Exceeding great and precious promises

Readings for 7/20/16, Second Church, Berkeley
SH II Pet. 1:1-8
1 Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to them that have obtained like precious faith with us through the righteousness of God and our Saviour Jesus Christ: 2 Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord, 3 According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: 4 Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. 5 And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; 6 And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; 7 And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. 8 For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
SH Gen. 26:1-4
1 And there was a famine in the land, beside the first famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went unto Abimelech king of the Philistines unto Gerar. 2 And the LORD appeared unto him, and said, Go not down into Egypt; dwell in the land which I shall tell thee of: 3 Sojourn in this land, and I will be with thee, and will bless thee; for unto thee, and unto thy seed, I will give all these countries, and I will perform the oath which I sware unto Abraham thy father; 4 And I will make thy seed to multiply as the stars of heaven, and will give unto thy seed all these countries; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed;
SH Luke 8:40
40 And it came to pass, that, when Jesus was returned, the people gladly received him: for they were all waiting for him.
SH Luke 15:1-5
1 Then drew near unto him all the publicans and sinners for to hear him. 2 And the Pharisees and scribes murmured, saying, This man receiveth sinners, and eateth with them. 3 And he spake this parable unto them, saying, 4 What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it? 5 And when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing.
SH Mark 4:24-29
24 And he said unto them, Take heed what ye hear: with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you: and unto you that hear shall more be given. 25 For he that hath, to him shall be given: and he that hath not, from him shall be taken even that which he hath. 26 And he said, So is the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed into the ground; 27 And should sleep, and rise night and day, and the seed should spring and grow up, he knoweth not how. 28 For the earth bringeth forth fruit of herself; first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear. 29 But when the fruit is brought forth, immediately he putteth in the sickle, because the harvest is come.
SH John 4:35
35 Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest.
SH John 15:26 1st when
26 …when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me:
SH I John 4:18
18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.
SH Gal. 3:28 1st ye, 29
28 …ye are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.
SH 14:12-22
Become conscious for a single moment that Life and
intelligence are purely spiritual, – neither in nor of
matter, – and the body will then utter no
complaints. If suffering from a belief in
sickness, you will find yourself suddenly well. Sorrow
is turned into joy when the body is controlled by spir-
itual Life, Truth, and Love. Hence the hope of the
promise Jesus bestows: “He that believeth on me,
the works that I do shall he do also; . . . because I
go unto my Father,” – [because the Ego is absent from
the body, and present with Truth and Love.
SH 246:10-20, 23-25
The measurement of life by solar years robs youth and
gives ugliness to age. The radiant sun of virtue and truth
coexists with being. Manhood is its eternal noon, un-
dimmed by a declining sun. As the physical and mate-
rial, the transient sense of beauty fades, the radiance of
Spirit should dawn upon the enraptured sense with bright
and imperishable glories.
Never record ages. Chronological data are no part
of the vast forever. Time-tables of birth and death are
so many conspiracies against manhood and
womanhood.
Man,
governed by immortal Mind, is always beautiful and
grand.
SH 247:31-8
The recipe for beauty is to have less illusion and
more Soul, to retreat from the belief of pain or pleasure
in the body into the unchanging calm and glorious free-
dom of spiritual harmony.
Love never loses sight of loveliness. Its halo rests upon
its object. One marvels that a friend can ever seem less
than beautiful. Men and women of riper
years and larger lessons ought to ripen into
health and immortality, instead of lapsing into darkness
or gloom.
SH 13:2
Love is impartial and universal in its adaptation and
bestowals. It is the open fount which cries, “Ho,
every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters.
SH 65:13-16
The broadcast powers of evil so conspicuous to-day
show themselves in the materialism and sensualism of
the age, struggling against the advancing
spiritual era.
SH 342:7-12
He that
decries this Science does it presumptuously,
in the face of Bible history and in defiance of the direct
command of Jesus, “Go ye into all the world, and preach
the gospel,” to which command was added the promise
that his students should cast out evils and heal the sick.
SH 410:14-21
Every trial of our faith in God makes us stronger.
The more difficult seems the material condition to be
overcome by Spirit, the stronger should be our
faith and the purer our love. The Apostle
John says: “There is no fear in Love, but perfect Love
casteth out fear. . . . He that feareth is not made per-
fect in Love.” Here is a definite and inspired proclama-
tion of Christian Science.
SH 558:10-13
To mortal sense
Science seems at first obscure, abstract, and
dark; but a bright promise crowns its brow.
When understood, it is Truth’s prism and praise.
SH 55:21
The promises will be ful-
filled. The time for the reappearing of the divine healing
is throughout all time; and whosoever layeth his earthly
all on the altar of divine Science, drinketh of Christ’s
cup now, and is endued with the spirit and power of
Christian healing.
SH 634:21-28
SH 635:1-7
SH 328:20-25, 28
Under-
standing spiritual law and knowing that there is no mate-
rial law, Jesus said: “These signs shall follow them that
believe, . . . they shall take up serpents, and if they
drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them. They
shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.
Jesus’ promise is perpetual. Had it been given only
to his immediate disciples, the Scriptural passage would
read you, not they. The purpose of his great life-work
extends through time and includes universal humanity.
Its Principle is infinite, reaching beyond the pale of a
single period or of a limited following. As time moves
on, the healing elements of pure Christianity will be fairly
dealt with; they will be sought and taught, and will glow
in all the grandeur of universal goodness.





II Pet. 1:1-8
Gen. 26:1-4
Luke 8:40
Luke 15:1-5
Mark 4:24-29
John 4:35
John 15:26 when
I John 4:18
Gal. 3:28 ye, 29
SH 14:12-22
SH 246:10-20, 23-25
SH 247:31-8
SH 13:2
SH 65:13-16
SH 342:7-12
SH 410:14-21
SH 558:10-13
SH 55:21
SH 634:21-28
SH 635:1-7
SH 328:20-25, 28
Hymns
334 The spirit breathes upon the word
122 How blest are they whose hearts are pure
190 My Father, my God, make me strong

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.