and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes:

  5. Acts 8:5-8, 26, 27-29 3rd and, 35, 36, 38, 39

    5Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria, and preached Christ unto them.

    6And the people with one accord gave heed unto those things which Philip spake, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did.

    7For unclean spirits, crying with loud voice, came out of many that were possessed with them: and many taken with palsies, and that were lame, were healed.

    8And there was great joy in that city.

    ... 26And the angel of the Lord spake unto Philip, saying, Arise, and go toward the south unto the way that goeth down from Jerusalem unto Gaza, which is desert.

    27 ... and, behold, a man of Ethiopia, an eunuch of great authority under Candace queen of the Ethiopians, who had the charge of all her treasure, and had come to Jerusalem for to worship,

    28Was returning, and sitting in his chariot read Esaias the prophet.

    29Then the Spirit said unto Philip, Go near, and join thyself to this chariot.

    ... 35Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus.

    36And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized?

    ... 38And he commanded the chariot to stand still: and they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him.

    39And when they were come up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip, that the eunuch saw him no more: and he went on his way rejoicing.

  6. Phil. 4:4, 6 in, 7, 13, 19 my, 20 (to 1st .)

    4Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice.

    6 ... in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.

    7And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

    ... 13I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.

    19 ... my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

    20Now unto God and our Father be glory for ever and ever.

  7. Ps. 97:1 (to 2nd ;)

    1The Lord reigneth; let the earth rejoice;


Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures
by Mary Baker Eddy

  1. SH 15:25-26

        Christians rejoice in secret beauty and bounty, hidden from the world, but known to God.

  2. SH 304:16-19, 20

        Harmony is produced by its Principle, is controlled by it and abides with it. Divine Principle is the Life 18Harmony natural of man. Man’s happiness is not, therefore, at the disposal of physical sense. ... Harmony in man is as beautiful 21as in music, and discord is unnatural, unreal.

  3. SH 260:31

        If we look to the body for pleasure, we find pain; for Life, we find death; for Truth, we find error; for Spirit, 261 261:1we find its opposite, matter. Now reverse this action. Thoughts are thingsLook away from the body into Truth and Love, 3the Principle of all happiness, harmony, and immortality. Hold thought steadfastly to the endur -ing, the good, and the true, and you will bring these 6into your experience proportionably to their occupancy of your thoughts.

  4. SH 232:3-7

    3    Many theories relative to God and man neither make man harmonious nor God lovable. The beliefs we com-Denials of divine powermonly entertain about happiness and life 6afford no scatheless and permanent evidence of either.

  5. SH 265:23-24, 28-5

        Who that has felt the loss of human peace has not gained 24stronger desires for spiritual joy? ... The pains of sense quickly inform us that the pleasures of sense are mortal and that joy is 30spiritual.

        The pains of sense are salutary, if they wrench away false pleasurable beliefs and transplant the affections 266 266:1from sense to Soul, where the creations of God are good, Decapitation of error“rejoicing the heart.” Such is the sword of 3Science, with which Truth decapitates error, materiality giving place to man’s higher individuality and destiny.

  6. SH 171:31

        The fundamental error lies in the supposition that man is a material outgrowth and that the cognizance of good 172 172:1or evil, which he has through the bodily senses, con-stitutes his happiness or misery.

  7. SH 376:17-27

        If the body is material, it cannot, for that very reason, 18suffer with a fever. Because the so-called material body Remedy for feveris a mental concept and governed by mortal mind, it manifests only what that so-called 21mind expresses. Therefore the efficient remedy is to destroy the patient’s false belief by both silently and au-dibly arguing the true facts in regard to harmonious 24being, — representing man as healthy instead of diseased, and showing that it is impossible for matter to suffer, to feel pain or heat, to be thirsty or sick. Destroy fear, 27and you end fever.

  8. SH 377:1

    377:1    If your patient believes in taking cold, mentally con-vince him that matter cannot take cold, and that thought 3governs this liability. If grief causes suffering, convince the sufferer that affliction is often the source of joy, and that he should rejoice always in ever-present Love.

  9. SH 14:12-18

    12    Become conscious for a single moment that Life and intelligence are purely spiritual, — neither in nor of Spiritualized consciousnessmatter, — and the body will then utter no 15complaints. If suffering from a belief in sickness, you will find yourself suddenly well. Sorrow is turned into joy when the body is controlled by spir-18itual Life, Truth, and Love.

  10. SH 21:6-14

    6Christians do not continue to labor and pray, expecting because of another’s goodness, suffering, and triumph, that they shall reach his harmony and reward.

    9    If the disciple is advancing spiritually, he is striv-ing to enter in. He constantly turns away from ma-terial sense, and looks towards the imperishable things 12of Spirit. If honest, he will be in earnest from the start, and gain a little each day in the right direction, till at last he finishes his course with joy.

  11. SH 245:32-8

        The infinite never began nor will it ever end. Mind 246 246:1 and its formations can never be annihilated. Man is not a pendulum, swinging between evil and good, joy and 3Man reflects Godsorrow, sickness and health, life and death. Life and its faculties are not measured by calendars. The perfect and immortal are the eternal 6likeness of their Maker. Man is by no means a material germ rising from the imperfect and endeavoring to reach Spirit above his origin.

  12. SH 298:13-20, 22

        Spiritual sense, contradicting the material senses, in-volves intuition, hope, faith, understanding, fruition, real-15ity. Material sense expresses the belief that mind is in matter. This human belief, alternating between a sense of pleasure and pain, hope and fear, life and death, never 18reaches beyond the boundary of the mortal or the unreal. When the real is attained, which is announced by Science, joy is no longer a trembler, nor is hope a cheat. ... Spiritual ideas lead up to their divine origin, God, and to the spiritual sense 24of being.

  13. SH 262:17

        Job said: “I have heard of Thee by the hearing of the 18ear: but now mine eye seeth Thee.” Mortals will echo The true senseJob’s thought, when the supposed pain and pleasure of matter cease to predominate. They 21will then drop the false estimate of life and happiness, of joy and sorrow, and attain the bliss of loving unselfishly, working patiently, and conquering all that is unlike God. 24Starting from a higher standpoint, one rises spontane-ously, even as light emits light without effort; for “where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”

  14. SH 548:9-13

    9    How little light or heat reach our earth when clouds cover the sun’s face! So Christian Science can be seen The clouds dissolvingonly as the clouds of corporeal sense roll away. 12Earth has little light or joy for mortals before Life is spiritually learned.

  15. SH 125:12-16

    12    As human thought changes from one stage to an-other of conscious pain and painlessness, sorrow and joy, — from fear to hope and from faith to understand-15ing, — the visible manifestation will at last be man gov-erned by Soul, not by material sense.

  16. SH 514:6

    Mind, joyous in strength, dwells in the realm of Mind. Mind’s infinite ideas run and dis -port themselves. In humility they climb the heights of 9holiness.

  17. SH 76:22-26

        The sinless joy, — the perfect harmony and immortality of Life, possessing unlimited divine beauty and goodness 24Immaterial pleasurewithout a single bodily pleasure or pain, — constitutes the only veritable, indestructible man, whose being is spiritual.

  18. SH 249:1, 8-9

    249:1    Let us accept Science, relinquish all theories based on sense-testimony, give up imperfect models and illusive 3ideals; and so let us have one God, one Mind, and that one perfect, producing His own models of excellence.

    6Let us re-9joice that we are subject to the divine “powers that be.”


From the Christian Science Hymnal:
Hymn 123: “How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord”
Hymn 263: “Only God can bring us gladness, Only God can give us peace”
Hymn 417: “Joy to the world”