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Take up the Cross – Win and wear the Crown!
Metaphysical Application Ideas for the Christian Science Bible-Lesson for October 5-11, 2009
Subject: ” Are Sin, Disease, and Death Real?”
Prepared by Kathy Fitzer, C.S., of St. Louis, MO

[Editor’s Note: The following application ideas for this week and the Possible Sunday School Topics that follow 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 each week, or by each Wednesday you can get a FREE TRANSLATION in French from Pascal or in Spanish from Ana. JUST SIGN UP at www.cedarscamps.org/newsletters]

We hear about taking up the cross and wearing the crown. But, what does that mean? This week’s lesson maps out the way for us. We are privileged to have Jesus as our Master, and have Christian Science to elaborate on the practical “how-to” of his message. We see the words, “Heal the sick, raise the dead cleanse he lepers, cast out demons” every time we pick up a Science and Health and other Christian Science literature. Isn’t it time to think more about how to obey those commands? We have the opportunity to do just that this week. As we struggle to obey, we are blessed with a grander view of reality and demonstrate God’s omnipotent power to bless all. Just as it takes a lot of acceleration (and resistance is felt) for an airplane to break the pull of gravity and soar above the clouds, we sometimes have to work very hard to get above the pull of material belief. But, Jesus showed us how, Mrs. Eddy explained how, and now we have the privilege of doing. The view of reality we gain is the crown!

Golden Text:  Jesus instructed: “Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons:” (Matt. 10: 8) Chapters 8 and 9 of Matthew’s gospel give examples of Jesus’ healing work. And then the story continues with Jesus calling his disciples and sending them out to do the same. Let’s remember that the command, and the authority to fulfill it, applies as much to us, as students of Christ today, as it did 2,000 years ago.

Responsive Reading:  Even when, or maybe especially when, we don’t feel we are strong enough – or know enough – to have a victory, God gives us the strength to defeat every enemy. (“Babes and sucklings” describes men in their weakness and ignorance –Dummelow.) We’ve got to praise God – give God the credit, and say thank you – for all the amazing things God does for us. We’ve got to let others know about all the great things we see and experience as a result of God being so infinitely good and powerful! To really know God is to trust Him, because when you know God, you realize that He doesn’t ever abandon those who seek Him. (v. 10) Sing God’s praises. [Soak in and sing out “Praise the Creator”-#460 in the new Hymnal Supplement.] Let everyone know how awesome She is!

Section 1:  The light of Christ saves us from the darkness (nothingness) of evil
We all know that darkness is nothing but the absence of light. (S-2) But, most of us have also experienced being afraid of the dark – or while in the dark. What saves us from that fear – what saves us from the big, bad darkness? Light, right? [Maybe even “My Little Flashlight,” the camp song.] Light effortlessly dissolves darkness and reveals what has always been. In the Bible, the Greek word translated “light” also means “to shine or make manifest.” (Strong’s) The Word of God (the divine expression or Christ) has always been. It is the light of Life – revealing the ever-presence and Allness of God. The Christ light is ALWAYS shining, but it may not always be acknowledged. If you keep your eyes closed, you won’t see the light no matter how brightly it’s shining. (B-1) Christ Jesus completely embodied the light of Christ, but those focused on the darkness of mortality didn’t recognize him. There were those, however, who DID witness the activity of Christ — and went on to tell others what they had seen. Their message was clear — “God is light, and there is no darkness in him at all.” (B-4 NLT) Paul later impressed on the Thessalonians (and thus on us) that we are all children of Light — the expression, or shine, of God. Darkness — fear, doubt, disappointment, confusion, pain, evil of any kind — can have no abiding place in our experience as we admit that we are the children of Light. Mary Baker Eddy explains, “If sin, sickness, and death were understood as nothingness, they would disappear.” They were “nothing” to Jesus, thus they disappeared in his presence. He was so aware of the Light of Christ filling all space that he was incapable of seeing darkness — and his light displaced another’s sense of darkness. If we hope to follow his example, we have to obey Paul’s instruction to the Thessalonians: “test and prove all things [until you can recognize] what is good; [to that] hold fast.” (B-5 The Amplified Bible) Mrs. Eddy says pretty much the same thing when she says, “As vapor melts before the sun, so evil would vanish before the reality of good. One must hide the other. How important, then, to choose good as the reality.” (S-1) God can’t create sin, sickness, and death, or cause man to be subject to these errors, any more than light can produce darkness. (S-4) Sin, sickness, and death, being inharmonious, have no place in God’s harmonious government. The law of God (a.k.a. Christian Science) takes away these self-declared gods, and all falsity is destroyed by Christ, Truth. (S-5) Keeping a nightlight on in your room, you’re not afraid of darkness overtaking you. Keep the light of Christ shining brightly in your consciousness, you won’t be afraid of evil (or error) overtaking you. Instead, you will overcome evil, as Jesus did.

