First Church of Christ, Scientist, La Cañada Flintridge, California

Wednesday Meeting Readings

w231115DT
Peace is possible
Wednesday, November 15, 2023
The Bible
  1. Gen. 13:1 Abram, 3 (to 1st ,), 4-7 (to :), 8, 9, 11, 14, 15, 17

    Abram went up out of Egypt, he, and his wife, and all that he had, and Lot with him, into the south.

    ... 3And he went on his journeys from the south even to Beth–el,

    ... 4Unto the place of the altar, which he had made there at the first: and there Abram called on the name of the Lord.

    5And Lot also, which went with Abram, had flocks, and herds, and tents.

    6And the land was not able to bear them, that they might dwell together: for their substance was great, so that they could not dwell together.

    7And there was a strife between the herdmen of Abram’s cattle and the herdmen of Lot’s cattle:

    8And Abram said unto Lot, Let there be no strife, I pray thee, between me and thee, and between my herdmen and thy herdmen; for we be brethren.

    9Is not the whole land before thee? separate thyself, I pray thee, from me: if thou wilt take the left hand, then I will go to the right; or if thou depart to the right hand, then I will go to the left.

    ... 11Then Lot chose him all the plain of Jordan; and Lot journeyed east: and they separated themselves the one from the other.

    14And the Lord said unto Abram, after that Lot was separated from him, Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward:

    15For all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever.

    ... 17Arise, walk through the land in the length of it and in the breadth of it; for I will give it unto thee.

  2. Lev. 19:17 (to :), 18

    17Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thine heart:

    18Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the Lord.

  3. Jer. 29:7-9 seek, 11-13

    seek the peace of the city whither I have caused you to be carried away captives, and pray unto the Lord for it: for in the peace thereof shall ye have peace.

    8For thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; Let not your prophets and your diviners, that be in the midst of you, deceive you, neither hearken to your dreams which ye cause to be dreamed.

    9For they prophesy falsely unto you in my name: I have not sent them, saith the Lord.

    11For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.

    12Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you.

    13And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.

  4. Ps. 4:1, 3-6 know, 8

    1Hear me when I call, O God of my righteousness: thou hast enlarged me when I was in distress; have mercy upon me, and hear my prayer.

    ... know that the Lord hath set apart him that is godly for himself: the Lord will hear when I call unto him.

    4Stand in awe, and sin not: commune with your own heart upon your bed, and be still. Selah.

    5Offer the sacrifices of righteousness, and put your trust in the Lord.

    6There be many that say, Who will shew us any good? Lord, lift thou up the light of thy countenance upon us.

    ... 8I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for thou, Lord, only makest me dwell in safety.

  5. I Thess. 1:1-4

    1Paul, and Silvanus, and Timotheus, unto the church of the Thessalonians which is in God the Father and in the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ.

    2We give thanks to God always for you all, making mention of you in our prayers;

    3Remembering without ceasing your work of faith, and labour of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, in the sight of God and our Father;

    4Knowing, brethren beloved, your election of God.

  6. I Thess. 5:1-24 of, 28

    of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you.

    2For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.

    3For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.

    4But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.

    5Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness.

    6Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober.

    7For they that sleep sleep in the night; and they that be drunken are drunken in the night.

    8But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation.

    9For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ,

    10Who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him.

    11Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do.

    12And we beseech you, brethren, to know them which labour among you, and are over you in the Lord, and admonish you;

    13And to esteem them very highly in love for their work’s sake. And be at peace among yourselves.

    14Now we exhort you, brethren, warn them that are unruly, comfort the feebleminded, support the weak, be patient toward all men.

    15See that none render evil for evil unto any man; but ever follow that which is good, both among yourselves, and to all men.

    16Rejoice evermore.

    17Pray without ceasing.

    18In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.

    19Quench not the Spirit.

    20Despise not prophesyings.

    21Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.

    22Abstain from all appearance of evil.

    23And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

    24Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it.

    ... 28The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen.


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

  1. SH 139:4

        From beginning to end, the Scriptures are full of accounts of the triumph of Spirit, Mind, over matter. 6Marvels and reformationsMoses proved the power of Mind by what men called miracles; so did Joshua, Elijah, and Elisha. The Christian era was ushered in with signs and 9wonders. Reforms have commonly been attended with bloodshed and persecution, even when the end has been brightness and peace; but the present new, yet old, re-12form in religious faith will teach men patiently and wisely to stem the tide of sectarian bitterness, whenever it flows inward.

