Responsive Reading: Ephesians 6 : 10-17

10.     Be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.

11.     Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

12.     For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

13.     Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

14.     Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;

15.     And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;

16.     Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.

17.     And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

1. Isaiah 59 : 19 (When)

19     When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against him.

2. Psalm 91 : 1-16

1     He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.

2     I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.

3     Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence.

4     He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler.

5     Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day;

6     Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday.

7     A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee.

8     Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked.

9     Because thou hast made the Lord, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation;

10     There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.

11     For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.

12     They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.

13     Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder: the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet.

14     Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name.

15     He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him.

16     With long life will I satisfy him, and shew him my salvation.

3. II Kings 6 : 8-17

8     Then the king of Syria warred against Israel, and took counsel with his servants, saying, In such and such a place shall be my camp.

9     And the man of God sent unto the king of Israel, saying, Beware that thou pass not such a place; for thither the Syrians are come down.

10     And the king of Israel sent to the place which the man of God told him and warned him of, and saved himself there, not once nor twice.

11     Therefore the heart of the king of Syria was sore troubled for this thing; and he called his servants, and said unto them, Will ye not shew me which of us is for the king of Israel?

12     And one of his servants said, None, my lord, O king: but Elisha, the prophet that is in Israel, telleth the king of Israel the words that thou speakest in thy bedchamber.

13     And he said, Go and spy where he is, that I may send and fetch him. And it was told him, saying, Behold, he is in Dothan.

14     Therefore sent he thither horses, and chariots, and a great host: and they came by night, and compassed the city about.

15     And when the servant of the man of God was risen early, and gone forth, behold, an host compassed the city both with horses and chariots. And his servant said unto him, Alas, my master! how shall we do?

16     And he answered, Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them.

17     And Elisha prayed, and said, Lord, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the Lord opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha.

4. Psalm 27 : 1, 3-5, 13, 14

1     The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?

3     Though an host should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear: though war should rise against me, in this will I be confident.

4     One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in his temple.

5     For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion: in the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me; he shall set me up upon a rock.

13     I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.

14     Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord.

5. Luke 4 : 1 (to 1st ,), 2 (to 1st .), 13-15, 17-19, 21, 28-30

1     And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan,

2     Being forty days tempted of the devil.

13     And when the devil had ended all the temptation, he departed from him for a season.

14     And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee: and there went out a fame of him through all the region round about.

15     And he taught in their synagogues, being glorified of all.

17     And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written,

18     The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,

19     To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.

21     And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.

28     And all they in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath,

29     And rose up, and thrust him out of the city, and led him unto the brow of the hill whereon their city was built, that they might cast him down headlong.

30     But he passing through the midst of them went his way,

6. James 4 : 7, 8 (to 1st .), 10

7     Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

8     Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you.

10     Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.

1. 228 : 25 (There)-27

There is no power apart from God. Omnipotence has all-power, and to acknowledge any other power is to dishonor God.

2. 398 : 32 (Evil)-2

Evil has no power, no intelligence, for God is good, and therefore good is infinite, is All.

3. 445 : 5-8, 15-18

No hypothesis as to the existence of another power should interpose a doubt or fear to hinder the demonstration of Christian Science.

You render the divine law of healing obscure and void, when you weigh the human in the scale with the divine, or limit in any direction of thought the omnipresence and omnipotence of God.

4. 484 : 21 (Mesmerism)-27

Mesmerism is mortal, material illusion. Animal magnetism is the voluntary or involuntary action of error in all its forms; it is the human antipode of divine Science. Science must triumph over material sense, and Truth over error, thus putting an end to the hypotheses involved in all false theories and practices.

5. 103 : 18-28

As named in Christian Science, animal magnetism or hypnotism is the specific term for error, or mortal mind. It is the false belief that mind is in matter, and is both evil and good; that evil is as real as good and more powerful. This belief has not one quality of Truth. It is either ignorant or malicious. The malicious form of hypnotism ultimates in moral idiocy. The truths of immortal Mind sustain man, and they annihilate the fables of mortal mind, whose flimsy and gaudy pretensions, like silly moths, singe their own wings and fall into dust.

