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holycrosshilo Worship Services

Worship for February 15, 2026

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, February 15, 2026. You will find the service outline below, and you may download and print the PDF to follow more easily. 

Worship Bulletin for February 15 2026 (PDF)Download
Story: Finding Sweetness (PDF)Download
Sermon: The Mountain (PDF)Download
Pastoral Prayer (PDF)Download

Service of Worship February 15, 2026
Transfiguration 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.

Prelude: Prelude of Two American Hymns           Kayleen Yuda

Lighting of the Candles

Ringing of the Bell

Welcome                Rev. Eric S. Anderson

* I’d like to invite those who are able, to please stand and join me in the Call to Worship            Nalyn Ang

Leader:    Why do the nations conspire and the peoples plot in vain?
People:   The rulers of the earth take counsel against the LORD and the LORD’s anointed.

Leader:    They would loosen the bonds of righteousness and justice,
People:   But God is God, and will not abandon the people they rule.

Leader:    Be wise, O kings; be warned, rulers of the earth.
People:   Serve the LORD with reverence and faithfulness, for happy are those who take refuge in God.

All:            Let us worship God!

* Hymn #182: We Have Come at Christ’s Own Bidding (v. 1-3)

* Please join me in the Invocation (based on Psalm 99)                    Nalyn Ang

Mighty Ruler, lover of justice, you have executed righteousness and justice in the faith of Jacob. Over the centuries you have answered the cries of those who sought your will and your aid. You were a forgiving God. You also held them to account, even the great ones like Moses and Samuel. We worship you, our God, at the foot of one of your mountains. Praise to you now and always! Amen.

Please be seated

WE SHARE THE WORD OF GOD

Anthem: Some Children See Him      Holy Cross Singers

Time with the Children            Rev. Eric S. Anderson

Scripture: Exodus 24:12-18     Nalyn Ang
 The Lord said to Moses, ‘Come up to me on the mountain, and wait there; and I will give you the tablets of stone, with the law and the commandment, which I have written for their instruction.’ So Moses set out with his assistant Joshua, and Moses went up into the mountain of God. To the elders he had said, ‘Wait here for us, until we come to you again; for Aaron and Hur are with you; whoever has a dispute may go to them.’

 Then Moses went up on the mountain, and the cloud covered the mountain. The glory of the Lord settled on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it for six days; on the seventh day he called to Moses out of the cloud. Now the appearance of the glory of the Lord was like a devouring fire on the top of the mountain in the sight of the people of Israel. Moses entered the cloud, and went up on the mountain. Moses was on the mountain for forty days and forty nights.

Matthew 17:1-9
Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and his brother John and led them up a high mountain, by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became dazzling white. Suddenly there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him. Then Peter said to Jesus, ‘Lord, it is good for us to be here; if you wish, I will make three dwellings here, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.’ While he was still speaking, suddenly a bright cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud a voice said, ‘This is my Son, the Beloved; with him I am well pleased; listen to him!’ When the disciples heard this, they fell to the ground and were overcome by fear. But Jesus came and touched them, saying, ‘Get up and do not be afraid.’ And when they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus himself alone.

As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus ordered them, ‘Tell no one about the vision until after the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.’

Sermon: The Mountain 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 #327: Jesus Loves Me (v. 1-3 Eng., v. 1 Hwn.)

Call to Offering    Nalyn Ang

“Listen to Jesus.” That was the word the frightened disciples heard upon the mountain. They heard him with their ears; we hear him in our Scriptures and in our hearts. One of the things he says over and over is: “Share.” 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: God’s Love Surrounds Us             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

* Please join me in the Offertory Prayer            Nalyn Ang

We thank you, God, that you have placed your shining grace in our hearts to spark our faith. May these gifts together provide light and grace to others who need your loving presence. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

* Hymn #584: I Am the Light of the World (v. 1 -4)

Please be seated

Announcements Rev. Eric S. Anderson

Benediction          Rev. Eric S. Anderson

Postlude:                Kayleen Yuda                                                                                                                       

* Please stand if you are able.

