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Metaphysical Application Ideas for the Christian Science Bible Lesson on
“Soul and Body”
For the week of November 19 – 25, 2007 Prepared by Janet Hegarty, C.S. of St. Louis, MO

Take action:  Discover your beautiful, indestructible, identity today!

Editor’s Note: The following application ideas for the Christian Science Bible Lesson for this week are offered primarily to help CedarS campers and staff (as well as friends) see and demonstrate the great value of daily study and application of the Christian Science Bible lessons year-round, not just at camp!  You can sign up to have them emailed to you free — in English by Monday or in French or Spanish by Wednesday: SIGN UP at www.cedarscamps.org/metaphysical/ FOR FREE TRANSLATIONS.

Golden Text:  You are the temple of God! 
And what a magnificent temple you are.  You reflect the perfect nature of perfect God, Soul.  You are truly beautiful because you are full of Soul’s grace.  Your substance is Love.  You do feel Love and are all-loving and lovely.  Your goodness and purity originate in Principle.  You are made in the design of Spirit, wholly spiritual, and indestructible.  You shine by the everlasting light of Life.  You are strong, active, and moving in harmony with good.  Your thoughts come from divine Mind.  Rest assured, wisdom and intelligence abound in your temple.  You are wholly honest, built on Truth which is your secure foundation.  No need to fear – almighty God is the power that upholds your temple and wisdom and Love guard the door. 
[Possible Sunday School Topic (P.S.S.T!):   In this lesson what angelic ideas can serve not just as your own personal bodyguards, but also as your sacred temple guards, keeping you and your body in God’s service?]

Responsive Reading:  God loves you, stay awake to His love and goodness. 
You will find many comforting and encouraging promises in the Responsive Reading.  Here are just a few:  “I have loved thee with an everlasting love,” (vs.3) “…their soul shall be as a watered garden,” (vs. 12) “I will rejoice over them to do them good.” (vs.41)  You are loved by God.  This love of Love upholds, blesses, and encourages good throughout the entire creation.  To fully enjoy the blessings, be sure to stay awake to ever-present love and goodness.  It can sometimes be tempting to hold things in our thought that are not good.  But doing this would hide God’s ever-present goodness from our sight.  [Remember my Sunday School teacher, Miss Mary Kessler’s, Thanksgiving message: “Gratitude outlaws blindness to present good!”]  If someone has said something hurtful, or carelessly been unkind, don’t dwell on it.  Turn your thought to the perfect spiritual man and woman of God’s creating.  Since God, who has all power, is encouraging good in his whole creation, goodness is all that is truly real.  Any appearance of evil, no matter how real it might seem, is only a mistake.  You are loved by God – there’s no need to be offended.  To “flow together to the goodness of the Lord” (vs.12) fix your thoughts on good and enjoy the full blessing of God’s Love.   [P.S.S.T!   What past offense in your experience would blind you to present good and prevent a “flow(ing) together to … goodness”?  How can you “outlaw” such a hurtful unkindness and stop dwelling on it?]

Section 1:  You have been formed by God, to show how wonderful God is. (B2) 
This is very good.  But what about those times when you feel as if you are a limited material personality just struggling to get through the day?  Don’t accept it.  You are not a child of the flesh. (B3)  God formed you to reflect His infinite nature.  God, Mind is ever-present and supplies you with all the good ideas you need in your day.  Be convinced that you do not exist apart from God.  You are a child of God.  “God is thy sun, and Christ thy light, be thou a steadfast ray.” (Hymn 14)  Be steadfast in your conviction that you are not separated from God.  “The Spirit himself endorses our inward conviction that we really are the children of God.” (B4, The New Testament in Modern English, J.B. Phillips)  God “imparts and perpetuates these qualities  [individuality, harmony, and immortality] in man, – through Mind, not matter.” (S4) 
[Possible, Uplifting Sunday School Homework or (P.U.S.S.H.):]   Take action: Claim your true identity as God’s spiritual perfect idea!

Section 2: “Leave it all quietly to God, my soul.” (B6, Moffatt)  
Remember the Responsive Reading – God loves you in the most pure, tender, and perfect way.  He always has your best interests in mind.  You can turn to God to take care of every concern you have.  “He [God] will carry out what He has planned for [you].” (B7, Gerrit Verkuyl)  God is so close to you, “in him we live, and move, and have our being.” (B8)  “For we, remember, are ourselves living temples of the living God.” (B9, J. B. Phillips)  The real man coexists with God and reflects God, but mistaken human concepts turn this relationship upside down and promote the false concept that man and mind are in matter and are subject to matter. (S6)  Christian Science sets things right and proves instead that “body is tributary to Mind” and man “is but the humble servant of the restful Mind.” (S6) 

