O house of God, built on a firm foundation,
Standing secure amid the storms of life,
Where all may come to learn of true salvation
And find release from discord, pain, and strife.

We hear the Word, in song and sermon spoken,
In silent prayer, we turn to God today;
Our humble hearts receive the blessed token
Of Truth that guides us in the upward way.

O Father, feed us with Thy bread from heaven,
The living water, may we drink of Thee,
And every lesson which Thy love hath given
Oh, may we learn it with humility.

We feel Thy peace, Thine arms of Love enfolding,
We lift our hearts in praise and gratitude,
And from this hour, a glimpse of heaven beholding,
Go forth at last, our joy and strength renewed.

Matt. 5:10

God blesses those who are persecuted for doing right, for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs.

Matt. 16:13, 16-19

When Jesus came to the region of Cæsarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” Jesus replied, “You are blessed, Simon, son of Jona: because my Father in heaven has revealed this to you. You did not learn this from any human being. Now I say to you that you are Peter [which means rock], and upon this rock I will build my church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it. And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven.”

Matt. 24:24

False messiahs and false prophets will rise up and perform great signs and wonders so as to deceive, if possible, even God’s chosen ones.”

Rev. 2:19-20, 22, 24-26

The message to the church in Thyatira: I have seen your love, your faith, your service, and you patient endurance. And I can see your constant improvement in all these things. But I have this complaint against you. You are permitting that woman—that Jezebel who calls herself a prophet—to lead my servants astray. She teaches them to commit sexual sin and to eat food offered to idols. Those who commit adultery with her will suffer greatly unless they repent and turn away from her evil deeds. To all who are victorious, who obey me to the very end, To them I will give authority over all the nations.

Rev. 2:13-14, 16

The message to the church in Pergamum. I know that you live in the city where Satan has his throne, yet you have remained loyal to me. ….But I have a few complaints against you. You tolerate some among you whose teaching is like that of Balaam, who showed Balak how to trip up the people of Israel. He taught them to sin by eating food offered to idols and by committing sexual sin. Repent of your sin.

Rev. 3:1-4

The message to the church in Sardis write: ….You have a reputation for being alive, but you are dead. Wake up! Strengthen what little remains, for even what is left is almost dead. I find that your actions do not meet the requirements of my God. Go back to what you heard and believed at first; hold to it firmly: Repent and turn to me again. . . . Yet there are some in the church in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes with evil. They will walk with me in white, for they are worthy.

Rev. 3:15-17, 19

The Message to the Church in Laodicea. ….You are neither hot nor cold! I wish that you were one or the other! But since you are like lukewarm water, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my moth! You say, ‘I am rich. I have everything I want. I don’t need a thing!’ And you don’t realize that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked. I correct and discipline everyone I love.

I John 2:15-17

Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you. For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are form this world. This world is fading away along with everything people crave, but anyone who does what pleases God will live forever.

I John 3:16,18

We know what real love is because Jesus gave up his life for us. Dear children, let’s not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions.

Rev. 2:2, 4-5, 7

The message to the church in Ephesus: I have seen your hard work and your patient endurance. But I have this complaint against you. You don’t love me or each other as you did at first! . . . . .Turn back to me and do the works you did at first. To everyone who is victorious I will give fruit from the tree of life.

Eph. 4:31, 32

Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of evil behavior. Instead be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.

Rev. 3:7 (to 1st ;), 8-13

The message to the church in Philadelphia:….I have opened a door for you that no one can close. You have little strength, yet you obeyed my word and did not deny me. Because you have obeyed my command to persevere, I will protect you from the great time of testing that will come upon the whole world to test those who belong to this world. . . . Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take away your crown. I will write on them the name of my God and they will be citizens in the city of my God—the new Jerusalem that comes down from heaven from my God.

Mark 13:1-2, 8, 13

As Jesus was leaving the Temple that day, one of his disciples said, ‘Teacher, look at these magnificent buildings! Look at the impressive stones in the walls.’ Jesus replied, ‘Yes, look at these great buildings. But they will be completely demolished. Not one stone will be left on top of another. Nation will go to war against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And everyone will hate you because you are my followers. But the one who endure to the end will be saved.’

