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 — Matter

GOLDEN TEXT: Isaiah 40 : 4, 5

“Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain: And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.”

RESPONSIVE READING: Psalm 97 : 1, 4-7, 9, 12

1.     The LORD reigneth; let the earth rejoice; let the multitude of isles be glad thereof.

4.     His lightnings enlightened the world: the earth saw, and trembled.

5.     The hills melted like wax at the presence of the LORD, at the presence of the Lord of the whole earth.

6.     The heavens declare his righteousness, and all the people see his glory.

7.     Confounded be all they that serve graven images, that boast themselves of idols: worship him, all ye gods.

9.     For thou, LORD, art high above all the earth: thou art exalted far above all gods.

12.     Rejoice in the LORD, ye righteous; and give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness.

Lesson Sermon

The Bible

1. Isaiah 60 : 1-4 (to 1st :)

1     Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the LORD is risen upon thee.

2     For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the LORD shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee.

3     And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising.

4     Lift up thine eyes round about, and see:

2. Psalm 114 : 1-7

1     When Israel went out of Egypt, the house of Jacob from a people of strange language;

2     Judah was his sanctuary, and Israel his dominion.

3     The sea saw it, and fled: Jordan was driven back.

4     The mountains skipped like rams, and the little hills like lambs.

5     What ailed thee, O thou sea, that thou fleddest? thou Jordan, that thou wast driven back?

6     Ye mountains, that ye skipped like rams; and ye little hills, like lambs?

7     Tremble, thou earth, at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the God of Jacob;

3. II Kings 6 : 1-17

1     And the sons of the prophets said unto Elisha, Behold now, the place where we dwell with thee is too strait for us.

2     Let us go, we pray thee, unto Jordan, and take thence every man a beam, and let us make us a place there, where we may dwell. And he answered, Go ye.

3     And one said, Be content, I pray thee, and go with thy servants. And he answered, I will go.

4     So he went with them. And when they came to Jordan, they cut down wood.

5     But as one was felling a beam, the axe head fell into the water: and he cried, and said, Alas, master! for it was borrowed.

6     And the man of God said, Where fell it? And he shewed him the place. And he cut down a stick, and cast it in thither; and the iron did swim.

7     Therefore said he, Take it up to thee. And he put out his hand, and took it.

8     Then the king of Syria warred against Israel, and took counsel with his servants, saying, In such and such a place shall be my camp.

9     And the man of God sent unto the king of Israel, saying, Beware that thou pass not such a place; for thither the Syrians are come down.

10     And the king of Israel sent to the place which the man of God told him and warned him of, and saved himself there, not once nor twice.

11     Therefore the heart of the king of Syria was sore troubled for this thing; and he called his servants, and said unto them, Will ye not shew me which of us is for the king of Israel?

12     And one of his servants said, None, my lord, O king: but Elisha, the prophet that is in Israel, telleth the king of Israel the words that thou speakest in thy bedchamber.

13     And he said, Go and spy where he is, that I may send and fetch him. And it was told him, saying, Behold, he is in Dothan.

14     Therefore sent he thither horses, and chariots, and a great host: and they came by night, and compassed the city about.

15     And when the servant of the man of God was risen early, and gone forth, behold, an host compassed the city both with horses and chariots. And his servant said unto him, Alas, my master! how shall we do?

16     And he answered, Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them.

17     And Elisha prayed, and said, LORD, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the LORD opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha.

4. Isaiah 17 : 7, 8

7     At that day shall a man look to his Maker, and his eyes shall have respect to the Holy One of Israel.

8     And he shall not look to the altars, the work of his hands, neither shall respect that which his fingers have made, either the groves, or the images.

5. I Corinthians 1 : 26, 27, 29, 31

26     For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called:

27     But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;

29     That no flesh should glory in his presence.

31     That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.

6. II Corinthians 4 : 6, 16-18

6     For 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.

16     For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.

17     For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory;

18     While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.

7. Habakkuk 2 : 20 (the LORD)

20     …the LORD is in his holy temple: let all the earth keep silence before him.

Science and Health

1. 277 : 24 (The realm)-32

The realm of the real is Spirit. The unlikeness of Spirit is matter, and the opposite of the real is not divine, — it is a human concept. Matter is an error of statement. This error in the premise leads to errors in the conclusion in every statement into which it enters. Nothing we can say or believe regarding matter is immortal, for matter is temporal and is therefore a mortal phenomenon, a human concept, sometimes beautiful, always erroneous.