PERMISSIONS

Prelude of Two American Hymns
Hugh S. Livingston, Jr.
Streamed by permission ONELICENSE A-735890

We Have Come at Christ’s Own Bidding
Text by Carl P. Daw, Jr., 1988
© 1988 Hope Publishing Company
Tune HYFRYDOL by Roland H. Prichard, 1844
Arr. by Ralph Vaughn Williams, 1906
© Oxford University Press
Streamed by permission ONELICENSE A-735890

Some Children See Him
from The Alfred Burt Carols Set II
Text by Wihla Hutson
Music by Alfred S. Burt
© 1957 Hollis Music, Inc.
Streamed by permission CCS License #13303

Jesus Loves Me
Text St. 1 by Anna B. Warner, 1860
St. 2-3 by David Rutherford McGuire, 1971
Hwn trans. by Laiana, 19th cent.
Tune JESUS LOVES ME by William B Bradbury, 1862
Streamed by permission ONELICENSE A-735890

God’s Love Surrounds Us
Carl Simone
Tune: © 1985 Lorenz Publishing Company,
a division of The Lorenz Corporation
(Admin. by Music Services)
Streamed by permission ONELICENSE A-735890

I Am the Light of the World
Text by Jim Strathdee, 1969
© 1969 Desert Flower Music
Tune LIGHT OF THE WORLD by Jim Strathdee, 1969
© 1969 Desert Flower Music
Streamed by permission ONELICENSE A-735890

Trumpet Finale
Arr. S. Drummond Wolff
© Concordia Publishing Company
Streamed by permission ONELICENSE A-735890

IMPORTANT DATES

Today, February 15 – Deacons Meeting after worship service


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.

Tuesdays, 4:00 PM – Holy Cross Singers Rehearsal in the Lounge

Wednesdays, 11:00 AM– One Song from Church of the Holy Cross streamed live

Wednesdays, 5 PM – Bible Study in Pastor’s Study and via Zoom (The meeting link and Bible references will be in the Weekly Chime).

Fridays, 10 AM – Hand Bell Choir Rehearsal in Building of Faith’s meeting room

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
Vice Moderator Lorraine Davis
Lay Reader         Nalyn Ang
Chapel Decorations   Hats Kamimura
Organist / Pianist     Kayleen Yuda   
Choir Director Bob Grove
Hand Bell Director        Anna Kennedy 
IYAA Choir Director Stuart Mori  
Projected Imagery        Sue Smith
Live Stream Director         Ruth Niino-DuPonte. Bob Smith 
Videographers    Eric Tanouye, Bob Smith, Woody Kita,
            Mace Peng, Cindy Debus
Sound Engineer Ben Yamaki
Sunday School Teacher          Gloria Kobayashi
Sunday School Aide      Johanna Narruhn

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.

Rev. Eric Anderson What I'm Thinking

What I’m Thinking: Mountaintop

Jesus and three of his disciples had a mountaintop experience of God’s presence and love. Can we bring our mountaintop experiences into our troubled times?

Here’s a transcript:

This Sunday is the last one before the beginning of Lent. That makes it Transfiguration Sunday, so I’m thinking about the seventeenth chapter of Matthew’s Gospel (Matthew 17:1-9), Matthew’s account of Jesus’ Transfiguration.

Jesus went up a mountain with his three closest friends: Peter, James, and John. While they were there, Jesus began to glow with some kind of inner light. Two other figures joined them on the mountain that they recognized as Moses and Elijah. Simon Peter offered to build some shelter and prolong the moment. A voice from a cloud, however, said that “This is my beloved son: Listen to him.” A moment later, the cloud was gone, the light was gone, Moses and Elijah were gone, and Jesus was saying to Peter, James, and John, “Get up, and do not be afraid.”

The Transfiguration of Jesus is a mystery. It has been a mystery since those first three disciples experienced it (alongside Jesus, of course). It was a mystery to them as they continued to follow him through Galilee and on to Jerusalem. I’m sure it was a mystery to those that they first told about it after Jesus’ resurrection. It was a mystery to Matthew, Mark, and Luke as they recorded it in their Gospels. And it’s been a mystery to all the rest of us over the centuries who have read it and sought to understand it — especially to those of us who have to preach about it.

We usually call significant religious experiences “mountain top experiences” based, in part, on this example from the Scriptures (there are other examples in the Scriptures as well). Mountains tend to be places where people have significant religious experiences, but they can have them in other places.

