Edna Lister created this Bible study outline for October 24, 1930. At this time, Edna Lister was the protege of and business manager for Dr. Thomas Parker Boyd, a Methodist Episcopalian priest and leader in the Emmanuel Healing Movement on the West Coast.

Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it. – Matthew 7:24-27.

You may experience many emotions and situations in life that you or others may call "love," yet which may have nothing to do with love at all. Love is the rock solid foundation upon which you must build everything in your life; otherwise, your creations will be washed away in a time of storm.

Begin with the first principles of Wisdom and Love. Then find the point of balance between them to attain perfection through compassion, for compassion is Wisdom and Love in perfect balance. The result is the path of love, the Way of Christ.

To be complete, love must contain six qualities, including purity, humility, compassion, empathy, loyalty and sincerity. You must become these qualities to be love.

Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God. – Matthew 5:8. Where, when and how shall you "see" God? When you are pure in heart, you can go anywhere anytime.

If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me. – Psalm 66:18. To strive to attain purity of heart, purity of purpose and purity of motive is essential in soul ascension of consciousness.

The fear of the Lord is the instruction of wisdom; and before honour is humility. – Proverbs 15:33. By humility and the fear of the Lord are riches, and honour, and life. – Proverbs 22:4. The rewards of humility are riches, honor and life.

To walk the Via Christa, you are obligated to practice humbleness in living, while giving all the credit to God. The service is greater than the person. To serve God you must prepare yourself. Your service is a gift you give to God and share with man.

The self-centered soul believes that "Everyone has a gift for me," not "I have a gift for everyone." Pride of self breeds intolerance and contempt for others.

Jesus epitomized compassion when he said, "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!" – Matthew 23:37, Luke 13:34.

Compassion begins as sympathy for one other person, yet finds completion in empathy and lifting the world into the Light and holding it there. To dwell in sympathy permits hardness of heart, but to live in compassion means you have overcome mere sympathy.

And when they were come to the place, which is called Calvary, there they crucified him, and the malefactors, one on the right hand, and the other on the left. Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. – Luke 23:33-34.

Beyond sympathy lies empathy. Empathy says, "You can do it. I know you can because I have. You are all that you have ever been, plus." Credit the other fellow for being in the hardest place of his life so far, yet encourage him to endure till the miracle comes. When you speak from sympathy, the tone is sugary and unreal. When you speak from empathy, your tone is bracing and strengthening.

Loyalty permits no disloyalty. If just one person will stand with God, then the family or social groups of which he is a member will see the quality of his loyalty.

He who is truly loyal to God never excuses, justifies or qualifies his statements of truth. You can know the degree of a person's sincerity by experiencing or witnessing his insincerity.

In judging yourself, you must know that you are loving as God loves. The love that you give acts as a magnetic vibration, attracting and returning your own soul substance to you. This is how love fulfills the law through you.

If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen? – 1 John 4:20. To love your brother truly, you must keep step with him. Also, you must serve your brother.

Love is the flame of life within you. Love burns up the dross of self, and unless you lift the heaviness of self, love may burn out the body.

Love draws what you need to you, magnetically. It attracts your own soul substance from the world of invisible substance. Love is also a facet of Power. Another may assault you with Power as force, through hatred, criticism or condemnation.

You can convert any force someone sends you. However, you must be a powerful agent to transmute the negative force into positive love. A blacksmith, for example, works the iron, heating and hammering it to reduce the amount of carbon in it, which makes it brittle. He hammers it to crack off the dross. You use the hammer of love against the anvil of soul.

Love breaks down all barriers between you and God, between you and others. Love is passive on the outer plane of consciousness, but intense activity on the inner. How great is your love? Do you love God more today than you did yesterday?

Edna created this Lister sermon outline for December 9, 1934.

Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it. And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine: For he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. – Matthew 7:24-29.

A certain Jew named Apollos, born at Alexandria, an eloquent man, and mighty in the scriptures, came to Ephesus. This man was instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in the spirit, he spake and taught diligently the things of the Lord, knowing only the baptism of John. And he began to speak boldly in the synagogue: whom when Aquila and Priscilla had heard, they took him unto them, and expounded unto him the way of God more perfectly. And when he was disposed to pass into Achaia, the brethren wrote, exhorting the disciples to receive him: who, when he was come, helped them much which had believed through grace: For he mightily convinced the Jews, and that publicly, shewing by the scriptures that Jesus was Christ. – Acts 18:24-28.

The parable of the wise and foolish builders and the account of Apollos, Aquila and Priscilla illustrate the right way and a wrong way of doing and being. Early in your involvement in truth work, you ask, Why does this come to me? When will the miracle come? Why does that teacher have trouble, or experience limitation?

Teachers put up guide posts, post signs, issue warnings, admonitions, and advice on the path, the road they have just traversed. Yet everyone must apply this advice to his own path.

One immediately sees the need for building on a solid foundation. During the San Francisco earthquake, the Call Building suffered the explosive equivalent of twenty tons of dynamite, yet still stood afterward.

The same is true in character building. A poor foundation, with even one brick missing, will cause your building to fall. Your foundation must be solid enough to reach the skies. So, you must clear out the rubbish before you begin building.

Use objective principles as your building blocks, not subjective personality. Use Love, Wisdom, and Selflessness, the Mother, Father, and the Son, the Word, Mind, and Light. Use Mind and speak the Word, then stand under Light.

Everyone must be like John the Baptist. In the beginning, he shouted, "Make way for the truth." You may want everyone to become perfect. Yet if you force them higher, you destroy their tiny, tender shoots and they will blame you for it.

Jesus went to John the Baptist for baptism. Yet John said that he was unworthy to baptize him. Then Jesus answered, "Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness." – Matthew 3:15.

You must be humble, not aching to do things for outer credits. Eventually, you must reach the place in consciousness where you can do without always receiving a reward.

Seek to learn only of one who tells the truth. Too many so-called teachers tell you to get rid of truth without being able to tell you what to put in its place. To destroy the weak, false or outworn is necessary, but you must also have the love and wisdom to fulfill the law.

To lead others from error by pointing continuously toward the Light, you need to be a real lover, to think of, to dream of your loved ones, spending hours with them, always conscious of them, to woo them. So you must stand under the Light, wooing truth, wooing life, wooing strength.

You shall see streamers of Light moving forth to mark the descent of Power until you are possessed by love, not possessing your loved ones.