 [P.U.S.S.H:  Take action: “Stand porter at the door of thought.” (S11)  Stop all the party-crashing hijackers that would keep you and your body from being “the temple of the living God” (B9) — dedicated to God’s service!]  I was so glad when Christian Science taught me that I didn’t have to welcome in every thought that popped into my thinking.  Some of those thoughts made me really afraid.  Soon, I realized I could even make a habit of bringing in loads of good thoughts – that was even better!  As my thoughts improved, my health also improved.  My sister lives in a high-rise apartment.  Twenty-four hours a day there is a man at a desk just inside the front door of her building.  This person is a “porter.”  His job is to make sure that only invited guests of the residents get past the door.  One day my sister had a big party and the porter made me wait a long time until he found my name on the guest list.  Then he checked carefully to be sure I was the person I claimed to be before he finally let me go in to the party.  To keep yourself free from the oppression of “so-called” mortal mind, you can be a porter at the door of your thinking.  To do this, make a “guest list” of good thoughts that you will invite in.  You could start your list with the three statements of Truth listed in citation S10.  Then, check your thoughts against your guest list.  If you find a thought that’s not on the list, send it back out the door. 

Section 3:  God’s Love breaks the yoke.  
No, this is not an egg yoke.  This yoke is made out of a large piece of thick wood.  It was cut to fit over the shoulders of two oxen to keep them at work pulling a plow.  In citation B12 the word is used as a symbol for anything that is a burden or that keeps one in subjection. (
Westminster Dictionary of the Bible)  God is merciful and the sacrifice that He asks is that his children also be merciful to one another.  God’s mercy frees us from burdens – breaks the yoke.  Christ Jesus understood God’s Love and he showed the power of this Love to mankind through his healing ministry.  Mary Baker Eddy discovered the healing power of Love through her inspired study of the Bible and she made her discovery available in a book so that everyone could understand and practice Christian healing.  In her book, Science and Health, she explains, “Mind, not matter, is causation.” (S14)  Because God is Mind and God is the only power, harmony, health and goodness are the only true states of being.  You don’t need to bow down under the yoke of sickness.  The law of Love has broken the yoke.  Claim your rights as a child of God.  [P.U.S.S.H:]   Take action:  “Realize the presence of health and the fact of harmonious being, until the body corresponds with the normal conditions of health and harmony.” (S17)      

Section 4:  Be convinced.  [See PS for audio clip of Cherie Brennan singing “do you believe it’s true?””] 
In the healing of the two blind men, (B16) Jesus first asks them, “Believe ye that I am able to do this?”  The original Greek word for “believe” is pisteuo which means: to have faith, to entrust, commit or to put trust in.  And later he says, “According to your faith be it unto you.”  The original Greek word for “faith” is pistis which means: conviction, reliance, constancy, assurance, fidelity. (Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible)  Jesus’ question encouraged the two men to express their conviction that they would be healed.  In citation S18 we read that Jesus knew, he had absolute conviction, “that Soul and its attributes were forever manifested through man….” (S18)  It is good to consider our own answer to this question – do you have conviction that the senses of Soul are forever manifested?  Don’t let aggressive advertising for material procedures weaken your conviction.  Don’t even listen to the ads, you don’t need to listen because you know the Truth.  You know that “…there is no oblivion for Soul and its faculties.”  You know that neither “age nor accident can interfere with the senses of Soul….”  You know that “Spirit’s senses are without pain, and they are forever at peace.” (S19)  You know that “Sight, hearing, all the spiritual senses of man, are eternal.  You know they “cannot be lost.” (S21)  [P.U.S.S.H:]   Take action:  Affirm that you are convinced of the Truth [until you really feel this divine conviction and its healing gratitude].

Section 5:  Oh, what a beautiful and perfect temple you are! 
Peter and John were surely convinced that man’s body was the temple of God, “the superstructure of Truth,” (B18, S22) perfect now and forever.  Their firm conviction corrected the sickly thought of the man at the gate of the temple and he was made new. (B18, S25)  They had seen Jesus’ proofs of man’s wholeness and they had proved it themselves.  They were convinced “that the Spirit of God dwelleth in [man].” (B19)  The result of their conviction was healing.  There is no need to be afraid of the body.  It is God’s good idea – “the shrine of Love….” (S22)  To strengthen your conviction of the spiritual facts about the body, make a note of healings that you have experienced, read the testimonies in the Sentinel and the Journal, listen to and share testimonies of healing at the Wednesday Evening Meetings [and Thanksgiving service.]  Through these testimonies we can gain conviction and inspiration for our own prayers.  Add to this daily watchfulness “to be delivered from all evil, from prophesying, judging, condemning, counseling, influencing or being influenced erroneously.” (Church Manual)  You will feel your strength of conviction grow each day.  [P.U.S.S.H:]   Take action: “…divest thought of false trust and material evidences in order that the spiritual facts of being may appear….” (S27)      