Section 2:  Heal the Sick — Take up your cross daily!
What was Jesus’ mission? The Amplified Bible reports Jesus as saying: “I must preach the good news (the Gospel) of the kingdom of God . . . for I was sent for this [purpose].” Jesus healed the sick. He rebuked everything that was not God-like, including disease (fever in this case) and he healed all that crossed his path. (B-6) But, was healing the end-game? Or did Jesus heal disease to show that disease and sin are no part of God’s kingdom of harmony? Jesus’ mission was to reveal the light of Christ, Truth, which naturally destroys the darkness of error in every form. This is the promised salvation of God, fully demonstrated by Jesus. (S-8) What is our mission? To follow Jesus’ example — to deliver mankind from the errors (the darkness) of mortal sense. It is not to make ourselves, or anyone else more comfortable in matter, but to demonstrate man’s oneness with the Father. When we understand (and are willing to live totally in accordance with) the Science of Christ — no disease will be able to survive the brilliance of our Christ-light, anymore than it could survive the brilliance of Jesus’ Christ-light! Our mission, like Jesus’, is to bring the salvation of God to the world — to heal as he did. Wouldn’t that be cool? Seem too big – too hard? It’s not. Just take it one step at a time and be WILLING to do what is required. So, what is required in order to fulfill this mission? According to Jesus, in order to follow in his footsteps and do “greater” works – more than he had the opportunity to do during his short ministry — the disciple must “deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow him.” What are we denying? Self-interest (caring more for ourselves than for God and others), as well as belief in a mortal self-hood apart from God. Why in the world do we think we want to (or need to, or can) be someone other than the unique, special, and complete expression of perfect Principle, Mind, Spirit, Soul, Life, Truth, and Love that we already are! Does it sound scary to have to “take up the cross?” Just think of the rewards! Would you rather learn to soar over the mud, or slosh through it all your life? Think of the cross as part of the “learning curve” enabling not just you, but ALL mankind to soar. Here’s one Bible scholar’s way of thinking about it. He says, “To take up the cross daily stresses faithful endurance in the face of continuing trials.” (Harper Collins NRSV Study Bible) That’s not so scary – because you know that being faithful always leads to clearer views revealed in the light of Christ. Mrs. Eddy stresses that if we are to heal as Jesus healed, we must be willing to take up our cross and follow Jesus’ example — every day. (S-10) No one’s experience is the same. Different challenges confront each of us. But, the demand is the same. Deal with whatever discord crosses your path each day. Recognize sickness (in any form) to be only an illusion. If it were true, why would Jesus have destroyed it? Why would we want to destroy it — either with drugs or with prayer? Don’t be sucked in to an illusion. Get out of yourself, get out of the realm of disease, and get into the light of Truth. This is the way to salvation! (S-8) No cross – no crown! Possible!

