Online Worship for February 28, 2021

Welcome to Church of the Holy Cross’s live streaming worship service for February 28, 2021. Feel free to follow the service text by scrolling down, or you may download and print the service in PDF format below.

Online Worship, February 28, 2021
Second Sunday in Lent

Rev. Eric S. Anderson, Pastor

WE GATHER TO WORSHIP GOD

Welcome                                                                                 Rev. Eric S. Anderson

Prelude: Lenten Voluntary—Jordan                                         Kayleen Yuda

Call to Worship: based on Romans 4:13-25                                Woody Kita

Leader: What does it mean to trust in God? Does it mean to trust in what seems impossible?
All: Abraham trusted that he would become an ancestor though it seemed beyond hope.

Leader: Abraham trusted in a God who gives life to the dead.
All: Abraham trusted in a God who calls into existence things that did not exist.

Leader: Let us also trust in a God who surpasses the barriers that thwart all our efforts.
All: Let us trust in a God who has given us Jesus in life, in death, and in resurrection.

Invocation: based on Genesis 17:1-7, 15-16                             Woody Kita

You made a covenant with Abraham, O God. He trusted you, and your promises have been fulfilled. May we approach you in this time with the confidence of Abraham. Despite the strains and obstacles of our time, despite the strength we lack and the limits of our imagination, despite our weariness and the world’s needs, we come to you with all the faith and trust we can muster. Be with us, O God, and bless us, that the world may see your grace and us and give thanks. Amen.

Hymn Duet #32: God of the Sparrow God of the Whale            Eric Anderson
                                                                                                Doug Albertson
                                                                                                Movement led by Genie Phillips

Scriptures                                                                               Woody Kita

Psalm 22:23-31
You who fear the Lord, praise him!
    All you offspring of Jacob, glorify him;
    stand in awe of him, all you offspring of Israel!
For he did not despise or abhor
    the affliction of the afflicted;
he did not hide his face from me,
    but heard when I cried to him.

 From you comes my praise in the great congregation;
    my vows I will pay before those who fear him.
The poorshall eat and be satisfied;
    those who seek him shall praise the Lord.
    May your hearts live forever!

All the ends of the earth shall remember
    and turn to the Lord;
and all the families of the nations
    shall worship before him.
For dominion belongs to the Lord,
    and he rules over the nations.

To him, indeed, shall all who sleep inthe earth bow down;
    before him shall bow all who go down to the dust,
    and I shall live for him.
Posterity will serve him;
    future generations will be told about the Lord,
andproclaim his deliverance to a people yet unborn,
    saying that he has done it.

Mark 8:31-38
Then he began to teach them that the Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. He said all this quite openly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. But turning and looking at his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan! For you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.” He called the crowd with his disciples, and said to them, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it. For what will it profit them to gain the whole world and forfeit their life? Indeed, what can they give in return for their life? Those who are ashamed of me and of my wordsin this adulterous and sinful generation, of them the Son of Man will also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”

Story/Sermon: Strange Covenant                                             Rev. Eric S. Anderson

Pastoral Prayer                                                                       Rev. Eric S. Anderson

Please join me in the Lord’s Prayer

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy Name. Thy kingdom come.  Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever and ever. Amen

Instrumental Anthem: Rock of Ages – H. Livingston, Jr.        Kayleen Yuda

Call to Offering:                                                                      Woody Kita

We invite you to an offering. God’s grace has lifted us up, sometimes in body, sometimes in mind, sometimes in spirit. Let us also share our gifts to lift up others and be instruments of God’s peace. Please send your offering through the mail in an envelope to 440 West Lanikaula Street, Hilo, Hawai’i, 96720, or give online at holycrosshilo.com/donate. Let us pray together:

Offertory Prayer:
We do not always deny ourselves, O God. You know this. We do not always think of others, O God. You know this, too. In this moment, our thoughts turn to our neighbors and they turn to you. We present these gifts not as a sacrifice to win your favor, but as the first fruits of a new harvest of our spirits. With these gifts we set out once more to be true followers of Jesus. Amen.

Vocal Anthem: We Would Be Building—Purd E. Deitz            Eric Anderson
                                                                                                Doug Albertson
                                                                                                Movement led by Genie Phillips

Announcements                                                                      Rev. Eric S. Anderson

Benediction                                                                             Rev. Eric S. Anderson

Postlude: Holy Ground – Beatty, arr. Smith                              Kayleen Yuda

Permissions:
God of the Sparrow God of the Whale
Contributors: Carl Schalk, Jaroslav J. Vajda
Tune: ROEDER, 9 6 7 7; Carl F. Schalk, b.1929, © 1983, GIA Publications, Inc.
Text: Jaroslav J. Vajda, 1919–2008, © 1983, Concordia Publishing House
Streamed by permission. ONELICENSE #A-735890

We Would Be Building
Contributors: Purd E. Deitz, Jean Sibelius
Tune: FINLANDIA; Jean Sibelius
Text: Purd E. Deitz © Estate of Purd E. Deitz
Streamed by permission. ONELICENSE #A-735890

                                                            Dates to Remember
Sunday, March 7 – Trustees Meeting after worship

Minister                                            Rev. Eric S. Anderson
Moderator                                        Woody Kita
Lay Reader                                       Woody Kita
Chapel Decorations                          Irene Okada
Choir Accompanist                          Kanako Okita
Choir Director                                  Doug Albertson
Organist                                            Kayleen Yuda
Hand Bell Director                           Anna Kennedy
Childcare Coordinator                     Evonne Shioshita
Movement Leader                            Genie Phillips
Projected Imagery                            Sue Smith
Web Master                                      Ruth Niino-DuPonte  

This week at the Church of the Holy Cross

• Bible Study with Pastor Eric: Tuesdays, 3:00 p.m. via Zoom
• Online Song – Wednesdays, 11:00 a.m. online
• Community Concert — 2^nd & 4^th Fridays, 6:00 p.m. online