Have a supremely happy Easter week! “He is Risen!”

Golden Text (GT):  Beginning with the second half of this statement, discuss with your students what it means to declare the works of the lord.  Two primary thoughts come to mind: 1 being alert, aware, and perceptive; 2 being unselfish.  1 To declare anything, we must first be aware of it: encourage your students to keep their eyes open to God's works in their lives and all around them.  His work is everywhere. You might even brainstorm a variety of his works to bring to the class as examples of what they can be looking for each day, and then open the discussion to works that they have seen or might expect to see during a normal week.  That is something else to point out as part of this process of declaring God's work: expectation. Help your students to expect to see the good of God.  2 To declare God's work will require some courage, because those who step out and start to assert that God is good and powerful are often looked at as being different, they are sometimes even resisted strongly.  But the important thing to keep in mind is the reason for declaring God's work. It is to bless all mankind.  Turn your students towards the motto for the Christian Science Monitor, “To injur no man but to bless all mankind.” Let unselfishness reign in your heart, and declaring God's good works will come naturally and will be a blessing to all around.

Responsive Reading (RR):  This inspired me and I hope it will do the same for your students: http://m.biblestudytools.com/commentaries/gills-exposition-of-the-bible/john-12-44.html Have you ever considered closely the word “cried” in the first verse of this RR?  I hadn't and I encourage you to look at that word specifically.  Why is Jesus crying out? Help them see the context of Jesus' preaching at this point and how earnestly Jesus wanted others to understand his teachings.  
For further discussion on this RR, consider the following questions. What qualities is Jesus expressing in his teachings here? What qualities does he demand of us?  Most importantly, what do these verses teach us about Jesus' role in our lives, about the purpose and intent of his entire ministry?

PSST Section 1
B1 – How does this citation fit with the subject of “Probation After Death”?  There are small bits of it, particularly the end, that stand out as addressing the lie of limited life. But what of the first verses offered? Why begin this lesson with praise? Are your students the ones sharing God's good work with the next generation? Or are they receiving the good word from the previous one?  Could they be doing both at the same time?

B2 – What a fascinating way of thinking about God and death. He has no pleasure in it.  What does God find pleasure in?  This citation tells us to turn, from what are we turning and to what are we turning?  I am reminded of Mrs. Eddy's statement, “turn like tired children…” Using Concord, look that citation up and see how it applies to your students. Perhaps the best part of this verse is the command to live. Do your students see their ability to choose life, choose good? Do they see that they have a choice in every moment of their lives? What are they choosing? Help them understand that at no moment must they feel like a victim because God is on their side, and one with God is certainly a majority.

B3 – This lesson may pose a challenge for teenagers: more often than not, they have little reason to think about death, especially as it concerns them. So this conversation can easily become academic and theoretical, rather than remaining immediately relevant to their daily lives.  One thing to do with this immediate citation is to look outside the lines. The start of verse 7 in Ps.116 is a great place to begin.  Look here http://m.biblestudytools.com/commentaries/treasury-of-david/psalms-116-7.html for some wonderful ideas about the rest discussed in this verse. Our teenagers are so often encouraged to live life in high gear; help them break that trend. My favorite idea from this website is that “returning to rest is an act of confidence.” That must be the case for when we are confident in our abilities or preparedness, we can finally rest our thought. When we are confident in God's ability and ever preparedness to meet any and every need we have, we can certainly rest and be at peace.

SH1 – One reason this lesson is so important for young people to explore is to prevent false faiths that will need to be unlearned later on. While the supposed threat of death may not seem prevalent in their lives, or immediate, Mrs. Eddy's instruction to “begin demonstrating” is important to students of all ages. Begin now to learn more of God and His supremacy, for there is no end to that learning. The same goes for Life, there is no end to the various expressions of life available to us. So get cracking!

SH2,3,4 – What does it mean for something to be “deathless”?  If we truly remove the fear of death from our experience, what sort of impact would that have on our lives? What bigger blessing could we be if we have no limits on the life we live? How would it impact our ability to be patient, or fearless, or gracious?  