Section 3:  Raise the Dead — Stop the procession!
Some believe that the city called Nain, where Jesus demonstrated his authority by stopping the funeral procession, and restoring life to the widow’s son (B-12) may have actually been Nein, a village close to both Nazareth and to the village where Elisha raised the Shunammite woman’s son. The people recognized the might of the light of Christ — and gave God the glory — but clearly considered it a miracle. Examples of life returning to those believed dead extend from the Old Testament through modern time. Do we still think of it as a miracle — or as something that should be considered natural? Why are we still inclined to accept death as an inevitable reality, rather than seeing it to be but another phase of the illusion that life is in matter — an illusion which Truth destroys? We get messed up when we draw conclusions from the testimony of the material senses — when we search the dark for answers, instead of letting the light of Christ reveal what has always been true. (S-14) The bottom line is that life is not in matter — has never been in matter. Matter (with its accompanying beliefs of sin, sickness, and death) is only a human concept! It has no divine authority. That’s why the only thing that can die is the belief of sin, sickness, disease, and death itself. Life can’t pass out of matter because it was never in matter. We can’t die because Life is eternal — and we eternally express it. Life is Spirit and Spirit is here and now — it is where we dwell! (S-12 & S-13) Do sin, sickness, and death seem real? Yes, just like a sleeping dream seems real. And as light awakens us from sleep, the light of Christ — “the Science of man’s eternal harmony” will awaken us from the waking dream — including the belief that death is something we have to accept as part of life. We can choose what to accept — the changing, dying unreal mortal testimony? or, the eternal and real evidence of life in Spirit? (S-14) Stop the procession of suggestions that constantly parade in front of your thought. Here’s something to consider when making the choice of which piece of evidence to accept (regardless of how loud the opposition lobbies): only the eternal and real comes with benefits! You DO have a choice — exercise that choice, and stick to your convictions. Do it for your own sake, and for the sake of the world! We cannot let our liberty be hi-jacked by the claims of deadly diseases, murder, or accident!

Section 4:  Cleanse the Lepers — Wash away the impurities of the flesh
You may have wondered, as I have, about the relevance of the command to cleanse the lepers. Even if we extend leprosy to include a wide variety of skin disease, it seems awfully specific. So, what’s the deal? This section suggests that the command to cleanse the lepers includes freeing mankind from [ostracizing groups of people and from] all that is impure — whether the problem appears to be mental or physical. Several Biblical commentators have drawn comparisons between leprosy and sin. And, Eugene Peterson’s The Message translates this phrase as “Touch the untouchables.” Jewish tradition ostracized lepers and required them to call out “unclean, unclean” as they approached. But, Jesus didn’t shun those afflicted with this dread condition. It was generally agreed that only God could cure leprosy (as only God could forgive sin). By healing this condition, Jesus was demonstrating the authority of Christ, given to him by God. When Jesus sent the ten lepers to the priest to be declared clean (which had to happen before they could re-enter society) he was upholding their innocence from sin and disease. The physical evidence didn’t change until the lepers obediently headed off to the priest, but Jesus’ view wasn’t based on physical evidence. (B-15) Are we as willing – as these men were — to trustingly accept Christ’s verdict of our innocence? Are we willing to exercise the authority given to us by Christ to see the innocent child of God in the face of apparent sin or disease, and thus free them from whatever has held them in bondage? When choosing friends, do we sometimes label others as “unclean” (or not cool) for one reason or another, and refuse to reach out to them? Or do we think we can never be fully accepted because of some stigma that has followed us? We can (and have an obligation to) pray as the psalmist did for God to cleanse, renew, and keep us (and others) in His presence. (B-13) There are no “outsiders” in God’s kingdom. Christ, Truth is seen by its effect on thought and on the body. (S-16) As thought is washed clean, the body has no choice but to be transformed. (S-17) Cleansing the lepers involves putting off (through repentance, spiritual baptism, and regeneration) the misconception that life is material. It means putting off a mistaken sense of who man is by denying every claim of matter and personality. The way to heaven – to harmony – is to ONLY see good. (S-18) That’s what Jesus did. We can “rise superior to the so-called pain and pleasure of the senses” (to disease and sin) only by refusing to be pulled down by sensualism and impurity — which are foreign to God’s man! (S-19) Exercise the authority given to you by Christ Jesus! Cleanse the lepers!