The point is that great epiphanies, great revelations of the heart and mind of God, are rare. We, most of the time live with the guidance we receive from Scripture, or from what we’ve been taught, from the example of other people around us. It’s not that common for a voice to sound from a cloud and say, “This is my beloved son: Listen to him.”

But most of us have something like that in our lives, some moment faith touched us more deeply than it had before, some kind of mountaintop experience unique to each one of us.

Hold on to the mountain top experience. Remember to bring its assurance down into the valley, not because the mountaintop experience makes you right about everything else, but because the mountaintop experience reminds you of the ever-present grace and love of God.

The first thing that Jesus said to his friends after that overwhelming experience was, “Do not be afraid.” Friends, I think that is what mountaintop experiences are for. When we’re down in the valleys and things are not going well, we can recall what we experienced that went so deep.

And in that memory we do not need to be afraid.

That’s what I’m thinking. I’m curious to hear what you’re thinking. Leave me your thoughts in the comment section below. I’d love to hear from you.

Rev. Eric Anderson Sermons, Uncategorized

Sermon: Fulfilling the Law and the Prophets

February 8, 2026

Isaiah 58:1-12
Matthew 5:13-20

In her blog, preaching Professor Alyce M. McKenzie tells a story about a skit she and some students presented one year, which featured her giving feedback to Jesus on the Sermon on the Mount as if he were a member of her preaching class. In the skit, she said, “You remember we learned earlier in the semester that every sermon needs to have one single focus and you are all over the map with this one — salt, light, not coming to abolish the prophets, breaking and keeping commandments. It seems almost like you put a bunch of short sayings together in a row. And one more thing — your final sentence: ‘Unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.’ Where is the good news in this sermon ending? It sets out an impossible goal and then tells listeners they’ll be in trouble if they can’t do the impossible.”

The punchline, she wrote, is that while she was marking things on the blackboard with her back to the class, “Jesus” beckoned the other students to follow and they left her alone in the room.

There is some truth, however, to her critique. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus wasn’t making things easy for anyone. To a people whose Scriptures told them about their ancestors repeated failures to live up to the standards of the Law and the Prophets, Jesus said, “Fulfill them.” That’s where the light came from. It’s the source of the salt. And, oh yes, “Unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and the Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” Now, we’ve been taught for years that the Pharisees and the scribes were the villains of the New Testament, and certainly by the time the Gospels were written there was a lot of dissension between the emerging Christians and the senior theologians of Judaism. To Jesus’ hearers, though, the Pharisees and the scribes weren’t bad guys, they were the tip top examples of what goodness meant. These were the people who seriously contemplated God’s law, who worked through the implications of the things the prophets had said. To exceed the righteousness of the scribes and the Pharisees set the bar incredibly high. Dr. McKenzie properly called it an “impossible goal.”

“’No!’ we might say, ‘Jesus didn’t really mean that,’” writes Karoline Lewis at Working Preacher. She continues, “But what if Jesus did? What if Jesus’ intention was for us as disciples to imagine and live into a righteousness that makes the kingdom of heaven possible? If this is true, no wonder Jesus tells this to his disciples from the beginning. They will need the rest of the Gospel to make sense of and embrace such a request.”

Fulfilling the Law and the Prophets. Jesus first – his followers next. Jesus first – and then you and me.

The usual complaint is that the Law and the Prophets are hard to understand. Are they? Really? “Look, you serve your own interest on your fast day and oppress all your workers,” wrote Isaiah hundreds of years before Jesus was born. Is it hard to understand that self-interest is a problem? Is it hard to understand that exploiting people, whether they’re your employees or your family or your neighbor is a problem?

Quarreling and fighting. Clearly problems. And then there are the behaviors that aren’t problems, that are precisely what God was calling for in the Law and repeating through the prophets: Loose the bonds of injustice. Don’t burden people. Don’t enslave them. Share your bread. House the homeless. Clothe the naked. Care for your family. “Then your light shall rise in the darkness and your gloom be like the noonday.”

Or as Jesus put it, “You are the light of the world.”

A light not to be hidden.

Eric Barreto writes at Working Preacher, “Jesus gives the central insight that lights don’t magically end up underneath bushels. The only way for our light to be covered is if we put a bushel over it. We can hear the incredulous tone in Jesus’ voice, ‘No one after lighting a lamp puts it under a bushel’ (verse 15). Ridiculous! Jesus is clear: we are not victims inevitably doomed to being distracted and drained by the bushels of inferiority or self-absorption or fantasy. Bushels can only block out the light when we put them there.”

