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2. Subject, Golden Text, and Responsive Reading

3. Lesson Sermon — The Bible

4. Lesson Sermon — Science and Health

5. The Daily Duties

6. About the preparation of this lesson

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Subject — Christ Jesus

GOLDEN TEXT: John 5 : 30

“I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me.” — Christ Jesus

RESPONSIVE READING: I Thessalonians 5 : 16, 17

27.     Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour: but for this cause came I unto this hour.

28.     Father, glorify thy name. Then came there a voice from heaven, saying, I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again.

29.     The people therefore, that stood by, and heard it, said that it thundered: others said, An angel spake to him.

30.     Jesus answered and said, This voice came not because of me, but for your sakes.

16.     Rejoice evermore.

17.     Pray without ceasing.

Lesson Sermon

The Bible

1. Matthew 3 : 16 (to 1st :), 17

16     And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water:

17     And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.

2. Luke 11 : 1

1     And it came to pass, that, as he was praying in a certain place, when he ceased, one of his disciples said unto him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.

3. Matthew 5 : 2

2     And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying,

4. Matthew 6 : 9-13

9     After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.

10     Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.

11     Give us this day our daily bread.

12     And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.

13     And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.

5. Mark 1 : 34 (to ;), 35, 39-42

34     And he healed many that were sick of divers diseases, and cast out many devils;

35     And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed.

39     And he preached in their synagogues throughout all Galilee, and cast out devils.

40     And there came a leper to him, beseeching him, and kneeling down to him, and saying unto him, If thou wilt, thou canst make me clean.

41     And Jesus, moved with compassion, put forth his hand, and touched him, and saith unto him, I will; be thou clean.

42     And as soon as he had spoken, immediately the leprosy departed from him, and he was cleansed.

6. Luke 6 : 12, 13, 20-23

12     And it came to pass in those days, that he went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God.

13     And when it was day, he called unto him his disciples: and of them he chose twelve, whom also he named apostles;

20     And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said, Blessed be ye poor: for yours is the kingdom of God.

21     Blessed are ye that hunger now: for ye shall be filled. Blessed are ye that weep now: for ye shall laugh.

22     Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company, and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man’s sake.

23     Rejoice ye in that day, and leap for joy: for, behold, your reward is great in heaven: for in the like manner did their fathers unto the prophets.

7. John 17 : 1-8

1     These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee:

2     As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him.

3     And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.

4     I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do.

5     And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was.

6     I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world: thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and they have kept thy word.

7     Now they have known that all things whatsoever thou hast given me are of thee.

8     For I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came out from thee, and they have believed that thou didst send me.

8. Matthew 26 : 36-44

36     Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called Gethsemane, and saith unto the disciples, Sit ye here, while I go and pray yonder.

37     And he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful and very heavy.

38     Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me.

39     And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.

40     And he cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter, What, could ye not watch with me one hour?

41     Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.

42     He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done.

43     And he came and found them asleep again: for their eyes were heavy.

44     And he left them, and went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words.

9. Psalm 31 : 1-3, 5, 14 (I trusted), 15 (to :)

1     In thee, O LORD, do I put my trust; let me never be ashamed: deliver me in thy righteousness.

2     Bow down thine ear to me; deliver me speedily: be thou my strong rock, for an house of defence to save me.

3     For thou art my rock and my fortress; therefore for thy name’s sake lead me, and guide me.

5     Into thine hand I commit my spirit: thou hast redeemed me, O LORD God of truth.

14     I trusted in thee, O LORD: I said, Thou art my God.

15     My times are in thy hand:

10. John 10 : 30

30     I and my Father are one.

11. John 14 : 10 (the Father that)

10     …the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.

12. John 8 : 29 (he) (to ;)

29     …he that sent me is with me: the Father hath not left me alone;

Science and Health

1. 2 : 4 (Are)-7

Are we benefited by praying? Yes, the desire which goes forth hungering after righteousness is blessed of our Father, and it does not return unto us void.

2. 15 : 14-24

In order to pray aright, we must enter into the closet and shut the door. We must close the lips and silence the material senses. In the quiet sanctuary of earnest longings, we must deny sin and plead God's allness. We must resolve to take up the cross, and go forth with honest hearts to work and watch for wisdom, Truth, and Love. We must "pray without ceasing." Such prayer is answered, in so far as we put our desires into practice. The Master's injunction is, that we pray in secret and let our lives attest our sincerity.

3. 16 : 7-11, 24-25, 27, 29, 31

Our Master taught his disciples one brief prayer, which we name after him the Lord's Prayer. Our Master said, "After this manner therefore pray ye," and then he gave that prayer which covers all human needs.

Here let me give what I understand to be the spiritual sense of the Lord's Prayer:

Our Father-Mother God, all-harmonious,

Adorable One.

Thy kingdom is come; Thou art ever-present.

4. 17 : 2-3, 5, 7, 10-11, 14-15

Enable us to know, — as in heaven, so on earth, — God is omnipotent, supreme.

Give us grace for to-day; feed the famished affections;

And Love is reflected in love;

And God leadeth us not into temptation, but delivereth us from sin, disease, and death.

For God is infinite, all-power, all Life, Truth, Love, over all, and All.

