My individual approach to the study of the Lesson-Sermon begins with prayer— prayer for receptivity and inspiration and a denial of animal magnetism in the form of dullness, apathy, resistance, or interference. I also include gratitude for our Leader's provision for these "divinely authorized" Lesson-Sermons so lovingly prepared by the Bible Lesson Committee. I find that prayer before reading the lesson prepares the way for its healing message.
I do some research in Bible commentaries and translations. I find these are useful in amplifying the translations, although I take the King James Version as final. I do this kind of research very early in the week, usually Sunday preceding the week's study. I am, however, deeply concerned that this aspect of my study does not lend a scholastic atmosphere to my work with the lesson. That is why I do it early in the week and then dispense with it.
One of the things I feel we have to be most careful about in discussing study methods of the lesson is that we do not standardize any method at all. I think Christian Scientists in the Field might possibly feel that methods adopted by teachers and practitioners are automatically better than their own methods, which have come to them through individual demonstration. This, I believe, paves the way for just such standardization of study.