SH5 – Read this passage carefully with your students.  What is “being”? Is it existence, is it experience? What does being have to do with their lives? What is being but the activity of life, living life? Ask your students to compare their daily thoughts about themselves to this statement. How often do they declare that the activity of their lives is purely harmonious, and immortal?  Then look over the benefits that Mrs. Eddy presents for those who walk this direction.  Who of your students does not want these glorious benefits? Lastly, what is morality doing in here? How does harmonious being connect with living morally? What does it mean to live morally? And how is it a lifestyle to be desired?

PSST Section 2
B4- Though there are many resources out there for study of the Bible, I am finding Matthew Henry's complete commentary to be consistently helpful. Hs comments on this verse can be found here, http://m.biblestudytools.com/commentaries/matthew-henry-complete/genesis/17.html. Two questions this verse inspires, and Henry's commentary approaches are, what does it mean to walk before God; isn't He first and last? And, what does it mean to be perfect?  Turn thought away from this verse as a rigid command and look at it as a promise. Could it not be saying, if you put God before you always the natural outcome is that you reflect His perfection?
A cool alternative translation of this verse says, “Live entirely before me, live to the hilt!” (The Message). When you realize that God is speaking to a man who is 99 years old…what?!!? Just put that before your students and see what happens.

B5- In context, Jeremiah here is speaking of God as truth among lies.  Matthew Henry lays out the history in detail here: http://m.biblestudytools.com/commentaries/matthew-henry-complete/jeremiah/10.html.  One thing sticks out boldly to me as I read Henry, and that is that he says directly, “God is truth.” What wonderful news to know that a century before Mrs. Eddy the idea of God being Truth itself was considered. As far as your students go, do they see God as the only Truth, the only true place to look for joy, freedom, happiness, ,satisfaction?  Or do they get tempted by false idols? What do false idols have to do with probation after death? Is it possible that the probation of our happiness even here and now is a lie and that the joy of heaven is a present possibility?

B6- “Thanksgiving is good. Thanksliving is better.”  What a great idea to put in front of your students.  This glorious outpouring of wisdom is actually part of a song of thanksgiving.  Written by Hezekiah after he was first sick unto death and then returned to health, this declaration that the living, and not the dead, praise God is not just a statement of thanksgiving, but it is a promise of thanksliving.  Hezekiah promises to spend the rest of his life in gratitude to God, in praise of God.  Another important point to understand about Hezekiah is that he isn't your typical reform story.  He wasn't a bad boy turned good by the love of God.  He was one of God's biggest fans, a sort of rockstar for God. And in the midst of his glories he found himself sick.  But rather than becoming bitter against God and cursing his fate, Hezekiah prayed to God, and when he got better, he was more than ready to continue his grateful living in service to God.  Help your students to have the humility of Hezekiah. Help them to realize the importance of living their gratitude, not just speaking it. What is the difference here?  How might your students truly live their gratitude?  (The foundation for this explanation comes from Matthew Henry's complete commentary on the bible, which you'll find here: http://m.biblestudytools.com/commentaries/matthew-henry-complete/isaiah/38.html)

B9- Where is heaven? Is it far away? Is it after death? Consider Hezekiah's example and Jesus' admonition.  Heaven is within us. What does that mean? Help your students consider not only that heaven within them means they can be happier in their own lives, but that they can bring happiness to others as well. How much joy, love, happiness are in heaven? If the answer is infinite, and I believe it is, that means that we have infinite joy, love, happiness within us to share with others.  We should never, then, hesitate sharing. Why would we? Are we afraid of running out?

SH6- What is the one way to heaven harmony that Christ shows us? Look through the rest of this section and see if other citations reveal more about this way?  As further study, there is an incredible article in Miscellaneous Writings entitled “The Way” you and your students may find it interesting.

SH7- Look at this citation, and look at SH10 as well and discuss how Mrs. Eddy defines heaven. There may be clues in other citations as well, but these two citations are pretty specific to the clarification of what and where heaven actually is.  Do your students understand these definitions? How d they impact your students' understanding of their work here and now?

