PSST: ADMIT THAT YOU’RE GOD’S OWN LIKENESS TO BE SET FREE! (7)
Possible Sunday School Topics (PSSTs) for The Christian Science Quarterly Bible Lesson:
“Adam and Fallen Man”
for November 1-7, 2021
prepared by Merrill Boudreaux, C.S.
pegasus6524@gmail.com • 314-308-1059
P.S.S.T. Golden Text (GT) – Psalm 20:8: “…we are risen, and stand upright.”
What does it mean to you to stand upright, to be upright?
What will you stand for?
Who will you take a stand for? In the world right now, where some feel bullied, persecuted, or marginalized, how can you stand up for them and for yourself?
What is your basis for mentally taking such a stand? See Genesis 1:26,31: “And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness; And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good.”
The entire first chapter of Genesis may be worthy of review to anchor this lesson.
Read together Hymn 542 from The Christian Science Hymnal for further inspiration (printed here).
Hymn 542, 218-220:
O Life that maketh all things new, / The blooming earth, the thoughts of men; / Our pilgrim feet, wet with Your dew, / In gladness hither turn again.
From hand to hand the greeting flows, / From eye to eye the signals run, / From heart to heart the bright hope glows, / The seekers of the Light are one:
One in the freedom of the truth, / One in the joy of paths untrod, / One in the heart’s perennial youth, / One in the larger thought of God; —
The freer step, the fuller breath, / The wide horizon’s grander view; / The sense of Life that knows no death, — / The Life that maketh all things new.
P.S.S.T. Responsive Reading (RR): What statements are available in the Responsive Reading to strengthen the upright stand you are taking in support of your universal brethren?
- The works of the Lord are great
- He hath made His wonderful works to be remembered
- Preserve my life from fear
- Hide me from the secret counsel of the wicked, from the insurrection of the workers of iniquity
- The upright in heart shall glory
- Light is sown for the righteous
P.S.S.T. Section 1 – TRUST THE WORDS & INSPIRATION OF THE SCRIPTURES!
Do you trust the words of the scriptures, the inspired thought which comes from reading them?
How do you define man, the upright, the creature of God’s creating? See citations S3 and S4 (Science & Health 591:5 & 515:21).
P.S.S.T. Section 2 – ACCEPT THE GREAT ARCHITECT’S DESIGN OF YOU & of MAN!
Since we have the clarity of the creation story in Genesis 1, is there a benefit to reviewing a different view of creation found in Genesis 2? See cit. S7/SH 526:24: “This second biblical account is a picture of error throughout.”
Now comes the question: Which account of creation will you accept?
Which account of your universal brothers will you accept? See also cit. S13/SH 68:4-6, “Sometime we shall learn how Spirit, the great architect, has created men and women in Science.” Is your thought open to learn this?
P.S.S.T. Section 3 –WHY IT’S INSTRUCTIVE TO READ ABOUT the SERPENT in GEN. 3
Since we have the completeness of the creation story in Genesis, Chapter 1, why is it instructive to read about the serpent in Genesis, Chapter 3? Citation S15/SH 538:15-17 tells us the serpent story illustrates “the illusion of error, of the false claims that misrepresent God, good.” Perhaps this Genesis 3 story serves to alert us to our thinking when we are considering standing up for someone else or ourselves or taking the side of condemning someone else, or ourselves.
Citation S16/SH 529:21 says in part, “…we should have faith to fight all claims of evil, because we know that they are worthless and unreal.”
Read together Hymn 120 from The Christian Science Hymnal (printed here).
Hymn 120:
How beauteous on the mountains / The feet of him that brings, / Like streams from living fountains, / Good tidings of good things; / That publishes salvation; / From error gives release / To every tribe and nation: / God’s reign of joy and peace.
Break forth in hymns of gladness, / O waste Jerusalem; / Let songs instead of sadness, / Thy jubilee proclaim; / The Lord, in strength victorious, / Upon thy foes has trod; / Behold, O earth, the glorious / Salvation of our God.
P.S.S.T. Section 4 – REMEMBER the life of the Master Christian & ask W.W.J.D.?
When deciding when or whether to take a stand for good, for what is true, just remember the life and works of Jesus, the Master Christian, and ask the question, “What would Jesus do?”[W.W.J.D.?]
See cit. B6/Psalm 37:23,24, “The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord: and he delighteth in his way. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the Lord upholdeth him with his hand.”
P.S.S.T. Section 5 – SEE & BE THE MAN FROM GENESIS 1, NOT GENESIS 2 OR 3
If you are wondering whether you have the strength or ability to stand upright, see cit. B11/Psalm 24:3-5, which asks and answers the question, “Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord? Or who shall stand in his holy place?” Follow this with the question, What man are you seeing, the one from Genesis 1, or Genesis 2, or Genesis 3?
Read together from cit. S21/SH 476: 28-5. This is a good memory opportunity, especially SH 476:32-5.
P.S.S.T. Section 6 – TAKE a STAND FOR LIBERTY AND FOR FREEDOM
Which man do you desire to stand with? According to cit. B13/I Cor 15:22:
- Adam, where all die, or
- Christ, where all are made alive
What was the result of Jesus taking a stand for the man of Genesis 1 in the scripture story in cit. B16/Luke 7:1-16?
Read together cit. B17/Galatians 5:1,13 to reinforce the stand to be taken, the stand for liberty and for freedom.
P.S.S.T. Section 7 – ADMIT THAT YOU’RE GOD’S OWN LIKENESS TO BE SET FREE!
Of what can you be assured when taking a stand with the Christ?
Light, glory, receiving the prize, hearing the voice of God telling you of freedom, admission to the realm of holiness.
All of these are found in this section of the Lesson.
Finally, citation S30/SH 90:24-25 states, “The admission to one’s self that man is God’s own likeness sets man free to master the infinite idea.”
So up and be doing, as stated in Hymns 18 and 441, from The Christian Science Hymnal (printed here):
Hymn 441 and 18:
Be firm and be faithful; desert not the right; / The brave become bolder the darker the night. / Then up and be doing, though cowards may fail; / Thy duty pursuing, dare all and prevail.
If scorn be thy portion, if hatred and loss, / If stripes or a prison, remember the cross. / God watches above thee, and He will requite; / Forsake those that love thee, but never the right.
