Responsive Reading: Isaiah 60 : 1, 2   •   Isaiah 25 : 1, 4, 8

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.

1.     O Lord, thou art my God; I will exalt thee, I will praise thy name; for thou hast done wonderful things; thy counsels of old are faithfulness and truth.

4.     For thou hast been a strength to the poor, a strength to the needy in his distress, a refuge from the storm, a shadow from the heat, when the blast of the terrible ones is as a storm against the wall.

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.

1. John 1 : 1, 5, 14, 17, 18

1     In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

5     And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.

14     And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

17     For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.

18     No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.

2. II Corinthians 3 : 12-16

12     Seeing then that we have such hope, we use great plainness of speech:

13     And not as Moses, which put a vail over his face, that the children of Israel could not stedfastly look to the end of that which is abolished:

14     But their minds were blinded: for until this day remaineth the same vail untaken away in the reading of the old testament; which vail is done away in Christ.

15     But even unto this day, when Moses is read, the vail is upon their heart.

16     Nevertheless when it shall turn to the Lord, the vail shall be taken away.

3. Matthew 4 : 23 (Jesus)

23     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.

4. Matthew 9 : 2-8

2     And, behold, they brought to him a man sick of the palsy, lying on a bed: and Jesus seeing their faith said unto the sick of the palsy; Son, be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee.

3     And, behold, certain of the scribes said within themselves, This man blasphemeth.

4     And Jesus knowing their thoughts said, Wherefore think ye evil in your hearts?

5     For whether is easier, to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and walk?

6     But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (then saith he to the sick of the palsy,) Arise, take up thy bed, and go unto thine house.

7     And he arose, and departed to his house.

8     But when the multitudes saw it, they marvelled, and glorified God, which had given such power unto men.

5. Luke 4 : 1 (And Jesus) only

1     And Jesus …

6. Luke 7 : 11 (went into)-16

11     …went into a city called Nain; and many of his disciples went with him, and much people.

12     Now when he came nigh to the gate of the city, behold, there was a dead man carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow: and much people of the city was with her.

13     And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her, and said unto her, Weep not.

14     And he came and touched the bier: and they that bare him stood still. And he said, Young man, I say unto thee, Arise.

15     And he that was dead sat up, and began to speak. And he delivered him to his mother.

16     And there came a fear on all: and they glorified God, saying, That a great prophet is risen up among us; and, That God hath visited his people.

7. John 13 : 3, 12 (said unto them,) only

3     Jesus knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he was come from God, and went to God;

12     …said unto them,

8. John 14 : 1, 4-12, 15-17

1     Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.

4     And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know.

5     Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way?

6     Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

7     If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him.

8     Philip saith unto him, Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us.

9     Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father?

10     Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.

11     Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works’ sake.

12     Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.

15     If ye love me, keep my commandments.

16     And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;

17     Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.

9. I John 4 : 1, 4, 6

1     Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.

4     Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.

6     We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error.

10. Isaiah 26 : 2

2     Open ye the gates, that the righteous nation which keepeth the truth may enter in.

1. 497 : 3 (As)-4

As adherents of Truth, we take the inspired Word of the Bible as our sufficient guide to eternal Life.

2. 282 : 26 only

Truth is the intelligence of immortal Mind.

3. 510 : 9-12

Truth and Love enlighten the understanding, in whose "light shall we see light;" and this illumination is reflected spiritually by all who walk in the light and turn away from a false material sense.

4. 26 : 10-18, 28-32

The Christ was the Spirit which Jesus implied in his own statements: "I am the way, the truth, and the life;" "I and my Father are one." This Christ, or divinity of the man Jesus, was his divine nature, the godliness which animated him. Divine Truth, Life, and Love gave Jesus authority over sin, sickness, and death. His mission was to reveal the Science of celestial being, to prove what God is and what He does for man.

Our Master taught no mere theory, doctrine, or belief. It was the divine Principle of all real being which he taught and practised. His proof of Christianity was no form or system of religion and worship, but Christian Science, working out the harmony of Life and Love.

