Living a life of gratitude

2nd Church, Berkeley, Wed. readings, 9/16/15
SH Ps. 66:1, 2
1 Make a joyful noise unto God, all ye lands: 2 Sing forth the honour of his name: make his praise glorious.
SH Ps. 100:2, 3 1st it, 4, 5
2 Serve the LORD with gladness: come before his presence with singing. 3 …it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. 4 Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name. 5 For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.
SH Ps. 107:9, 14, 22 1st declare, 29, 35-37, 42 (to 1st :), 43
9 For he satisfieth the longing soul, and filleth the hungry soul with goodness. 14 He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death, and brake their bands in sunder. 22 …declare his works with rejoicing. 29 He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still. 35 He turneth the wilderness into a standing water, and dry ground into watersprings. 36 And there he maketh the hungry to dwell, that they may prepare a city for habitation; 37 And sow the fields, and plant vineyards, which may yield fruits of increase. 42 The righteous shall see it, and rejoice: 43 Whoso is wise, and will observe these things, even they shall understand the lovingkindness of the LORD.
SH I Chron. 29:10 1st David, 11-13
10 …David blessed the LORD before all the congregation: and David said, Blessed be thou, LORD God of Israel our father, for ever and ever. 11 Thine, O LORD is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty: for all that is in the heaven and in the earth is thine; thine is the kingdom, O LORD, and thou art exalted as head above all. 12 Both riches and honour come of thee, and thou reignest over all; and in thine hand is power and might; and in thine hand it is to make great, and to give strength unto all. 13 Now therefore, our God, we thank thee, and praise thy glorious name.
SH John 11:41-44
41 Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead was laid. And Jesus lifted up his eyes, and said, Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me. 42 And I knew that thou hearest me always: but because of the people which stand by I said it, that they may believe that thou hast sent me. 43 And when he thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth. 44 And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with graveclothes: and his face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus saith unto them, Loose him, and let him go.
SH Matt. 14:15-20
15 And when it was evening, his disciples came to him, saying, This is a desert place, and the time is now past; send the multitude away, that they may go into the villages, and buy themselves victuals. 16 But Jesus said unto them, They need not depart; give ye them to eat. 17 And they say unto him, We have here but five loaves, and two fishes. 18 He said, Bring them hither to me. 19 And he commanded the multitude to sit down on the grass, and took the five loaves, and the two fishes, and looking up to heaven, he blessed, and brake, and gave the loaves to his disciples, and the disciples to the multitude. 20 And they did all eat, and were filled: and they took up of the fragments that remained twelve baskets full.
SH Mark 14:1 (to 1st :), 17, 22, 23
1 After two days was the feast of the passover, and of unleavened bread: 17 And in the evening he cometh with the twelve. 22 And as they did eat, Jesus took bread, and blessed, and brake it, and gave to them, and said, Take, eat: this is my body. 23 And he took the cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them: and they all drank of it.
SH II Thess. 1:3
3 We are bound to thank God always for you, brethren, as it is meet, because that your faith groweth exceedingly, and the charity of every one of you all toward each other aboundeth;
SH Col. 3:15
15 And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful.
SH 3:22-24, 27-32
Are we really grateful for the good
already received? Then we shall avail ourselves of the
blessings we have, and thus be fitted to receive more.
If we are ungrateful for Life, Truth, and Love, and
yet return thanks to God for all blessings, we are in-
sincere and incur the sharp censure our Master pro-
nounces on hypocrites. In such a case, the only
acceptable prayer is to put the finger on the lips and
remember our blessings.
SH 8:14-18
If we feel the aspiration, hu-
mility, gratitude, and love which our words express,-
this God accepts; and it is wise not to try to deceive
ourselves or others, for “there is nothing covered that
shall not be revealed.
SH 26:1-18
While we adore Jesus, and the heart overflows with
gratitude for what he did for mortals, – treading alone
his loving pathway up to the throne of
glory, in speechless agony exploring the way
for us, – yet Jesus spares us not one individual expe-
rience, if we follow his commands faithfully; and all
have the cup of sorrowful effort to drink in proportion
to their demonstration of his love, till all are redeemed
through divine Love.
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.
SH 329:5-12 (to 1st .)
A little leaven leavens the whole lump. A little under-
standing of Christian Science proves the truth of all that
I say of it. Because you cannot walk on the
water and raise the dead, you have no right to
question the great might of divine Science in these direc-
tions. Be thankful that Jesus, who was the true demon-
strator of Science, did these things, and left his example for
us.
SH 5:15-18
The followers of Christ drank his cup.
Ingratitude and persecution filled it to the brim; but God
pours the riches of His love into the understanding and
affections, giving us strength according to our day.
SH 124:32-6
The elements and functions of the physical body and
of the physical world will change as mortal mind changes
its beliefs. What is now considered the best condition
for organic and functional health in the human
body may no longer be found indispensable
to health. Moral conditions will be found always har-
monious and health-giving.
SH 125:12
As human thought changes from one stage to an-
other of conscious pain and painlessness, sorrow and
joy, – from fear to hope and from faith to understand-
ing, – the visible manifestation will at last be man gov-
erned by Soul, not by material sense. Reflecting God’s
government, man is self-governed. When subordinate
to the divine Spirit, man cannot be controlled by sin or
death, thus proving our material theories about laws of
health to be valueless.
SH 422:14
As when an acid and alkali
meet and bring out a third quality, so mental and moral
chemistry changes the material base of thought, giving
more spirituality to consciousness and causing it to depend
less on material evidence. These changes which go on
in mortal mind serve to reconstruct the body. Thus
Christian Science, by the alchemy of Spirit, destroys sin
and death.
SH 495:2
Truth casts out error now
as surely as it did nineteen centuries ago. All
of Truth is not understood; hence its healing power is not
fully demonstrated.
SH 505:22-25
Spiritual understanding unfolds
Mind, – Life, Truth, and Love, – and demonstrates the
divine sense, giving the spiritual proof of the universe in
Christian Science.
SH 517:7-10
The life-giving
quality of Mind is Spirit, not matter. The ideal man
corresponds to creation, to intelligence, and to Truth.
The ideal woman corresponds to Life and to Love.
SH 57:4-5, 8-11
Union of the masculine and feminine qualities consti-
tutes completeness.
These
different elements conjoin naturally with each other, and
their true harmony is in spiritual oneness. Both sexes
should be loving, pure, tender, and strong.
SH 595:22 (only)
TITHE.
SH 367:17
A Christian Scientist occupies the place at this period
of which Jesus spoke to his disciples, when he said: “Ye
are the salt of the earth.” “Ye are the light
of the world. A city that is set on an hill can-
not be hid.” Let us watch, work, and pray that this salt
lose not its saltness, and that this light be not hid, but
radiate and glow into noontide glory.
Hymns:
3 A grateful heart a garden is

450 O house of God, built on a firm foundation
10 All power is given unto our Lord


Ps. 66:1, 2
Ps. 100:2, 3 it, 4, 5
Ps. 107:9, 14, 22 declare, 29, 35-37, 42 (to :), 43
I Chron. 29:10 David, 11-13
John 11:41-44
Matt. 14:15-20
Mark 14:1 (to :), 17, 22, 23
II Thess. 1:3
Col. 3:15
SH 3:22-24, 27-32
SH 8:14-18
SH 26:1-18
SH 329:5-12 (to 1st .)
SH 5:15-18
SH 124:32-6
SH 125:12
SH 422:14
SH 495:2
SH 505:22-25
SH 517:7-10
SH 57:4-5, 8-11
SH 595:22 (only)
SH 367:17

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