Worship for February 26, 2023

The video will stream live beginning a few minutes before10:00 AM on Sunday, February 26, 2023. You may need to click Play to launch the stream. You can also watch the recorded video at this same place at any time afterward.

Welcome to Church of the Holy Cross’s live stream of its worship service for Sunday, February 26, 2023. Feel free to follow the service text by scrolling down. You are welcome to attend worship in person or to participate via live stream or recorded video.

Service of Worship, February 26, 2023
First Sunday in Lent

Rev. Eric S. Anderson, Pastor

WE GATHER TO WORSHIP GOD

Please note that audio and video of this service are being live streamed on the Internet and will be recorded. The right rear section of the sanctuary will not be captured by any cameras. Please be aware that in other sections you may be visible at times.

Prelude: With Humble Hearts We Come                                        Kayleen Yuda

Lighting of the Candles

Ringing of the Bell

Welcome                                                                                                    Rev. Eric S. Anderson

*All who are able, please rise                                                         

* Call to Worship: (based on Genesis 2:15-17, 3:1-7)               Ming Peng

Leader: For centuries we have told the story:
People: How a couple were tempted and how they trespassed God’s command.

Leader: For centuries we have held them responsible:
People: We have blamed them for the failings of humanity.

Leader: Let us leave the blame behind today; let us remember our mistakes.
People: We, too, have opened our eyes and seen ourselves as different from what we believed, and we have been ashamed.

All: In humility we worship God.

* Hymn #167: Mark How the Lamb of God’s Self-Offering (v. 1-3)

* Invocation: (based on Romans 5:12-19)                                    Ming Peng

Did sin come into the world through just a single human being, O God? Whether it did or not, we have seen sin and felt its impact. We have been tempted to sin and we have done it. As we draw near to you in worship, O God, bring your free gift of grace to us. Let life overwhelm the power of death, let righteousness rule over the pretensions of sin. Make us righteous, O God, in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Please be seated

WE SHARE THE WORD OF GOD

Anthem: Violin Sonata #8, 1^st mvt.                                                   Kanako Okita, piano
                                                                                                                        Alden Young, violin

Time with the Children

Scripture: Psalm 32                                                                               Ming Peng

Happy are those whose transgression is forgiven,
    whose sin is covered.
Happy are those to whom the Lord imputes no iniquity,
    and in whose spirit there is no deceit.

While I kept silence, my body wasted away
    through my groaning all day long.
For day and night your hand was heavy upon me;
    my strength was dried upas by the heat of summer. Selah

Then I acknowledged my sin to you,
    and I did not hide my iniquity;
I said, ‘I will confess my transgressions to the Lord’,
    and you forgave the guilt of my sin. Selah

Therefore let all who are faithful
    offer prayer to you;
at a time of distress, the rush of mighty waters
    shall not reach them.
You are a hiding-place for me;
    you preserve me from trouble;
    you surround me with glad cries of deliverance. Selah

I will instruct you and teach you the way you should go;
    I will counsel you with my eye upon you.
Do not be like a horse or a mule, without understanding,
    whose temper must be curbed with bit and bridle,
    else it will not stay near you.

 Many are the torments of the wicked,
    but steadfast love surrounds those who trust in the Lord.
Be glad in the Lord and rejoice, O righteous,
    and shout for joy, all you upright in heart.

Matthew 4:1-11
Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. He fasted for forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was famished. The tempter came and said to him, ‘If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.’ But he answered, ‘It is written,

“One does not live by bread alone,
    but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.”’

 Then the devil took him to the holy city and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, saying to him, ‘If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down; for it is written,

“He will command his angels concerning you”,
    and “On their hands they will bear you up,
so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.”’

Jesus said to him, ‘Again it is written, “Do not put the Lord your God to the test.”’

Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor; and he said to him, ‘All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Away with you, Satan! for it is written,

“Worship the Lord your God,
    and serve only him.”’

Then the devil left him, and suddenly angels came and waited on him.

Sermon: Temptation                                                                              Rev. Eric S. Anderson

WE RESPOND IN WORD AND DEED

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

*Hymn #209: O Love, How Vast, How Flowing Free (v. 1-3, 6)

Call to Offering                                                                                        Ming Peng

Life offers us many moments of temptation. Life also offers us many opportunities for generosity. This is one: a time when you can contribute to the ministries of this church, ministries that sustain souls, fill bellies, and shelter bodies. Whether you share your gift here in the church today, through a gift online, or via an envelope in the mail, let the offering now be received.

Offertory: Song of Devotion                                                                Kayleen Yuda

*Doxology

Praise God from whom all blessings flow,
Praise Him all creatures here below
Praise Him above ye heavenly host
Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost – Amen

*Offertory Prayer                                                                                  Ming Peng

Accept our gifts, O God, and bless us in the giving. In your hands, may they accomplish things greater than they can in our own. Amen.

* Hymn #211: Lord Jesus, Who through Forty Days (v. 1-4)                                                                                                                      Movement led by Genie Phillips

Please be seated

Announcements                                                                                     Rev. Eric S. Anderson

Benediction                                                                                               Rev. Eric S. Anderson

Postlude: Trumpet Tune on People, Look East                            Kayleen Yuda

* Please stand if you are able.

Permissions
With Humble Hearts We Come
Donald Lee Moore
Tune: © 1978 Publishing Company
a division of The Lorenz Corporation
(Admin. by Music Services)
Streamed by permission ONELICENSE A-735890

Mark How the Lamb of God’s Self-Offering
Text by Carl P. Daw, 1990
© 1990 by Hope Publishing Company
Tune RENDEZ A DIEU by Louis Bourgeois (1511)
Public Domain
Streamed by permission ONELICENSE A-735890

Violin Sonata Number 8, First Movement
by Ludwig van Beethoven, 1803
Public Domain

O Love, How Vast, How Flowing Free
Latin Text 15^th cent.
Trans. The New Century Hymnal, 1994
Tune DEO GRACIAS ca. 1415
Public Domain
Streamed by permission of The Pilgrim Press

Song of Devotion 
Sylvia K Riggs
Tune: © 1983 Lorenz Publishing Company
A division of The Lorenz Corporation
(Admin. by Music Services)
Streamed by permission ONELICENSE A-735890

Lord Jesus, Who through Forty Days
Text by Claudia F. I. Hernaman, 1873
Tune ST. FLAVIAN, The Whole Book of Psalm, 1562
Public Domain

Trumpet Tune on “People, Look East”
Grimoaldo Macchia
Tune: © 2017 Lorenz Corporation (admin. by Music Services)
All Rights Reserved. ASCAP Text: © 2017 Lorenz Corporation
(Admin. by Music Services) All Rights Reserved. ASCAP
Streamed by permission ONELICENSE A-735890

                                                                 Dates to Remember                    
Today, February 26 – J’s Mini Mart

Pastor                                                                                  Rev. Eric S. Anderson
Moderator                                                                         Stefan Tanouye
Lay Reader                                                                        Ming Peng  
Choir Accompanist                                                        Kanako Okita
Choir Director & Conductor                                     Doug Albertson
Organist                                                                             Kayleen Yuda
Hand Bell Director                                                        Anna Kennedy
Violinist                                                                              Alden Young
Chapel Decorations                                                       Theone Albano & Jill Suzuki
Childcare Coordinator                                                Evonne Shioshita
Movement Leader                                                         Genie Phillips
Projected Imagery                                                        Sue Smith
Web Master                                                                      Ruth Niino-DuPonte  
Videographers                                                                Eric Tanouye, Bob Smith, Eli   
                                                                                                Yamaki, Ruth Niino-DuPonte