There’s a lot of truth to that. You and I are more than capable of hiding our light, not by being humble, but by seeing something to do and leaving it undone. Somebody else will do it, we might think. Or there just isn’t time (which might be true). Worst of all, I’m too important to do this simple thing.

I can also think of more than one way in which others drop baskets over our light. Plenty of people have suffered being discounted by others. It is, in fact, an all-too-common experience. You sometimes hear of it being done by family members, who’ll tell one of the ‘ohana that their work is bad, that their opinions are unwelcome, that they themselves are worthless. We’re also familiar with broader prejudices within societies, which usually qualify certain groups as worth less or even worthless: children, foreigners, people with a different hue of skin, women.

In the January 31st edition of “Letters from an American,” historian Heather Cox Richardson quoted 19th century US Senator from South Carolina James Henry Hammond, who in 1858 told his colleagues that all societies need a “mudsill” class to do the work and to benefit their betters. African Americans served that purpose in the pre-Civil War South, but the North, he said, had “the man who lives by daily labor…in short, your whole hireling class of manual laborers and ‘operatives,’ as you call them, are essentially slaves.”

Senator Hammond’s words were literally a bushel basket meant to extinguish the light of the world. They have their echoes today. Do not mistake them. They will do what’s chemically impossible: cause salt to lose its taste. They will do what breaks hearts, families, and societies: hide the light.

When Jesus told us to let our light shine, he didn’t just mean, “Do nice things.” He meant, “See that the hungry are fed and the homeless housed. See that the oppressed are freed and the burdened relieved. Do not let the powerful say, ‘Sorry,’ and do nothing as if that took care of it. Do what John the Baptist did. Tell the powerful to repent for their sins.”

Cheryl Lindsay writes at UCC.org:

If our fasting does not enable us to discern God’s will more clearly,
If our prayers do not stir us to address unmet needs around us,
If our blessings do not compel us to bless our neighbor,
If our sacramental rites do not move us to solidarity with the marginalized,
If our praise of the abiding of Creator does not lead to care and respect of all creation,
If our confession does not spur us beyond absolution to repair,
If our assurance of God’s grace does not lead us to extend mercy,
Then why would the Holy and Just God even participate in it?

Yet, if we remove the yoke among us…
If we seek justice, speak truth, and love abundantly,
If we embrace the immigrant among us,
If we make space and consideration for the ignored and isolated,
If we lend our voice for the persecuted, defamed, and disenfranchised,
If we stand up to corruption and bear witness to wrongdoing,
If we raise our voice and move beyond our discomfort,
Then we too may receive the promise of the covenant and the Holy One’s declaration of “Here I am.”

Remove the yoke.

Remove the yoke.

Amen.

by Eric Anderson

Watch the Recorded Sermon

Pastor Eric makes changes from his prepared text as he preaches, both accidentally and on purpose.

The image is Study for the Sermon on the Mount, a preliminary study for the cycle of paintings in Loccum Monastery by Eduard von Gebhardt (before 1925) – Van Ham Kunstauktionen (SØR Rusche Collection – Eduard von Gebhardt, Auktion 25.02.2021), Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=103398414.

holycrosshilo Worship Services

Worship for February 8, 2026

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, February 8, 2026. You will find the service outline below, and you may download and print the PDF to follow more easily. 

Worship Service for February 8, 2026 (PDF)Download
Story: The Salty Koa’e Ula (PDF)Download
Sermon: Fulfilling the Law and the Prophets (PDF)Download
Pastoral Prayer (PDF)Download

Service of Worship February 8, 2026
FIfth Sunday after the Epiphany

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.

* Please stand if you are able.

Prelude: Trinity Blessed                                                                                                                           Kayleen Yuda

Lighting of the Candles

Ringing of the Bell

Welcome                                                                                                                                  Rev. Eric S. Anderson

* Call to Worship: (based on Psalm 112:1-10)                                                                                                                                 Faith Mishina

Leader:         Praise the LORD! Happy are those who delight in God’s commandments.
People:        They rise in the darkness as a light for those around them.

Leader:         It is well with those who deal graciously with their neighbors,
People:        Who conduct their business with justice. They will never be moved.

