Sunday, March 8th, 2026 Roundtable
We Live to Express God
This week’s Lesson Sermon Subject: Man
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Morning Prayer
Man’s true individuality is the living expression of the Mind that is God. Deity and His expression must forever be united. Man lives to express God. Could we have a grander destiny? What you and I and our brothers think goes to make up the consciousness of the world.
We are not individualized outside of our brother, but are one with him, as the Christ, hence the command to love our neighbor as ourselves. We have no Science apart from our brother.
from Mary Baker Eddy’s Lessons of the Seventh Day, the brown book, page 344
Daily Watch
123 — WATCH lest, in your desire and effort to grow and improve yourself spiritually, you gauge your progress by comparing yourself with man instead of with God. When you compare yourself with man, you are in danger of becoming complacent and self-satisfied, because you find so many that are so much worse than you are. When you compare yourself with God’s perfect man — which is God’s idea of you — you are in no danger of a premature satisfaction, or sense of lethargy.
When you use God’s idea of man as your standard of perfection, you will gradually expand the compass of your efforts to include all mankind and to see them as perfect ideas of God; whereas as long as your basis of comparison is mortal man, your efforts will remain limited and personal.
Discussion points
Question. — What is the scientific statement of being?
Answer. — There is no life, truth, intelligence, nor substance in matter. All is infinite Mind and its infinite manifestation, for God is All-in-all. Spirit is immortal Truth; matter is mortal error. Spirit is the real and eternal; matter is the unreal and temporal. Spirit is God, and man is His image and likeness. Therefore man is not material; he is spiritual.
from Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, by Mary Baker Eddy, page 468
The one Ego, the one Mind or Spirit called God, is infinite individuality, which supplies all form and comeliness and which reflects reality and divinity in individual spiritual man and things.
from Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, by Mary Baker Eddy, page 281
Golden Text: I John 3 : 2
“Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.”
Psalm 139 : 13-15
13 For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother’s womb.
14 I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.
15 My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.
Acts 17:28
For we are also His offspring.
When we understand man’s true birthright, that he is “born, not … of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God,” we shall understand that man is the offspring of Spirit, and not of the flesh; recognize him through spiritual, and not material laws; and regard him as spiritual, and not material. His sonship, referred to in the text, is his spiritual relation to Deity: it is not, then, a personal gift, but is the order of divine Science.
from Miscellaneous Writings, by Mary Baker Eddy, page 181
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In Science man is the offspring of Spirit. The beautiful, good, and pure constitute his ancestry. His origin is not, like that of mortals, in brute instinct, nor does he pass through material conditions prior to reaching intelligence. Spirit is his primitive and ultimate source of being; God is his Father, and Life is the law of his being.
from Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, by Mary Baker Eddy, page 63
Your Background by Una Willard
Religious Items
We all know that one of the conditions of growth is activity. Tie your arm to your side so that you can no longer exercise it, and it will not be long before it will be paralyzed and useless. Use it, and the muscle is developed and strengthened. The perfect standard is held up before us in the life and character of Jesus Christ. We are commanded to put on the Lord Jesus. Our desire and aim should not be so much to imitate him as to appropriate him. Let his purpose be our purpose; let his mission be our mission; let his disposition be our disposition; let his mind be in us and his spirit permeate our being and control all our actions. Then we shall not be so much troubled about imitating him, for the transformation will be wrought within us, and the glorious end of redemption will be realized, complete conformity to the image of His dear Son. “It doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.” This is all we want to know now.—The Standard.
from the December 12, 1901 issue of the Christian Science Sentinel
THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT
Everyone desires happiness, success, abundance, health, security and satisfaction. They want to feel as though they were blessed with every good thing. You are seeking to find this in your daily life and in your practice. Every patient comes to you for help along these lines. Here I am going to give you eight simple rules to follow.
First. Don’t start out as though you know it all. There is a lot that you can learn every day. Be humble, be teachable, be receptive to the infinite spiritual unfoldment of Truth.
Secondly. If you have been wrong, admit it quickly and vigorously. Don’t justify or excuse your short-comings. Don’t hold on to mistakes and errors. Drop them just as you would red hot coals. Then you will find it easy to solve your problems and to help others to solve theirs.
