Matins: Rebuild and Renovate
As we enter into the wonder of this day, I think it would be amazing to participate together in an early morning worship service, the first of the canonical hours known as Matins. Matins is taken from the Latin word matutinus, meaning “pertaining to the morning.” During Matins, we put aside other thoughts, reflect quietly, and concentrate on our prayers.
As our leader, I have taken the initiative to type a service order below based on the lectionary reading from Christian Worship One Year Lectionary¹. Coordinating with the flow of the above lectionary; I’ve curated a Spotify playlist² employed to still our hearts before our great creator. Feel free to grab some coffee, surrender to the comfort of your favorite chair and give yourself space to feel the holiness of our God, who is near and as close as the mention of his name. He delights in you.
Let’s begin by saying these words:
“O God, come to my assistance; O Lord, make haste to help me.”
“O Lord, Thou wilt open my lips, and my mouth shall declare Thy praise.”
SONG #1: Trinity Song (Sandra McCracken)
Our Old Testament reading is from Isaiah 58:6–12 (The Message Translation), “This is the kind of fast day I’m after: to break the chains of injustice, get rid of exploitation in the workplace, free the oppressed, cancel debts. What I’m interested in seeing you do is: share your food with the hungry, invite the homeless poor into your homes, put clothes on the shivering ill-clad, being available to your own families. Do this; the lights will turn on, and your lives will turn around at once. Your righteousness will pave your way. The God of glory will secure your passage. Then when you pray, God will answer. You’ll call out for help, and I’ll say, ‘Here I am.’
“If you get rid of unfair practices, quit blaming victims, quit gossiping about other people’s sins, If you are generous with the hungry and start giving yourselves to the down-and-out, your lives will begin to glow in the darkness, your shadowed lives will be bathed in sunlight. I will always show you where to go. I’ll give you a full life in the emptiest of places — firm muscles, strong bones. You’ll be like a well-watered garden, a gurgling spring that never runs dry. You’ll use the old rubble of past lives to build anew, rebuild the foundations from out of your past. You’ll be known as those who can fix anything, restore old ruins, rebuild and renovate, and make the community livable again.
Let’s pray together. Almighty God, may your kindness rest on us; please establish the work of our hands for us — in alignment with your perfect will, O God, establish the work of our hands. Amen!
SONG #2: God Is Love (Chris Renzema)
Our Psalm reading is from Psalm 133–134. Let’s begin with Psalm 134 (Modern English Version), “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brothers to dwell together in unity! It is like the precious oil upon the head that runs down on the beard — even Aaron’s beard goes down to the collar of his garments, as the dew of Hermon, that descends upon the mountains of Zion, for there the Lord has commanded the blessing, even life forever.
Continuing with Psalm 134 (Good News Translation), “Come, praise the Lord, all his servants, all who serve in his Temple at night. Raise your hands in prayer in the Temple, and praise the Lord! May the Lord, who made heaven and earth, bless you from Zion!”
Let’s pray together. O God; we know that it is good to give thanks to you, to sing praises to Your name, O Most High — so in this stillness of the rooms where we gather, we offer our individual thanks in your name _________________.
SONG #3: This Is How I Thank The Lord (Mosaic MSC)
Our New Testament reading is from Romans 8:18–23 (The Message Translation), “That’s why I don’t think there’s any comparison between the present hard times and the coming good times. The created world itself can hardly wait for what’s coming next. Everything in creation is being more or less held back. God reins it in until both creation, and all the creatures are ready and can be released immediately into the glorious times ahead. Meanwhile, the joyful anticipation deepens. All around us, we observe a pregnant creation. The difficult times of pain throughout the world are simply birth pangs. But it’s not only around us; it’s within us. The Spirit of God is arousing us within. We’re also feeling the birth pangs. These sterile and barren bodies of ours are yearning for complete deliverance. That is why waiting does not diminish us any more than waiting diminishes a pregnant mother. We are enlarged in the waiting. We, of course, don’t see what is enlarging us. But the longer we wait, the larger we become, and the more joyful our expectancy.”
Let’s pray together. Heavenly Father, I trust You. Thank you that I can come before You with boldness, confidence, and expectancy. I know You are able and I know Your plan is best. I pray that my heart would be aligned with Yours and that my mind will be stilled in the waiting.
In Jesus’ name, I pray, Amen.
SONG #4: Sound Mind (Melissa Helser)
Continuing in our time together, let’s read from the Gospel of Luke 6:36–42 (The Living Bible), “Try to show as much compassion as your Father does.” “Never criticize or condemn — or it will all come back on you. Go easy on others; then, they will do the same for you. For if you give, you will get! Your gift will return to you in full and overflowing measure, pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, and running over. Whatever measure you use to give — large or small — will be used to measure what is given back to you.” Here are some of Jesus’s story-illustrations in his sermons: “What good is it for one blind man to lead another? He will fall into a ditch and pull the other down with him. How can a student know more than his teacher? But if he works hard, he may learn as much. “And why quibble about the speck in someone else’s eye — his little fault — when a board is in your own? How can you think of saying to him, ‘Brother, let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye,’ when you can’t see past the board in yours? Hypocrite! First, get rid of the board, and then perhaps you can see well enough to deal with his speck!”
Let’s pray together. “O God, perfect us in love, that we may conquer all selfishness and hatred of others; fill our hearts with Thy joy, and shed abroad in them Thy peace which passeth understanding; that so those murmurings and disputings to which we are too prone may be overcome. Make us long-suffering and gentle, and thus subdue our hastiness and angry tempers, and grant that we may bring forth the blessed fruits of the Spirit, to Thy praise and glory, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.” — Rev. Henry Alford
SONG #5: Psalm 116 [I Love You, Lord] (Mission House)
Happy Sunday, my friends, May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost be with you all. Amen.
SONG #6: Sovereign Over Us (Aaron Keyes)
- Christian Worship One Year Lectionary (Bellingham, WA: Faithlife, 2009).
- https://open.spotify.com/playlist/15g8eaSlL6pmUIZeEIhcZ1?si=2a7502997e67444c
