Responsive Reading: Romans 13 : 1, 2, 5, 8-10

1.     Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God.

2.     Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation.

5.     Wherefore ye must needs be subject, not only for wrath, but also for conscience sake.

8.     Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law.

9.     For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

10.     Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.

1. Matthew 14 : 14-21

14     And Jesus went forth, and saw a great multitude, and was moved with compassion toward them, and he healed their sick.

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.

21     And they that had eaten were about five thousand men, beside women and children.

2. Luke 6 : 9 (to 1st ,), 27 (Love)-36

9     Then said Jesus unto them,

27     Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you,

28     Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you.

29     And unto him that smiteth thee on the one cheek offer also the other; and him that taketh away thy cloke forbid not to take thy coat also.

30     Give to every man that asketh of thee; and of him that taketh away thy goods ask them not again.

31     And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise.

32     For if ye love them which love you, what thank have ye? for sinners also love those that love them.

33     And if ye do good to them which do good to you, what thank have ye? for sinners also do even the same.

34     And if ye lend to them of whom ye hope to receive, what thank have ye? for sinners also lend to sinners, to receive as much again.

35     But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil.

36     Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful.

3. I John 4 : 7-21

7     Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God.

8     He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.

9     In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him.

10     Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

11     Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another.

12     No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us.

13     Hereby know we that we dwell in him, and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit.

14     And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world.

15     Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God.

16     And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.

17     Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world.

18     There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.

19     We love him, because he first loved us.

20     If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?

21     And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also.

4. I Corinthians 13 : 1-13

1     Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.

2     And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing.

3     And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.

4     Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up,

5     Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil;

6     Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth;

7     Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.

8     Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away.

9     For we know in part, and we prophesy in part.

10     But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away.

11     When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.

12     For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.

13     And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.

1. 113 : 5-6

The vital part, the heart and soul of Christian Science, is Love.

2. 510 : 18-19

Love alone can impart the limitless idea of infinite Mind.

3. 9 : 5-21 (to 2nd .)

The test of all prayer lies in the answer to these questions: Do we love our neighbor better because of this asking? Do we pursue the old selfishness, satisfied with having prayed for something better, though we give no evidence of the sincerity of our requests by living consistently with our prayer? If selfishness has given place to kindness, we shall regard our neighbor unselfishly, and bless them that curse us; but we shall never meet this great duty simply by asking that it may be done. There is a cross to be taken up before we can enjoy the fruition of our hope and faith.

Dost thou "love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind"? This command includes much, even the surrender of all merely material sensation, affection, and worship. This is the El Dorado of Christianity.

4. 469 : 30-5

With one Father, even God, the whole family of man would be brethren; and with one Mind and that God, or good, the brotherhood of man would consist of Love and Truth, and have unity of Principle and spiritual power which constitute divine Science.

5. 494 : 30-32

Our Master cast out devils (evils) and healed the sick. It should be said of his followers also, that they cast fear and all evil out of themselves and others and heal the sick.

6. 518 : 13-23

God gives the lesser idea of Himself for a link to the greater, and in return, the higher always protects the lower. The rich in spirit help the poor in one grand brotherhood, all having the same Principle, or Father; and blessed is that man who seeth his brother's need and supplieth it, seeking his own in another's good. Love giveth to the least spiritual idea might, immortality, and goodness, which shine through all as the blossom shines through the bud. All the varied expressions of God reflect health, holiness, immortality — infinite Life, Truth, and Love.

7. 495 : 25-19

Question. — How can I progress most rapidly in the understanding of Christian Science?

Answer. — Study thoroughly the letter and imbibe the spirit. Adhere to the divine Principle of Christian Science and follow the behests of God, abiding steadfastly in wisdom, Truth, and Love. In the Science of Mind, you will soon ascertain that error cannot destroy error. You will also learn that in Science there is no transfer of evil suggestions from one mortal to another, for there is but one Mind, and this ever-present omnipotent Mind is reflected by man and governs the entire universe. You will learn that in Christian Science the first duty is to obey God, to have one Mind, and to love another as yourself.

We all must learn that Life is God. Ask yourself: Am I living the life that approaches the supreme good? Am I demonstrating the healing power of Truth and Love? If so, then the way will grow brighter "unto the perfect day." Your fruits will prove what the understanding of God brings to man. Hold perpetually this thought, — that it is the spiritual idea, the Holy Ghost and Christ, which enables you to demonstrate, with scientific certainty, the rule of healing, based upon its divine Principle, Love, underlying, overlying, and encompassing all true being.

8. 4 : 3-5

What we most need is the prayer of fervent desire for growth in grace, expressed in patience, meekness, love, and good deeds.

9. 572 : 3-18

Thus we see, in both the first and last books of the Bible, — in Genesis and in the Apocalypse, — that sin is to be Christianly and scientifically reduced to its native nothingness. "Love one another" (I John, iii. 23), is the most simple and profound counsel of the inspired writer. In Science we are children of God; but whatever is of material sense, or mortal, belongs not to His children, for materiality is the inverted image of spirituality.

Love fulfils the law of Christian Science, and nothing short of this divine Principle, understood and demonstrated, can ever furnish the vision of the Apocalypse, open the seven seals of error with Truth, or uncover the myriad illusions of sin, sickness, and death. Under the supremacy of Spirit, it will be seen and acknowledged that matter must disappear.

10. 454 : 14-24

He, who understands in sufficient degree the Principle of Mind-healing, points out to his student error as well as truth, the wrong as well as the right practice. 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."

11. 340 : 20-29

The divine Principle of the First Commandment bases the Science of being, by which man demonstrates health, holiness, and life eternal. One infinite God, good, unifies men and nations; constitutes the brotherhood of man; ends wars; fulfils the Scripture, "Love thy neighbor as thyself;" annihilates pagan and Christian idolatry, — whatever is wrong in social, civil, criminal, political, and religious codes; equalizes the sexes; annuls the curse on man, and leaves nothing that can sin, suffer, be punished or destroyed.

12. 503 : 12-15

Divine Science, the Word of God, saith to the darkness upon the face of error, "God is All-in-all," and the light of ever-present Love illumines the universe.