[From the Herald, Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada]

Christianity is a religion of joy—the joy that comes from appreciating all that is good and beautiful. It is meant to be a happy religion, and the way to this happiness is marked by what it proclaims. Its Founder delighted and took joy in all that was good and beautiful. He loved the innocence of little children. He liked wandering in the cornfields enjoying what nature had provided. He loved the retreat of the quiet brook, he enjoyed the peace of the mountaintop. He took an interest in and derived pleasure from the birds and the flowers of the field. He was attracted by the beauty of the lily, by the spread of the mustard tree. His joy was the joy of thankfulness. ...

In those moments when we see and appreciate the good that is around us we enter into the joy of the spirit, the joy of the spirit of Christianity, if we only measure it aright and see it in the light Christ [Jesus] saw it when he introduced it to the world. It is a plain and simple religion appealing to the best in man, bringing out all the good that is in him—the religion of doing good and taking a joy in doing so, seeing the good and striving to shed the knowledge of good. When the good is seen there must come that feeling of thankfulness which means so much in bringing contentment.

[From the Sandusky Daily News, Ohio]

A religion with a world-wide following, such as Mrs. Eddy founded, had never been established before in the history of the world, and within the lifetime of any one person, to say nothing of its being accomplished after the sixtieth year in the life of one woman. ...

Her life was a fine example of virility in the fullness of her days. It will long, perhaps forever, serve as a light for those who find hopes waning past middle age, when the accomplishment of a desired purpose seems forever removed.

[Editorial in the Halifax Herald, Nova Scotia, Canada]

The contemporary judgment concerning Jesus in the days of his flesh is registered in the phrase of St. Mark's Gospel, namely, "He could not be hid."

In so saying the writer uttered a truth deeper than he knew.

The verdict is true today, despite the passing of nearly two thousand years. It is simple truth to assert that Jesus is the world's foremost figure, still the guiding light in the world's sky.

And in this respect the man of Nazareth is without precedent or parallel. Every other pathfinder, sage, or hero—and no age has been without them—is a child of his time in the sense that he carries some of the marks of its limitations and defects upon him. Jesus is so independent of all time as to belong to all, yet can be claimed exclusively by none. He is the pathfinder par excellence!

One of the most striking and significant ascriptions given to Jesus is that penned by the writer of the epistle to the Hebrews. He describes him as "the forerunner." ...

Jesus is the freshest thinker of our time. What we call the Sermon on the Mount is so advanced that at present it is the despair of men who sneer at idealism, and who hold to the utter barbarism that says "the glittering prizes of the world are given to stout hearts and sharp swords." ...

Concerning his teaching of human brotherhood, equality of rights, equality of opportunity, these are steadily yet surely coming to their own. ... He holds the key to the future. His leadership is essential; and men of clear vision, and of undaunted faith, believe that the program and the purpose of the divine forerunner will not fail of ultimate achievement.

[From the Recorder, Metuchen, New Jersey]

It was in an early century and in a little world that the first message of the church was quietly disseminated to a united body. That gospel to the Gentiles faced conditions not unlike those of today. The religions of ancient Greece and Rome were then encountering an incredulity, communicated by the philosopher to the man of pleasure or business.

Ancient religions are undergoing modifications and in some regions dissolution, as scientific and commercial developments alter the current of men's thought. But while there is a widespread materialism, there is found, especially among youth, something comparable to the zeal which possessed the Christians of the first centuries of this era but in new terms—a yearning toward reality in religion, social justice, human brotherhood, and international peace.

If the churches speak with a united voice, this gospel of social and international justice will prevail throughout the world.

[From the Guardian, London, England]

The task of the twentieth century, in which men are faced by extremist demands of the totalitarian state, is plainly to rediscover a philosophy of life which rests upon the purpose of God. This, at any rate, is the duty of Christian people—to recognize that their faith is a responsibility which they hold in trust for the good of all mankind; not a peaceful retreat into which they can escape from the hard realities of life, but the instrument designed by God to clear the minds of men about the meaning of life, the instrument for setting their feet courageously on the path of social redemption.

[Rev. Keith L. Brooks, in the Los Angeles Times, California]

There can be no true religion without constant recollection of God—regular spiritual meals. It is for the sake of man, not God, that the Scripture bids us not forsake the assembling of ourselves together in the house of God. The common worship and prayer does not render God more glorious, but it does make men better. The services of the church should give us to feel our dependent state and help us to acquire that spiritual and virtuous disposition in which our highest improvement consists. Therefore, go tomorrow. And go asking God for a blessing!

[W. C. Hartson, in the Herald, North Los Angeles, California]

A good sermon, be it short or long, is closely allied to prayer. Its mission is to stimulate the inner consciousness, inspire us to see ourselves as we really are, and arouse a desire for betterment. Such a desire is a prayer's foundation. The short sermons which follow show that it is what we really are, not what we seem to be, that counts.

Luther Burbank: "If we had paid no more attention to our plants than we have to our children, we would now be living in a jungle of weeds."

Carl Schurz: "Ideals are like stars; you will not succeed in touching them with your hands, but like the seafaring man you will choose them as your guides, and, following them, reach your destination."

Carlyle: "The courage we desire and prize is not the courage to die decently, but to live manfully."

Victor Hugo: "Certain thoughts are prayers. There are moments when, whatever be the attitude of the body, the soul is on its knees."

Mary Baker Eddy: "Thoughts unspoken are not unknown to the divine Mind. Desire is prayer; and no loss can occur from trusting God with our desires, that they may be moulded and exalted before they take form in words and in deeds." "The habitual struggle to be always good is unceasing prayer." "The motives for verbal prayer may embrace too much love of applause to induce or encourage Christian sentiment." "The wisdom of man is not sufficient to warrant him in advising God." (Science and Health, pp. 1–7.)

[Editorial in the New York Times, New York]

Religion, as defined in its highest sense, is "a deep appreciation of the permanent values of life." These surmount economic depressions and are not displaced by material prosperity. The latter, to which all are looking eagerly, will avail little or naught "without sound foundations of religious faith and unselfish moral purpose." The true recovery program is written in President Butler's words at the opening of the university year: "Living a true life means for the human being the achievement of rich and comforting spiritual adjustment to the intangibles and imponderables which rule and always have ruled the world." In the direction of such spiritual satisfactions the true recovery leads.

[From the Messenger, Highland, California]

Time was when men and women held the church as something remote, something apart from the other factors in their daily lives. If they went, it was often from a sense of duty. Today these same men and women find that church attendance supplies a very definite need not available elsewhere. In a world that travels at a pace never reached before in history, the church lends a stabilizing, a refreshing influence that gives them renewed strength to meet the many problems of their work.

Much as the church needs you, you need the church more. Its influence will clear a path through the tangle of your problems.

[Rev. James Reid, D. D., in the British Weekly, London, England]

The truth can be made plain by a simple illustration. If a violin is to produce true music, it must be constantly retuned. Worship and prayer are the means of retuning our minds and spirits to the will of God. It is true that some people make worship an end in itself. They speak of doing their duty to God. They do not realize that the real meaning of worship is to bring us into the spirit in which life is to be lived all through. To be content with worship without seeking to live out our faith is like tuning a violin without attempting to play a tune. But to try to play the violin without retuning it means that the strings become limp and useless. The same kind of thing happens with our souls when worship is left out and no time is set apart for making touch with God. The strings of faith and devotion will produce no music of Christian living. The man who knows what a glorious thing real religion is, will want to renew from day to day his touch with God. He will want time to shake off the grip of the world with its fear and seduction. He will seek a special time to be alone with God that he may find the power to give it all to Him.