Section 5:  Cast out Demons — government by God alone.
What is the broader sense of casting out demons, beyond healing “mental problems?” Isn’t it to demonstrate the power of God to uncover and DESTROY all evil beliefs that would try to enter man’s thought? Demons is simply the Greek word for “devils.” Think of demons as anything that would try to hide out in your thought and convince you that you (or anyone else) is less than the upright, whole, perfect Divine Image And Likeness. Those demons don’t stand a chance against your daily cleansing of thought with D.I.A.L. The more you scrub, the quicker the demons beg to leave. But, no error can hide from Truth. The psalmist summarily asserts that God’s spirit is good and His mercy cuts out and destroys anything that would afflict us. (B-16) We could say the mercy of Truth destroys the lie, as naturally as the mercy of light destroys darkness! Jesus demonstrated how to confront error — ask its name in order to force it to stop hiding in — AS — the identity of its “host.” He forced the lie to come out into the open to be destroyed. The “demon” — Legion by name — asked to change hosts, rather than be destroyed. But error can’t hide from Truth, and the new hosts drowned the demon along with themselves. (B-17; S-20 & S-21) I wonder if we sometimes think “too much” about why Jesus destroyed the herd of swine (essentially stealing from the Gentiles their black-market means of livelihood.) To me, the essence of the story is the need to be willing to detect and evict whatever “demons” may be trying to take up residence in consciousness — yours or another’s — rather than accepting that any thought (or action) that does not correspond with God’s goodness could not be part of the identity of the individual — the child of God. Evil can only destroy its host if allowed to dwell there unchallenged. What’s great is that MIND is the exterminator of mindless evil. As we acknowledge the omnipotence of this Mind, we never need to be afraid of the demons that would try to haunt — whether subtle or very aggressive! (S-22) Take up the cross! Call out the evil, separate it from its “host,” stand firm in your CONVICTION that God alone governs, and the fear and evil WILL be ruled out by Truth! (S-23) Don’t be impressed.

A side note: I don’t know why Mrs. Eddy chose to use this translation of Jesus’ command on the cross and crown emblem (referring to demons, rather than devils), but it does serve as a helpful reminder that Mrs. Eddy’s study of the Scriptures included translations other than the King James version of the Bible. (MyBibleLesson has more about the development of the cross and crown trademark.)

Section 6:  Freely you’ve received — freely give — Christ has authorized you to heal!
Jesus followed up his command to heal — that has been the focus of this week’s lesson — with urging his disciples to give freely because they had received freely. (B-20) Use the gifts you have received from Christ to bless others! Imagine if Jesus hadn’t shared what he knew of his relationship to God. Imagine if Mrs. Eddy hadn’t shared what she discovered about God’s law. The world needs what we, as Christian Scientists, know of the presence of the kingdom of heaven — here and now — and the power over evil that comes with that knowledge. Don’t be afraid to share what you know with your friends! Would you refuse to share water from your water bottle with someone who was obviously thirsty? Jesus sent his disciples out and gave them authority to heal. When they returned so excited about their good results, he reminded them that that was a good thing, but not the most important thing. It was important that they not think the authority was theirs, but to give God the glory. We read in The Message: “…the great triumph is not in your authority over evil, but in God’s authority over you and presence with you. Not what you do for God but what God does for you — that’s the agenda for rejoicing.” (B-18) It is important to attack evil with conviction — never holding back or wavering — because upholding God’s power always has an effect. (B-19) Fighting against the claims of matter — and traditional thought — isn’t an easy road. Jesus told his disciples he was sending them out as lambs among wolves. But the storms you run into — and the doubt and resistance you encounter — is simply the cross that we are told we have to be willing to take up (to carry.) Fighting against the pull of gravity is the only way for the rocket propelling the space ship to break free of the earth’s atmosphere. Fighting against the downward pull of false belief is the only way to be free of the atmosphere of error (with its sin, disease, and death) and dwell in the atmosphere of love — wear the crown of dominion over evil. (S-25)