SH8-11 – Citations 8 & 9 set down perfection as the rule and normal state of things. But 10 & 11 remind us that we have a role to play in this experience. What is our responsibility as thinkers, as spiritual beings? Create a list with your students and begin developing these skills and abilities. Don't get overwhelmed with the need to do everything at once, but begin now to work even on the smallest part, and work earnestly to see how all the other pieces fall into place.

Section 3
B10 – What types of pleasures are at the right hand of God?

B11 – Have your students ever listened for God's voice? Have they successfully heard it? What was their experience? What does God's voice “sound” like? Discuss ways to practice this ability. Mind is always speaking to us, so how do we her it?

B13 – To find life everlasting there is a spirit of humanity required. Rather than just following the rules, as the certain man had done all his life, Jesus asks him to give to the max everything he can give to those who need it.  What can your students give to bless the community or world around them? A there any community service activities your class could do together outside of Sunday School? What about giving their prayers to other parts of the world or community?  How often do your students think of how they can bless others, for that is a key ingredient in heaven.

SH12 – What are your students' motives for studying Christian Science? What are their motives for coming to church? Perhaps the easiest step in prayer is government of our motives.  We have a choice in that matter, and Mrs. Eddy councils us that we can win this part of the battle with error now. We don't have to wait to set our motives right. What are good motives to have? Open your Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures to the page for this citation and read between the lines a bit. Look at what Mrs. Eddy has to say about loving God.  Is that not a solid motive to begin with?

SH13 – When you read outside of the markers in SH12 you read about loving and trusting God most.  Carry that same sense of trust through this citation.  Our students must learn not just to love Life, but to trust Life as being all-powerful. Do they believe life is immortal? If so, do they understand what that means, how that impacts their lives today and tomorrow?

SH15 – As your students wrestle with their motives and how to better trust Life, encourage them to begin this journey now and not be put off by the seemingly long road ahead.  Error would have us believe that there is a huge gap between us and the perfection we desire. But that seeming gap is traversed easily by developing simple qualities in our hearts. What qualities are most important in this citation?

Section 4
B14-16 – What does this section have to do with Probation after Death?  On the surface we see Lazarus who was raised from the dead…but other than that, there is little to do with death here.  But there is a lot about law and love. Do your students have any direct concerns regarding death? If so, look at the power of love as expressed in these citations.  If death is not a present fear in their experience, what else can they be handling through Love? Perhaps the greatest gift Jesus gave us was simplifying the law. If we love our neighbor, we will follow all the commandments without even thinking of them.  Help your students to see what a blessing love is through all the challenges of their day.  Look specifically at B16 and read outside the markers here to discover what else Paul wanted to say to the Romans.

SH16 – How real is Jesus' work to your students?  How relevant is it? If we look at his work as an example, as Mrs. Eddy here encourages us to do, what doors should that open up for us? What are we capable of?

SH17&18 – How do your students define “man”? What is real about man, what is true about him? These citations establish for us just how important it is to recognize what is and isn't part of the real man. How can you make this conversation more than just an intellectual exercise? Think of ways to prove that goodness is real in man, and error/evil is unreal.  

SH20 – Self knowledge is perhaps one of the most important attributes of God's man. Error is constantly misidentifying man, evil and mortal mind would limit man until he is a slave to the senses.  But what is real about each of us? This is when we take all the previous conversations about man in general and make it specific to each of your students. Who are they, really? What is true about them? When we know ourselves truly, then lies that come in to tempt us to believe differently about ourselves become obvious and unattractive. Then we can stand on our own, free.

SH21 – The synonyms are such valuable tools to use, especially with verses like this one. Read this verse aloud and then ask your students to mentally put in synonyms for God.  Have them put in multiple synonyms and then choose the one or two that most resonate with them.  What does seeing that Love, or Mind, or Life is the only power do for them?  How does it specifically address their own experience?  How does it reach out to them and make it more real that error, evil has no power?

PSST Section 5
B17 – Notice that in these three short verses, Jesus clearly states the complete experience ahead of him, through the resurrection.  And yet, when he was crucified, how many of his disciples remembered or trusted the prophecy of the master? It seems a foregone conclusion now that the crucifixion is not the end of Jesus' life, but that is because we know his whole story. But what of our own experience? How often do we doubt the resurrection of our own experience from the ashes of our own trials?  Help your students see that Jesus' example proves to us that no matter how dire the situation, God, good will always carry us through it, all the way.