Leader:         Their hearts are steady. They will not be afraid.
People:        Their righteousness endures forever, for God holds their names in
                        honor.

All:                 Let us worship God!

* Hymn #181: You Are Salt for the Earth, O People (v. 1-4)

* Invocation: (based on 1 Corinthians 2:1-16)                                                                                                                                 Faith Mishina

We base our faith upon your power, O God, and upon your wisdom. Both your power and your wisdom are far above our ability to match or understand. We trust in your love and grace, revealed so surprisingly in Jesus’ life, teaching, death, and resurrection. Grant us the mind of Christ to more fully appreciate your gifts, O God, as we rejoice to worship you. Amen.

Please be seated

WE SHARE THE WORD OF GOD

Anthem: Arabesques 1 in E Major, L.66 No. 1                                                                                                                                                                  Mace Peng

Time with the Children                                                                                                                                   Rev. Eric S. Anderson

Scripture: Isaiah 58:1-12                                                                                                                                 Faith Mishina
Shout out, do not hold back!
    Lift up your voice like a trumpet!
Announce to my people their rebellion,
    to the house of Jacob their sins.
Yet day after day they seek me
    and delight to know my ways,
as if they were a nation that practiced righteousness
    and did not forsake the ordinance of their God;
they ask of me righteous judgments,
    they delight to draw near to God.
‘Why do we fast, but you do not see?
    Why humble ourselves, but you do not notice?’
Look, you serve your own interest on your fast-day,
    and oppress all your workers.
Look, you fast only to quarrel and to fight
    and to strike with a wicked fist.
Such fasting as you do today
    will not make your voice heard on high.
Is such the fast that I choose,
    a day to humble oneself?
Is it to bow down the head like a bulrush,
    and to lie in sackcloth and ashes?
Will you call this a fast,
    a day acceptable to the Lord?

Is not this the fast that I choose:
    to loosen the bonds of injustice,
    to undo the thongs of the yoke,
to let the oppressed go free,
    and to break every yoke?
Is it not to share your bread with the hungry,
    and bring the homeless poor into your house;
when you see the naked, to cover them,
    and not to hide yourself from your own kin?
Then your light shall break forth like the dawn,
    and your healing shall spring up quickly;
your vindicator shall go before you,
    the glory of the Lord shall be your rearguard.
Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer;
    you shall cry for help, and he will say, Here I am.

If you remove the yoke from among you,
    the pointing of the finger, the speaking of evil,
if you offer your food to the hungry
    and satisfy the needs of the afflicted,
then your light shall rise in the darkness
    and your gloom be like the noonday.
The Lord will guide you continually,
    and satisfy your needs in parched places,
    and make your bones strong;
and you shall be like a watered garden,
    like a spring of water,
    whose waters never fail.
Your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt;
    you shall raise up the foundations of many generations;
you shall be called the repairer of the breach,
    the restorer of streets to live in.

Matthew 5:13-20

‘You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything, but is thrown out and trampled underfoot.

 ‘You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hidden. No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.

 ‘Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I have come not to abolish but to fulfill. For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not one letter, not one stroke of a letter, will pass from the law until all is accomplished. Therefore, whoever breaks[b] one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, will be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

Sermon: Fulfilling the Law and the Prophets                                                                                                                                  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 #573: Lead On Eternal Sovereign (v. 1-3)

Call to Offering                                                                                                                                 Faith Mishina

You are the light of the world. Jesus said so. Let your light shine with justice. Let your light shine with mercy. Let your light shine with giving. 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: Chapel Bells                                                                                                                           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                                                                                                                                   Faith Mishina

We cannot hide from the view of those around us, O God. We cannot hide the work of your Church in the world. May these gifts help us fulfill your call and your purposes, O God. May they help one and all to see your glory in us and in Creation. Amen.

* Hymn #524: This Little Light (v. 1 -3)

Please be seated

Announcements                                                                                                                                  Rev. Eric S. Anderson

Benediction                                                                                                                                  Rev. Eric S. Anderson

Postlude: Festive Trumpets                                                                                                                           Kayleen Yuda

* Please stand if you are able.