In the third place, don’t think you can do anything of yourself. Always turn to the one divine Mind for guidance and inspiration. Then follow the direction of this Mind quietly and meekly. You are an instrument of righteousness, a spiritual tool in the hand of divine Love. Let God use you.
Fourth. Really let God use you. Be active. You cannot find and experience all good things by just sitting around waiting for something to happen. Go into all the world and tell of the good news. Good is ever present, but you must mentally look for it to find and experience it.
Fifth. Be charitable toward others. If you were in their shoes, with the same educational and cultural background, if you had their same disappointments and frustrations, their fears and anxieties, you would probably do just as they do. If you are self-righteous you drive people away. If you are charitable and kind you will be able to help them overcome their mistakes.
Sixth. Magnify the good in everyone. Think about it, talk about it, dream about it. Look through to the ideal in every situation, in every contact with every individual. Claim that Mind which knows no evil about anyone or anything. In this way you will be able to bring peace and harmony to everyone. Your work as a practitioner is to harmonize every situation. Help every patient to see that man is never a trouble-maker. Man reflects divine Love which brings peace and satisfaction to all. This is the seventh rule.
Lastly, if you are thinking and living rightly and things do not seem to be running as smoothly as you would like, don’t drain out your oil of gladness and become discouraged, blue and unhappy. That will not help. Just pour in more and more of the divine oil of gladness until things do run smoothly and you find unlimited harmony.
If you will follow these eight simple rules nothing will be impossible to you in the practice of Christian Science.
From MARRIAGE AND DIVORCE, the Association Address of 1951 by Herbert Reike
When in Acts 7, Stephen called the high priests “stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears,” he personalized error and was stoned to death. His usefulness to God on this earth was over. Remember this, and learn the lesson that your usefulness to God and man hinges on this vital point of impersonalizing error, and seeing it as a claim apart from man, which is supported by belief, even as the parasite is supported by the oak tree. Separated from the tree, it falls and dies, but the tree lives on untouched by that which seemed to be a part of it.
Watching Point 64, from 500 Watching Points by Gilbert Carpenter
RULES OF HEALING AS LEARNED FROM THE FOUR GOSPELS
You may see how Jesus applied these simple rules of Love when he was before Pilate and during the trial and crucifixion. Jesus did not argue back. For the most part he was silent. When the Jews asked him whether he was the Son of God, he replied simply “You are accusing me of that.” He did not antagonize Pilate; he almost converted him. The most important thing was to unify thought in regard to his ministry and life work. He knew that to keep right ideas alive in the consciousness of mankind, was much more important than his own physical comfort. This was divine Love expressing itself. There were many human opinions expressed in regard to him. He put forth all his effort to live so that eventually all the world would recognize him as the Son of God.
You will remember when Jesus was on the cross, he said, “Father forgive them for they know not what they do.” He did not accuse them of being handled by an actual wicked mind. Their acts were the result of thoughtlessness. There were not two types of mind at war with each other. He once said “Thou couldst have no power over me except it were given thee from above.” He knew that this heavenly Mind alone was in operation. Nothing else could express itself or operate. Because he entertained no hatred, resentment or bad feelings toward others, he could feel no pain. He knew that he was safe in the divine Mind which loves and is loved. He knew that all of us find our security in that same consciousness. Hear his words: “And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one…”
From MARRIAGE AND DIVORCE, the Association Address of 1951 by Herbert Reike
Twice Born by H. Leslie Broadbridge
“The Whole Armour Of God” by Nemi Robertson
The baneful effect of evil associates is less seen than felt. The inoculation of evil human thoughts ought to be understood and guarded against. The first impression, made on a mind which is attracted or repelled according to personal merit or demerit, is a good detective of individual character. Certain minds meet only to separate through simultaneous repulsion. They are enemies without the preliminary offence. The impure are at peace with the impure. Only virtue is a rebuke to vice. A proper teacher of Christian Science improves the health and the morals of his student if the student practises what he is taught, and unless this result follows, the teacher is a Scientist only in name.
from Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, by Mary Baker Eddy, page 449