This recording is of the readings on the topic: Sustained by the Father-Mother God
Psalm 23
DIVINE LOVE ] is my shepherd; I shall not want.
[LOVE] maketh me to lie down in green pastures: [LOVE] leadeth me beside the still waters.
[LOVE] restoreth my soul [spiritual sense]: [LOVE] leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow ofdeath, I will fear no evil: for [LOVE] is with me; [LOVE’S] rod and [LOVE’S] staff they comfort me.
[LOVE] prepareth a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: [LOVE] anointeth my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I will dwell in the house [the consciousness] of [LOVE] for ever.
This recording is of the readings on the topic:The Last Supper.
The Garden of Gethsemane
“As they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body. And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them saying, Drink ye all of it.”
The true sense is spiritually lost, if the sacrament is confined to the use of bread and wine. The disciples had eaten, yet Jesus prayed and gave them bread. This would have been foolish in a literal sense; but in its spiritual signification, it was natural and beautiful. (Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy p32: 15-25)
A member of the Christian Science community in Canberra gives thanks.
Recently I started reading a book by Christian Science practitioner Myrtle Smith. The book is titled “The Songbird Sings Before the Dawn” and has three parts to it. The first part is about Gratitude, the second is concerned with Angels and the third part is called The Practice.
Within the Gratitude section she makes mention of how much we can be grateful for; how much we can be thankful for. Some of the simple things – our privacy, our education, our thoughtful neighbours and friends, the simple act of being able to set the table for a meal.
She also relates a story of a meeting with another practitioner who had asked a person he was working with to make a list each day of the things they could be grateful for and to send it to him each day. The next day he received a letter with a 16 page gratitude list.
I have taken that suggestion and have started to write each day some of the things for which I am grateful. My daily list doesn’t run to 16 pages, but in doing so it is making me more considered and grateful for what I have. While I might not have been ungrateful for what I have I do recognise I have been remiss in not acknowledging and giving thanks for the good in my life.
Myrtle Smith also makes mention of Peter Henniker-Heaton, a man who had been discharged from the army when his legs became paralysed. His healing took ten years. When he was finally out on his own walking on crutches he met a man on a bus and the conversation turned to being grateful. The apparently somewhat grumpy man said to Peter Henniker-Heaton he (Henniker-Heaton) must be grateful to be here, to which Henniker-Heaton responded “No, I am here because I was grateful.”
I am not losing anything in my life by taking time to show a bit more gratitude. I am not losing anything in my life by being a bit more thoughtful and considered and giving thanks.
It is in this spirit of ‘Leaning on the sustaining infinite’ and acknowledging the origin of all the blessings that I am giving more than passing or mere lip service to, and gratitude for, all that is in my life.
A member of the Canberra Christian Science community writes …
Sometimes friends ask me why I am a Christian Scientist. I tell them it’s because it brings me both joy and comfort. With it I feel more able to cope with the challenges life inevitably presents me with. I feel as though it helps me to make better informed decisions, to recognise the qualities that make life ‘work right’, and it teaches me that there are spiritual laws that if followed bring harmony, healing and a sense of security to my life.
The Bible tells me that God is Love (I John 4:8). It also tells me that man (meaning all of us) is the image and likeness of God (Genesis 1: 26, 27). It is reassuring to know that my true nature is Love which is expressed in a myriad of shades – in gentleness, kindness, forgiveness, selflessness, unselfishness, affection, empathy, generosity, loyalty, courtesy and many more. I know from the Bible also that God’s love is unconditional. It is not influenced by race, or religion, or gender. The rule of Love then is that we also must love without bias. This is in fact the Golden Rule: to love another as oneself. Is this not the kind of thinking that would make the world a better place? Is this not what the world needs more of? Love is not just a feeling, it is in fact a law. When we follow this law of Love then we bring harmony into our lives.
Through Christian Science I have also come to know God as Truth and infinite Mind. I have learned to take each of these descriptors and to live them – to be honest because I am the reflection of Truth; to be thoughtful and act intelligently because I am the reflection of Mind. When these spiritual qualities become my core values then this spiritual discernment enables me to make better decisions when choosing friends and a life partner, or employment, and even the politicians I vote for. These are just some of the reasons I love being a student of Christian Science.
This recording is of the readings on the topic: To Listenand Obey
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Shepherd, show me how to go O’er the hillside steep, How to gather, how to sow, — How to feed Thy sheep; I will listen for Thy voice, Lest my footsteps stray; I will follow and rejoice All the rugged way.
