Worship for September 24, 2023

The video will stream live beginning a few minutes before 10:00 AM on Sunday, September 24, 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, September 24, 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, September 24, 2023
Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost

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: Prelude on Two American Hymn Tunes                       Kayleen Yuda

Lighting of the Candles

Ringing of the Bell

Welcome                                                                                                    Rev. Eric S. Anderson

* Call to Worship: (based on Psalm 78:1-4, 12-16)                   Jennifer Tanouye

Leader:         Give ear, O people, to the teachings of old. Incline your ears to my words.
People:        We will listen for the stories of salvation, things we have known and
                        heard from our ancestors.

Leader:         God worked marvels in the land of Egypt in the presence of those ancient
                        people.
People:        God divided the sea so they could go through, the waters standing to
                        each side as they passed.

Leader:         God led them with a cloud by day, and with a pillar of fire by night.
People:        God split rocks in the wilderness, and they drank abundantly as from the
                        deep.

All:                 Let us worship God!

* Hymn #22: Sing Praise to God, Who Has Shaped (v. 1-4)

* Invocation: (based on Psalm 25:1-9)                                           Jennifer Tanouye

We lift up our souls to you, O God, that we may not be shamed by those around us or overwhelmed by hostile people. Make us know your ways, O God, teach us your paths. Lead us in truth, O God of our salvation. Do not remember the sins of our youth, but remember us with steadfast love. You are good and upright, O God. Lead us in what is right. Show us your way. Amen.

Please be seated

WE SHARE THE WORD OF GOD

Anthem: He Leadeth Me                                                                       Eli Yamaki, Kayleen Yuda

Time with the Children                                                                       Rev. Eric S. Anderson

Scripture                                                                                                    Jennifer Tanouye

Jonah 3:10-4:11
When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil ways, God changed his mind about the calamity that he had said he would bring upon them; and he did not do it.

But this was very displeasing to Jonah, and he became angry. He prayed to the Lord and said, ‘O Lord! Is not this what I said while I was still in my own country? That is why I fled to Tarshish at the beginning; for I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love, and ready to relent from punishing. And now, O Lord, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live.’  And the Lord said, ‘Is it right for you to be angry?’ Then Jonah went out of the city and sat down east of the city, and made a booth for himself there. He sat under it in the shade, waiting to see what would become of the city.

The Lord God appointed a bush, and made it come up over Jonah, to give shade over his head, to save him from his discomfort; so Jonah was very happy about the bush. But when dawn came up the next day, God appointed a worm that attacked the bush, so that it withered. When the sun rose, God prepared a sultry east wind, and the sun beat down on the head of Jonah so that he was faint and asked that he might die. He said, ‘It is better for me to die than to live.’

But God said to Jonah, ‘Is it right for you to be angry about the bush?’ And he said, ‘Yes, angry enough to die.’ Then the Lord said, ‘You are concerned about the bush, for which you did not labor and which you did not grow; it came into being in a night and perished in a night. And should I not be concerned about Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who do not know their right hand from their left, and also many animals?’

Matthew 20:1-16
‘For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. After agreeing with the laborers for the usual daily wage, he sent them into his vineyard. When he went out about nine o’clock, he saw others standing idle in the market-place; and he said to them, “You also go into the vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.” So they went. When he went out again about noon and about three o’clock, he did the same. And about five o’clock he went out and found others standing around; and he said to them, “Why are you standing here idle all day?” They said to him, “Because no one has hired us.” He said to them, “You also go into the vineyard.” When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his manager, “Call the laborers and give them their pay, beginning with the last and then going to the first.” When those hired about five o’clock came, each of them received the usual daily wage. Now when the first came, they thought they would receive more; but each of them also received the usual daily wage. And when they received it, they grumbled against the landowner, saying, “These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat.” But he replied to one of them, “Friend, I am doing you no wrong; did you not agree with me for the usual daily wage? Take what belongs to you and go; I choose to give to this last the same as I give to you. Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or are you envious because I am generous?” So the last will be first, and the first will be last.’

Sermon: The Price of Success                                                             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 #23: There’s a Wideness in God’s Mercy (v. 1-2)

Call to Offering                                                                                        Jennifer Tanouye

Through labor we achieved reward, and we hope we received them in just compensation for our work. In this moment, we turn from justice to love, sharing what we have obtained for the physical, emotional, and spiritual benefit of others. 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: Prelude on “Belmont”                                                       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                                                                                  Jennifer Tanouye

You love us, O God, beyond our ability to express or understand. We love you, O God, though in our ignorance we do not always do it well. Accept these gifts as a token of our love, and by your grace may others come to know your love through them. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

* Hymn #533: Children of God (v. 1-4)

Please be seated

Announcements                                                                                     Rev. Eric S. Anderson

Benediction                                                                                               Rev. Eric S. Anderson

Postlude: Flourish                                                                                  Kayleen Yuda

* Please stand if you are able.

Permissions:

Prelude on Two American Hymn Tunes
Hugh S. Livingston Jr.
Tunes: “Holy Manna” by William Moore
and “Converse” By Charles Converse
Streamed by permission ONELICENSE A-735890

Sing Praise to God, Who Has Shaped
Text by Joachim Neander, 1680
Trans. by Madeleine Forell Marshall, 1993
Trans. © 1993 Augsberg Fortress
Tune LOBE DEN HERREN in Erneuerten Gesanguch, 1665
Public Domain
Streamed by permission ONELICENSE A-735890

He Leadeth Me
William B. Bradbury
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
Arr. by Julius Rontgen, 1906
Public Domain

Prelude on “Belmont”
Hymn tune arranged from William Gardine’s “Sacred Melodies” 1812
Edition Peters 6195 @ 1960 by C F Peters Corporation, NY
Prelude on “Belmont”

Children of God
Text by John Greenleaf Whittier, 1848
Tune WELWYN by Alfred Scott-Gatty, 1900
Public Domain

Flourish
Stanley E Saxton
Tune: © 1980 Lorenz Publishing Company
a division of The Lorenz Corporation
(Admin. by Music Services)
Streamed by permission ONELICENSE A-735890

Dates to Remember
Today, September 24th – J’s Mini Mart

Pastor                                                                   Rev. Eric S. Anderson
Moderator                                                          Stefan Tanouye
Lay Reader                                                         Jennifer Tanouye
Choir Accompanist                                          Kanako Okita
Choir Director                                                   Doug Albertson
Organist                                                               Kayleen Yuda
Guest Pianist                                                      Eli Yamaki
Hand Bell Director                                          Anna Kennedy
Chapel Decorations                                         Lillian Tanouye, Eric Tanouye, Heather
                                                                                Tanouye, Kyle Nakayama families
Childcare Coordinator                                   Evonne Shioshita
Projected Imagery                                           Sue Smith
Web Master                                                        Ruth Niino-DuPonte  
Videographers                                                   Eric Tanouye, Bob Smith,
                                                                                                Eli Yamaki, Ruth Niino-DuPonte

We welcome you to worship this day. Church of the Holy Cross seeks to help its members, friends, and visitors follow the guidance of God, Christ, and the Holy Spirit, encouraging all people to love one another according to the teachings of Jesus. We live and teach the faith, speak good news, minister to people near and far, and work with other households of faith and helping agencies to improve our community and our world. Please call or write us to learn more and join in. To support our ministries financially, donate online here.