PERMISSIONS

Trinity Blessed
Benton Price
Tune: © 1978 Lorenz Publishing Company,
a division of The Lorenz Corporation
(Admin. by Music Services)
Streamed by permission ONELICENSE A-735890

You Are Salt for the Earth, O People
Text by Marty Haugen, 1986
Tune BRING FORTH by Marty Haugen, 1986
© 1986 GIA Productions
Streamed by permission ONELICENSE A-735890

Arabesques 1 in E Major, L.66 No. 1
Claude Debussy
Public Domain

Lead On Eternal Sovereign
Text by Ernest W. Shurtleff, 1887
Tune LANCASHIRE by Henry T. Smart, 1836
Public Domain

Chapel Bells
Louise E. Stairs
Tune: © 1978 Lorenz Publishing Company,
a division of The Lorenz Corporation
(Admin. by Music Services)
Streamed by permission ONELICENSE A-735890

This Little Light/This Joy I Have
Text trad. African-American spiritual
Tune THIS JOY trad. African-American spiritual
Arr. Jeffrey Radford, 1993
© 1993 The Pilgrim Press
Streamed by permission ONELICENSE A-735890

Festive Trumpets
Edward H. Wetherill
Tune: © 1978 Lorenz Publishing Company,
a division of The Lorenz Corporation
(Admin. by Music Services)
Streamed by permission ONELICENSE A-735890

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.

Tuesdays, 4:00 PM – Holy Cross Singers Rehearsal in the Lounge

Wednesdays, 11:00 AM– One Song from Church of the Holy Cross streamed live

Wednesdays, 5 PM – Bible Study in Pastor’s Study and via Zoom (The meeting link and Bible references will be in the Weekly Chime).

Fridays, 10 AM – Hand Bell Choir Rehearsal in Building of Faith’s meeting room

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
Vice Moderator Lorraine Davis
Lay Reader         John Narruhn
Chapel Decorations   Nina Buchanan,
In Memory of her son, Walker
Organist / Pianist     Kayleen Yuda   
Choir Director Bob Grove
Hand Bell Director        Anna Kennedy 
IYAA Choir Director Stuart Mori  
Projected Imagery        Sue Smith
Live Stream Director         Ruth Niino-DuPonte. Bob Smith 
Videographers    Eric Tanouye, Bob Smith, Woody Kita,
            Mace Peng, Cindy Debus
Sound Engineer Ben Yamaki
Sunday School Teacher          Gloria Kobayashi
Sunday School Aide      Johanna Narruhn

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.

Rev. Eric Anderson What I'm Thinking

What I’m Thinking: Fulfilled

Jesus declared that he had come to fulfill the law and the prophets – and it’s worth remembering what the law and the prophets had insisted upon.

Here’s a transcript:

I’m thinking about the fifth chapter of Matthew’s Gospel (Matthew 5:13-20), the continuation of the Sermon on the Mount. That began, as we heard last week, with the Beatitudes, that series of blessings. It continued with Jesus first saying to his listeners, “You are the light of the world,” and “The city on a hill cannot be hid…” “so let your light shine.”

Jesus then said that he had not come to abolish the Law or the Prophets, but to fulfill them. The ancient Law and the guidance of the prophets was still relevant hundreds of years after they had been driven or spoken to the people. And so it’s worth remembering some of the things that it says in Law and Prophets that I think do represent that true light that can be seen as it shines from a hill.

A lot of people will tend to tell you it’s all about idolatry, about worshipping foreign gods, and indeed, the Law and the Prophets were concerned with these. The Law and the Prophets, however, were also concerned with the way that we treat one another. Over and over again the Prophets raised the question: what is happening with the widows and the orphans? What is their condition?

It is the welfare of the most vulnerable in a society that measures how well it is following the directives of God. If the widows and the orphans are suffering, if the foreigner among you is oppressed, if people are cheating one another in the businesses and the marketplaces, if they are lying to one another: Well, that is a measure of a society that is failing to keep the word of God.

So many things we shortcut. I’m not talking about dietary regulations or things like that. I’m thinking about the ways that we kind of let things slide and not insist upon a real diligence in our own ethical behavior. Those are the kinds of things that Jesus was concerned about. Jesus always raised the bar. He increased the challenge.

So for us, I think, the question is not just how are the widows and the orphans doing, but how are those other people who fit into groups that are usually dismissed, disregarded, dishonored? How are they doing?

And if they’re not doing well, then we as a society are not doing well in fulfilling the will of God.

