Responsive Reading: I Timothy 6 : 11-16

11.     Follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness.

12.     Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses.

13.     I give thee charge in the sight of God, who quickeneth all things, and before Christ Jesus, who before Pontius Pilate witnessed a good confession;

14.     That thou keep this commandment without spot, unrebukeable, until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ:

15.     Which in his times he shall shew, who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords;

16.     Who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom be honour and power everlasting. Amen.

1. Psalm 118 : 17

17     I shall not die, but live, and declare the works of the Lord.

2. Luke 18 : 18-30

18     And a certain ruler asked him, saying, Good Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?

19     And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? none is good, save one, that is, God.

20     Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honour thy father and thy mother.

21     And he said, All these have I kept from my youth up.

22     Now when Jesus heard these things, he said unto him, Yet lackest thou one thing: sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me.

23     And when he heard this, he was very sorrowful: for he was very rich.

24     And when Jesus saw that he was very sorrowful, he said, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God!

25     For it is easier for a camel to go through a needle’s eye, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.

26     And they that heard it said, Who then can be saved?

27     And he said, The things which are impossible with men are possible with God.

28     Then Peter said, Lo, we have left all, and followed thee.

29     And he said unto them, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or parents, or brethren, or wife, or children, for the kingdom of God’s sake,

30     Who shall not receive manifold more in this present time, and in the world to come life everlasting.

3. John 12 : 1, 9-12, 17, 18, 23-25, 27-30, 35, 36 (to 1st .), 44-46, 49, 50

1     Then Jesus six days before the passover came to Bethany, where Lazarus was which had been dead, whom he raised from the dead.

9     Much people of the Jews therefore knew that he was there: and they came not for Jesus’ sake only, but that they might see Lazarus also, whom he had raised from the dead.

10     But the chief priests consulted that they might put Lazarus also to death;

11     Because that by reason of him many of the Jews went away, and believed on Jesus.

12     On the next day much people that were come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem,

17     The people therefore that was with him when he called Lazarus out of his grave, and raised him from the dead, bare record.

18     For this cause the people also met him, for that they heard that he had done this miracle.

23     And Jesus answered them, saying, The hour is come, that the Son of man should be glorified.

24     Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.

25     He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal.

27     Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour: but for this cause came I unto this hour.

28     Father, glorify thy name. Then came there a voice from heaven, saying, I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again.

29     The people therefore, that stood by, and heard it, said that it thundered: others said, An angel spake to him.

30     Jesus answered and said, This voice came not because of me, but for your sakes.

35     Then Jesus said unto them, Yet a little while is the light with you. Walk while ye have the light, lest darkness come upon you: for he that walketh in darkness knoweth not whither he goeth.

36     While ye have light, believe in the light, that ye may be the children of light.

44     Jesus cried and said, He that believeth on me, believeth not on me, but on him that sent me.

45     And he that seeth me seeth him that sent me.

46     I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on me should not abide in darkness.

49     For I have not spoken of myself; but the Father which sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak.

50     And I know that his commandment is life everlasting: whatsoever I speak therefore, even as the Father said unto me, so I speak.

4. Romans 6 : 1-3, 4 (that), 5, 8-11, 18, 22, 23

1     What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?

2     God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?

3     Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?

4     …that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.

5     For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection:

8     Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him:

9     Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him.

10     For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God.

11     Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.

18     Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.

22     But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.

23     For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

1. 246 : 27 (Life)-31

Life is eternal. We should find this out, and begin the demonstration thereof. Life and goodness are immortal. Let us then shape our views of existence into loveliness, freshness, and continuity, rather than into age and blight.

2. 468 : 25-5 (to 2nd .)

Question. — What is Life?

Answer. — Life is divine Principle, Mind, Soul, Spirit. Life is without beginning and without end. Eternity, not time, expresses the thought of Life, and time is no part of eternity. One ceases in proportion as the other is recognized. Time is finite; eternity is forever infinite. Life is neither in nor of matter. What is termed matter is unknown to Spirit, which includes in itself all substance and is Life eternal. Matter is a human concept. Life is divine Mind. Life is not limited. Death and finiteness are unknown to Life.

3. 410 : 4-21

"This is life eternal," says Jesus, — is, not shall be; and then he defines everlasting life as a present knowledge of his Father and of himself, — the knowledge of Love, Truth, and Life. "This is life eternal, that they might know Thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom Thou hast sent." The Scriptures say, "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God," showing that Truth is the actual life of man; but mankind objects to making this teaching practical.

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 perfect in Love." Here is a definite and inspired proclamation of Christian Science.

4. 203 : 31-11

God, divine good, does not kill a man in order to give him eternal Life, for God alone is man's life. God is at once the centre and circumference of being. It is evil that dies; good dies not.

All forms of error support the false conclusions that there is more than one Life; that material history is as real and living as spiritual history; that mortal error is as conclusively mental as immortal Truth; and that there are two separate, antagonistic entities and beings, two powers, — namely, Spirit and matter, — resulting in a third person (mortal man) who carries out the delusions of sin, sickness, and death.

5. 258 : 9-15

Man is more than a material form with a mind inside, which must escape from its environments in order to be immortal. Man reflects infinity, and this reflection is the true idea of God.

God expresses in man the infinite idea forever developing itself, broadening and rising higher and higher from a boundless basis.

6. 53 : 25 only

Jesus bore our sins in his body.

7. 54 : 1-8

Through the magnitude of his human life, he demonstrated the divine Life. Out of the amplitude of his pure affection, he defined Love. With the affluence of Truth, he vanquished error. The world acknowledged not his righteousness, seeing it not; but earth received the harmony his glorified example introduced.

Who is ready to follow his teaching and example?

8. 495 : 14-24

When the illusion of sickness or sin tempts you, cling steadfastly to God and His idea. Allow nothing but His likeness to abide in your thought. Let neither fear nor doubt overshadow your clear sense and calm trust, that the recognition of life harmonious — as Life eternally is — can destroy any painful sense of, or belief in, that which Life is not. Let Christian Science, instead of corporeal sense, support your understanding of being, and this understanding will supplant error with Truth, replace mortality with immortality, and silence discord with harmony.

9. 428 : 19-29

We must realize the ability of mental might to offset human misconceptions and to replace them with the life which is spiritual, not material.

The great spiritual fact must be brought out that man is, not shall be, perfect and immortal. We must hold forever the consciousness of existence, and sooner or later, through Christ and Christian Science, we must master sin and death. The evidence of man's immortality will become more apparent, as material beliefs are given up and the immortal facts of being are admitted.

10. 69 : 13-16

Spiritually to understand that there is but one creator, God, unfolds all creation, confirms the Scriptures, brings the sweet assurance of no parting, no pain, and of man deathless and perfect and eternal.

11. 340 : 9 (Let)-22

Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: love God and keep His commandments: for this is the whole of man in His image and likeness. Divine Love is infinite. Therefore all that really exists is in and of God, and manifests His love.

"Thou shalt have no other gods before me." (Exodus xx. 3.) The First Commandment is my favorite text. It demonstrates Christian Science. It inculcates the triunity of God, Spirit, Mind; it signifies that man shall have no other spirit or mind but God, eternal good, and that all men shall have one Mind. The divine Principle of the First Commandment bases the Science of being, by which man demonstrates health, holiness, and life eternal.