5. 10 : 1-4

Prayer means that we desire to walk and will walk in the light so far as we receive it, even though with bleeding footsteps, and that waiting patiently on the Lord, we will leave our real desires to be rewarded by Him.

6. 12 : 1-15

"The prayer of faith shall save the sick," says the Scripture. What is this healing prayer? A mere request that God will heal the sick has no power to gain more of the divine presence than is always at hand. The beneficial effect of such prayer for the sick is on the human mind, making

it act more powerfully on the body through a blind faith in God. This, however, is one belief casting out another, — a belief in the unknown casting out a belief in sickness. It is neither Science nor Truth which acts through blind belief, nor is it the human understanding of the divine healing Principle as manifested in Jesus, whose humble prayers were deep and conscientious protests of Truth, — of man's likeness to God and of man's unity with Truth and Love.

7. 18 : 3-12

Jesus of Nazareth taught and demonstrated man's oneness with the Father, and for this we owe him endless homage. His mission was both individual and collective. He did life's work aright not only in justice to himself, but in mercy to mortals, — to show them how to do theirs, but not to do it for them nor to relieve them of a single responsibility. Jesus acted boldly, against the accredited evidence of the senses, against Pharisaical creeds and practices, and he refuted all opponents with his healing power.

8. 180 : 25-8

When man is governed by God, the ever-present Mind who understands all things, man knows that with God all things are possible. The only way to this living Truth, which heals the sick, is found in the Science of divine Mind as taught and demonstrated by Christ Jesus.

To reduce inflammation, dissolve a tumor, or cure organic disease, I have found divine Truth more potent than all lower remedies. And why not, since Mind, God, is the source and condition of all existence? Before deciding that the body, matter, is disordered, one should ask, "Who art thou that repliest to Spirit? Can matter speak for itself, or does it hold the issues of life?" Matter, which can neither suffer nor enjoy, has no partnership with pain and pleasure, but mortal belief has such a partnership.

9. 47 : 31-9

During his night of gloom and glory in the garden, Jesus realized the utter error of a belief in any possible material intelligence. The pangs of neglect and the staves of bigoted ignorance smote him sorely. His students slept. He said unto them: "Could ye not watch with me one hour?" Could they not watch with him who, waiting and struggling in voiceless agony, held uncomplaining guard over a world? There was no response to that human yearning, and so Jesus turned forever away from earth to heaven, from sense to Soul.

10. 280 : 30-4

The only excuse for entertaining human opinions and rejecting the Science of being is our mortal ignorance of Spirit, — ignorance which yields only to the understanding of divine Science, the understanding by which we enter into the kingdom of Truth on earth and learn that Spirit is infinite and supreme.

11. 202 : 3-5

The scientific unity which exists between God and man must be wrought out in life-practice, and God's will must be universally done.

12. 368 : 14-19

When we come to have more faith in the truth of being than we have in error, more faith in Spirit than in matter, more faith in living than in dying, more faith in God than in man, then no material suppositions can prevent us from healing the sick and destroying error.

13. 497 : 13 (We)-19

We acknowledge Jesus' atonement as the evidence of divine, efficacious Love, unfolding man's unity with God through Christ Jesus the Way-shower; and we acknowledge that man is saved through Christ, through Truth, Life, and Love as demonstrated by the Galilean Prophet in healing the sick and overcoming sin and death.

The Daily Duties

by Mary Baker Eddy

Daily Prayer

It shall be the duty of every member of this Church to pray each day: "Thy kingdom come;" let the reign of divine Truth, Life, and Love be established in me, and rule out of me all sin; and may Thy Word enrich the affections of all mankind, and govern them!

Church Manual, Article VIII, Sect. 4

A Rule for Motives and Acts

Neither animosity nor mere personal attachment should impel the motives or acts of the members of The Mother Church. In Science, divine Love alone governs man; and a Christian Scientist reflects the sweet amenities of Love, in rebuking sin, in true brotherliness, charitableness, and forgiveness. The members of this Church should daily watch and pray to be delivered from all evil, from prophesying, judging, condemning, counseling, influencing or being influenced erroneously.

Church Manual, Article VIII, Sect. 1

Alertness to Duty

It shall be the duty of every member of this Church to defend himself daily against aggressive mental suggestion, and not be made to forget nor to neglect his duty to God, to his Leader, and to mankind. By his works he shall be judged, — and justified or condemned.

Church Manual, Article VIII, Sect. 6

Take Notice

To Christian Scientists: — See Science and Health, page 442, line 30, and give daily attention thereto.

from Miscellany, by Mary Baker Eddy, page 237

“Christian Scientists, be a law to yourselves that mental malpractice cannot harm you either when asleep or when awake.”

Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy, page 422

This Bible Lesson was prepared by Plainfield Christian Science Church, Independent. It is composed of Scriptural Quotations from the King James Bible and Correlative Passages from the Christian Science textbook, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, 1910 Edition, by Mary Baker Eddy.

Copyright 2023 Plainfield Christian Science Church, Independent

Table of Contents

Sunday, February 26th, 2023 — Subject: Christ Jesus

Date of Lesson

Subject, Golden Text, and Responsive Reading

Lesson Sermon — The Bible

Lesson Sermon — Science and Health

The Daily Duties

About the preparation of this lesson