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.
This service includes the celebration of Holy Communion. If you will be worshiping from home, please prepare and have ready some bread or other staple food and grape juice or another beverage for that portion of the service.
Welcome to the live stream of worship from Church of the Holy Cross for Sunday, March 1, 2026. You will find the service outline below, and you may download and print the PDF to follow more easily.
Service of Worship March 1, 2026
Second 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: For The Bread Which You Have Broken Kayleen Yuda
Lighting of the Candles
Ringing of the Bell
Welcome Rev. Eric S. Anderson
* Call to Worship (based on Psalm 121) Gloria Kobayashi
Leader: Lift up your eyes to the hills: from where will your help come?
People: Our help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth.
Leader: God will not let you lose your footing. God does not sleep when you need care.
People: The One who holds the world does not slumber or sleep.
Leader: May the LORD keep you from all evil. May the LORD keep your life.
People: May the LORD keep your going out and your coming in forevermore.
All: Let us worship God!
* Hymn #427: God Made from One Blood (v. 1-4)
* Invocation (based on Genesis 12:1-4) Gloria Kobayashi
Abraham set out from the places he knew and journeyed to a new home at your invitation, O God. He trusted you. He counted on you. May we accept the invitations you extend to us, and receive the blessing of your confident companionship. Bless us in this time of worship, O God, and may all the families of the earth be blessed through us. Amen.
Please be seated
WE SHARE THE WORD OF GOD
Anthem Rev. Eric S. Anderson
Time with the Children Rev. Eric S. Anderson
Scripture Gloria Kobayashi
Romans 4:1-5, 13-17
What then are we to say was gained by Abraham, our ancestor according to the flesh? For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. For what does the scripture say? ‘Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness.’ Now to one who works, wages are not reckoned as a gift but as something due. But to one who without works trusts him who justifies the ungodly, such faith is reckoned as righteousness.
For the promise that he would inherit the world did not come to Abraham or to his descendants through the law but through the righteousness of faith. If it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, faith is null and the promise is void. For the law brings wrath; but where there is no law, neither is there violation. For this reason it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his descendants, not only to the adherents of the law but also to those who share the faith of Abraham (for he is the father of all of us, as it is written, ‘I have made you the father of many nations’)—in the presence of the God in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist.
John 3:1-17
Now there was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a leader of the Jews. He came to Jesus by night and said to him, ‘Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God; for no one can do these signs that you do apart from the presence of God.’ Jesus answered him, ‘Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above. Nicodemus said to him, ‘How can anyone be born after having grown old? Can one enter a second time into the mother’s womb and be born?’ Jesus answered, ‘Very truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit. What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not be astonished that I said to you, “You must be born from above.” The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.’ Nicodemus said to him, ‘How can these things be?’ Jesus answered him, ‘Are you a teacher of Israel, and yet you do not understand these things?
‘Very truly, I tell you, we speak of what we know and testify to what we have seen; yet you do not receive our testimony. If I have told you about earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you about heavenly things? No one has ascended into heaven except the one who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. ‘For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. ‘Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.
Sermon: Not Only 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
Call to Offering Gloria Kobayashi
The gift of God’s grace is expansive and overwhelming. It is an invitation to each of us to likewise share with great love and mercy. 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: Sancta Maria 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
Your love is greater than the universe you made, O God, and your grace is beyond our comprehension. We cannot match your love or grace with these gifts, but we offer them in thanksgiving, in celebration, and in sharing with your people. Amen.
* Hymn #345: Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence (v. 1-3)
Please be seated
Sacrament of Holy Communion
Invitation
Consecrating the Bread and Cup
Prayer of Thanksgiving
* Hymn #24: The God of Abraham Praise (v. 1-4)
Announcements Rev. Eric S. Anderson
Benediction Rev. Eric S. Anderson
Postlude: Psalm XIX Kayleen Yuda
* Please stand if you are able.
Permissions
For The Bread Which You Have Broken
Contributors: Robert Lau
Tune: CTC, Bethany Lorenz Publishing Company,
a division of The Lorenz Corporation
(Admin. by Music Services)
Streamed by permission ONELICENSE A-735890
God Made from One Blood
Text by Thomas H. Troeger, 1988
© 1988 by Oxford University Press
Tune ST. DENIO, trad. Welsh Ballad
Public Domain
Streamed by permission ONELICENSE A-735890
Sancta Maria
Contributors: Oliver Ditson & Meyerbeer
Arranged by: William H Clarke Co., Boston
Streamed by permission ONELICENSE A-735890
Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence
Text 4th century; trans. by Gerard Moultrie, 1864
Tune PICARDY 17th century French carol
Harmony by Ralph Vaughn Williams, 1906
Public Domain
The God of Abraham Praise
Text by Moses Maimonides, 12th cent.
Trans. by Max Landsberg & Newton Mann, 1884
Tune LEONI, trad. Yigdal melody
Public Domain
Psalm XIX
Type: Music; First Line: Psalm XIX 97-5989
Contributors: Benedetto Marcello Arranged by: Walter E. Buszin
Concordia Publishing House
Streamed by permission ONELICENSE A-735890
Important Dates and Announcements
Sundays, 8:30 a.m. Hilo Cross Singers’ Rehearsal in the Lounge.
Mondays, 11:30 a.m. –Pickleball lessons; contact Connie 808-936-7534 or
Ruth (rnduponte07@gmail.com) to sign up.
Wednesdays, 5:00 p.m. Bible Study in person and via Zoom in the Pastor’s Study (see the Weekly Chime for Zoom meeting link); Lenten “Wisdom in the Scriptures” Bible Study for 5 weeks beginning February 25 at 6:30 pm (same Zoom meeting link as 5 pm Bible Study).
Chapel Decorations for 2026 – Please contact Cindy Debus at 808-895-4011 if you are able to grace our Sunday services with a donated floral arrangement for the chancel area. Easter lily plants are available for purchase to decorate the sanctuary for Easter Sunday (sign up on bulletin board; $13.50 per plant; last day to sign up is Sunday, March 15; take home your lily after Easter morning service).
Other Faith Groups that meet at Church of the Holy Cross
The United Church of Christ, Pohnpei – Sanctuary, 12 noon
Rev. Bensis Henry
Congregational Christian Church of American Samoa – Sanctuary, 2:00 p.m.
Rev. Sitau Ofoia, Jr.
The Bedesta Church – Sanctuary, 4 p.m.
Rev. Edmes Edwin
Pastor Rev. Eric S. Anderson
Moderator Stefan Tanouye
Lay Reader Gloria Kobayashi
Chapel Decoration Irene Okada
Organist Kayleen Yuda
Music Director-Accompanist Bob Grove
Hand Bell Choir Director Anna Kennedy
IYAA Music Director Stuart Mori
Projected Imagery Sue Smith
Web Master Ruth Niino-DuPonte
Videographers Eric Tanouye, Bob Smith,
Mace Peng, Woody Kita, Cindy Debus
Streaming Sound Director Ben Yamaki
Sunday School Teacher Gloria Kobayashi
Sunday School Aide Johanna Narruhn
Office Manager Mercedes Gonzales
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.