Opportunities to heal cross our path every day! We always have what we need to deal with whatever comes our way! When you are in physical training, you continue to make greater demands on your body in order to progress and get stronger. A good trainer makes sure that you are equipped to handle whatever is thrown at you. Wouldn’t God equip you at least as well as the best trainer — and progressively strengthen your spiritual powers? (S-25) Don’t be afraid to make demands on those powers in order to strengthen your spiritual discernment and ability to heal. It is our privilege — and DUTY — to follow Jesus’ example and displace the lie of evil with the truth of good! (S-26) Think of yourself as a healer! Share what you know! Practice asserting Truth (silently or audibly) where the lie of material existence appears. Reject the impositions of sin, disease, and death (remember that doubt, discouragement and fear are also sins because they suggest separation from God) every time they confront you. (S-27) You are God’s! “Nothing shall by any means hurt you.” (B-18)

[This weekly Metaphysical Newsletter is provided at no charge to the 1,200 campers & staff who were blessed this summer at CEDARS–as well as to thousands of CEDARS alumni, families and friends who request it, or find it weekly on our website. But, current and planned gifts are much-needed to help cover the costs of running this service and of providing camperships and otherwise-unavailable, inspirational opportunities. Your support is always tax-deductible and appreciated — but your help this year is especially precious to us! This is the ideal time before winter to do “Maintenance Must” projects such as replacing some pool and grounds-keeping equipment and plumbing fixtures, yet our 5-year grant for this has expired. So we look to God–and to friends like you–for help. You can always call Warren or Gay Huff at (636) 394-6162 to charge your gift or to discuss any short-term or long-term gift that you are considering. CLICK HERE RIGHT AWAY TO SUPPORT CEDARS WORK!
Or, while your gratitude is fresh for freely receiving, you can “freely give” a tax-deductible check payable to The CedarS Camps to the camp office at 1314 Parkview Valley, Manchester, MO 63011.]

[Camp Director’s Note: This sharing is the latest in an ongoing, 9-year series of CedarS Bible Lesson “mets” (metaphysical application ideas) contributed weekly by a rotation of CedarS Resident Practitioners and occasionally by other metaphysicians. (To keep the flow of the practitioner’s ideas intact and to allow for more selective printing the “Possible Sunday School Topics” come in a subsequent email.) This weekly offering is intended to encourage further study and application of ideas in the lesson and to invigorate Sunday School participation by students and by the budding teachers on our staff. Originally sent JUST to my Sunday School students and 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 and background as well as new angles on the daily applicability of some of the ideas and passages being studied. The weekly Bible Lessons are copyrighted by the Christian Science Publishing Society and are printed in the Christian Science Quarterly as available at Christian Science Reading Rooms or online at eBibleLesson,com or myBibleLesson.com. The citations referenced (i.e. B-1 and S-28) from this week’s Bible Lesson in the “met” (metaphysical application ideas) are taken from the Bible (B-1 thru B-24) and the Christian Science textbook, Science and Health With Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy. (S-1 thru S-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 the ideas helpful in your daily spiritual journey, in your deeper digging in the books and in closer bonding with your Comforter and Pastor.]
Enjoy!
Warren Huff, Camp Director      director@cedarscamps.org       (636) 394-6162

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P.S.S.T.-Discover ways to heal, invigorate, bring back outcasts, stop commuting between extremes, “win and wear the crown”
Possible Sunday School Topics for the Christian Science Bible Lesson on “Are Sin, Disease and Death Real?” for October 5-11, 2009
By Amy Robbins [followed by Merrill Boudreaux’s PSST for an unscheduled, double treat!]

P.S.S.T. Golden Text and Responsive Reading
The Golden Text gives four directions to Jesus’ followers. How are you following these directions? During the months of May and June, this Bible verse was found in the lesson 5 out of 6 weeks. Why is it so important? Why do you think it is found on the cover of Science and Health?
Who or what is the enemy that is stilled and turned back? How would you handle being confronted by an enemy (be it an enemy of the country, or you)? What are some ways that you know that God is here for you? Name some examples in your life that you feel His presence?

