1. Date of Lesson

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

Listen to the reading of this Lesson

Watch on YouTube

Watch on Vimeo

PlainfieldCS.com

Subject — Mind

GOLDEN TEXT: Job 28 : 12, 28

“Where shall wisdom be found? and where is the place of understanding? Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding.”

RESPONSIVE READING: Proverbs 3 : 5-8, 11, 12

5.     Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.

6.     In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

7.     Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil.

8.     It shall be health to thy navel, and marrow to thy bones.

11.     My son, despise not the chastening of the LORD; neither be weary of his correction:

12.     For whom the LORD loveth he correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth.

Lesson Sermon

The Bible

1. Deuteronomy 6 : 4, 5

4     Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD:

5     And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.

2. James 4 : 6 (God)-8, 10

6     God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.

7     Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

8     Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.

10     Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.

3. Daniel 4 : 4, 5 (to 1st ,), 7, 8 (to 1st ,), 8 (and before) (to 1st ,), 19 (to 1st ,), 19 (answered) (to 1st ,), 20 (to 1st ,), 22, 23 (to 1st ;), 24-27, 29-31, 33 (to 3rd ,), 34-36 (to 1st ;), 36 (and I), 37

4     I Nebuchadnezzar was at rest in mine house, and flourishing in my palace:

5     I saw a dream which made me afraid,

7     Then came in the magicians, the astrologers, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers: and I told the dream before them; but they did not make known unto me the interpretation thereof.

8     But at the last Daniel came in before me, … and before him I told the dream,

19     Then Daniel, … answered and said,

20     The tree that thou sawest,

22     It is thou, O king, that art grown and become strong: for thy greatness is grown, and reacheth unto heaven, and thy dominion to the end of the earth.

23     And whereas the king saw a watcher and an holy one coming down from heaven, and saying, Hew the tree down, and destroy it;

24     This is the interpretation, O king, and this is the decree of the most High, which is come upon my lord the king:

25     That they shall drive thee from men, and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field, and they shall make thee to eat grass as oxen, and they shall wet thee with the dew of heaven, and seven times shall pass over thee, till thou know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will.

26     And whereas they commanded to leave the stump of the tree roots; thy kingdom shall be sure unto thee, after that thou shalt have known that the heavens do rule.

27     Wherefore, O king, let my counsel be acceptable unto thee, and break off thy sins by righteousness, and thine iniquities by shewing mercy to the poor; if it may be a lengthening of thy tranquillity.

29     At the end of twelve months he walked in the palace of the kingdom of Babylon.

30     The king spake, and said, Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for the house of the kingdom by the might of my power, and for the honour of my majesty?

31     While the word was in the king’s mouth, there fell a voice from heaven, saying, O king Nebuchadnezzar, to thee it is spoken; The kingdom is departed from thee.

33     The same hour was the thing fulfilled upon Nebuchadnezzar: and he was driven from men, and did eat grass as oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven,

34     And at the end of the days I Nebuchadnezzar lifted up mine eyes unto heaven, and mine understanding returned unto me, and I blessed the most High, and I praised and honoured him that liveth for ever, whose dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom is from generation to generation:

35     And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing: and he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou?

36     At the same time my reason returned unto me; … and I was established in my kingdom, and excellent majesty was added unto me.

37     Now I Nebuchadnezzar praise and extol and honour the King of heaven, all whose works are truth, and his ways judgment: and those that walk in pride he is able to abase.

4. I John 2 : 16, 17

16     For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.

17     And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.

5. Ephesians 4 : 17, 18, 22, 23

17     This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind,

18     Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart:

22     That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts;

23     And be renewed in the spirit of your mind;

6. II Timothy 1 : 7

7     For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.

7. Romans 12 : 2

2     And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

Science and Health

1. 468 : 10-11

All is infinite Mind and its infinite manifestation, for God is All-in-all.

2. 496 : 6 (in)-8

…in Christian Science the first duty is to obey God, to have one Mind, and to love another as yourself.

3. 256 : 19 (Who)-23

Who is it that demands our obedience? He who, in the language of Scripture, "doeth according to His will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay His hand, or say unto Him, What doest Thou?"