That’s what I’m thinking. I’m curious to hear what you’re thinking. Leave me your thoughts in the comment section below. I’d love to hear from you.

Rev. Eric Anderson Sermons

Sermon: Mountaintop Wisdom

February 1, 2026

Micah 6:1-8
Matthew 5:1-12

“Plead your case before the mountains,” wrote Micah some 750 years before Jesus was born, “and let the hills hear your voice.” He wrote about an imagined court in which God and God’s people each tried to make the case that they had kept the covenant, and that the other had broken it. The role of the mountains? They were summoned as judges.

It was Micah’s poetic way of inviting the people of Jerusalem, particularly the wealthiest and most powerful, to consider what God might think of the things they were doing. The prosecution’s opening statement really gets rolling in verses nine and following. “Can I tolerate wicked scales and a bag of dishonest weights?” Apparently merchants were defrauding their customers. “Your wealthy are full of violence; your inhabitants speak lies with tongues of deceit in their mouths.”

I grant you that we’re only getting one side of the case, but it doesn’t sound that hard for the mountains to judge, does it?

The covenant had been first delivered to the people on a mountain. The Temple in Jerusalem, where the people hoped their devotions would excuse their violence and fraud, stood on a mountaintop. God had set high standards from a high place. They didn’t seem to be playing out as intended down in the valleys.

Almost eight centuries later, as Matthew told it, Jesus ascended a mountain to speak to a gathering crowd who wanted to hear him. We’ve grown to call it “The Sermon on the Mount.” Its placement in the Gospel reflects Matthew’s belief that the best way to show that Jesus was the Messiah was to pay attention to what he said. Jesus’ words tell us who he was and who he is.

The first thing he did was to tell his listeners who they were. They were blessed.

As Karoline Lewis writes at Working Preacher, “You are blessed. You have to hear that on the front end. And note that being blessed is not just for the sake of potential joy, but also for the sake of making it through that which will be difficult. Again, these are Jesus’ first words to his disciples. We need to hear in each and every one of the Beatitudes what’s at stake for Jesus and for his ministry.”

You see, this is another mountaintop moment in the Scriptures. It has a pretty close relationship to the gift of the Law to Moses on Mount Sinai. It has its precursory echoes in Micah’s summons of the mountains to judge the people. It’s mountaintop wisdom, and the tragedy of mountaintop wisdom is just how often it stays on the mountain and doesn’t make it down into the valleys.

As Lance Pape writes at Working Preacher, “But if the Beatitudes are a description of reality, what world do they describe? Certainly not our own. ‘Blessed are the meek’ (verse 5), says Jesus, but in our world the meek don’t get the land, they get left holding the worthless beads. ‘Blessed are the merciful’ (verse 7), says Jesus, but in our world mourning may be tolerated for a while, but soon we will ask you to pull yourself together and move on. ‘Blessed are the pure in heart’ (verse 8), says Jesus, but in our world such people are dismissed as hopelessly naïve.”

I think Dr. Pape has his finger on it: “hopelessly naïve.” Isn’t that what we hear when we assert the Beatitudes as truths? They reflect a better world, but we don’t actually live that way. Some say we can’t actually live that way. For instance, Stephen Miller, Deputy White House Chief of Staff, who told CNN interviewer Jake Tapper “We live in a world in which you can talk all you want about international niceties and everything else, but we live in a world, in the real world, Jake, that is governed by strength, that is governed by force, that is governed by power… These are the iron laws of the world since the beginning of time.”

That’s the valley. If you can forgive a Biblical reference in a sermon, that’s the valley of the shadow of death.

Is that where we want to live?

It’s where a lot of people have lived over the course of history. The Hebrew people lived in it when they were slaves in Egypt, when their nations were overrun by the empires of Assyria and Babylon, and when they were occupied by Rome in Jesus’ day. The feudal systems of Europe, Japan, and India left a lot of people in the valley of death. As Osvaldo Vena observes at Working Preacher, “Grief comes for all of us, but mortality rates were higher in the ancient world. Parents simply could not expect their children to survive infancy, let alone make it to adulthood. It was not a given. War, food and housing insecurity, and infectious diseases could cut a life short.” In the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, in the aftermath of truly catastrophic world wars, nations and non-governmental actors strove to bring food, farming assistance, vaccination, and stable health care delivery to places on the earth that had lost child after child to the grinding effects of being poor. In 2010 I heard a United Nations official tell a UCC gathering that the end goal of these efforts was not far off. He could imagine an end to extreme poverty.

