First Church of Christ, Scientist, La Cañada Flintridge, California
Wednesday Meeting Readings
- Isa. 61:6 men (to 2nd :)
men shall call you the Ministers of our God:
- II Cor. 4:5 we, 6
we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus’ sake.
6For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
- Luke 4:14 Jesus, 15, 17-21
Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee: and there went out a fame of him through all the region round about.
15And he taught in their synagogues, being glorified of all.
17And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written,
18The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,
19To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.
20And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him.
21And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.
- Luke 9:1, 2
1Then he called his twelve disciples together, and gave them power and authority over all devils, and to cure diseases.
2And he sent them to preach the kingdom of God, and to heal the sick.
- Matt. 10:5-7, 20, 27
5These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not.
6But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
7And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand.
20For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you.
... 27What I tell you in darkness, that speak ye in light: and what ye hear in the ear, that preach ye upon the housetops.
- Matt. 20:26 whosoever
whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister;
- John 8:12-14 I, 23 Ye, 26-32
I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.
13The Pharisees therefore said unto him, Thou bearest record of thyself; thy record is not true.
14Jesus answered and said unto them, Though I bear record of myself, yet my record is true: for I know whence I came, and whither I go; but ye cannot tell whence I come, and whither I go.
... Ye are from beneath; I am from above: ye are of this world; I am not of this world.
... 26I have many things to say and to judge of you: but he that sent me is true; and I speak to the world those things which I have heard of him.
27They understood not that he spake to them of the Father.
28Then said Jesus unto them, When ye have lifted up the Son of man, then shall ye know that I am he, and that I do nothing of myself; but as my Father hath taught me, I speak these things.
29And he that sent me is with me: the Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please him.
30As he spake these words, many believed on him.
31Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;
32And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
- Eph. 3:7 I, 8 that, 14-19
I was made a minister, according to the gift of the grace of God given unto me by the effectual working of his power.
... that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ;
... 14For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
15Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named,
16That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man;
17That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love,
18May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height;
19And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.
- Rom. 10:8 The, 13-15 whosoever (to ?), 17, 18
The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach;
... whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
14How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?
15And how shall they preach, except they be sent?
... 17So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
18But I say, Have they not heard? Yes verily, their sound went into all the earth, and their words unto the ends of the world.
- I Pet. 4:10
10As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.
- SH 345:7
- SH 342:7, 21
He that decries this Science does it presumptuously, 9in the face of Bible history and in defiance of the direct command of Jesus, “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel,” to which command was added the promise 12that his students should cast out evils and heal the sick. He bade the seventy disciples, as well as the twelve, heal the sick in any town where they should be hospitably 15received.
Christian Science awakens the sinner, reclaims the infidel, and raises from the couch of pain the helpless Argument of good worksinvalid. It speaks to the dumb the words of 24Truth, and they answer with rejoicing. It causes the deaf to hear, the lame to walk, and the blind to see. Who would be the first to disown the Christli-27ness of good works, when our Master says, “By their fruits ye shall know them”?
- SH 30:32-1
- SH 271:31
- SH 34:13
- SH 37:29-4
“Go ye into all the world, 30and preach the gospel to every creature!” “Heal the sick!”
Why has this Christian demand so little inspiration 38 38:1to stir mankind to Christian effort? Because men are assured that this command was intended only for a par-3Jesus’ teaching belittledticular period and for a select number of fol-lowers.
- SH 344:19-31
There are various methods of treating disease, which are not included in the commonly accepted systems; but 21The one divine methodthere is only one which should be presented to the whole world, and that is the Christian Science which Jesus preached and practised and left to us 24as his rich legacy.
Why should one refuse to investigate this method of treating disease? Why support the popular systems 27of medicine, when the physician may perchance be an infidel and may lose ninety-and-nine patients, while Christian Science cures its hundred? Is it because 30allopathy and homœopathy are more fashionable and less spiritual?
- SH 55:6-26
Perhaps the early Christian era did Jesus no more injustice than the later centuries have bestowed upon the healing Christ and spiritual idea of being. Now 9that the gospel of healing is again preached by the wayside, does not the pulpit sometimes scorn it? But that curative mission, which presents the Saviour in a 12clearer light than mere words can possibly do, cannot be left out of Christianity, although it is again ruled out of the synagogue.
15 Truth’s immortal idea is sweeping down the centuries, gathering beneath its wings the sick and sinning. 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. The promises will be ful-filled. The time for the reappearing of the divine healing is throughout all time; and whosoever layeth his earthly 24all on the altar of divine Science, drinketh of Christ’s cup now, and is endued with the spirit and power of Christian healing.
- SH 657:12-15 (np)SEVERE EYE TROUBLE OVERCOME
After hearing Christian Science lightly spoken of, from a Christian pulpit, I decided to go to one of the services and hear for myself. From infancy I had been devoted to my church, and as soon as I was old enough I was ever active in the work. Feeling it to be my duty to attend every service held in my own church, I took advantage of the Wednesday evening meetings. My first visit was not my last, I am thank-ful to say, for I saw immediately that these people not only preached Christianity, but practised and lived it. At that time I was wearing glasses and had worn them for sixteen years. At times I suffered the most intense pain, and for this phase of the trouble, one specialist after another had been consulted. All gave me very much the same advice; each one urged ex-treme carefulness and gave me glasses that seemed to relieve for a time. None of them held out any hope that my sight would ever be restored, saying that the 658 658defect had existed since infancy, and that in time I should be blind.
The thought of blindness was very distressing to me, but I tried to bear it with Christian resignation, since I thought that God had seen fit to afflict me; but since I have learned that He is a loving Father, who gives only good, I regret that I ever charged Him with my affliction. I had no treatment, but I read Science and Health, and my eyes were healed and glasses laid aside. I can never find words to express my thanks to our dear Leader, through whose teachings my sight has been re-gained. I can truthfully say that “whereas I was blind, now I see” — through an understanding of Truth I have found my sight perfect as God gave it. — Miss B. S., Wilmington, N. C.
- SH 347:14
Christ, as the spir-15itual or true idea of God, comes now as of old, preaching the gospel to the poor, heal-ing the sick, and casting out evils. Is it error which 18is restoring an essential element of Christianity, — namely, apostolic, divine healing? No; it is the Science of Christianity which is restoring it, and is the light 21shining in darkness, which the darkness comprehends not.
Hymn 131: “I am the way”
Hymn 439: “As a fire is meant for burning”
Hymn 168: “For at Thy will they preached the Word” (verse 4)