Subject — Matter
Author: Plainfield Christian Science Church Independent
Date: 2026-09-13T07:43:54+00:00
Description: 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, by Mary Baker Eddy.

1. Table of Contents

2. Date of Lesson

3. Subject, Golden Text, and Responsive Reading

4. Lesson Sermon — The Bible
5. Lesson Sermon — Science and Health
6. The Daily Duties
7. About the preparation of this lesson

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Subject — Matter

GOLDEN TEXT: Zechariah 4 : 6

“Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts.”

RESPONSIVE READING: 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.

Lesson Sermon

The Bible

1. Zechariah 2 : 13 (to :)

13     Be silent, O all flesh, before the LORD:

2. Daniel 3 : 1 (to 1st ,), 4-6, 8, 9, 12, 13 (to 1st .), 14, 15 (if ye worship)-19 (to :), 21, 24 (to ?), 25 (Lo)-28, 30

1     Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold,

4     Then an herald cried aloud, To you it is commanded, O people, nations, and languages,

5     That at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, dulcimer, and all kinds of musick, ye fall down and worship the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king hath set up:

6     And whoso falleth not down and worshippeth shall the same hour be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace.

8     Wherefore at that time certain Chaldeans came near, and accused the Jews.

9     They spake and said to the king Nebuchadnezzar, O king, live for ever.

12     There are certain Jews whom thou hast set over the affairs of the province of Babylon, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego; these men, O king, have not regarded thee: they serve not thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.

13     Then Nebuchadnezzar in his rage and fury commanded to bring Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego.

14     Nebuchadnezzar spake and said unto them, Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, do not ye serve my gods, nor worship the golden image which I have set up?

15     …if ye worship not, ye shall be cast the same hour into the midst of a burning fiery furnace; and who is that God that shall deliver you out of my hands?

16     Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter.

17     If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king.

18     But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.

19     Then was Nebuchadnezzar full of fury, and the form of his visage was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego:

21     Then these men were bound in their coats, their hosen, and their hats, and their other garments, and were cast into the midst of the burning fiery furnace.

24     Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astonied, and rose up in haste, and spake, and said unto his counsellors, Did not we cast three men bound into the midst of the fire?

25     Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.

26     Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the mouth of the burning fiery furnace, and spake, and said, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, ye servants of the most high God, come forth, and come hither. Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, came forth of the midst of the fire.

27     And the princes, governors, and captains, and the king’s counsellers, being gathered together, saw these men, upon whose bodies the fire had no power, nor was an hair of their head singed, neither were their coats changed, nor the smell of fire had passed on them.

28     Then Nebuchadnezzar spake, and said, Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, who hath sent his angel, and delivered his servants that trusted in him, and have changed the king’s word, and yielded their bodies, that they might not serve nor worship any god, except their own God.

30     Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, in the province of Babylon.

3. Psalm 115 : 1-9

1     Not unto us, O LORD, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory, for thy mercy, and for thy truth’s sake.

2     Wherefore should the heathen say, Where is now their God?

3     But our God is in the heavens: he hath done whatsoever he hath pleased.

4     Their idols are silver and gold, the work of men’s hands.

5     They have mouths, but they speak not: eyes have they, but they see not:

6     They have ears, but they hear not: noses have they, but they smell not:

7     They have hands, but they handle not: feet have they, but they walk not: neither speak they through their throat.

8     They that make them are like unto them; so is every one that trusteth in them.

9     O Israel, trust thou in the LORD: he is their help and their shield.

4. Luke 4 : 1 (to 1st ,)

1     And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan,

5. Luke 8 : 22-25

22     Now it came to pass on a certain day, that he went into a ship with his disciples: and he said unto them, Let us go over unto the other side of the lake. And they launched forth.

23     But as they sailed he fell asleep: and there came down a storm of wind on the lake; and they were filled with water, and were in jeopardy.

24     And they came to him, and awoke him, saying, Master, master, we perish. Then he arose, and rebuked the wind and the raging of the water: and they ceased, and there was a calm.

25     And he said unto them, Where is your faith? And they being afraid wondered, saying one to another, What manner of man is this! for he commandeth even the winds and water, and they obey him.

6. II Corinthians 4 : 1, 6

1     Therefore seeing we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we faint not;

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.

Science and Health

1. 468 : 9 (There)-15

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.

2. 302 : 19-24

The Science of being reveals man as perfect, even as the Father is perfect, because the Soul, or Mind, of the spiritual man is God, the divine Principle of all being, and because this real man is governed by Soul instead of sense, by the law of Spirit, not by the so-called laws of matter.