6. 102 : 1-9, 16-23, 30 (Mankind)-5 (to 2nd .)

Animal magnetism has no scientific foundation, for God governs all that is real, harmonious, and eternal, and His power is neither animal nor human. Its basis being a belief and this belief animal, in Science animal magnetism, mesmerism, or hypnotism is a mere negation, possessing neither intelligence, power, nor reality, and in sense it is an unreal concept of the so-called mortal mind.

There is but one real attraction, that of Spirit.

The mild forms of animal magnetism are disappearing, and its aggressive features are coming to the front. The looms of crime, hidden in the dark recesses of mortal thought, are every hour weaving webs more complicated and subtle. So secret are the present methods of animal magnetism that they ensnare the age into indolence, and produce the very apathy on the subject which the criminal desires.

Mankind must learn that evil is not power. Its so-called despotism is but a phase of nothingness. Christian Science despoils the kingdom of evil, and pre-eminently promotes affection and virtue in families and therefore in the community. The Apostle Paul refers to the personification of evil as "the god of this world," and further defines it as dishonesty and craftiness. Sin was the Assyrian moon-god.

7. 450 : 15 (Some)-7

Some people yield slowly to the touch of Truth. Few yield without a struggle, and many are reluctant to acknowledge that they have yielded; but unless this admission is made, evil will boast itself above good. The Christian Scientist has enlisted to lessen evil, disease, and death; and he will overcome them by understanding their nothingness and the allness of God, or good. Sickness to him is no less a temptation than is sin, and he heals them both by understanding God's power over them. The Christian Scientist knows that they are errors of belief, which Truth can and will, destroy.

Who, that has felt the perilous beliefs in life, substance, and intelligence separated from God, can say that there is no error of belief? Knowing the claim of animal magnetism, that all evil combines in the belief of life, substance, and intelligence in matter, electricity, animal nature, and organic life, who will deny that these are the errors which Truth must and will annihilate? Christian Scientists must live under the constant pressure of the apostolic command to come out from the material world and be separate. They must renounce aggression, oppression and the pride of power. Christianity, with the crown of Love upon her brow, must be their queen of life.

8. 452 : 4-6

Incorrect reasoning leads to practical error. The wrong thought should be arrested before it has a chance to manifest itself.

9. 453 : 6-8, 16 (Honesty)-23

Right and wrong, truth and error, will be at strife in the minds of students, until victory rests on the side of invincible truth.

Honesty is spiritual power. Dishonesty is human weakness, which forfeits divine help. You uncover sin, not in order to injure, but in order to bless the corporeal man; and a right motive has its reward. Hidden sin is spiritual wickedness in high places. The masquerader in this Science thanks God that there is no evil, yet serves evil in the name of good.

10. 261 : 4-7

Hold thought steadfastly to the enduring, the good, and the true, and you will bring these into your experience proportionably to their occupancy of your thoughts.

11. 454 : 5-13, 17-24

The understanding, even in a degree, of the divine All-power destroys fear, and plants the feet in the true path, — the path which leads to the house built without hands "eternal in the heavens." Human hate has no legitimate mandate and no kingdom. Love is enthroned. That evil or matter has neither intelligence nor power, is the doctrine of absolute Christian Science, and this is the great truth which strips all disguise from error.

Love for God and man is the true incentive in both healing and teaching. Love inspires, illumines, designates, and leads the way. Right motives give pinions to thought, and strength and freedom to speech and action. Love is priestess at the altar of Truth. Wait patiently for divine Love to move upon the waters of mortal mind, and form the perfect concept. Patience must "have her perfect work."

12. 267 : 25-32

The robes of Spirit are "white and glistering," like the raiment of Christ. Even in this world, therefore, "let thy garments be always white." "Blessed is the man that endureth [overcometh] temptation: for when he is tried, [proved faithful], he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him." (James i. 12.)