4. 183 : 21-25

Divine Mind rightly demands man's entire obedience, affection, and strength. No reservation is made for any lesser loyalty. Obedience to Truth gives man power and strength. Submission to error superinduces loss of power.

5. 372 : 25-32

"Whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven." In Christian Science, a denial of Truth is fatal, while a just acknowledgment of Truth and of what it has done for us is an effectual help. If pride, superstition, or any error prevents the honest recognition of benefits received, this will be a hindrance to the recovery of the sick and the success of the student.

6. 239 : 23-32

Mortal mind is the acknowledged seat of human motives. It forms material concepts and produces every discordant action of the body. If action proceeds from the divine Mind, action is harmonious. If it comes from erring mortal mind, it is discordant and ends in sin, sickness, death. Those two opposite sources never mingle in fount or stream. The perfect Mind sends forth perfection, for God is Mind. Imperfect mortal mind sends forth its own resemblances, of which the wise man said, "All is vanity."

7. 414 : 4-14

The treatment of insanity is especially interesting. However obstinate the case, it yields more readily than do most diseases to the salutary action of truth, which counteracts error. The arguments to be used in curing insanity are the same as in other diseases: namely, the impossibility that matter, brain, can control or derange mind, can suffer or cause suffering; also the fact that truth and love will establish a healthy state, guide and govern mortal mind or the thought of the patient, and destroy all error, whether it is called dementia, hatred, or any other discord.

8. 6 : 3 (Divine)-16

Divine Love corrects and governs man. Men may pardon, but this divine Principle alone reforms the sinner. God is not separate from the wisdom He bestows. The talents He gives we must improve. Calling on Him to forgive our work badly done or left undone, implies the vain supposition that we have nothing to do but to ask pardon, and that afterwards we shall be free to repeat the offence.

To cause suffering as the result of sin, is the means of destroying sin. Every supposed pleasure in sin will furnish more than its equivalent of pain, until belief in material life and sin is destroyed. To reach heaven, the harmony of being, we must understand the divine Principle of being.

9. 22 : 20-22

Love is not hasty to deliver us from temptation, for Love means that we shall be tried and purified.

10. 240 : 24-32

Remember that mankind must sooner or later, either by suffering or by Science, be convinced of the error that is to be overcome.

In trying to undo the errors of sense one must pay fully and fairly the utmost farthing, until all error is finally brought into subjection to Truth. The divine method of paying sin's wages involves unwinding one's snarls, and learning from experience how to divide between sense and Soul.

11. 239 : 11-22

The wicked man is not the ruler of his upright neighbor. Let it be understood that success in error is defeat in Truth. The watchword of Christian Science is Scriptural: "Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts."

To ascertain our progress, we must learn where our affections are placed and whom we acknowledge and obey as God. If divine Love is becoming nearer, dearer, and more real to us, matter is then submitting to Spirit. The objects we pursue and the spirit we manifest reveal our standpoint, and show what we are winning.

12. 505 : 20-28

Spiritual sense is the discernment of spiritual good. Understanding is the line of demarcation between the real and unreal. Spiritual understanding unfolds Mind, — Life, Truth, and Love, — and demonstrates the divine sense, giving the spiritual proof of the universe in Christian Science.

This understanding is not intellectual, is not the result of scholarly attainments; it is the reality of all things brought to light.

13. 506 : 5-7

Understanding is a quality of God, a quality which separates Christian Science from supposition and makes Truth final.

14. 470 : 11-16 (to 2nd .)

Divine Science explains the abstract statement that there is one Mind by the following self-evident proposition: If God, or good, is real, then evil, the unlikeness of God, is unreal. And evil can only seem to be real by giving reality to the unreal. The children of God have but one Mind.

15. 469 : 30-5

With one Father, even God, the whole family of man would be brethren; and with one Mind and that God, or good, the brotherhood of man would consist of Love and Truth, and have unity of Principle and spiritual power which constitute divine Science.

16. 470 : 32-5

The relations of God and man, divine Principle and idea, are indestructible in Science; and Science knows no lapse from nor return to harmony, but holds the divine order or spiritual law, in which God and all that He creates are perfect and eternal, to have remained unchanged in its eternal history.

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 2025 Plainfield Christian Science Church, Independent

Table of Contents

Sunday, August 24th, 2025 — Subject: Mind

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