3. 139 : 4-9

From beginning to end, the Scriptures are full of accounts of the triumph of Spirit, Mind, over matter. Moses 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 wonders.

4. 275 : 1 (Matter)-6

Matter has no life to lose, and Spirit never dies. A partnership of mind with matter would ignore omnipresent and omnipotent Mind. This shows that matter did not originate in God, Spirit, and is not eternal. Therefore matter is neither substantial, living, nor intelligent.

5. 479 : 8-17

Matter is neither self-existent nor a product of Spirit. An image of mortal thought, reflected on the retina, is all that the eye beholds. Matter cannot see, feel, hear, taste, nor smell. It is not self-cognizant, — cannot feel itself, see itself, nor understand itself. Take away so-called mortal mind, which constitutes matter's supposed selfhood, and matter can take no cognizance of matter. Does that which we call dead ever see, hear, feel, or use any of the physical senses?

6. 274 : 12-22

The senses of Spirit abide in Love, and they demonstrate Truth and Life. Hence Christianity and the Science which expounds it are based on spiritual understanding, and they supersede the so-called laws of matter. Jesus demonstrated this great verity. When what we erroneously term the five physical senses are misdirected, they are simply the manifested beliefs of mortal mind, which affirm that life, substance, and intelligence are material, instead of spiritual. These false beliefs and their products constitute the flesh, and the flesh wars against Spirit.

7. 393 : 4-10 (to 1st .)

The body seems to be self-acting, only because mortal mind is ignorant of itself, of its own actions, and of their results, — ignorant that the predisposing, remote, and exciting cause of all bad effects is a law of so-called mortal mind, not of matter. Mind is the master of the corporeal senses, and can conquer sickness, sin, and death.

8. 122 : 1-14

The evidence of the physical senses often reverses the real Science of being, and so creates a reign of discord, — assigning seeming power to sin, sickness, and death; but the great facts of Life, rightly understood, defeat this triad of errors, contradict their false witnesses, and reveal the kingdom of heaven, — the actual reign of harmony on earth. The material senses' reversal of the Science of Soul was practically exposed nineteen hundred years ago by the demonstrations of Jesus; yet these so-called senses still make mortal mind tributary to mortal body, and ordain certain sections of matter, such as brain and nerves, as the seats of pain and pleasure, from which matter reports to this so-called mind its status of happiness or misery.

9. 543 : 9-16

The five corporeal senses cannot take cognizance of Spirit. They cannot come into His presence, and must dwell in dream-land, until mortals arrive at the understanding that material life, with all its sin, sickness, and death, is an illusion, against which divine Science is engaged in a warfare of extermination. The great verities of existence are never excluded by falsity.

10. 478 : 14-23, 24-26

Question. — Does brain think, and do nerves feel, and is there intelligence in matter?

Answer. — No, not if God is true and mortal man a liar. The assertion that there can be pain or pleasure in matter is erroneous. That body is most harmonious in which the discharge of the natural functions is least noticeable. How can intelligence dwell in matter when matter is non-intelligent and brain-lobes cannot think? Matter cannot perform the functions of Mind. … From beginning to end, whatever is mortal is composed of material human beliefs and of nothing else.

11. 273 : 3-15, 21-28

The physical senses can take no cognizance of God and spiritual Truth. Human belief has sought out many inventions, but not one of them can solve the problem of being without the divine Principle of divine Science. Deductions from material hypotheses are not scientific. They differ from real Science because they are not based on the divine law.

Divine Science reverses the false testimony of the material senses, and thus tears away the foundations of error. Hence the enmity between Science and the senses, and the impossibility of attaining perfect understanding till the errors of sense are eliminated.

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.

12. 205 : 7-12, 32-3

When will the error of believing that there is life in matter, and that sin, sickness, and death are creations of God, be unmasked? When will it be understood that matter has neither intelligence, life, nor sensation, and that the opposite belief is the prolific source of all suffering?

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 2026 Plainfield Christian Science Church, Independent

Sunday, September 20th, 2026 — Subject: Matter

1. Sunday, September 20th, 2026 — Subject: Matter

2. Date of Lesson

3. Subject, Golden Text, and Responsive Reading

4. Lesson Sermon — The Bible
5. Lesson Sermon — Science and Health
6. The Daily Duties
7. About the preparation of this lesson

1. by

2. Date of Lesson

3. Subject, Golden Text, and Responsive Reading

4. Lesson Sermon — The Bible
5. Lesson Sermon — Science and Health
6. The Daily Duties
7. About the preparation of this lesson