P.S.S.T. Section 1-[“In the beginning …” (B-1)]
What does it mean to be children of light? What does light have to do with answering the question about sin, disease, and death being real? If the earth is filled with the goodness of God (which it is, see B-2), then what wonderful gifts are in store for us? What are some examples of how you witness the goodness of God?
Citation S-2 explains how light is the only reality and darkness in the form of sin disappears in the light. What else disappears in the light? How much power does darkness have over light? Look at the question Mrs. Eddy poses in S-4. How could it be possible for God to create man able to experience sin, sickness or death? What is it that heals and destroys the lie?

P.S.S.T. Section 2-[“Heal the Sick”]
Jesus was very clear that healing was not to stop with him. What do you think some of the “greater works” that Jesus declared would come after him might be (B-7)? Are we truly willing to take up the cross? How are you doing this? What types of sacrifices and challenges come with the cross? What types of wonderful joys and experiences come with it? How important in the cross to our ability to heal?
According to Merriam-Webster Dictionary, a lodestar is one that serves as an inspiration, model, or guide. Mrs. Eddy says that the cross is the lodestar (S-7). What does that mean to you? What is really necessary to heal like Jesus did? The cross is often a topic that we don’t spend much time working with? Why do you think this is? Mrs. Eddy includes the word “cross” in Science and Health 29 times, and in her other writings, it is found 49 times. It’s obviously an important topic. Why?

P.S.S.T. Section 3-[“Raise the Dead”-invigorate the body and daily life]
The horrible pit described in B-10 could be the grave. How does God lift us out of our dead thoughts, and plant our feet on a rock-on a firm foundation that we can solidly stand upon? Do you have any examples of this in your life? Jesus had compassion on the widow and her son, and was the only one in the entire group that was able to help her. What separated Jesus from the crowd, besides his elevated thought? Think about the differences between grief/sympathy and compassion. Are we always remembering to be compassionate rather than sympathetic? How can we be more like Jesus and demonstrate the same type of compassion?
Mrs. Eddy explains through logical reasoning why death is not real and the body cannot die (S-13). When there’s a belief in life in matter, a belief in death follows. How, even, do we get rid of these false beliefs? What can replace them in our thought and experience? Which theory about man do you choose to hold on to from S-14? Which one is true?

P.S.S.T. Section 4-[“Cleanse the Lepers”-bring back the outcasts]
What are some ways to cleanse ourselves of sin? How do we keep ourselves pure and be seen consistently as pure? In citation B-15, 10 lepers are cleansed, but only one returned to Jesus to give thanks. What do you think happened to the nine others? What was so significant about Jesus healing lepers? There are records of these healings in Matthew and Mark as well. Why are they so important?
Look at S-17. How open are we to baptism of Spirit? Are we regularly washing our body and thought clean of all impurities? And how do we keep ourselves completely clean? Share some examples of the “spiritualization of thought” (S-19) that have happened to you. How did your thinking change? And what was the result in the rest of your experience? What happens when we elevate our thought and keep it pure? What does it really mean to keep your thought pure? Why is this valuable?

P.S.S.T. Section 5-[“Cast out Demons”–stop commuting between highs & lows]
What are some of the wonderful blessings given to us when we trust and serve God (B-16)? What happened with the man who Jesus cast devils out of? What stands out to you about this account? A similar description is also found in Matthew, and is highlighted in the article “Love: The Key to Healing” by Michelle Nanouche in the October 2009 Christian Science Journal (34-35). In the article, she describes how it was Jesus’ compassion and Love-based perspective that healed the man. “Jesus’ understanding of divine Love’s supremacy over a limited, material view of life wiped out fear and its disturbing effects on the mind and the body. This understanding of spiritual being is the Science of Love Jesus practiced so effectively.” How can we effectively practice this love? How have you already witnessed Love healing and casting out devilish lies? [such as moodiness-going from the mountains to the tombs]
What is it that casts out the error? What do we need to see and know in order to demand the same results? What is the “exterminator of error” (S-22)? How does it destroy the false belief in a power apart from God? How do we do the same thing in our own thought?

