Responsive Reading: I Corinthians 15 : 19-23, 26-28

19.     If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.

20.     But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.

21.     For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead.

22.     For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.

23.     But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming.

26.     The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.

27.     For he hath put all things under his feet. But when he saith all things are put under him, it is manifest that he is excepted, which did put all things under him.

28.     And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all.

1. Isaiah 25 : 1 (to 3rd ;), 6-8

1     O Lord, thou art my God; I will exalt thee, I will praise thy name; for thou hast done wonderful things;

6     And in this mountain shall the Lord of hosts make unto all people a feast of fat things, a feast of wines on the lees, of fat things full of marrow, of wines on the lees well refined.

7     And he will destroy in this mountain the face of the covering cast over all people, and the vail that is spread over all nations.

8     He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth: for the Lord hath spoken it.

2. Matthew 4 : 23

23     And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people.

3. Matthew 5 : 1-12

1     And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him:

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

3     Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

4     Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.

5     Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.

6     Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.

7     Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.

8     Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.

9     Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.

10     Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

11     Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.

12     Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.

4. Matthew 7 : 24-29

24     Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:

25     And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.

26     And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand:

27     And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.

28     And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine:

29     For he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.

5. John 10 : 7 (to 1st ,), 10 (I)

7     Then said Jesus unto them again,

10     I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.

6. John 12 : 46, 49, 50 (to :)

46     I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on me should not abide in darkness.

49     For I have not spoken of myself; but the Father which sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak.

50     And I know that his commandment is life everlasting:

7. Matthew 26 : 1-4

1     And it came to pass, when Jesus had finished all these sayings, he said unto his disciples,

2     Ye know that after two days is the feast of the passover, and the Son of man is betrayed to be crucified.

3     Then assembled together the chief priests, and the scribes, and the elders of the people, unto the palace of the high priest, who was called Caiaphas,

4     And consulted that they might take Jesus by subtilty, and kill him.

8. John 18 : 14

14     Now Caiaphas was he, which gave counsel to the Jews, that it was expedient that one man should die for the people.

9. John 19 : 16 (And they)-18 (to 1st ,), 41, 42

16     And they took Jesus, and led him away.

17     And he bearing his cross went forth into a place called the place of a skull, which is called in the Hebrew Golgotha:

18     Where they crucified him,

41     Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden; and in the garden a new sepulchre, wherein was never man yet laid.

42     There laid they Jesus therefore because of the Jews’ preparation day; for the sepulchre was nigh at hand.

10. John 20 : 1, 12-14, 17

1     The first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark, unto the sepulchre, and seeth the stone taken away from the sepulchre.

12     And seeth two angels in white sitting, the one at the head, and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain.

13     And they say unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? She saith unto them, Because they have taken away my Lord, and I know not where they have laid him.

14     And when she had thus said, she turned herself back, and saw Jesus standing, and knew not that it was Jesus.

17     Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God.

11. Romans 13 : 11 (now), 12

11     …now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed.

12     The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light.

12. I Corinthians 15 : 55-58

55     O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?

56     The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law.

57     But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

58     Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.

1. 246 : 27-31

Life is eternal. We should find this out, and begin the demonstration thereof. Life and goodness are immortal. Let us then shape our views of existence into loveliness, freshness, and continuity, rather than into age and blight.

2. 25 : 13-16, 22-26

Jesus taught the way of Life by demonstration, that we may understand how this divine Principle heals the sick, casts out error, and triumphs over death.

Though demonstrating his control over sin and disease, the great Teacher by no means relieved others from giving the requisite proofs of their own piety. He worked for their guidance, that they might demonstrate this power as he did and understand its divine Principle.

3. 429 : 31-12

Jesus said (John viii. 51), "If a man keep my saying, he shall never see death." That statement is not confined to spiritual life, but includes all the phenomena of existence. Jesus demonstrated this, healing the dying and raising the dead. Mortal mind must part with error, must put off itself with its deeds, and immortal manhood, the Christ ideal, will appear. Faith should enlarge its borders and strengthen its base by resting upon Spirit instead of matter. When man gives up his belief in death, he will advance more rapidly towards God, Life, and Love. Belief in sickness and death, as certainly as belief in sin, tends to shut out the true sense of Life and health. When will mankind wake to this great fact in Science?

