Lord God
we give thanks for St Andrew
your faithful servant
who followed Jesus Christ, when he called
who knew in his heart Jesus was the messiah
who told others who Jesus was
and brought them to know Jesus
teach us to do the same
to have on our lips “Jesus is the Messiah”
to know in our hearts “Jesus is Lord”
to bring his good news to those we know
May Andrew, who told his brother first, be a model for us
a model to tell those closest to us of Jesus
a model where our families, close friends
can come to know Jesus through our words and actions
for those who know us best cannot see our devotion and faith are sincere, how can we proclaim the good news to anyone else?
As we recall the faith of Andrew
we thank you for those who supported us in our faith
parents who took us to church
youth fellowship leaders who supported our growing faith
chance encounters at weddings and funerals where the service spoke to us in ways we cannot fully explain
May you continue to call to yourself, Christ Jesus
people of faith who will do these tasks for you
people who have a deep rooted faith that it draws in others
that they wish to serve and honour you
in all they do and are
King of Heaven
in you heaven and earth meet
we praise and thank you for our beautiful country
where bards and poets
writers and novelists have attempted to capture the splendour of the landscape
the culture
the people
we praise you we live in a land of creativity and culture
a country which values tolerance and inclusion
we know it’s not prefect, but it is ours
Lord God
we pray today for those who do not see the wonder of our country
for they are struggling financially
they are burdened with looking after ill family members
they are coming to terms with the loss of a loved one
sustain them with your joy
comfort them in your peace
protect them with your love
and grant to us the courage to help relieve the burdens of those in this church, in our families, in our communities in the ways we can
We offer these, our prayers, in and through Jesus Christ our Lord, the Messiah
Amen