2. 292 : 13-18

Matter is the primitive belief of mortal mind, because this so-called mind has no cognizance of Spirit. To mortal mind, matter is substantial, and evil is real. The so-called senses of mortals are material. Hence the so-called life of mortals is dependent on matter.

3. 278 : 3-7, 12-22

Divine metaphysics explains away matter. Spirit is the only substance and consciousness recognized by divine Science. The material senses oppose this, but there are no material senses, for matter has no mind.

That matter is substantial or has life and sensation, is one of the false beliefs of mortals, and exists only in a supposititious mortal consciousness. Hence, as we approach Spirit and Truth, we lose the consciousness of matter. The admission that there can be material substance requires another admission, — namely, that Spirit is not infinite and that matter is self-creative, self-existent, and eternal. From this it would follow that there are two eternal causes, warring forever with each other; and yet we say that Spirit is supreme and all-presence.

4. 279 : 9-10, 13-15, 22-29

Matter is neither created by Mind nor for the manifestation and support of Mind.

Spirit and matter can neither coexist nor co-operate, and one can no more create the other than Truth can create error, or vice versa.

Every system of human philosophy, doctrine, and medicine is more or less infected with the pantheistic belief that there is mind in matter; but this belief contradicts alike revelation and right reasoning. A logical and scientific conclusion is reached only through the knowledge that there are not two bases of being, matter and mind, but one alone, — Mind.

5. 250 : 25-27 (to 2nd .)

Take away the mortal mind, and matter has no more sense as a man than it has as a tree. But the spiritual, real man is immortal.

6. 284 : 15-23, 28-3

Can Deity be known through the material senses? Can the material senses, which receive no direct evidence of Spirit, give correct testimony as to spiritual life, truth, and love?

The answer to all these questions must forever be in the negative.

The physical senses can obtain no proof of God. They can neither see Spirit through the eye nor hear it through the ear, nor can they feel, taste, or smell Spirit.

According to Christian Science, the only real senses of man are spiritual, emanating from divine Mind. Thought passes from God to man, but neither sensation nor report goes from material body to Mind. The intercommunication is always from God to His idea, man. Matter is not sentient and cannot be cognizant of good or of evil, of pleasure or of pain. Man's individuality is not material.

7. 285 : 7-14

What, then, is the material personality which suffers, sins, and dies? It is not man, the image and likeness of God, but man's counterfeit, the inverted likeness, the unlikeness called sin, sickness, and death. The unreality of the claim that a mortal is the true image of God is illustrated by the opposite natures of Spirit and matter, Mind and body, for one is intelligence while the other is non-intelligence.

8. 217 : 29 (You)-8

You say, "Toil fatigues me." But what is this me? Is it muscle or mind? Which is tired and so speaks? Without mind, could the muscles be tired? Do the muscles talk, or do you talk for them? Matter is non-intelligent. Mortal mind does the false talking, and that which affirms weariness, made that weariness.

You do not say a wheel is fatigued; and yet the body is as material as the wheel. If it were not for what the human mind says of the body, the body, like the inanimate wheel, would never be weary. The consciousness of Truth rests us more than hours of repose in unconsciousness.

9. 273 : 21-28

God never ordained a material law to annul the spiritual law. If there were such a material law, it would oppose the supremacy of Spirit, God, and impugn the wisdom of the creator. Jesus walked on the waves, fed the multitude, healed the sick, and raised the dead in direct opposition to material laws. His acts were the demonstration of Science, overcoming the false claims of material sense or law.

10. 468 : 8-15

Question. — What is the scientific statement of being?

Answer. — There is no life, truth, intelligence, nor substance in matter. All is infinite Mind and its infinite manifestation, for God is All-in-all. Spirit is immortal Truth; matter is mortal error. Spirit is the real and eternal; matter is the unreal and temporal. Spirit is God, and man is His image and likeness. Therefore man is not material; he is spiritual.

11. 120 : 11 (matter)-12

…matter can make no conditions for man.

12. 269 : 21-28

The testimony of the material senses is neither absolute nor divine. I therefore plant myself unreservedly on the teachings of Jesus, of his apostles, of the prophets, and on the testimony of the Science of Mind. Other foundations there are none. All other systems — systems based wholly or partly on knowledge gained through the material senses — are reeds shaken by the wind, not houses built on the rock.

13. 205 : 32-3

When we fully understand our relation to the Divine, we can have no other Mind but His, — no other Love, wisdom, or Truth, no other sense of Life, and no consciousness of the existence of matter or error.

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, September 21st, 2025 — Subject: Matter

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