PSST: Separate fact-reality from fable-unreality; Elevate pursuits!

PSST Activities at end to: Separate reality from unreality/fact from fable; Elevate pursuits!
Possible Sunday School Topics for the Christian Science Quarterly Bible Lesson on

“REALITY”
for classes on March 28, 2021

Questions by former CedarS Program Director, Steve Henn, C.S. steven.henn@gmail.com

Golden Text Possible Sunday School Topics (PSST): List God’s “wonderful works” Ps. 40:5
What are the wonderful works of God?
List as many as your students can come up with – individually, and then share, or as a group. How can your class praise God for all His/Her wonderful works?
What can your students do each day to keep praising God?
To help expand your students’ thinking on this, ask them to think of wonderful works of each synonym for God from the Glossary in the Science and Health.

Responsive Reading PSST: Discuss the blessings from Mind knowing you completely!
What does it mean to be known by God? (Ps. 139:1)
How do your students respond to the idea that they are fully seen and known by God?
Is this comforting, why? Is it scary – why? If it is scary, how can you help your students see the blessings that come from God (Mind, Soul, Love, etc…) knowing them completely?
How can your students use this to grow in love towards Love?

Section 1 PSST: What does discernment have to do with reality? (citation S2/505:20)
Is judgment a good thing? When? And how can we be sure to practice righteous judgment as we explore what reality is?

How does praise fit into reality? (cit. B4/Isa. 25:1)

Why would praising God be a central part of experiencing reality?

Section 2 PSST: What does it mean to believe on Jesus? (cits. B5, B6/Mark 1:4, John 12:44)
What is the difference between destroying and fulfilling? (cit. B8/Matt. 5:17)
How can Jesus not come to destroy, and yet destroy all error, evil?
What is happening in that seeming paradox? Is there any reality in error to be destroyed?

Section 3 PSST: What fogs or inhibits our ability to see reality clearly? (cit. S12/205:15)
How do we see past or through the fog?

What does it mean to lift one’s gaze above the fog of human sense?

What creates harmonious action? (cit. S16/239:25)

How can your students be sure that all action they are part of or witness to is from Mind?

Section 4 PSST: How does the brotherhood of all mankind fit within reality? (cit. S17/469:30) Why is it so important to see all mankind as brethren?
What does that say about our Father, the Lord?
How are we connected to Him, and how are we connected to all mankind through our Father Mother God?

Section 5 PSST: What separates us from the love of God, anything? (cit. B18/Rom. 8:35, 38, 39)

How do we live and walk in the Spirit? (cit. B20/Galatians 5:25)
How does Mary Baker Eddy’s logic prove the substance of reality and the powerlessness of evil/error? (cit. S27/347:3)
How can your students learn to trust Life, Truth and Love more fully?

What understanding about reality must your students cling to, and which beliefs must they be willing to let go?

Section 6 PSST: How does following good protect us? (cit. B22/I Peter 3:13)
Where do we find the spiritual reality of a thing? (cit. S32/207:27 (only))
How can we see what spiritual realities are substantial and which are counterfeits?
Can we tell with our human senses? If not, then how?
How do we “lose all sense of evil”? (cit. S31/325:2-5)
Do your students see themselves as “perfect”? (cit. S30/200:16)
On what basis does their perfection rest?
How can they learn more about their perfection each day this week?

Activities to consider:

Separating reality from unreality: (using Bible stories in citations: B5/Mark 1:23+ Jesus & unclean spirit/man; B9/Matt. 8:14+ Jesus & Peter’s mother-in-law; B11/Acts 13:1+ Paul & Simon Bar-Jesus; B19/Acts 20:7+ Paul & Eutychus’ fall)
Have students look at one (or more) story from the Bible in this week’s lesson and discuss what parts of that story reveal more about reality, and what parts are counterfeits of reality?

Scientific facts:
Ask students to present the class with a challenge or situation they are dealing with that they’d like to see healing in.
Then have the class identify as many scientific facts as possible about that situation – this exploration will reveal the spiritual reality of the situation.
[see cit. S32/207:27 (only) and definition of “FAN. Separator of fable from fact…” SH 586]

Objects of pursuit: [based on cit. S16/238:20 “The objects we pursue, and the spirit we manifest reveal our standpoint and show what we are winning.”]
Ask students to think about what they want most either right now or later on in their experience.
Then ask them to identify as many objects that they want to pursue in that most wanted outcome.
Ask them to consider the type of spirit they are manifesting.
Then ask them to spiritualize the objects of their pursuit – how does this change or strengthen whatever it is that they are winning?