Matthias, Apostle.
Holy One, make speed to save us: O God, come quickly to help us.
Glory to God, Source of all being, Eternal Word and Holy Spirit;*
as it was in the beginning, is now, and shall be for ever. Amen.
Festivals: From Psalm 113
Hallelujah! Give praise, you servants of the Lord;*
praise the name of the Lord.
Let the name of the Lord be blessed,*
from this time forth for evermore.
From the rising of the sun to its going down*
let the name of the Lord be praised.
The Lord is high above all nations,*
and his glory above the heavens.
Who is like the Lord our God, who sits enthroned on high,*
but stoops to behold the heavens and the earth?
He takes up the weak out of the dust*
and lifts up the poor from the ashes.
He sets them with the princes,* with the princes of his people.
He makes the woman of a childless house*
to be a joyful mother of children.
CLOSING: FROM REVELATION 4 & 5
Glory and honour and power*
are yours by right, O Lord our God;
For you created all things*
and by your will they have their being.
Glory and honour and power*
are yours by right, O Lamb who was slain;
For by your blood you ransomed us for God,*
from every race and language,
from every people and nation.
To make us a kingdom of priests*
to stand and serve before our God.
To God who sits on the throne and to the Lamb*
be praise and honour, glory and might,
for ever and ever.
Amen.
First reading: 1 Samuel 12:1–5
Samuel said to all Israel, ‘I have listened to you in all that you have said to me, and have set a king over you. See, it is the king who leads you now; I am old and grey, but my sons are with you. I have led you from my youth until this day. Here I am; testify against me before the Lord and before his anointed. Whose ox have I taken? Or whose donkey have I taken? Or whom have I defrauded? Whom have I oppressed? Or from whose hand have I taken a bribe to blind my eyes with it? Testify against me and I will restore it to you.’ They said, ‘You have not defrauded us or oppressed us or taken anything from the hand of anyone.’ He said to them, ‘The Lord is witness against you, and his anointed is witness this day, that you have not found anything in my hand.’ And they said, ‘He is witness.’
Second readings: Acts 20:17–35
From Miletus he sent a message to Ephesus, asking the elders of the church to meet him. When they came to him, he said to them:
‘You yourselves know how I lived among you the entire time from the first day that I set foot in Asia, serving the Lord with all humility and with tears, enduring the trials that came to me through the plots of the Jews. I did not shrink from doing anything helpful, proclaiming the message to you and teaching you publicly and from house to house, as I testified to both Jews and Greeks about repentance towards God and faith towards our Lord Jesus. And now, as a captive to the Spirit, I am on my way to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there, except that the Holy Spirit testifies to me in every city that imprisonment and persecutions are waiting for me. But I do not count my life of any value to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the good news of God’s grace.
‘And now I know that none of you, among whom I have gone about proclaiming the kingdom, will ever see my face again. Therefore I declare to you this day that I am not responsible for the blood of any of you, for I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole purpose of God. Keep watch over yourselves and over all the flock, of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God that he obtained with the blood of his own Son. I know that after I have gone, savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. Some even from your own group will come distorting the truth in order to entice the disciples to follow them. Therefore be alert, remembering that for three years I did not cease night or day to warn everyone with tears. And now I commend you to God and to the message of his grace, a message that is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all who are sanctified. I coveted no one’s silver or gold or clothing. You know for yourselves that I worked with my own hands to support myself and my companions. In all this I have given you an example that by such work we must support the weak, remembering the words of the Lord Jesus, for he himself said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” ’
PRAYERS
We have not beheld you with awe.
Lord, have mercy upon us.
We have not waited for your mercy.
Christ, have mercy upon us.
We have not taken our delight in you.
Lord, have mercy upon us
Lord’s Prayer
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come, your will be done,
on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.
Do not bring us to the time of trial, but deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours, now and for ever. Amen.
Almighty God, who in the place of Judas chose Matthias to be numbered in the twelve, preserve your Church from false apostles, and by the ministry of faithful pastors and teachers keep us steadfast in your truth; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, now and for ever. Amen.
Bless us, Christ Jesus; you love us always, even in our night. Amen.
Lord God almighty, come and dispel the darkness from our hearts, that in the radiance of your brightness we may know you, the only unfading light, glorious in all eternity. Amen.
The God of hope fill us with all joy and peace in believing: through the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Compiled with Materials from: SEC Daily Prayer; Jim Cotter, Lectionary Resources; Taizé A prayer for each day; GS2016 Pointed Liturgical Psalter 2016 04 08; Chris Thorpe, Touching the Sacred.
St Ternans Banchory 