Thank you for joining us for this live stream (or recording, as the case may be) of Sunday worship. May it bless you! You may need to click “Play” to launch the stream, which will be live just before 10:00 AM.
Welcome to the live stream of worship from Church of the Holy Cross for Sunday, March 3, 2024. You will find the service outline below, and you may download and print the PDF to follow more easily. We will celebrate Holy Communion today, so please prepare some bread or other staple food and juice or other beverage and have it ready for that portion of the service.
Service of Worship, March 3, 2024
Third 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: In the Cross of Christ I Glory Kayleen Yuda
Lighting of the Candles
Ringing of the Bell
Welcome Rev. Eric S. Anderson
* Call to Worship: (based on Psalm 19) Gloria Kobayashi
Leader: Let the heavens declare the glory of God!
People: Let the stars shine in celebration of God’s handiwork!
Leader: There may be silence in the deep expanses of space,
People: But in that silence the spheres of heaven speak.
Leader: The light of knowledge pours down from heaven onto the Earth:
People: The knowledge of the grace and glory of God!
All: Let us worship God!
* Hymn #193: In the Cross of Christ I Glory (v. 1-4)
* Please join me in the Invocation: (based on John 2:13-22) Gloria Kobayashi
Zeal for your house consumed the soul of Jesus, O God. He could not abide the feeling of a marketplace within the ancient Temple of Jerusalem. Let Jesus look within our hearts, O God, which are to be the Temple of the Holy Spirit. What do they resemble? Is it a place of worship or a place of commerce? Transform us in this hour, O God, to welcome Christ into our souls. Amen.
Please be seated
WE SHARE THE WORD OF GOD
Anthem: Unconditional Love IYAA
Time with the Children
Scripture: Exodus 20:1-17 Gloria Kobayashi
Then God spoke all these words:
I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery; you shall have no other gods beforeme.
You shall not make for yourself an idol, whether in the form of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, punishing children for the iniquity of parents, to the third and the fourth generation of those who reject me, but showing steadfast love to the thousandth generationof those who love me and keep my commandments.
You shall not make wrongful use of the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not acquit anyone who misuses his name.
Remember the Sabbath day, and keep it holy. For six days you shall labor and do all your work. But the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God; you shall not do any work—you, your son or your daughter, your male or female slave, your livestock, or the alien resident in your towns. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but rested the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and consecrated it.
Honor your father and your mother, so that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.
You shall not murder.
You shall not commit adultery.
You shall not steal.
You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or male or female slave, or ox, or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.
1 Corinthians 1:18-25
For the message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written,
‘I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,
and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.’
Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, God decided, through the foolishness of our proclamation, to save those who believe. For Jews demand signs and Greeks desire wisdom, but we proclaim Christ crucified, a stumbling-block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For God’s foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God’s weakness is stronger than human strength.
Sermon: Signs and Wisdom
WE RESPOND IN WORD AND DEED
Pastoral Prayer
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
Call to Offering Gloria Kobayashi
God has given us life. God has given us direction. God has given us salvation. Let us express our appreciation for all God’s gifts by sharing a portion of them with those around us. 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: Christ, We Adore and Worship Thee 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 Gloria Kobayashi
Creator, Redeemer, Sustainer, accept our offerings today. Guide them by your Holy Spirit to the work of your realm that needs doing in the right place at the right time. May we be a part of the growth of righteousness and peace here and around the world. Amen.
* Hymn #330: Let Us Break Bread Together (v. 1-3)
Sacrament of Holy Communion
Invitation
Consecrating the Bread and Cup
Sharing the Bread and Cup
Prayer of Thanksgiving
* Hymn #436: God of Grace and God of Glory (v. 1-5)
Announcements Rev. Eric S. Anderson
Benediction Rev. Eric S. Anderson
Postlude: A Festal Salutation Kayleen Yuda
* Please stand if you are able.
Permissions
In the Cross of Christ I Glory
Text by John Bowring, 1825
Tune RATHBUN by Ithamar Conkey, 1849
Public Domain
Unconditional Love
Stuart Mori
Permission granted by author
Christ, We Adore and Worship Thee
Theodore Dubois
Tune: © 1978 Lorenz Publishing Company
a division of The Lorenz Corporation
(Admin. by Music Services)
Streamed by permission ONELICENSE A-735890
Let Us Break Bread Together
Text African American Spiritual
Tune LET US BREAK BREAD, trad.
Harm. by David Hurd, 1983
Harm. © 1986, GIA Publications, Inc.
Streamed by permission ONELICENSE A-735890
God of Grace and God of Glory
Text by Harry Emerson Fosdick, 1930
Tune CWM RHONDDA by John Hughes, 1907
Public Domain
A Festal Salutation
Franklin Ritter
Tune: © 1985 Lorenz Publishing Company,
a division of The Lorenz Corporation
(Admin. by Music Services)
Streamed by permission ONELICENSE A-735890
Dates to Remember
Today: March 3—Trustees Meeting after worship
Pastor Rev. Eric S. Anderson
Moderator Stefan Tanouye
Lay Reader Gloria Kobayashi
Choir Accompanist Kanako Okita
Choir Director Doug Albertson
Organist Kayleen Yuda
Hand Bell Director Anna Kennedy
Chapel Decorations Irene Okada
Projected Imagery Sue Smith
Web Master Ruth Niino-DuPonte
Videographers Eric Tanouye, Eli Yamaki
Ruth Niino-DuPonte, Bob Smith
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. To support our ministries, please visit our Donate Page.