Section 6:  You do dwell in the house of the Lord!  
Your daily efforts to behold the beauty of the Lord will be rewarded. (B20)  Hold God, good, at the front of your thought.  Rejoice constantly in His goodness. (B21)  Magnify his glory and strength throughout your daily activities. (B22)  You are a child of God and so, you reflect God, good.  Rest assured, you are “indestructible,” (S28) immortal, “exempt from age and decay,” (S29) harmonious, good, painless, unlimited, wholly spiritual – and you can prove it. (S30)  
[P.U.S.S.H:]   Take action:  “…retreat from the belief of pain or pleasure in the body into the unchanging calm and glorious freedom of spiritual harmony.” (S29)    

 
P.S.  Those wishing to see scenes of the 2007 CSO Summit at CedarS
over Labor Day weekend can checkout the introduction to the eBible lesson read online this week by Bill Warrick, Coordinator of the Spiritual Activists Summits sponsored by TMCYouth.  The audio background for these Summit scenes is Cherie Brennan singing “You are made in God’s image and likeness” from  her CD sold in Reading Room.  It contains a line about “do you believe it’s true?” that fits the lesson perfectly.]  You can access the eBibleLesson anytime at http://www.ebiblelesson.com.  Just click on the “Subscribe” button, OR the “Log in” button in the top-right corner of the page if you have already subscribed.

Camp Director’s Note: The above sharing is the latest in a series of CedarS Bible Lesson “mets” (metaphysical application ideas) contributed weekly by a rotation of CedarS Resident Practitioners and occasionally by other metaphysicians [with bracketed, italicized notes and “Possible Sunday School Topics” offered by me as editor]. This document is intended to initiate further study as well as to encourage the application of ideas found in the Weekly Bible Lessons as printed in the Christian Science Quarterly and as available at Christian Science Reading Rooms. * Originally sent JUST to campers, staff and CedarS families who wanted to continue at home and in their home Sunday Schools the same type of focused Lesson study, application and inspiration they had felt at camp, CedarS lesson “mets” are in no way meant to be definitive or conclusive or in any way a substitute for daily study of the lesson. The thoughts presented are the inspiration of the moment and are offered to give a bit more dimension, background and daily applicability to some of the ideas and passages being studied. The citations referenced (i.e. B1 and S28) from this week’s Bible Lesson in the “met” (metaphysical application ideas) are taken from the King James Version of the Bible (B1-24) and the Christian Science textbook, Science and Health With Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy. (S1-30) The Bible and Science and Health are the ordained pastor of the Churches of Christ, Scientist. The Bible Lesson is the sermon read in Christian Science church services throughout the world. The Lesson-Sermon speaks individually through the Christ to everyone, providing unique insights and tailor-made applications for each one. We are glad you requested this metaphysical sharing and hope that you find some of these ideas helpful in your daily spiritual journey, in your deeper digging in the books and in closer bonding with your Comforter and Pastor. Have fun unwrapping, cherishing and sharing your special, spiritual gift(s)!  
Enjoy!
Warren Huff, Camp Director director@cedarscamps.org (636) 394-6162
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The weekly Metaphysical Newsletter is provided at no charge to the 1,200 campers and staff blessed each summer at CedarS, as well as to CedarS alumni, families and friends who request it. However, current and planned gifts are needed to defray the costs of running this service and of providing camperships, programs and operations support. Click http://www.cedarscamps.org/giving for more about how you can give online or get information to talk privately about how to make a special gift to help perpetuate CedarS work.

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LETTING A SPECIAL NEED/OPPORTUNITY BE KNOWN – Funding is needed to help us take advantage of a “Maintenance Musts” Matching Grant offer from a generous donor who is aware of the ongoing maintenance needed to make CedarS facilities measure up to its mission!  IF we raise $25,000 by 12-31-07, $25,000 will be given! (~$14,000 more to go)

Thanks to a special offer from the Christian Science Publishing Society from now until November 23, 2007, CedarS campers, family and friends can get up to 7 sample issues of MyBibleLesson!  Sign in at www. myBibleLesson.com/Cedars to access this new, visually-oriented and very helpful study resource for the weekly Christian Science Bible Lesson.  It’s being produced by The Christian Science Publishing Society.  What a great auxiliary to lesson study – and to reading beyond citation markers using the handsome new student books now in Reading Rooms (and available at a substantial savings at the www. myBibleLesson.com/Cedars website.)  MyBibleLesson contains word definitions, Bible background Notes, fun topical cartoons, timelines and translations, plus many healing ideas to use.  Why not check out this vehicle to help bring new meaning and life to each beloved Bible lesson in order to bless the youthful thinker and Sunday School student (and teacher) in us all!

You can receive or stop your free subscription to CedarS weekly newsletter in your email box by Sunday or Monday of each week by subscribing – or unsubscribing –at www.cedarscamps.org/myCedars additional support, or if you have any concerns, please send e-mail to: ForHYPERLINK “mailto:director@cedarscamps.org”director@cedarscamps.org.

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