Responsive Reading: Isaiah 44 : 8, 21-23, 28

8.     Fear ye not, neither be afraid: have not I told thee from that time, and have declared it? ye are even my witnesses. Is there a God beside me? yea, there is no God; I know not any.

21.     Remember these, O Jacob and Israel; for thou art my servant: I have formed thee; thou art my servant: O Israel, thou shalt not be forgotten of me.

22.     I have blotted out, as a thick cloud, thy transgressions, and, as a cloud, thy sins: return unto me; for I have redeemed thee.

23.     Sing, O ye heavens; for the Lord hath done it: shout, ye lower parts of the earth: break forth into singing, ye mountains, O forest, and every tree therein: for the Lord hath redeemed Jacob, and glorified himself in Israel.

28.     He is my shepherd, and shall perform all my pleasure: even saying to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be built; and to the temple, Thy foundation shall be laid.

1. Matthew 23 : 9 (call)

9     …call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven.

2. Ezekiel 1 : 3 (to 1st ,), 1 (the heavens), 4, 28 (This)

3     The word of the Lord came expressly unto Ezekiel the priest,

1     …the heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God.

4     And I looked, and, behold, a whirlwind came out of the north, a great cloud, and a fire infolding itself, and a brightness was about it, and out of the midst thereof as the colour of amber, out of the midst of the fire.

28     This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord. And when I saw it, I fell upon my face, and I heard a voice of one that spake.

3. Ezekiel 2 : 2-6, 8 (to :)

2     And the spirit entered into me when he spake unto me, and set me upon my feet, that I heard him that spake unto me.

3     And he said unto me, Son of man, I send thee to the children of Israel, to a rebellious nation that hath rebelled against me: they and their fathers have transgressed against me, even unto this very day.

4     For they are impudent children and stiffhearted. I do send thee unto them; and thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God.

5     And they, whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear, (for they are a rebellious house,) yet shall know that there hath been a prophet among them.

6     And thou, son of man, be not afraid of them, neither be afraid of their words, though briers and thorns be with thee, and thou dost dwell among scorpions: be not afraid of their words, nor be dismayed at their looks, though they be a rebellious house.

8 But thou, son of man, hear what I say unto thee; Be not thou rebellious like that rebellious house:

4. Ezekiel 34 : 1, 2, 4, 5, 6 (and none), 9, 12, 14 (to :), 25 (to :), 26 (to ;), 30 (to 1st ,)

1     And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,

2     Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God unto the shepherds; Woe be to the shepherds of Israel that do feed themselves! should not the shepherds feed the flocks?

4     The diseased have ye not strengthened, neither have ye healed that which was sick, neither have ye bound up that which was broken, neither have ye brought again that which was driven away, neither have ye sought that which was lost; but with force and with cruelty have ye ruled them.

5     And they were scattered, because there is no shepherd: and they became meat to all the beasts of the field, when they were scattered.

6     …and none did search or seek after them.

9     Therefore, O ye shepherds, hear the word of the Lord;

12     As a shepherd seeketh out his flock in the day that he is among his sheep that are scattered; so will I seek out my sheep, and will deliver them out of all places where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day.

14     I will feed them in a good pasture, and upon the high mountains of Israel shall their fold be:

25     And I will make with them a covenant of peace, and will cause the evil beasts to cease out of the land:

26     And I will make them and the places round about my hill a blessing;

30     Thus shall they know that I the Lord their God am with them,

5. John 8 : 1, 2, 12 (saying), 28 (I do), 29

1     Jesus went unto the mount of Olives.

2     And early in the morning he came again into the temple, and all the people came unto him; and he sat down, and taught them.

12     …saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.

28     I do nothing of myself; but as my Father hath taught me, I speak these things.

29     And he that sent me is with me: the Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please him.

6. John 10 : 7 (Verily), 9 (by), 10 (I), 14-16, 27-30

7     Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep.

9     …by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.

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

14     I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine.

15     As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep.

16     And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.

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.

7. Matthew 25 : 34 (Come)

34     Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:

8. I Peter 5 : 2 (to 1st ;), 3, 4

2     Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly;

3     Neither as being lords over God’s heritage, but being ensamples to the flock.

4     And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away.

1. 361 : 16-18

As a drop of water is one with the ocean, a ray of light one with the sun, even so God and man, Father and son, are one in being.

2. 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.

3. 467 : 3 (The)-16

The first demand of this Science is, "Thou shalt have no other gods before me." This me is Spirit. Therefore the command means this: Thou shalt have no intelligence, no life, no substance, no truth, no love, but that which is spiritual. The second is like unto it, "Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself." It should be thoroughly understood that all men have one Mind, one God and Father, one Life, Truth, and Love. Mankind will become perfect in proportion as this fact becomes apparent, war will cease and the true brotherhood of man will be established. Having no other gods, turning to no other but the one perfect Mind to guide him, man is the likeness of God, pure and eternal, having that Mind which was also in Christ.

4. 26 : 10-18

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.

5. 25 : 13-21

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. Jesus presented the ideal of God better than could any man whose origin was less spiritual. By his obedience to God, he demonstrated more spiritually than all others the Principle of being. Hence the force of his admonition, "If ye love me, keep my commandments."

6. 124 : 14-31

The universe, like man, is to be interpreted by Science from its divine Principle, God, and then it can be understood; but when explained on the basis of physical sense and represented as subject to growth, maturity, and decay, the universe, like man, is, and must continue to be, an enigma.

Adhesion, cohesion, and attraction are properties of Mind. They belong to divine Principle, and support the equipoise of that thought-force, which launched the earth in its orbit and said to the proud wave, "Thus far and no farther."

Spirit is the life, substance, and continuity of all things. We tread on forces. Withdraw them, and creation must collapse. Human knowledge calls them forces of matter; but divine Science declares that they belong wholly to divine Mind, are inherent in this Mind, and so restores them to their rightful home and classification.

7. 335 : 25 (Mind)-29

Mind is the divine Principle, Love, and can produce nothing unlike the eternal Father-Mother, God. Reality is spiritual, harmonious, immutable, immortal, divine, eternal. Nothing unspiritual can be real, harmonious, or eternal.

8. 276 : 17-28

If God is admitted to be the only Mind and Life, there ceases to be any opportunity for sin and death. When we learn in Science how to be perfect even as our Father in heaven is perfect, thought is turned into new and healthy channels, — towards the contemplation of things immortal and away from materiality to the Principle of the universe, including harmonious man.

Material beliefs and spiritual understanding never mingle. The latter destroys the former. Discord is the nothingness named error. Harmony is the somethingness named Truth.

9. 302 : 15 (harmonious)-25

…harmonious and immortal man has existed forever, and is always beyond and above the mortal illusion of any life, substance, and intelligence as existent in matter. This statement is based on fact, not fable. 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.

God is Love.

10. 518 : 13-23

God gives the lesser idea of Himself for a link to the greater, and in return, the higher always protects the lower. The rich in spirit help the poor in one grand brotherhood, all having the same Principle, or Father; and blessed is that man who seeth his brother's need and supplieth it, seeking his own in another's good. Love giveth to the least spiritual idea might, immortality, and goodness, which shine through all as the blossom shines through the bud. All the varied expressions of God reflect health, holiness, immortality — infinite Life, Truth, and Love.

11. 469 : 30-5

With one Father, even God, the whole family of man would be brethren; and with one Mind and that God, or good, the brotherhood of man would consist of Love and Truth, and have unity of Principle and spiritual power which constitute divine Science.

12. 442 : 27 (“Fear)-29

"Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom." This truth is Christian Science.