Online Worship for March 20, 2022

Welcome to Church of the Holy Cross’s live streaming worship service for March 20, 2022. Feel free to follow the service text by scrolling down, or you may download and print the service in PDF format below.

Online Worship, March 20, 2022
Third Sunday in Lent

Rev. Eric S. Anderson, Pastor

WE GATHER TO WORSHIP GOD

Welcome                                                                                                    Rev. Eric S. Anderson

Prelude: Christians, We Have Met to Worship—Mark Hayes, tune: Holy Manna by Moore
                                                                                                                        Kayleen Yuda

Call to Worship: based on Isaiah 55:1-9                                         Bob Smith

Leader: Are you thirsty? Come to the waters. Are you short on money? Here flow milk and honey without price.
All: We have been known to spend our money on things that do not feed us. We have given our labor to what does not satisfy.

Leader: Incline your ear to God and come. Make an everlasting covenant with the Holy One.
All: We will seek the LORD who is here to be found; we will call upon the Holy One who is near.

Leader: “My thoughts are not your thoughts; my ways are not your ways,” says the LORD.
All: In this time may our spirits be lifted high above the earth, so that we may rejoice in the ways of God.

Invocation: based on Psalm 63:1-8

O God, you are my God. My soul thirsts for you, my flesh faints for you, as if this is a dry and weary land where there is no water. Let me perceive your power and glory, for I would bless you as long as I live, and praise you with joyful lips. You have been my help and our help, and in the shadow of your wings we sing for joy. Our souls cling to you as we come to you in worship. Amen.

Hymn #23: There’s a Wideness in God’s Mercy                          Eric Anderson
                                                                                                                        Doug Albertson
                                                                                                                      Movement led by Genie Phillips

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 10:1-13                                                      Bob Smith

I do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters, that our ancestors were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, and all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual rock that followed them, and the rock was Christ. Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them, and they were struck down in the wilderness. Now these things occurred as examples for us, so that we might not desire evil as they did. Do not become idolaters as some of them did; as it is written, “The people sat down to eat and drink, and they rose up to play.” We must not indulge in sexual immorality as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand fell in a single day. We must not put Christ to the test, as some of them did, and were destroyed by serpents. And do not complain as some of them did, and were destroyed by the destroyer. These things happened to them to serve as an example, and they were written down to instruct us, on whom the ends of the ages have come. So if you think you are standing, watch out that you do not fall. No testing has overtaken you that is not common to everyone. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tested beyond your strength, but with the testing he will also provide the way out so that you may be able to endure it.

Luke 13:1-9
At that very time there were some present who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. He asked them, “Do you think that because these Galileans suffered in this way they were worse sinners than all other Galileans? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish as they did. Or those eighteen who were killed when the tower of Siloam fell on them—do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others living in Jerusalem? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish just as they did.” Then he told this parable: “A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came looking for fruit on it and found none. So he said to the gardener, ‘See here! For three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree, and still I find none. Cut it down! Why should it be wasting the soil?’ He replied, ‘Sir, let it alone for one more year, until I dig around it and put manure on it. If it bears fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.’”

Story/Sermon: Try Again                                                                    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:  Spirit of God, Descend Upon My Heart—Mark Hayes, tune: Morecambe by Atkinson                                                        Kayleen Yuda

Call to Offering:                                                                                       Bob Smith

We do not have the same resources; we do not have the same talents or training or skills. What we share is the summons to nurture the growth, heal the injuries, and renew the spirits of those around us. In this moment, we dedicate your gifts shared through the church to these purposes. 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

There are people before us, O God, who seem much like the fig tree Jesus described. They don’t seem to grow; they don’t seem to thrive. Let these gifts be among those that renew the bodies and spirits of your people. May we return to find them growing, grateful, and filled with grace. Amen.

Vocal Anthem #580: O Kou Aloha No (The Queen’s Prayer)       Eric Anderson
                                                                                                                        Doug Albertson
                                                                                                                      Movement led by Genie Phillips                                                                               

Announcements                                                                                     Rev. Eric S. Anderson

Benediction                                                                                               Rev. Eric S. Anderson

Postlude: Stand Up for Jesus—Broughton, tune: Webb “by George Webb”                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                        Kayleen Yuda

Permissions

Christians, We Have Met to Worship—Mark Hayes, tune: Holy Manna by Moore
Tune: © 2012 Lorenz Corporation All Rights Reserved.
Streamed by permission ONELICENSE A-735890

There’s a Wideness in God’s Mercy
Text by Frederick William Faber, 1854
Tune IN BABILONE, Dutch melody
Public Domain

Spirit of God, Descend Upon My Heart
Contributors: Frederick Atkinson, Mark Hayes
Streamed by permission ONELICENSE A-735890

O Kou Aloha No
Text by Queen Lili’uokalani, 1893
Tune LILIUOKALANI by Queen Lili’uokalani, 1893
Public Domain

Stand Up for Jesus—Broughton, tune: Webb “by George Webb”      
Public Domain
Tune: George J. Webb
Streamed by permission ONELICENSE A-735890

                                                                  Dates to Remember
Today, March 20 – Deacons meeting after worship in the Building of Faith

Pastor                                                                                                          Rev. Eric S. Anderson
Moderator                                                                                                 Woody Kita
Lay Reader                                                                                                Bob Smith
Chapel Decorations                                                                              Sachi & Ruth Ohata
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

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