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.

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. 6:9, 11

After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, . . . . Give us this day our daily bread.

Luke 4:1-4

Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, Being forty days tempted of the devil. And in those days he did eat nothing: and when they were ended, he afterward hungered. And the devil said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, command this stone that it be made bread. And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.

Gen. 37:3, 4, 23, 24, 28, 36

Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, . . . And when his brethren saw that their father loved him more than all his brethren, they hated him, and could not speak peaceably unto him. . . . they took him, and cast him into a pit. Then there passed by Midianites merchantmen; and they drew and lifted up Joseph out of the pit, . . . .And the Midianites sold him into Egypt unto Potiphar.

Gen. 39:20

Joseph’s master took him, and put him into the prison, a place where the king’s prisoners were bound . . . .

Gen. 41:1, 8, 14-16, 25, 29-30, 33, 41, 53-55

And it came to pass at the end of two full years, that Pharaoh dreamed. . . . his spirit was troubled; and he sent and called for all the magicians of Egypt, and all the wise men thereof: and Pharaoh told them his dream; but there was none that could interpret them unto Pharaoh. Then Pharaoh sent and called Joseph, and they brought him hastily out of the dungeon. And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, I have dreamed a dream, and there is none that can interpret it: and I have heard say of thee, that thou canst understand a dream to interpret it. And Joseph answered Pharaoh, saying, It is not in me: God shall give Pharaoh an answer of peace. . .. The dream of Pharaoh is one: God hath shewed Pharaoh what he is about to do. Behold, there come seven years of great plenty throughout all the land of Egypt: And there shall arise after them seven years of famine; and all the plenty shall be forgotten in the land of Egypt; and the famine shall consume the land. . .. Now therefore let Pharaoh look out a man discreet and wise, and set him over the land of Egypt. . . . Pharaoh said unto Joseph, See, I have set thee over all the land of Egypt.

And the seven years of plenteousness, that was in the land of Egypt, were ended. And the seven years of dearth began to come, according as Joseph had said: and the dearth was in all lands; but in all the land of Egypt there was bread. And when all the land of Egypt was famished, the people cried to Pharaoh for bread: and Pharaoh said unto all the Egyptians, Go unto Joseph.

Gen. 42:3 ; 45:1, 4, 5; 47: 12

Joseph’s ten brethren went down to buy corn in Egypt. Then Joseph could not refrain himself before all them that stood by him; and he cried, . . . . And he said, I am Joseph your brother, whom ye sold into Egypt. Now therefore be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither: for God did send me before you to preserve life. And Joseph nourished his father, and his brethren, and all his father’s household, with bread . . . .

Prov. 22:6, 9

Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it. . . . .for he giveth of his bread to the poor.

Prov. 25:21

If thine enemy be hungry, give him bread to eat.

Ex. 16:2-4, 13-15

The whole congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness: And the children of Israel said unto them, Would to God we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the flesh pots, and when we did eat bread to the full; for ye have brought us forth into this wilderness, to kill this whole assembly with hunger. Then said the Lord unto Moses, Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you . . . . [I]n the morning . . . behold, upon the face of the wilderness there lay a small round thing, as small as the hoar frost on the ground. And when the children of Israel saw it, they said one to another, It is manna: for they wist not what it was. And Moses said unto them, This is the bread which the Lord hath given you to eat.

Deut. 6:4-7

Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.

Ps. 105:1, 5, 26, 40

O give thanks unto the Lord; . . . Remember his marvellous works that he hath done; his wonders, and the judgments of his mouth; . . . He sent Moses his servant; and satisfied them with the bread of heaven.

Judg. 6:6, 11-14; 7:13-15

Israel was greatly impoverished because of the Midianites; and the children of Israel cried unto the Lord. . . . Gideon threshed wheat by the winepress, to hid it from the Midianites. And the angel of the Lord appeared unto him, and said unto him, The Lord is with thee, thou mighty man of valour. And Gideon said unto him, Oh my Lord, if the Lord be with us, why then is all this befallen us? and where be all his miracles which our fathers told us of, saying, Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt? . . . And the Lord looked upon him, and said, Go in this thy might, and thou shalt save Israel from the hand of the Midianites: have not I sent thee?

And when Gideon was come, behold, there was a man that told a dream unto his fellow, and said, Behold, I dreamed a dream, and, lo, a cake of barley bread tumbled into the host of Midian, and came unto a tent, and smote it that it fell, and overturned it . . . . And his fellow answered and said, This is nothing else save the sword of Gideon the son of Joash, a man of Israel: for into his hand hath God delivered Midian, and all the host. And it was so, when Gideon heard the telling of the dream, and the interpretation thereof, that he worshipped, and returned into the host of Israel, and said, Arise; for the Lord hath delivered into your hand the host of Midian.

Ex. 23:20, 21 (to 2nd ,), 24. 25

Behold, I send an Angel before thee, to keep thee in the way, and to bring thee into the place which I have prepared. Beware of him, and obey his voice, . . .. Thou shalt not bow down to their gods, nor serve them, nor do after their works: but thou shalt utterly overthrow them, and quite break down their images. And ye shall serve the Lord your God, and he shall bless thy bread, and thy water; and I will take sickness away from the midst of thee.

Luke 11:11-13

If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? . . .. how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?

Matt. 15:22, 24-28

And, behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil . But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Then came she and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me. But he answered and said, It is not meet to take the children’s bread, and to cast it to dogs. And she said, Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table. Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour.

Isa. 58:6-8, 11-12

Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke? Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him . . . ? Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily: . . . and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not. And they that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places: thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in.

John 13:34

Jesus spake and said, A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.

John 6:47-48

I Cor. 10:16, 17

The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ? For we being many are one bread, and one body: for we are all partakers of that one bread.

