Thank you for joining us for this live stream (or recording, as the case may be) of Easter Sunday worship. May it bless you! You may need to click “Play” to launch the stream, which will be live around 9:50 AM.
Welcome to the live stream of worship from Church of the Holy Cross for Easter Sunday, March 31, 2024. You will find the service outline below, and you may download and print the PDF to follow more easily.
Service of Worship, March 31, 2024
Easter Sunday
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.
Introit: Simple Gifts Bell Choir
Prelude: Christ Arose Hilo Brass
Lighting of the Candles
Ringing of the Bell
Welcome Rev. Eric S. Anderson
* Call to Worship: (based on Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24) Stefan Tanouye
Leader: Give thanks to the LORD, for God is good, whose steadfast love endures forever!
People: God’s steadfast love endures forever!
Leader: The LORD is my strength and my might; God has become my salvation.
People: I shall not die, but I shall live, and recount the deeds of the LORD.
Leader: Open to me the gates of righteousness, that I may enter through them and give thanks to the LORD.
People: This is the gate of the LORD, and we rejoice to enter through it.
All: This is the day that the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it!
* Hymn #233: Christ the Lord is Risen Today (v. 1-4)
* Invocation: (based on Acts 10:34-43) Stefan Tanouye
Thank you so much, O God, for the open invitation you have extended to the world, the invitation to your love, grace, and salvation. Thank you for the gift of Jesus and for the gifts he gave us: his teaching, his healing, his sacrifice, and his resurrection. As we celebrate his new life today, bless us with your Holy Spirit so that we raise our voices in prayer and song to the glory of your name. Amen.
Please be seated
WE SHARE THE WORD OF GOD
Anthem: Jesus Christ Is Risen Today Hilo Brass
Time with the Children
Scripture: Isaiah 25:6-9 Stefan Tanouye
On this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples
a feast of rich food, a feast of well-matured wines,
of rich food filled with marrow, of well-matured wines strained clear.
And he will destroy on this mountain
the shroud that is cast over all peoples,
the sheet that is spread over all nations;
he will swallow up death for ever.
Then the Lord God will wipe away the tears from all faces,
and the disgrace of his people he will take away from all the earth,
for the Lord has spoken.
It will be said on that day,
Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, so that he might save us.
This is the Lord for whom we have waited;
let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.
John 20:1-18
Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the tomb. So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, ‘They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.’ Then Peter and the other disciple set out and went towards the tomb. The two were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. He bent down to look in and saw the linen wrappings lying there, but he did not go in. Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen wrappings lying there, and the cloth that had been on Jesus’ head, not lying with the linen wrappings but rolled up in a place by itself. Then the other disciple, who reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; for as yet they did not understand the scripture, that he must rise from the dead. Then the disciples returned to their homes.
But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb. As she wept, she bent over to lookinto the tomb; and she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had been lying, one at the head and the other at the feet. They said to her, ‘Woman, why are you weeping?’ She said to them, ‘They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.’ When she had said this, she turned round and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, why are you weeping? For whom are you looking?’ Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, ‘Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.’ Jesus said to her, ‘Mary!’ She turned and said to him in Hebrew, ‘Rabbouni!’ (which means Teacher). Jesus said to her, ‘Do not hold on to me, because I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and say to them, “I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.”’ Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, ‘I have seen the Lord’; and she told them that he had said these things to her.
Sermon: Why Are You Weeping? 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 #245: The Day of Resurrection (v. 1-3)
Call to Offering Stefan Tanouye
Mary came to the tomb to give Jesus the gift of her grieving tears. Instead, she gave him the gift of her rejoicing tears. Our gifts can turn the weeping of sorrow into the weeping of joy. 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: Thine Be the Glory Hilo Brass
* 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 Stefan Tanouye
On this day of resurrection, O God, accept these gifts. May they raise up lives here in our community, around our islands, and around the circles of the world. Amen.
* Hymn #230: Come, You Faithful, Raise the Strain (v. 1-4)
Announcements Rev. Eric S. Anderson
Benediction Rev. Eric S. Anderson
Postlude: Easter March Hilo Brass
* Please stand if you are able.
Permissions
Simple Gifts
Tune by Joseph Brackett, 1848
Public Domain
Christ Arose
Tune by Robert Lowry, 1874
Arr. by Dave Taylor
Streamed by permission
Christ the Lord is Risen Today
Text by Charles Wesley, 1739
Tune EASTER HYMN from Lyra Davidica, 1708
Public Domain
Jesus Christ Is Risen Today
Tune LLANFAIR by Robert Williams, 1817
Arr. by Ken Young, 2016
Streamed by permission
The Day of Resurrection
Text by John of Damascus, 8th cent.
Trans. by John Mason Neale, 1862
Tune LANCASHIRE by Henry T. Smart, 1836
Public Domain
Thine Be the Glory
Tune MACCABEUS by George Frederic Handel, 1748
Arr. by Dave Taylor, 2019
Streamed by permission
Come, You Faithful, Raise the Strain
Text by John of Damascus, 8th cent.
Trans. by John Mason Neale, 1872
Tune ST. KEVIN by Arthur S. Sullivan, 1872
Public Domain
Easter March
Arr. by Brad Howland
Streamed by permission
Dates to Remember
Today: March 31— Easter Sunday—He is risen!
Today: March 31 – Board of Stewardship & Missions
Pastor Rev. Eric S. Anderson
Moderator Stefan Tanouye
Lay Reader Stefan Tanouye
Choir Accompanist Kanako Okita
Choir Director Doug Albertson
Organist Kayleen Yuda
Hilo Brass Members Paul Arceo, 1st Trumpet
Claton Mine, 2nd Trumpet
Kuulei Arceo, French Horn
Reid Tsuji, Trombone Eliseo Queja, Tuba
Hand Bell Director Anna Kennedy
Chapel Decorations Cindy Debus
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.
