One lesson for each week. The same lesson for every student. Translated into over a dozen languages. Studied daily in cities and towns, rural areas and remote outposts all over the world. A lesson designed to address the individual needs of young and old, male and female, the unschooled and the highly educated. A lesson conceived as a sermon that preaches salvation for all mankind. Such is the Christian Science Bible Lesson, a lesson on which, Mary Baker Eddy says, "the prosperity of Christian Science largely depends." See Manual of The Mother Church, Art. III, Sect. 1
Since its establishment in the 1890s by Mrs. Eddy, the Lesson-Sermon through its healing effect on individual lives, has been a powerful force in the progress of Christian Science. At this crucial period in our Church's history, Christian Science, teaching the pure spiritual healing practiced by Christ Jesus, faces vigorous challenge. The carnal mind, through aggressive materialism, aims to dilute, hinder, and ultimately stop the spiritual healing being done today. In these times it is clearer than ever that the prosperity of Christian Science is linked to the Lesson-Sermon.
To appreciate why this is true, we need to understand that the impetus for the healthy growth of Christian Science is essentially spiritual. The prosperity of Christian Science is manifest in the regenerating and healing effect of its teachings on the lives of individuals.
