December 03, 2009 2:48 PM
At the 10:30 a.m. Worship Celebration Service this Sunday, December 6, , Unity of the Valley’s Spiritual Leader, Licensed Unity Teacher Michael J. Scales, will present the Sunday Lesson, titled “The Second Sunday of Advent - Peace.” The special music will be performed by Joseph Walker.
In the Unity Movement’s observation of Advent, the second Sunday of Advent represents peace. Charles Fillmore, cofounder with his wife Myrtle of the Unity School of Christianity, wrote the following about peace:
(Peace is) “Harmony and tranquility derived from awareness of the Christ consciousness. ‘Peace I leave with you; my peace I give unto you’ (John 14:27). Steadfast affirmations of peace will harmonize the whole body structure and open the way to attainment of health conditions in mind and body.
Until world peace is based on the divine law of love and this law incorporated into the pact of peace as well as into the minds of those who sign the pact, there will be no permanent peace” (The Revealing Word, p. 146).
What is this “Christ consciousness” that can bring us such tranquility and harmony that it can even restore us to health? What is this “Christ consciousness” without which a great spiritual teacher like Charles Fillmore says humankind can never achieve no permanent international peace? The Christ consciousness is New Thought Christianity’s name for that “spark of Divinity” that resides deep within the heart, mind, and soul of each and every human being. All the great spiritual traditions of the world have acknowledged and identified this inner focal point of God within the individual. Some of the names that have been applied to it have been the “Buddha nature,” the “atman,” and the “I AM” among many others.
Jesus of Nazareth, whose arrival on the world scene we celebrate during this Advent season, was a compete and perfect expression of the Christ – God individualized and a human-spiritual being. He was the great Wayshower and Master Teacher who demonstrated to humanity how to allow God to express fully through us. When we turn to the Christ presence within us through prayer, meditation, worship, loving service and/or any other form of spiritual practice, we experience God’s presence within us, and we experience our oneness with God. It is then that true peace, which a quality of God, permeates our hearts and minds and then flows through us to appear as harmony, tranquility, and visible peace in our world of affairs. This is how we cooperate with God to establish the Kingdom of Heaven on earth.
In his lesson, Scales will illustrate for the individual practical steps he or she can take to experience and express the peace of his or her indwelling Christ Presence.
If you enjoy the writings of Stephen Covey, Louise Hay, Deepak Chopra, Oprah Winfrey, the Dalai Lama, A Course in Miracles and the Daily Word, you’ll enjoy a Unity Church Service. The “Daily Word” devotional magazine is published by Unity, and read by millions worldwide each day. Unity Village headquarters may be accessed on the Internet at www.unityworldhq.org, where you can also read today’s Daily Word. Phone the church office at (956) 787-4411 for more information about church activities, classes and study groups. You may visit the church Web site at www.unityofthevalley.net. Unity of the Valley welcomes worshippers from all religious backgrounds and meets at 301 E. Polk in Pharr.
http://www.themonitor.com/news/sunday-33148-unity-valley.html
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