By The ExCSOn

Lesson (Lesson Sermon): also known as the Weekly Bible Lesson, it is the weekly bible lesson that Christian Scientists study daily. It consists of selected passages from the Bible, with accompanying passages from Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures. It also forms the Sunday Sermon in all Christian Science churches. The Lesson is assembled by a secret committee of people at the Church headquarters in Boston. The Lesson is found in the Christian Science Quarterly (see above). There are 26 subjects (originally selected by Mary Baker Eddy) that rotate twice yearly, starting at the beginning of the year. The subjects (in order of appearance) are: God; Sacrament; Life; Truth; Love; Spirit; Soul; Mind; Christ Jesus; Man; Substance; Matter; Reality; Unreality; Are Sin, Disease, and Death Real?; Doctrine of Atonement; Probation After Death; Everlasting Punishment; Adam and Fallen Man; Mortals and Immortals; Soul and Body; Ancient and Modern Necromancy, alias Mesmerism and Hypnotism, Denounced; God the Only Cause and Creator; God the Preserver of Man; Is the Universe, Including Man, Evolved by Atomic Force?; Christian Science. Communion services (see above) are held twice yearly when the subject is Sacrament.

From Teaching in the Sunday School, by Harold Molter, in the October 1935 issue of The Christian Science Journal. While we (respectfully) disagree with his perspective, we offer it as context for those who may be less familiar with Christian Science.

The daily reading, studying, and pondering of the Lesson-Sermon in the Christian Science Quarterly is an important beginning in the preparation for teaching each week, regardless of whether one has an infant class or a group of more advanced pupils. Each Lesson-Sermon sets forth in an individual manner the character and meaning of God and man, their indestructible relationship and unity, as Father-Mother and perfect son. Each Lesson gives an exposition of divine Science, or the Comforter, which enables one to understand and utilize the truth of this relationship, and to prove unreal the beliefs of sin, disease, and death. The Lesson-Sermon, faithfully studied, supplies the spiritual food which so nourishes and sustains the Sunday school teacher during the week that when he meets his class on Sunday morning he is conscious of having risen to new heights of spiritual discernment and of having grown a little more into the “measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ,” the measure of true manhood.

The former-CS blog Emerging Gently has taken the time to write about 24 of the 26 (all are listed, and linked where applicable), and several of these topics have been picked up by other former-CS bloggers as well.

Other former-CS bloggers muse on the topic of Bible Lessons/lesson adjacent topics

The Mary Baker Eddy Library has several articles about the Bible Lesson, of particular note are

The Independent Christian Science group from Plainfield, NJ shares more about the history of the Bible Lesson on their website: https://articles.plainfieldcs.com/plainfield-members/joseph-mctaggart/the-christian-science-bible-lesson/

Samples of Bible Lessons can be found at: https://quarterly.christianscience.com/sample

Never-CS share their story of visiting a CS Church: Oh No Ross & Carrie – Visiting CS Church