I Pet. 5:8-9

Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. Stand firm against him, and be strong in your faith. Remember that your family of believers all over the world is going through the same kind of suffering you are.

Neh. 1:2-3, 7

Hanani, one of my brothers, came to visit me with some other men who had just arrived from Judah. They said to me, “Things are not going well for those who returned to the province of Judah. They are in great trouble and disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem has been torn down, and the gates have been destroyed by fire. We have sinned terribly by not obeying the commands, decrees, and regulations that you gave us through your servant Moses.

Neh. 2:11, 17-20

So I arrived in Jerusalem. I said to them, ‘You know very well what trouble we are in. . . . Let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem and end this disgrace.’ . . . They replied at once, “Yes, let’s rebuild the wall.’ So they began the good work. But when Sanballat, Tobiah and Geshem the Arab heard of our plan, they scoffed contemptuously. . . . I replied, “The God of heaven will help us succeed.”

Neh. 4:7-8

When Sanballat and Tobiah and the Arabs, Ammonites, and Ashdodites heard that the work was going ahead . . . . [t]hey all made plans to come and fight against Jerusalem and throw us into confusion. But we prayed to our God and guarded the city day and night to protect ourselves.

Neh. 6:2-6, 9, 15

So Sanballat and Geshem sent a message asking me to meet them in one of the villages in the plain of Ono. But I realized they were plotting to harm me, so I replied by sending this message to them: “I am engaged in a great work, so I can’t come. Why should I stop working to come and meet with you?” Four times they sent the same message, and each time I gave the same reply. The fifth time, Sanballat’s servant came with an open letter in his hand, and this is what it said, “There is a rumor among the surrounding nations, and Geshem tells me it is true, that you and the Jews are planning to rebel and that is why you are building the wall.” They were just trying to intimidate us, imagining that they could discourage us and stop the work. So I continued the work with even greater determination.

So on October 2, the wall was finished—just fifty two days after we had begun. When our enemies and the surrounding nations heard about it . . . they realized this work had been done with the help of our God.

I Pet. 5:1-2; 3:8; 5:4

And now, a word to you who are elders in the churches. Care for the flock that God has entrusted to you. Watch over it willingly, not grudgingly—not for what you will get out of it, but because you are eager to serve God. All of you should be of one mind. Sympathize with each other. Love each other as brothers and sisters. Be tenderhearted, and keep a humble attitude. And when the Great Shepherd appears, you will receive a crown of never-ending glory and honor.

SH 583:12-13

Church. The structure of Truth and Love;

SH 28:6-8

The determination to hold Spirit in the grasp of matter is the persecutor of Truth and Love.

SH 583:12-13

Church. ….. whatever rests upon and proceeds from divine Principle.

SH 473:7-10

The God-principle is omnipresent and omnipotent. God is everywhere, and nothing apart from Him is present or has power.

SH 102: 30-5, 16-17

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.

SH 71:2

Evil has no reality. It is neither person, place, nor thing, but is simply a belief, an illusion of material sense.

SH 584:17-21

Devil. Evil; . .. animal magnetism or hypnotism; the lust of the flesh, which saith: “I am life and intelligence in matter.

SH 102: 16-17, 20-23

The mild forms of animal magnetism are disappearing, and its aggressive features are coming to the front. … 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.

SH 201:7

We cannot build safely on false foundations. . . .” Passions, selfishness, false appetites, hatred, fear, all sensuality, yield to spirituality, and the superabundance of being is on the side of God, good.

SH 234:32-3

Evil thoughts, lusts, and malicious purposes cannot go forth, like wandering pollen, from one human mind to another, finding unsuspected lodgment, if virtue and truth build a strong defence.

SH 241:24-27

We should strive to reach the Horeb height where God is revealed; and the corner-stone of all spiritual building is purity.

SH 41:22-24, 28-30

Jesus foresaw the reception Christian Science would have before it was understood, but this foreknowledge hindered him not. ….The truth taught by Jesus, the elders scoffed at. Why? Because it demanded more than they were willing to practise.