B18 – How is it that a man so greatly good as Jesus was crucified? What evil had he done? The are two conversations that can come from this line of questioning. First, help your students to know how Jesus was perceived as a threat. He was challenging all held dear by those who accused him.  Their very way of life was under fire. Does this give them any real reason to crucify Jesus? Of course not, but it does lead into the second conversation which is to ask, how easily are we blinded when governed or led by our passions, our ego?  How important then is it for us to remain God centered and egoless.  Introduce them to the conversation held between Pilate and Jesus.  It is not in the lesson this week, but you will find it in John 19:10-12; here Jesus is given the chance to defend himself in a human court to a human governor.  What does he do? And how does his humility, his extreme rejection of self, impact him?  Look to the next citation and see the glory of one who puts God first and foremost in everything he does, everything.

SH22 – Mrs. Eddy confirms Jesus' humility through the use of the word “meekly”.  Why is his meekness so powerful? How was Jesus able to remain so humble and fearless in such a perilous situation?

SH23 – Have your students describe this probationary period beyond the grave that Mrs. Eddy suggests here. How is it that Jesus' experience proves uncontrovertibly that this is the case?

SH24 – Where can these lessons be relevant to the lives of your students? When does it matter to them that life is deathless, that Love is the master of hate, and that Mind is more powerful than matter? Brainstorm with them what these situations are, and then discuss with them how to use these lessons in those situations.

SH26 – Jesus had the power to remove himself from the conundrum in which he found himself. Remember that he walked through the crowd unseen when they wanted to cast him off the cliff. But he did not. Why did he not do so? What does this show about Jesus, and what can it teach us for when we are in the midst of trials of our own?  Should we not look more for the presence of God, good, rather than simply wishing it would all be over?

PSST Section 6
B20 – When Jesus meets with “the eleven,” the first thing he does is reprimand them for their unbelief.  Matthew Henry comments here http://m.biblestudytools.com/commentaries/matthew-henry-complete/mark/16.html that one reason they might not believe is their pride.  How often does pride, however subtle, get in the way of  our connection with Christ? For some of the disciples, they were unwilling to believe until they saw Christ with their own two eyes…how often is it pride that does not allow us to join in the glory of Good, Love in any situation?
The other thing to point out about this citation is something Mrs. Eddy latches on to in SH29: the signs mentioned follow them, meaning anyone, who believes. Notice first that anyone who believes can do the work of Christ.  Notice further that the statement is a declarative one, these signs SHALL follow them, not might, or may, but shall or will, which means if you believe, be like Jacob and do not let go of your belief until it blesses you.  Help your students to persist in their good work through all doubt, fear, or temptation.

SH27 – What is “spiritual dullness” and do your students ever feel this? The word and life of God, Christ is exciting…whose responsibility is it to wake up from any sense of dullness? Do your students see just how exciting the life of Christ is? What would make it dull to them? What can they do to wake up? What is exciting about Christ? What about “infinite possibilities”?

SH28 – Point out the sheer power of Mrs. Eddy's language in this citation.  A great thing about what she says here is that she puts each person in the driver's seat. We do not have to wait for someone else to show us we are worthy of being God's own likeness.  We have the power, prerogative, and freedom to admit this fact to ourselves right here and now.  If our admission of this sets us free…what is holding us back? Why do we not run towards God, good?  

SH30 – Two vital points are made in this citation. First, we must recognize that the demands being made on us of higher proofs are real demands.  These are not just suggestions or hopeful requests.  Do your students feel the demand of proving God's presence, the reality of good and unreality of evil? Second, we can find comfort in what is demanded of us – that it will never outstrip what we can “certainly fulfill.” Do your students realize just how close God is, how much He is helping us every moment of every day? Work with them to feel and know and listen for God's voice, the voice of Truth, Love, Spirit, Principle!  This voice teaches us of our perfection and shows us that we are progressing infinitely in our reflection of the One, perfect God, Good.