5. 317 : 1-5

Jesus uttered things which had been "secret from the foundation of the world," — since material knowledge usurped the throne of the creative divine Principle, insisted on the might of matter, the force of falsity, the insignificance of spirit, and proclaimed an anthropomorphic God.

6. 596 : 28 (to 2nd .)

Veil. A cover; concealment; hiding; hypocrisy.

7. 567 : 18-23

That false claim — that ancient belief, that old serpent whose name is devil (evil), claiming that there is intelligence in matter either to benefit or to injure men — is pure delusion, the red dragon; and it is cast out by Christ, Truth, the spiritual idea, and so proved to be powerless.

8. 286 : 6-15

The understanding of Truth gives full faith in Truth, and spiritual understanding is better than all burnt offerings.

The Master said, "No man cometh unto the Father [the divine Principle of being] but by me," Christ, Life, Truth, Love; for Christ says, "I am the way." Physical causation was put aside from first to last by this original man, Jesus. He knew that the divine Principle, Love, creates and governs all that is real.

9. 316 : 7-11

Christ, Truth, was demonstrated through Jesus to prove the power of Spirit over the flesh, — to show that Truth is made manifest by its effects upon the human mind and body, healing sickness and destroying sin.

10. 289 : 14-20

The fact that the Christ, or Truth, overcame and still overcomes death proves the "king of terrors" to be but a mortal belief, or error, which Truth destroys with the spiritual evidences of Life; and this shows that what appears to the senses to be death is but a mortal illusion, for to the real man and the real universe there is no death-process.

11. 288 : 31-2

The eternal Truth destroys what mortals seem to have learned from error, and man's real existence as a child of God comes to light. Truth demonstrated is eternal life.

12. 136 : 29-7

The disciples apprehended their Master better than did others; but they did not comprehend all that he said and did, or they would not have questioned him so often. Jesus patiently persisted in teaching and demonstrating the truth of being. His students saw this power of Truth heal the sick, cast out evil, raise the dead; but the ultimate of this wonderful work was not spiritually discerned, even by them, until after the crucifixion, when their immaculate Teacher stood before them, the victor over sickness, sin, disease, death, and the grave.

13. 326 : 3-22

If we wish to follow Christ, Truth, it must be in the way of God's appointing. Jesus said, "He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also." He, who would reach the source and find the divine remedy for every ill, must not try to climb the hill of Science by some other road. All nature teaches God's love to man, but man cannot love God supremely and set his whole affections on spiritual things, while loving the material or trusting in it more than in the spiritual.

We must forsake the foundation of material systems, however time-honored, if we would gain the Christ as our only Saviour. Not partially, but fully, the great healer of mortal mind is the healer of the body.

The purpose and motive to live aright can be gained now. This point won, you have started as you should. You have begun at the numeration-table of Christian Science, and nothing but wrong intention can hinder your advancement. Working and praying with true motives, your Father will open the way. "Who did hinder you, that ye should not obey the truth?"

14. 40 : 31-7

The nature of Christianity is peaceful and blessed, but in order to enter into the kingdom, the anchor of hope must be cast beyond the veil of matter into the Shekinah into which Jesus has passed before us; and this advance beyond matter must come through the joys and triumphs of the righteous as well as through their sorrows and afflictions. Like our Master, we must depart from material sense into the spiritual sense of being.

15. 482 : 27 (Christian)-31

Christian Science is the law of Truth, which heals the sick on the basis of the one Mind or God. It can heal in no other way, since the human, mortal mind so-called is not a healer, but causes the belief in disease.

16. 37 : 22-31

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. Christians claim to be his followers, but do they follow him in the way that he commanded? Hear these imperative commands: "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect!" "Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature!" "Heal the sick!"

17. 371 : 30-32

Truth is an alterative in the entire system, and can make it "every whit whole."