PSST: Let God open up and reveals a deeper reservoir of blessings!
Possible Sunday School Topics (PSSTs) for the Christian Science Quarterly Bible Lesson:
“Is the Universe, Including Man, Evolved by Atomic Force?”
for June 14-20, 2021
prepared by Merrill Boudreaux, C.S.
pegasus6524@gmail.com • 314-308-1059
P.S.S.T. Golden Text (GT) Nehemiah 9:5.
How has God blessed the universe and all its inhabitants? Look around you, where do you see God’s blessings in nature, in humans, in the animal kingdom? Behold how good God is and how much He cares for us and blesses us. Foundationally, what does Genesis 1:31 tell us?
P.S.S.T. Responsive Reading (RR) Nehemiah 9:6; Psalms 93:1,2; Psalms 89:2,5,9,11,15,52.
What are some scriptural statements in the Responsive Reading that show we are blessed of the Lord?
- The Lord alone made heaven and earth
- The Lord reigneth
- The Lord established the earth
- The Lord is faithful
- The Lord rulest ragings and stilleth them
- The Lord blesses His creation and provides light for their guidance and protection
Do you feel blessed by the Lord?
P.S.S.T. Section 1 – Read together Hymn 282 from the Christian Science Hymnal (printed here).
Hymn 282
Praise the Lord, ye heavens, adore Him; Praise Him, angels, in the height; Sun and moon, rejoice before Him, Praise Him, all ye stars of light;
Praise the Lord, for He hath spoken, Worlds His mighty voice obeyed; Laws that never shall be broken For their guidance hath He made.
Praise the Lord, for He is glorious; Never shall His promise fail; God hath made His saints victorious, Sin and death shall not prevail.
Praise the God of our salvation; Hosts on high, His power proclaim; Heaven and earth, and all creation, Laud and magnify His name.
How does the study of Christian Science aid in our discovery and acknowledgement of the blessings poured out on the universe? See citation S5, especially, “When we learn the way in Christian Science and recognize man’s spiritual being, we shall behold and understand God’s creation, — all the glories of earth and heaven and man” (Science & Health 264).
Probing beyond the material sense of things takes us to a deeper appreciation of blessings revealing Spirit and spiritual beings – us. See citation S5 again, “The universe of Spirit is peopled with spiritual beings, and its government is divine Science.”
Seeing ourselves as more than material opens up and reveals a deeper reservoir of blessings.
P.S.S.T. Section 2 – How do the ten commandments (see Deuteronomy 5:1, cit. B6) speak of the blessings given to the universe? They are not just commands for material living but are revelatory of the abundant blessings that come from paying attention to what God is knowing, seeing, doing with and for us, and how we can better align with and bask in and benefit from those blessings. Read together citation B6.
What is the natural next step when you feel blessed of the Lord? It is to bless others, to give of that which you have. Look at the seal on the cover of the book Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures. What does it tell us to do?
P.S.S.T. Section 3 – Spirit blesses you, declaring you are spiritual, spirit-like, created in Spirit’s image and likeness (cit. S16/SH 78:28): “Spirit blesses man, but man cannot ‘tell whence it cometh.’ By it the sick are healed, the sorrowing are comforted, and the sinning are reformed.”
How can you stand firm like Simeon in the scripture story in citation B12 (Luke 2:25-32) until the Christ dawn on your thought and you see God with us?
Read together in Science & Health page vii:1-12. You are that wakeful shepherd, just as was Simeon. What will you do with this blessing in the service of mankind? Doesn’t everyone want to be free of sickness, sin, anger, accident, hatred, death? The blessings of the ten commandments can aid in your prayer and work.
P.S.S.T. Section 4 – How did Jesus aid in the blessings to his disciples in the scripture story in citation B17 (Matthew 8:23-27)? Was his action a miracle or the utilization of the blessings he knew God had given to mankind? Blessings supersede cursing. Read together in Science & Health page 340:15. Pay particular attention to lines 23-29, especially “…annuls the curse on man, and leaves nothing that can sin, suffer, be punished or destroyed.”
P.S.S.T. Section 5 – Why do we consider Jesus our Master? Was it because he mastered the belief of life in matter; that he mastered adherence to the things of Spirit; that he mastered embodiment of the ten commandments; that he mastered how he beheld man and the universe?
See Science & Health 476:32. Let us learn to do the same (cit. S27/SH 276:19). Read together further guidance in citation S28 (SH 261:4,27): “Hold thought steadfastly to the enduring, the good, and the true, and you will bring these into your experience proportionably to their occupancy of your thoughts.”
P.S.S.T. Section 6 – Since you are one of the blessed of the Father, what are you to inherit? The kingdom prepared for you. See the spiritual definition of “Kingdom of Heaven” in Science and Health, page 590:1. What constitutes this kingdom? Material elements, atoms, or blessed ideas? (Cit. S32/SH 517:30-31)
Remember, ideas are permanent, universal, usable and they are yours with all the power they possess to bless you and the universe.
Read together Hymn 411 from the Christian Science Hymnal (printed here).
Hymn 411 (10)
All power is given unto our Lord, On Him we place reliance; With truth from out His sacred word We bid our foes defiance. With Him we shall prevail, Whatever may assail; He is our shield and tower, Almighty is His power; His kingdom is forever.
Rejoice, ye people, praise His name, His care doth e’er surround us. His love to error’s thralldom came, And from its chains unbound us. Our Lord is God alone, No other power we own; No other voice we heed, No other help we need; His kingdom is forever.
O then give thanks to God on high, Who life to all is giving; The hosts of death before Him fly, In Him we all are living. Then let us know no fear, Our King is ever near; Our stay and fortress strong, Our strength, our hope, our song; His kingdom is forever.