  2. SH 226:14, 29-15

        God has built a higher platform of human rights, and 15He has built it on diviner claims. These claims are not Cramping systemsmade through code or creed, but in demonstra-tion of “on earth peace, good-will toward men.” 18Human codes, scholastic theology, material medicine and hygiene, fetter faith and spiritual understanding. Divine Science rends asunder these fetters, and man’s birthright 21of sole allegiance to his Maker asserts itself.

    I saw be -30fore me the awful conflict, the Red Sea and the wilder-ness; but I pressed on through faith in God, trusting Truth, the strong deliverer, to guide me into the land 227 227:1of Christian Science, where fetters fall and the rights of man are fully known and acknowledged.

    3    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.

  3. SH 227:16-19

    God made man free. Paul said, “I was free born.” All men should 18be free. “Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is lib-erty.”

  4. SH 55:16-21

    My weary hope tries to realize that happy day, when man shall 18recognize the Science of Christ and love his neighbor as himself, — when he shall realize God’s omnipotence and the healing power of the divine Love in what it has done 21and is doing for mankind.

  5. SH 19:2-3

    Love and 3Truth are not at war with God’s image and likeness.

  6. SH 276:4-28

    When the divine precepts are understood, they unfold the foundation of fellowship, 6in which one mind is not at war with another, but all have one Spirit, God, one intelligent source, in accordance with the Scriptural command: “Let this Mind be in you, 9which was also in Christ Jesus.” Man and his Maker are correlated in divine Science, and real consciousness is cognizant only of the things of God.

    12    The realization that all inharmony is unreal brings objects and thoughts into human view in their true light, and presents them as beautiful and immortal. Harmony 15in man is as real and immortal as in music. Discord is unreal and mortal.

        If God is admitted to be the only Mind and Life, 18there ceases to be any opportunity for sin and death. Perfection requisiteWhen we learn in Science how to be perfect even as our Father in heaven is perfect, 21thought is turned into new and healthy channels, — towards the contemplation of things immortal and away from materiality to the Principle of the universe, includ-24ing harmonious man.

        Material beliefs and spiritual understanding never mingle. The latter destroys the former. Discord is the 27nothingness named error. Harmony is the somethingness named Truth.

  7. SH 467:3-13 The

    The first demand of this Science is, “Thou shalt have no other gods before me.” This me is Spirit. Two chief commandsTherefore the command means this: Thou shalt 6have no intelligence, no life, no substance, no truth, no love, but that which is spiritual. The second is like unto it, “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.” 9It should be thoroughly understood that all men have one Mind, one God and Father, one Life, Truth, and Love. Mankind will become perfect in proportion as this fact 12becomes apparent, war will cease and the true brother-hood of man will be established.

  8. SH 566:25-13

    Revelation xii. 7, 8. And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the 27dragon fought, and his angels, and prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven.

        The Old Testament assigns to the angels, God’s divine 30Angelic officesmessages, different offices. Michael’s charac-teristic is spiritual strength. He leads the hosts of heaven against the power of sin, Satan, and 567 567:1fights the holy wars. Gabriel has the more quiet task of imparting a sense of the ever-presence of ministering 3Love. These angels deliver us from the depths. Truth and Love come nearer in the hour of woe, when strong faith or spiritual strength wrestles and prevails through 6the understanding of God. The Gabriel of His presence has no contests. To infinite, ever-present Love, all is Love, and there is no error, no sin, sickness, nor death. 9Against Love, the dragon warreth not long, for he is killed by the divine Principle. Truth and Love prevail against the dragon because the dragon cannot war with 12them. Thus endeth the conflict between the flesh and Spirit.

  9. SH 340:23

    One infinite God, good, unifies men and nations; con-24stitutes the brotherhood of man; ends wars; fulfils the Scripture, “Love thy neighbor as thyself;” annihilates pagan and Christian idolatry, — whatever is wrong in 27social, civil, criminal, political, and religious codes; equalizes the sexes; annuls the curse on man, and leaves nothing that can sin, suffer, be punished or destroyed.

From the Christian Science Hymnal
Hymn 150: “...courage that rises undaunted by strife”
Hymn 594: “We're steadfastly protected by Your power ”
Hymn 521: “Let there be peace on earth”