Online Worship for August 22, 2021

Welcome to Church of the Holy Cross’s live streaming worship service for August 22, 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 August 22, 2021
Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost

Rev. Eric S. Anderson, Pastor

WE GATHER TO WORSHIP GOD

Welcome                                                                                     Rev. Eric S. Anderson

Prelude: Improvisiation On Simple Gifts—American Shaker song, arr. Jordan 
                                                                                                    Kayleen Yuda

Call to Worship: based on Psalm 84                                          Bob Smith

Leader: How lovely is your dwelling place, O LORD of hosts!
All: But what should we understand as your dwelling place, O LORD of hosts, when we worship away from the house we have built for you?

Leader: My soul longs, indeed it faints, for the courts of the LORD.
All: We have been separated from these sacred spaces far too long, O God.

Leader: Even the sparrow finds a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, at your altars, O LORD.
All: Truly the mynah and the finch have made their homes surrounding this church – and in many other places besides.

Leader: Happy are those who live in your house, ever singing your praise.
All: Truly the entire Earth is the house of the LORD, and wherever we are, we sing your praise.

Leader: Let us worship God!

Invocation: based on Psalm 34:15-22 Bob Smith

Turn your gaze upon us, O God, and hear our cry. We cry for help in troubled times, distressed by disease and drought and the failures of peace. We have broken hearts; we have weight upon our spirits. Assure us again that you comfort us in our afflictions, that the bones of our souls will never be broken. Redeem the lives of your servants, for we take refuge in you. Amen.

Hymn #494: We Who Would Valiant Be                                    Eric Anderson
                                                                                                    Doug Albertson
                                                                                                   Movement led by Genie Phillips

Scripture:                                                                                   Bob Smith

1 Kings 8:1, 6, 10-11, 22-30, 41-43
Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel and all the heads of the tribes, the leaders of the ancestral houses of the Israelites, before King Solomon in Jerusalem, to bring up the ark of the covenant of the Lord out of the city of David, which is Zion.

Then the priests brought the ark of the covenant of the Lord to its place, in the inner sanctuary of the house, in the most holy place, underneath the wings of the cherubim.

And when the priests came out of the holy place, a cloud filled the house of the Lord, so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud; for the glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord.

Then Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord in the presence of all the assembly of Israel, and spread out his hands to heaven. He said, “O Lord, God of Israel, there is no God like you in heaven above or on earth beneath, keeping covenant and steadfast love for your servants who walk before you with all their heart, the covenant that you kept for your servant my father David as you declared to him; you promised with your mouth and have this day fulfilled with your hand. Therefore, O Lord, God of Israel, keep for your servant my father David that which you promised him, saying, ‘There shall never fail you a successor before me to sit on the throne of Israel, if only your children look to their way, to walk before me as you have walked before me.’ Therefore, O God of Israel, let your word be confirmed, which you promised to your servant my father David.

 “But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Even heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain you, much less this house that I have built! Regard your servant’s prayer and his plea, O Lord my God, heeding the cry and the prayer that your servant prays to you today; that your eyes may be open night and day toward this house, the place of which you said, ‘My name shall be there,’ that you may heed the prayer that your servant prays toward this place. Hear the plea of your servant and of your people Israel when they pray toward this place; O hear in heaven your dwelling place; heed and forgive.

 “Likewise when a foreigner, who is not of your people Israel, comes from a distant land because of your name —for they shall hear of your great name, your mighty hand, and your outstretched arm—when a foreigner comes and prays toward this house, then hear in heaven your dwelling place, and do according to all that the foreigner calls to you, so that all the peoples of the earth may know your name and fear you, as do your people Israel, and so that they may know that your name has been invoked on this house that I have built.

Ephesians 6:10-20
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his power. Put on the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For ourstruggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to withstand on that evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. Stand therefore, and fasten the belt of truth around your waist, and put on the breastplate of righteousness. As shoes for your feet put on whatever will make you ready to proclaim the gospel of peace. With all of these, take the shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

Pray in the Spirit at all times in every prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert and always persevere in supplication for all the saints. Pray also for me, so that when I speak, a message may be given to me to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it boldly, as I must speak.

Story/Sermon: What Is Our Armor?                                           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: In the Flower Garden–Niels Gade: Idyll Op.34-1                                             Kanako Okita

Call to Offering:

In a store, we pay for the things that we take away. In a group of friends, we put together the things we have so that all can benefit. In a church, we invite God to accept and to bless what we contribute, because one of the ways we express our love for God is through our giving. 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:
God, you have kept us and held us, protected us and strengthened us, shared wisdom with us and guide us on our way. We offer these gifts not with any sense that we can repay you, but because we love and are grateful to you. By your grace, may others find your love and peace through the sharing of these gifts. Amen.

Vocal Anthem: Blessed Assurance                                             Eric Anderson
                                                                                                    Doug Albertson
                                                                                                   Movement led by Genie Phillips

Announcements                                                                         Rev. Eric S. Anderson

Benediction                                                                                 Rev. Eric S. Anderson

Postlude: Festive Trumpets–Wetherill                                        Kayleen Yuda

Permissions
We Who Would Valiant Be
Text: John Bunyan, 1684
Revised text ©1992 The Pilgrim Press
Tune: ST. DUNSTAN’S, C. Wilfred Douglas, 1917
© 1944, Church Publishing, Inc.
Streamed by permission ONELICENSE A-735890

Blessed Assurance
Text: Fanny Crosby, 1873
Tune: ASSURANCE, Phoebe P. Knapp, 1873
Public Domain

Pastor                                                 Rev. Eric S. Anderson
Moderator                                          Woody Kita
Lay Reader                                         Bob Smith
Chapel Decorations                           Carol Morioka
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  
Videographers                                    Eric Tanouye, Bob Smith

This week at the Church of the Holy Cross

• Bible Study with Pastor Eric: Tuesdays, 3:00 p.m. via Zoom
• Pickleball: Mondays, 12 noon, Tuesdays, 8:30 a.m., Wednesdays, 2:00 p.m., Thursdays, 8:30 a.m., Saturdays 12:00 p.m., Sundays 1:30 p.m. Building of Faith—limited to 10 attendees
• Online Song – Wednesday, 11:00 a.m. online
• Community Concert – 2^nd and 4th Fridays, 6:00 p.m. online