SH 16:26 (only); 17:4-5

Our Father which art in heaven, . . . Give us this day our daily bread;

SH 35:26-27 (to 1st .)

Our bread, “which cometh down from heaven,” is Truth.

SH 67:23

Grace and Truth are potent beyond all other means and methods.

SH 410:4

“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. . . . 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.

SH 26:21-23

Jesus’ teaching and practice of Truth involved such a sacrifice as makes us admit its Principle to be Love.

SH 494:15 (only)

The miracle of grace is no miracle to Love.

SH 51:28

Jesus was unselfish. His spirituality separated him from sensuousness, and caused the selfish materialist to hate him; but it was this spirituality which enabled Jesus to heal the sick, cast out evil, and raise the dead.

SH 52:4

His affections were pure; theirs were carnal. His senses drank in the spiritual evidence of health, holiness, and life; their senses testified oppositely, and absorbed the material evidence of sin, sickness, and death.

SH 54:1

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.

SH 326:8

All nature teaches God’s love to man, but man cannot love God supremely and set his whole affections on spiritual things, while loving the material or trusting in it more than in the spiritual.

SH 239:16-20

To ascertain our progress, we must learn where our affections are placed and whom we acknowledge and obey as God. If divine Love is becoming nearer, dearer, and more real to us, matter is then submitting to Spirit.

220:22-30

A clergyman once adopted a diet of bread and water to increase his spirituality. Finding his health failing, he gave up his abstinence, and advised others never to try dietetics for growth in grace. The belief that either fasting or feasting makes men better morally or physically is one of the fruits of “the tree of the knowledge of good and evil,” concerning which God said, “Thou shalt not eat of it.”

SH 221:1-2, 4-8, 14-22; 222:7

I knew a person who when quite a child adopted the Graham system to cure dyspepsia. His dyspepsia increasing, he decided that his diet should be more rigid, and thereafter he partook of but one meal in twenty-four hours, this meal consisting of only a thin slice of bread without water. At this point Christian Science saved him, and he is now in perfect health without a vestige of the old complaint. He learned that suffering and disease were the self-imposed beliefs of mortals, and not the facts of being; that God never decreed disease, — never ordained a law that fasting should be a means of health. Hence semi-starvation is not acceptable to wisdom, and it is equally far from Science, in which being is sustained by God, Mind. He learned also that mortal mind makes a mortal body, whereas Truth regenerates this fleshly mind and feeds thought with the bread of Life.

SH 182:9-11; 183:21-22

We cannot obey both physiology and Spirit, for one absolutely destroys the other, and one or the other must be supreme in the affections. . . . Divine Mind rightly demands man’s entire obedience, affection, and strength.

SH 691:18-20; 692:5; 693:3 – Testimony from Chapter “Fruitage”:

Words cannot express my gratitude to God for Christian Science. When I first read Science and Health, I had tried every remedy I had ever heard of. The truth of man’s spiritual being dawned on my consciousness. When I read, “Give us this day our daily bread,” and its spiritual interpretation, my tears began to flow; all the years of bitterness, hate, and fear melted away. I knew then, as I know now, that nothing satisfies but Love. That day began the outward and inward conscious healing, — mental and physical. There never came a doubt! I absolutely knew that Christian Science was and is the truth. Money, friends, materiality, are nothing beside the conscious knowledge of God, man, and the universe. When I think what my life was before I had Christian Science, of the six years of colds, suffering, and coughing, not to mention the unhappiness, I want to “work, watch, and pray” for the Mind of Christ, that I may work rightly in God’s vineyard, and to know that in truth, what belongs to one belongs to all, — that one God, one Life, Truth, and Love is all.  — A. C. L., Kansas City, Kans.

SH 8:28-30

We should examine ourselves and learn what is the affection and purpose of the heart, for in this way only can we learn what we honestly are.

SH 589:19

Joseph. . .. a higher sense of Truth rebuking mortal belief, or error, and showing the immortality and supremacy of Truth; pure affection blessing its enemies.

SH 102:30-2

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.

SH 57:22

Human affection is not poured forth vainly, even though it meet no return. Love enriches the nature, enlarging, purifying, and elevating it. The wintry blasts of earth may uproot the flowers of affection, and scatter them to the winds; but this severance of fleshly ties serves to unite thought more closely to God, for Love supports the struggling heart until it ceases to sigh over the world and begins to unfold its wings for heaven.

SH 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.

SH 365:15-19, 31; 366:12-19; 367:3

If the Scientist reaches his patient through divine Love, the healing work will be accomplished at one visit, and the disease will vanish into its native nothingness like dew before the morning sunshine. The poor suffering heart needs its rightful nutriment, such as peace, patience in tribulation, and a priceless sense of the dear Father’s loving-kindness.

The physician who lacks sympathy for his fellow-being is deficient in human affection, and we have the apostolic warrant for asking: “He that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?” Not having this spiritual affection, the physician lacks faith in the divine Mind and has not that recognition of infinite Love which alone confers the healing power.

The tender word and Christian encouragement of an invalid, pitiful patience with his fears and the removal of them, are better than hecatombs of gushing theories, stereotyped borrowed speeches, and the doling of arguments, which are but so many parodies on legitimate Christian Science, aflame with divine Love.

Grace for today, O Love divine,

Thee to obey and love alone;

Losing the mortal will in Thine,

Find we a joy before unknown.

Grace for today, Thou Love divine,

Patient of heart his way to trace

Whose pure affections Thee define

In tender love and perfect grace.

Open is the crystal fountain,

Whence the healing waters flow;

And the fiery cloudy pillar

Leads me all my journey through.

Strong Deliverer! Strong Deliverer!

Still Thou art my strength and shield.