(Feed My Sheep – Hymn 304 V1 from the Christian Science Hymnal – words by Mary Baker Eddy)
This recording is of the readings on the topic:Mental Might
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And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God.
For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.
Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.
A member of the Christian Science community in Canberra offered this testimony of a recent healing.
A couple of weeks ago I played in a golf competition at a golf course in near home.
It was a team event played in teams of 4 over 18 holes of golf.
My team was finishing up on the 16th hole when I heard a loud shout followed by the sound and impact of a golf ball hitting the back of my hand. Someone from another team had hit a wayward shot.
I jumped around shaking my hand, my team-mates and the guys from the team that hit the wayward shot rushed to see what had happened.
There was concern that my hand might be broken, that I should leave and have my hand looked at, that we should immediately get ice to put on my hand.
While there was pain, I was mainly affected by the shock of the sudden and unexpected impact.
I don’t remember what I was thinking at the time, but I do remember becoming calm and reassuring everyone that I was okay and able to complete the last two holes of the competition.
I had previously been thinking about the reality of harmony and unreality of discord that had been in the weekly Bible Lessons around that time. So, as we continued, I started praying with the beginning of the Lord’s Prayer – “Our Father which art in heaven – Our Father Mother God all harmonious” (Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy p16-17), and tried to hold to the thought that there is only harmony.
While we were sitting having drinks in the club house after the game, I remember being aware that the pain had lessened and only concerned me if the back of my hand came into contact with something, but there was swelling and bruising.
I drove home and continued to pray “Thy kingdom come” – to know that we all live in the kingdom of heaven where all is harmonious and there is no pain or any other discord.
Over the next few days, I prayed with ideas from the weekly Bible Lesson.
Since the incident happened, I have in no way been restricted from using my hand and the swelling, bruising and any pain disappeared over a few days.
I’m very grateful for this proof of the power of prayer to heal and God’s presence and care for me and everyone.
A member of the Canberra Christian Science community, currently living overseas, shared this testimony which was printed in the July 31, 2023 issue of the Christian Science Sentinel.
I was introduced to Christian Science by a friend who regularly gave me copies of the Sentinel. I really liked what I was reading because it spoke of God as infinite Love, in which evil has no place.
I was reluctant to pursue the study of this Science at the time, as I believed the religion of my upbringing to be the one true religion. But the Christian Science publications nevertheless piqued my interest in things spiritual, and I was inspired to start reading the Bible, something I had not done before. Through this reading, I was coming to know and trust God better as divine Love. …
…Since beginning the study of Christian Science, I have had a number of healings, one of which is particularly dear to me. I had been drinking alcohol since the age of seventeen.Continue reading …
A member of the Christian Science community in Canberra shared this experience where prayer eased her fear and a beautiful bird found its strength.
I’d like to share a lovely experience I had recently.
To set the scene, my lounge room has two large picture windows opposite each other facing east and west respectively and the sun was shining through the eastern window where I was sitting reading the Weekly Bible Lesson on the topic of ‘Truth’.
My attention was suddenly interrupted by a very loud bang against the west facing window. Guessing that a bird had lost it’s way, I went over to see if help was needed and saw that a beautiful Eastern Rosella was lying spread-eagled amongst the plants in the window box.
He was still breathing and opening his beak.
I resisted all temptation to go outside to provide any physical assistance. Instead, I stood still and prayed with the Scientific Statement of Being, knowing that it was true for him. (Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, by Mary Baker Eddy, p468).
I went back to my study of the Bible Lesson, praying with helpful passages by adding the thought of all God’s creatures where man’s being was addressed.
For example, from the Bible:
Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage. …For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; … (Galatians 5:1,13)
And from Science and Health:
The substance, Life, intelligence, Truth, and Love, which constitute Deity, are reflected by His creation; and when we subordinate the false testimony of the corporeal senses to the facts of Science, we shall see this true likeness and reflection everywhere. (Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, by Mary Baker Eddy, p516:4)
After about half an hour, I went back to the window and found that the patient was still there still in the same state.
To my relief and joy, as soon as he heard me say ‘’Oh you’re still there”, he – quick as a flash – flew away … no struggle or tentativeness … free as a bird.
In the words of Hymn 136:
I love Thy way of freedom, Lord, To serve Thee is my choice, … (Christian Science Hymnal, No.136)
A member of the Christian Science community in Canberra was recently interviewed for a Sentinel Watch podcast titled Listening to God.Click here to listen to this podcasts.
How do you listen to God? And what can you expect to hear when you do? This week’s guest shares ideas from her own journey of learning how to listen—and the healings that have resulted.
Christian Science Canberra 