SH 583:14

The Church is that institution, which affords proof of its utility and is found elevating the race, rousing the dormant understanding from material beliefs to the apprehension of spiritual ideas and the demonstration of divine Science, thereby casting out devils, or error, and healing the sick.

SH 37:16

When will Jesus’ professed followers learn to emulate him in all his ways and to imitate his mighty works? Those who procured the martyrdom of that righteous man would gladly have turned his sacred career into a mutilated doctrinal platform. May the Christians of to-day take up the more practical import of that career! It is possible, — yea, it is the duty and privilege of every child, man, and woman, — to follow in some degree the example of the Master by the demonstration of Truth and Life, of health and holiness. Christians claim to be his followers, but do they follow him in the way that he commanded? Hear these imperative commands : “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect!” “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature!” “Heal the sick!”

SH 138:14-15, 18-22, 15-16

The supremacy of Spirit was the foundation on which Jesus built. … Christians are under as direct orders now, as they were then, to be Christlike, to possess the Christ-spirit, to follow the Christ-example, and to heal the sick as well as the sinning. .. . His sublime summary points to the religion of Love.

SH 9:17-18, 21

Dost thou “love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind”? … This is the El Dorado of Christianity. It involves the Science of Life, and recognizes only the divine control of Spirit, in which Soul is our master, and material sense and human will have no place.

SH 267:15-18

Jesus said: “For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother.”

SH 276:4-9

When the divine precepts are understood, they unfold the foundation of fellowship, in which one mind is not at war with another, but all have one Spirit, God, one intelligent source, in accordance with the Scriptural command: “Let this Mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus.”

SH 35:19-25

Our church is built on the divine Principle, Love. We can unite with this church only as we are new-born of Spirit, as we reach the Life which is Truth and the Truth which is Life by bringing forth the fruits of Love, — casting out error and healing the sick.

SH 136:11-12,

[Jesus] appealed to his students: “Whom do men say that I, the Son of man, am?”

SH 17: 16-5

Simon replied for his brethren, and his reply set forth a great fact: “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God!” That is: The Messiah is what thou hast declared, — Christ, the spirit of God, of Truth, Life, and Love, which heals mentally. This assertion elicited from Jesus the benediction, “Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven;” that is, Love hath shown thee the way of Life!

Now the Master gave him a spiritual name in these words: “And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter; and upon this rock [the meaning of the Greek word petros, or stone] I will build my church; and the gates of hell [hades, the under-world, or the grave] shall not prevail against it.” In other words, Jesus purposed founding his society, not on the personal Peter as a mortal, but on the God-power which lay behind Peter’s confession of the true Messiah.

SH 483:30

One must fulfil one’s mission without timidity or dissimulation, for to be well done, the work must be done unselfishly. Christianity will never be based on a divine Principle and so found to be unerring, until its absolute Science is reached. When this is accomplished, neither pride, prejudice, bigotry, nor envy can wash away its foundation, for it is built upon the rock, Christ.

City of God, how broad and far
Outspread thy walls sublime;
The true thy chartered freemen are,
Of every age and clime.

One holy church, one army strong,
One steadfast high intent,
One working band, one harvest song,
One King omnipotent.

In vain the surge’s angry shock,
In vain the drifting sands;
Unharmed upon th’ eternal Rock,
The heavenly city stands.

Long hast thou stood, O church of God,
Long mid the tempest’s assailing,
Founded secure on timeless rock
Rises thy light, never failing;
Shining that all may understand
What has been wrought by God’s command,
O’er night and chaos prevailing.

Let there be light, and light was there,
Clear as the Word that declared it;
Healing and peace to all it gave,
Who in humility shared it.
Ah, they were faithful, they who heard,
Steadfast their trust in God’s great Word,
Steadfast the Love that prepared it.

Let there be light, the Word shines forth,
Lo, where the new morning whitens;
O church of God, with Book unsealed,
How its page beacons and brightens.
Living stones we, each in his place,
May we be worthy such a grace,
While Truth the wide earth enlightens.