Worship for November 16, 2025

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 around 9:50 AM.

Welcome to the live stream of worship from Church of the Holy Cross for Sunday, November 16, 2025. You will find the service outline below, and you may download and print the PDF to follow more easily. 

Rev. Eric S. Anderson, Pastor

WE GATHER TO WORSHIP GOD

Prelude: Christians We Have Met to Worship      Bob Grove

Lighting of the Candles

Ringing of the Bell

Welcome                            Rev. Eric S. Anderson

*Call to Worship: (based on Isaiah 12:1-6)          Mace Peng

Leader:   The day will come when we will say, “Thank you, O God!
People:  “You were angry with me, but now you open your heart and you comfort me.”

Leader:   Surely God is my salvation. I will trust and not fear.
People:  The LORD is my strength, my might, and my salvation.

Leader:   Sing praises to the LORD who has done marvels; let it be known in all the earth.
People:  We will sing and shout for joy, for great in our midst is the Holy One, our God!

All:           Let us worship God!

* Hymn #532: Come, Labor On (v. 1-4)

* Invocation (based on Psalm 98)    Mace Peng

We sing our songs to you, O God, the old songs of our childhood and the new songs that rise from your salvation. You have remembered your steadfast love for us. All the ends of the Earth have seen your faithfulness. Let the sea roar and all that fills it. Let the floods clap their hands and the hills sing for joy. Judge the world with righteousness, O God, and the peoples with equity. Amen.

Please be seated

WE SHARE THE WORD OF GOD

Anthem: Inspired to Do Well  Rev. Eric S. Anderson

Time with the Children           Rev. Eric S. Anderson                                               

Scripture: Isaiah 65:17-25      Mace Peng
For I am about to create new heavens
    and a new earth;
the former things shall not be remembered
    or come to mind.
But be glad and rejoice forever
    in what I am creating;
for I am about to create Jerusalem as a joy,
    and its people as a delight.
I will rejoice in Jerusalem,
    and delight in my people;
no more shall the sound of weeping be heard in it,
    or the cry of distress.
 No more shall there be in it
    an infant that lives but a few days,
    or an old person who does not live out a lifetime;
for one who dies at a hundred years will be considered a youth,
    and one who falls short of a hundred will be considered accursed.
They shall build houses and inhabit them;
    they shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit.
They shall not build and another inhabit;
    they shall not plant and another eat;
for like the days of a tree shall the days of my people be,
    and my chosen shall long enjoy the work of their hands.
 They shall not labor in vain,
    or bear children for calamity;
for they shall be offspring blessed by the Lord—
    and their descendants as well.
 Before they call I will answer,
    while they are yet speaking I will hear.
 The wolf and the lamb shall feed together,
    the lion shall eat straw like the ox;
    but the serpent—its food shall be dust!
They shall not hurt or destroy
    on all my holy mountain,
says the Lord

2 Thessalonians 3:6-13
Now we command you, beloved, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to keep away from believers who are living in idleness and not according to the tradition that they received from us. For you yourselves know how you ought to imitate us; we were not idle when we were with you, and we did not eat anyone’s bread without paying for it; but with toil and labor we worked night and day, so that we might not burden any of you. This was not because we do not have that right, but in order to give you an example to imitate. For even when we were with you, we gave you this command: Anyone unwilling to work should not eat. For we hear that some of you are living in idleness, mere busybodies, not doing any work. Now such persons we command and exhort in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work quietly and to earn their own living. Brothers and sisters, do not be weary in doing what is right.

Sermon: An Example to Imitate         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 #513: O Source of All That Is (v. 1-4)

Call to Offering                Mace Peng

God has called us to work, not just for our daily needs, but so that we can bless others. Some have greater resources than we do, and they should work alongside us. Others have more needs than means, and so we work to share our gifts with them. 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: Offertory in D          Bob Grove

* 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          Mace Peng

Gracious God, accept these gifts, we pray, so that those who need a lift in spirit, or an embrace of heart, or the nourishment of the body may find it. 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: We Are God’s People         Bob Grove

* Please stand if you are able.

PERMISSIONS

IMPORTANT DATES

Sundays, 8:30 AM – Holy Cross Singers Rehearsal in the Lounge

Mondays, 11:30 AM — Pickleball lessons; contact Connie 808-936-7534 or
Ruth at rnduponte07@gmail.com to sign up.

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.