PSST: LOOK TO GOD EXCLUSIVELY FOR ALL THAT IS DESIRED TO GET RESULTS!
Possible Sunday School Topics (PSSTs) for The Christian Science Quarterly Bible Lesson:
“God”
for December 27, 2021 – January 2, 2022
prepared by Merrill Boudreaux, C.S.
pegasus6524@gmail.com • 314-308-1059
P.S.S.T. Golden Text (GT)/Isaiah 45:22: “Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else.”
What is the command stated in the GT?
What is the implication? Look to God exclusively, not to any other suggested creator, sustainer, originator. Certainly not to matter or the physical senses.
What is the result of looking to God for all that is desired? We are saved from looking anywhere else. Ask students to take the seven prominent synonyms for God as mentioned in Science & Health and apply as follows:
- When I look to God as Love, I am saved from….
- When I look to God as Life, I am saved from….
- When I look to God as Mind, I am saved from…
- Do the same with the other prominent synonyms.
P.S.S.T. Responsive Reading (RR)/Psalms 147, Proverbs 3, Psalms 71
Read together Proverbs 3:5,6 in the RR.
What does the word “trust” mean to your students, who do they trust – parents, friends, coaches, teachers?
What are the qualities they identify with trust?
Do they trust someone they don’t know?
How important then to know God, Life, Truth, Love, Mind, Soul, Spirit, Principle in order to trust, not with a blind faith, but with an understanding heart.
Read together Hymn 69/423 from the Christian Science Hymnal (words printed here):
Hymn 423:
Give me, O Lord, an understanding heart, That I may learn to know myself in Thee, To spurn the wrong and choose the better part And thus from sinful bondage be set free.
Give me, O Lord, a meek and contrite heart, That I may learn to quell all selfish pride, Bowing before Thee, see Thee as Thou art And ‘neath Thy sheltering presence safely hide.
Give me, O Lord, a gentle, loving heart, That I may learn to be more tender, kind, And with Thy healing touch, each wound and smart With Christly bands of Love and Truth to bind.
P.S.S.T. Section 1 – Read together the scripture story of Moses and the burning bush in this section (Exodus 3:1-14/cit. B2). Ask students to talk about the conversation between Moses and God. It turned out to be more than a question about a burning bush. It began with that small question of why the bush burned and was not consumed, then turned to being chosen to set the children of Israel free. Do we ever miss out on opportunities because we choose to ignore a small request or inquiry? At the end of the day, how do you square the demand to walk with love along the way?
Read together Hymn 503 from the Christian Science Hymnal (words printed here)
Hymn 503/139/427:
I walk with Love along the way, And O, it is a holy day; No more I suffer cruel fear, I feel God’s presence with me here. The joy that none can take away Is mine; I walk with Love today.
Let’s walk with Love along the way, And talk with Love and Love obey. God’s healing truth is free to all, And Spirit answers every call; ‘Tis God dispels the clouds of gray That all may walk with Love today.
Come, walk with Love along the way, Let childlike trust be yours today; Uplift your thought, with courage go, Give of your heart’s rich overflow, And peace shall crown your joy-filled day. Come, walk with Love along the way.
See also verse two in Hymn 148 from the Hymnal (printed here)
Hymn 148, verse 2:
Wherever He may guide me, No want shall turn me back; My Shepherd is beside me, And nothing can I lack. His wisdom ever waketh, His sight is never dim; He knows the way He taketh, And I will walk with Him.
P.S.S.T. Section 2 – How do you answer the questions posed in citation B5, verses 7 & 8? (Psalms 139). How often should we pray, “Father, search me, know me, know what is in my thought and in my heart?” How did Jacob prepare for his conversation with God in the scripture story in citation B6/Genesis 28? Do you think you are “precious in my sight” as stated in citation B7/Isaiah 43? What is the result when we know that all, every idea, is precious to God? See a response in citation S5/SH 340:23. Is that a kingdom to be desired?
P.S.S.T. Section 3 – Teachers, what are you called upon to teach your students as stated in citation S14/SH 454:4-9?
P.S.S.T. Section 4 – Do you ever feel alone, or not on the right path, or missing the mark? How do you pray at such times? Perhaps an acknowledgement that “The kingdom of God is within you,” as stated in citation S18/SH 476:28-32.
Read together Hymn 204 from the Christian Science Hymnal (words printed here)
Hymn 204
O Father, Thy kingdom is come upon earth, Thou rulest in all Thy creation; Thou sendest Thy witnesses, telling Thy worth, To call and entreat every nation, With news of Thy mighty salvation.
They lift up a light amid shadows of fear, And Love is Thy banner above them; No trouble shall touch them, no foes that appear Shall e’er from their loyalty move them; ‘Tis Thou dost uphold and approve them.
They go in Thy strength, and they speak in Thy name, With power of Thy promise forth faring, And during the battle the victory claim,— Their trust in Thy truth is their daring, Salvation to all men declaring.
Not only is God’s kingdom within you, but is within every idea, as well. What are the implications of that truth?
- We are not alone, never alone
- We are united as children and heirs of God
- That which unites us is greater than that which would suggest we are divided
- We can challenge any suggestion that God is not on the field with us
P.S.S.T. Section 5 – Have you ever felt so full of love, so filled with the spirit of connectedness that peace seemed overwhelming, joy seemed overwhelming, patience seemed overwhelming, courage seemed overwhelming? Then you may have an idea of what it might have been like for the disciples at the day of Pentecost in citation B15/Acts 2. Even though that day of Pentecost was then, we can have that same experience in our lives today as well. Why? See citation B16/1st John 3 for a possible answer, “Beloved, now are we the sons of God….”
P.S.S.T. Section 6 – So, out of everything that has been said in this Lesson, it comes down to this: Love One Another.
One God, the Creator of all, the Giver of heaven within each of us, demands and provides for us to love one another. See the statement in citation B17/1st John 4:12, “If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us.”
Read together citation S30/SH 578:5,16.
Surely, assuredly, certainly, without a doubt, this is true.
