Responsive Reading: Ephesians 5 : 1, 2  •  Galatians 3 : 26-28

1.     Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children;

2.     And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us.

26.     For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.

27.     For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.

28.     There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.

1. I John 3 : 7

7     Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous.

2. I Kings 3 : 3 (to :), 5-7 (to 2nd :), 9 (to heart), 11, 12 (to ;)

3     And Solomon loved the Lord, walking in the statutes of David his father:

5     In Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night: and God said, Ask what I shall give thee.

6     And Solomon said, Thou hast shewed unto thy servant David my father great mercy, according as he walked before thee in truth, and in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart with thee; and thou hast kept for him this great kindness, that thou hast given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is this day.

7     And now, O Lord my God, thou hast made thy servant king instead of David my father: and I am but a little child:

9     Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart …

11     And God said unto him, Because thou hast asked this thing, and hast not asked for thyself long life; neither hast asked riches for thyself, nor hast asked the life of thine enemies; but hast asked for thyself understanding to discern judgment;

12     Behold, I have done according to thy words: lo, I have given thee a wise and an understanding heart;

3. Ecclesiastes 4 : 13

13     Better is a poor and a wise child than an old and foolish king, who will no more be admonished.

4. John 10 : 23-30

23     And Jesus walked in the temple in Solomon’s porch.

24     Then came the Jews round about him, and said unto him, How long dost thou make us to doubt? If thou be the Christ, tell us plainly.

25     Jesus answered them, I told you, and ye believed not: the works that I do in my Father’s name, they bear witness of me.

26     But ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep, as I said unto you.

27     My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:

28     And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.

29     My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand.

30     I and my Father are one.

5. Matthew 18 : 2-6, 10-14

2     And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them,

3     And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.

4     Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

5     And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me.

6     But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea.

10     Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, That in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven.

11     For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost.

12     How think ye? if a man have an hundred sheep, and one of them be gone astray, doth he not leave the ninety and nine, and goeth into the mountains, and seeketh that which is gone astray?

13     And if so be that he find it, verily I say unto you, he rejoiceth more of that sheep, than of the ninety and nine which went not astray.

14     Even so it is not the will of your Father which is in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish.

6. Matthew 19 : 14 (Jesus)

14     Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven.

7. Proverbs 22 : 6

6     Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.

8. I Timothy 4 : 4-6, 10-14 (to 1st ,), 15, 16

4     For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving:

5     For it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer.

6     If thou put the brethren in remembrance of these things, thou shalt be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished up in the words of faith and of good doctrine, whereunto thou hast attained.

10     For therefore we both labour and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God, who is the Saviour of all men, specially of those that believe.

11     These things command and teach.

12     Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity.

13     Till I come, give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine.

14     Neglect not the gift that is in thee,

15     Meditate upon these things; give thyself wholly to them; that thy profiting may appear to all.

16     Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee.

9. Romans 15 : 5-7

5     Now the God of patience and consolation grant you to be likeminded one toward another according to Christ Jesus:

6     That ye may with one mind and one mouth glorify God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

7     Wherefore receive ye one another, as Christ also received us to the glory of God.

1. 18 : 3-9

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.

2. 51 : 28 (to .)

Jesus was unselfish.

3. 52 : 1-2 (to 1st .), 19-28

From early boyhood he was about his "Father's business."

The "man of sorrows" best understood the nothingness of material life and intelligence and the mighty actuality of all-inclusive God, good. These were the two cardinal points of Mind-healing, or Christian Science, which armed him with Love. The highest earthly representative of God, speaking of human ability to reflect divine power, prophetically said to his disciples, speaking not for their day only but for all time: "He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also;" and "These signs shall follow them that believe."

4. 54 : 1-10

Through the magnitude of his human life, he demonstrated the divine Life. Out of the amplitude of his pure affection, he defined Love. With the affluence of Truth, he vanquished error. The world acknowledged not his righteousness, seeing it not; but earth received the harmony his glorified example introduced.

Who is ready to follow his teaching and example? All must sooner or later plant themselves in Christ, the true idea of God.

5. 63 : 5 (In)-11

In Science man is the offspring of Spirit. The beautiful, good, and pure constitute his ancestry. His origin is not, like that of mortals, in brute instinct, nor does he pass through material conditions prior to reaching intelligence. Spirit is his primitive and ultimate source of being; God is his Father, and Life is the law of his being.

6. 130 : 9-25

It is unwise to doubt if reality is in perfect harmony with God, divine Principle, — if Science, when understood and demonstrated, will destroy all discord, — since you admit that God is omnipotent; for from this premise it follows that good and its sweet concords have all-power.

Christian Science, properly understood, would disabuse the human mind of material beliefs which war against spiritual facts; and these material beliefs must be denied and cast out to make place for truth. You cannot add to the contents of a vessel already full. Laboring long to shake the adult's faith in matter and to inculcate a grain of faith in God, — an inkling of the ability of Spirit to make the body harmonious, — the author has often remembered our Master's love for little children, and understood how truly such as they belong to the heavenly kingdom.

7. 236 : 23-6

Parents should teach their children at the earliest possible period the truths of health and holiness. Children are more tractable than adults, and learn more readily to love the simple verities that will make them happy and good.

Jesus loved little children because of their freedom from wrong and their receptiveness of right. While age is halting between two opinions or battling with false beliefs, youth makes easy and rapid strides towards Truth.

A little girl, who had occasionally listened to my explanations, badly wounded her finger. She seemed not to notice it. On being questioned about it she answered ingenuously, "There is no sensation in matter." Bounding off with laughing eyes, she presently added, "Mamma, my finger is not a bit sore."

8. 322 : 26-9

The sharp experiences of belief in the supposititious life of matter, as well as our disappointments and ceaseless woes, turn us like tired children to the arms of divine Love. Then we begin to learn Life in divine Science. Without this process of weaning, "Canst thou by searching find out God?" It is easier to desire Truth than to rid one's self of error. Mortals may seek the understanding of Christian Science, but they will not be able to glean from Christian Science the facts of being without striving for them. This strife consists in the endeavor to forsake error of every kind and to possess no other consciousness but good.

Through the wholesome chastisements of Love, we are helped onward in the march towards righteousness, peace, and purity, which are the landmarks of Science.

9. 259 : 6 (In)-14

In divine Science, man is the true image of God. The divine nature was best expressed in Christ Jesus, who threw upon mortals the truer reflection of God and lifted their lives higher than their poor thought-models would allow, — thoughts which presented man as fallen, sick, sinning, and dying. The Christlike understanding of scientific being and divine healing includes a perfect Principle and idea, — perfect God and perfect man, — as the basis of thought and demonstration.

10. 37 : 16-17, 22-25

When will Jesus' professed followers learn to emulate him in all his ways and to imitate his mighty works?

It is possible, — yea, it is the duty and privilege of every child, man, and woman, — to follow in some degree the example of the Master by the demonstration of Truth and Life, of health and holiness.

11. 227 : 21-26

Christian Science raises the standard of liberty and cries: "Follow me! Escape from the bondage of sickness, sin, and death!" Jesus marked out the way. Citizens of the world, accept the "glorious liberty of the children of God," and be free! This is your divine right.