Responsive Reading: Psalm 8 : 1, 3-6

1.     O Lord our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth! who hast set thy glory above the heavens.

3.     When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained;

4.     What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?

5.     For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour.

6.     Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet.

1. James 1 : 2-4, 8, 12-14

2     My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations;

3     Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.

4     But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.

8     A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.

12     Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.

13     Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man:

14     But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.

2. I Corinthians 10 : 13

13     There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.

3. Genesis 39 : 1-12

1     And Joseph was brought down to Egypt; and Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, captain of the guard, an Egyptian, bought him of the hands of the Ishmeelites, which had brought him down thither.

2     And the Lord was with Joseph, and he was a prosperous man; and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian.

3     And his master saw that the Lord was with him, and that the Lord made all that he did to prosper in his hand.

4     And Joseph found grace in his sight, and he served him: and he made him overseer over his house, and all that he had he put into his hand.

5     And it came to pass from the time that he had made him overseer in his house, and over all that he had, that the Lord blessed the Egyptian’s house for Joseph’s sake; and the blessing of the Lord was upon all that he had in the house, and in the field.

6     And he left all that he had in Joseph’s hand; and he knew not ought he had, save the bread which he did eat. And Joseph was a goodly person, and well favoured.

7     And it came to pass after these things, that his master’s wife cast her eyes upon Joseph; and she said, Lie with me.

8     But he refused, and said unto his master’s wife, Behold, my master wotteth not what is with me in the house, and he hath committed all that he hath to my hand;

9     There is none greater in this house than I; neither hath he kept back any thing from me but thee, because thou art his wife: how then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?

10     And it came to pass, as she spake to Joseph day by day, that he hearkened not unto her, to lie by her, or to be with her.

11     And it came to pass about this time, that Joseph went into the house to do his business; and there was none of the men of the house there within.

12     And she caught him by his garment, saying, Lie with me: and he left his garment in her hand, and fled, and got him out.

4. I John 5 : 18-21

18     We know that whosoever is born of God sinneth not; but he that is begotten of God keepeth himself, and that wicked one toucheth him not.

19     And we know that we are of God, and the whole world lieth in wickedness.

20     And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life.

21     Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen.

5. Matthew 3 : 16, 17

16     And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him:

17     And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.

6. Matthew 4 : 1-11

1     Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil.

2     And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred.

3     And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.

4     But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.

5     Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple,

6     And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.

7     Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.

8     Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them;

9     And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.

10     Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.

11     Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him.

7. Matthew 5 : 1, 2

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,

8. Matthew 6 : 9 (to :), 13

9     After this manner therefore pray ye:

13     And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.

1. 470 : 23-24

Man is the expression of God's being.

2. 475 : 28 (The)-31

The real man cannot depart from holiness, nor can God, by whom man is evolved, engender the capacity or freedom to sin.

4. 192 : 17-31

Moral and spiritual might belong to Spirit, who holds the "wind in His fists;" and this teaching accords with Science and harmony. In Science, you can have no power opposed to God, and the physical senses must give up their false testimony. Your influence for good depends upon the weight you throw into the right scale. The good you do and embody gives you the only power obtainable. Evil is not power. It is a mockery of strength, which erelong betrays its weakness and falls, never to rise.

We walk in the footsteps of Truth and Love by following the example of our Master in the understanding of divine metaphysics. Christianity is the basis of true healing. Whatever holds human thought in line with unselfed love, receives directly the divine power.

5. 170 : 28-8 (to 4th ,)

The description of man as purely physical, or as both material and spiritual, — but in either case dependent upon his physical organization, — is the Pandora box, from which all ills have gone forth, especially despair. Matter, which takes divine power into its own hands and claims to be a creator, is a fiction, in which paganism and lust are so sanctioned by society that mankind has caught their moral contagion.

Through discernment of the spiritual opposite of materiality, even the way through Christ, Truth, man will reopen with the key of divine Science the gates of Paradise which human beliefs have closed, and will find himself unfallen, upright, pure, and free,

6. 67 : 18-24

The notion that animal natures can possibly give force to character is too absurd for consideration, when we remember that through spiritual ascendency our Lord and Master healed the sick, raised the dead, and commanded even the winds and waves to obey him. Grace and Truth are potent beyond all other means and methods.

7. 234 : 25-3

Sin and disease must be thought before they can be manifested. You must control evil thoughts in the first instance, or they will control you in the second. Jesus declared that to look with desire on forbidden objects was to break a moral precept. He laid great stress on the action of the human mind, unseen to the senses.

Evil thoughts and aims reach no farther and do no more harm than one's belief permits. Evil thoughts, lusts, and malicious purposes cannot go forth, like wandering pollen, from one human mind to another, finding unsuspected lodgment, if virtue and truth build a strong defence.

8. 56 : 15-3

Infidelity to the marriage covenant is the social scourge of all races, "the pestilence that walketh in darkness, ... the destruction that wasteth at noonday." The commandment, "Thou shalt not commit adultery," is no less imperative than the one, "Thou shalt not kill."

Chastity is the cement of civilization and progress. Without it there is no stability in society, and without it one cannot attain the Science of Life.

9. 407 : 6-16

Man's enslavement to the most relentless masters — passion, selfishness, envy, hatred, and revenge — is conquered only by a mighty struggle. Every hour of delay makes the struggle more severe. If man is not victorious over the passions, they crush out happiness, health, and manhood. Here Christian Science is the sovereign panacea, giving strength to the weakness of mortal mind, — strength from the immortal and omnipotent Mind, — and lifting humanity above itself into purer desires, even into spiritual power and good-will to man.

10. 404 : 17-28

The temperance reform, felt all over our land, results from metaphysical healing, which cuts down every tree that brings not forth good fruit. This conviction, that there is no real pleasure in sin, is one of the most important points in the theology of Christian Science. Arouse the sinner to this new and true view of sin, show him that sin confers no pleasure, and this knowledge strengthens his moral courage and increases his ability to master evil and to love good.

Healing the sick and reforming the sinner are one and the same thing in Christian Science. Both cures require the same method and are inseparable in Truth.

11. 327 : 23-3

Moral courage is requisite to meet the wrong and to proclaim the right. But how shall we reform the man who has more animal than moral courage, and who has not the true idea of good? Through human consciousness, convince the mortal of his mistake in seeking material means for gaining happiness. Reason is the most active human faculty. Let that inform the sentiments and awaken the man's dormant sense of moral obligation, and by degrees he will learn the nothingness of the pleasures of human sense and the grandeur and bliss of a spiritual sense, which silences the material or corporeal. Then he not only will be saved, but is saved.

12. 495 : 14-20

When the illusion of sickness or sin tempts you, cling steadfastly to God and His idea. Allow nothing but His likeness to abide in your thought. Let neither fear nor doubt overshadow your clear sense and calm trust, that the recognition of life harmonious — as Life eternally is — can destroy any painful sense of, or belief in, that which Life is not.

13. 371 : 26-32

Mankind will improve through Science and Christianity. The necessity for uplifting the race is father to the fact that Mind can do it; for Mind can impart purity instead of impurity, strength instead of weakness, and health instead of disease. Truth is an alterative in the entire system, and can make it "every whit whole."

14. 17 : 8-15

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil;

And God leadeth us not into temptation, but delivereth us from sin, disease, and death.

For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever.

For God is infinite, all-power, all Life, Truth, Love, over all, and All.