P.S.S.T. Section 6-[“Win and wear the crown” (S-25)]
What was Jesus direction to his disciples? What, then, is his direction to us? What are we expected to do with everything that we know about God and His all-power? What does it mean to have “power to tread on serpents and scorpions” (B-18)? How are we freely giving to everyone around us? Are we reaching out and blessing our neighbor? How are you going out and following Jesus’ example? Think about the ways that you can and have shared and helped someone else. Look for those opportunities and embrace them.
What do you think Mrs. Eddy means in citation S-24 when she says that we are demanded of proofs and not professions? Are we proving God’s power on a regular basis? How can we expect to witness, and actually witness these proofs daily? We will encounter storms in our experience (S-25). However, we do not need to shy away from these storms. They will bless us and help us to grow. This is the cross that Mrs. Eddy writes about and Jesus expected us to carry as well, and it is the only way to get to the crown. Go forward this week, prepared to take up the cross and bless the world, no matter what.

A bonus set of Possible Sunday School Topics
by Merrill Boudreaux

P.S.S.T. – Golden Text – Why do you think Mary Baker Eddy placed the words in the seal on the cover of Science and Health? What is the linkage of those words to the life of Christ Jesus, to the lives of early Christians, to our Christian lives today?

P.S.S.T. – Responsive Reading – What are the reasons to sing praises to God? What are enemies; persons, places, things? Perhaps the subject of this week’s lesson can help. Please read aloud together Isaiah Chapter 11.
Verses 6-8 are often referred to as the Peaceable Kingdom; can you state why this may be considered so?

P.S.S.T. – Section 1 – Here are some key words to define:
witness, redeemed, fellowship.
Ponder the first three words in B-1, “In the beginning”. What must it have it been like “In the beginning” when there was nothing but God, Good? Yet, because we have always existed with God, we must have been there “In the beginning” as well, as part of, or idea of, that one God. What did the creation of light reveal? You are mine, you are my witness, you are the children revealed by light, in my image, my likeness, and “sickness, sin, and death, being inharmonious, do not originate in God….His law…destroys them.”

P.S.S.T. – Section 2 – There is a healing Jesus effected in this section. Have each student tell at least one other healing effected by Jesus. Use Concord or the Concordance to look up these healings for accuracy of statement. What does taking up the cross daily mean? See B-8 and S-7. Have students share a recent healing they had.

P.S.S.T. – Section 3 – There is a raising of the dead effected by Jesus accounted in this section. Have students tell of other raisings of the dead recorded in the Bible. Use Concord or the Concordance to look up these raisings for accuracy of the telling by the students. Have students tell of any raising of the dead they know about.

P.S.S.T. – Section 4 –There is a healing of lepers effected by Jesus accounted in this section. Why was this healing so significant? Are there other healings of the “unclean” in the Bible? Think of the healing of the woman with the issue of blood. Why do you think the story of the healing of the lepers is crafted to show that only one in ten returned to give gratitude? Do you think the healing of the nine was taken away? Of course not! Healing is permanent and does not regress. Have students share at least five things for which they are grateful. What did the healing of the lepers prove? See S-16, S-17 & S-18.

P.S.S.T. – Section 5 – What is the definition of Mind found in S&H 469:12? Have students make a list of the truths that exterminate error based on this definition of Mind. As followers of Christ Jesus can we do his works and even greater ones? (S-23) What kind of demons, devils, evils, error needs to be cast out of our world right now? What truths stated in the Scientific Statement of Being in S&H 468:8 are applicable when casting out error of every sort?

P.S.S.T. – Section 6 – In the Bible portion of this section what power is given to followers of Christ Jesus, fellow Christians, including us? Since we are given this power freely, what is expected of us? (S-24 & S-26) So the questions are: Can I heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons? In other words how can I progress most rapidly to do so?
See S&H 495

Warren Huff, Executive Director The CedarS Camps Website: www.cedarscamps.org
Email: warren@cedarscamps.org Tel: (636) 394-6162

 

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