4. 42 : 5-8, 15-18, 24-28

The universal belief in death is of no advantage. It cannot make Life or Truth apparent. Death will be found at length to be a mortal dream, which comes in darkness and disappears with the light.

The resurrection of the great demonstrator of God's power was the proof of his final triumph over body and matter, and gave full evidence of divine Science, — evidence so important to mortals. … Let men think they had killed the body! Afterwards he would show it to them unchanged. This demonstrates that in Christian Science the true man is governed by God — by good, not evil — and is therefore not a mortal but an immortal.

5. 46 : 20-24

Jesus' unchanged physical condition after what seemed to be death was followed by his exaltation above all material conditions; and this exaltation explained his ascension, and revealed unmistakably a probationary and progressive state beyond the grave.

6. 77 : 5-11, 13-18

Existence continues to be a belief of corporeal sense until the Science of being is reached. Error brings its own self-destruction both here and hereafter, for mortal mind creates its own physical conditions. Death will occur on the next plane of existence as on this, until the spiritual understanding of Life is reached.

The period required for this dream of material life, embracing its so-called pleasures and pains, to vanish from consciousness, "knoweth no man ... neither the Son, but the Father." This period will be of longer or shorter duration according to the tenacity of error.

7. 296 : 4-9 (to 2nd .)

Progress is born of experience. It is the ripening of mortal man, through which the mortal is dropped for the immortal. Either here or hereafter, suffering or Science must destroy all illusions regarding life and mind, and regenerate material sense and self. The old man with his deeds must be put off.

8. 324 : 7-18

Unless the harmony and immortality of man are becoming more apparent, we are not gaining the true idea of God; and the body will reflect what governs it, whether it be Truth or error, understanding or belief, Spirit or matter. Therefore "acquaint now thyself with Him, and be at peace." Be watchful, sober, and vigilant. The way is straight and narrow, which leads to the understanding that God is the only Life. It is a warfare with the flesh, in which we must conquer sin, sickness, and death, either here or hereafter, — certainly before we can reach the goal of Spirit, or life in God.

9. 76 : 22-31

The sinless joy, — the perfect harmony and immortality of Life, possessing unlimited divine beauty and goodness without a single bodily pleasure or pain, — constitutes the only veritable, indestructible man, whose being is spiritual. This state of existence is scientific and intact, — a perfection discernible only by those who have the final understanding of Christ in divine Science. Death can never hasten this state of existence, for death must be overcome, not submitted to, before immortality appears.

10. 409 : 27-3

We have no right to say that life depends on matter now, but will not depend on it after death. We cannot spend our days here in ignorance of the Science of Life, and expect to find beyond the grave a reward for this ignorance. Death will not make us harmonious and immortal as a recompense for ignorance. If here we give no heed to Christian Science, which is spiritual and eternal, we shall not be ready for spiritual Life hereafter.

11. 290 : 23-27

The sin and error which possess us at the instant of death do not cease at that moment, but endure until the death of these errors. To be wholly spiritual, man must be sinless, and he becomes thus only when he reaches perfection.

12. 291 : 12-18

Universal salvation rests on progression and probation, and is unattainable without them. Heaven is not a locality, but a divine state of Mind in which all the manifestations of Mind are harmonious and immortal, because sin is not there and man is found having no righteousness of his own, but in possession of "the mind of the Lord," as the Scripture says.

13. 426 : 16-22

When it is learned that disease cannot destroy life, and that mortals are not saved from sin or sickness by death, this understanding will quicken into newness of life. It will master either a desire to die or a dread of the grave, and thus destroy the great fear that besets mortal existence.

14. 492 : 7-12

Being is holiness, harmony, immortality. It is already proved that a knowledge of this, even in small degree, will uplift the physical and moral standard of mortals, will increase longevity, will purify and elevate character. Thus progress will finally destroy all error, and bring immortality to light.