The mountaintop wisdom was in sight from the valley.

Mr. Miller and his ilk would drive it away, out of sight, obscured by clouds high on the mountain.

We need to bring mountaintop wisdom to the valley.

As Debie Thomas writes at JourneyWithJesus.net, “Jesus acts.  He doesn’t simply speak blessing.  He lives it.  He embodies it.  He incarnates it…

“This is the vocation we are called to.  The work of the kingdom — the work of sharing the blessings we enjoy — is not the work of a fuzzy, distant someday.  It is the work — and the joy — of the here and now.  The Beatitudes remind us that blessing and justice are inextricably linked.  If it’s blessing we want, then it’s justice we must pursue.”

Mountaintop wisdom.

Let’s bring it to the valley of death.

Amen.

by Eric Anderson

Watch the Recorded Sermon

Pastor Eric makes changes while preaching, sometimes on person. The sermon as delivered does not match the prepared text.

The image is The Sermon on the Mount by Fra Angelico (1437) – Copied from an art book, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=9048898.

holycrosshilo Worship Services

Worship for February 1, 2026

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, February 1, 2026. You will find the service outline below, and you may download and print the PDF to follow more easily. 

Worship Bulletin for February 1 2026 (PDF)Download
Story: The Bright Omao (PDF)Download
Sermon: Mountaintop Wisdom (PDF)Download
Pastoral Prayer (PDF)Download

Service of Worship February 1, 2026
Fourth Sunday after the Epiphany

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: Psalm of Glory            Kayleen Yuda

Lighting of the Candles

Ringing of the Bell

Welcome                Rev. Eric S. Anderson

* Call to Worship: (based on 1 Corinthians 1:18-31)                  Christian Albano        

Leader:   Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scholar or debater?
People:  Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?

Leader:   Some ask for signs. Others desire wisdom.
People:  We proclaim Christ crucified, a stumbling block to some and foolishness to others.

Leader:   God’s foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God’s weakness is stronger than human strength.

People:  Let those who boast, boast in the LORD!

All:           Let us worship God!

* Hymn #180: Blessed Are the Poor in Spirit (v. 1-3)

* Invocation: (based on Psalm 15)               Christian Albano

Who may abide in your tent, O God? Who may dwell on your holy hill? Those who live without blame, who do what is right, who speak the truth from their heart. Lead us to such a life through this time of worship, and in all the hours we spend beyond these walls. By your grace, O God, may we never be moved. Amen.

Please be seated

WE SHARE THE WORD OF GOD

Anthem: I Will Lift My Hands IYAA

Time with the Children          Rev. Eric S. Anderson

Scripture: Micah 6:1-8              Christian Albano

Hear what the Lord says:
    Rise, plead your case before the mountains,
    and let the hills hear your voice.
Hear, you mountains, the controversy of the Lord,
    and you enduring foundations of the earth;
for the Lord has a controversy with his people,
    and he will contend with Israel.

 ‘O my people, what have I done to you?
    In what have I wearied you? Answer me!
For I brought you up from the land of Egypt,
    and redeemed you from the house of slavery;
and I sent before you Moses,
    Aaron, and Miriam.
O my people, remember now what King Balak of Moab devised,
    what Balaam son of Beor answered him,
and what happened from Shittim to Gilgal,
    that you may know the saving acts of the Lord.’

 ‘With what shall I come before the Lord,
    and bow myself before God on high?
Shall I come before him with burnt-offerings,
    with calves a year old?
Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams,
    with tens of thousands of rivers of oil?
Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression,
    the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?’
He has told you, O mortal, what is good;
    and what does the Lord require of you
but to do justice, and to love kindness,
    and to walk humbly with your God?


Matthew 5:1-12

When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain; and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. Then he began to speak, and taught them, saying:

 ‘Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

‘Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

 ‘Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

 ‘Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

 ‘Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.

 ‘Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

 ‘Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.

 ‘Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

 ‘Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Sermon: Mountaintop Wisdom

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    Christian Albano

“Blessed are the merciful,” said Jesus. Blessed are those who care for their neighbors, for their families, and for the strangers across the sea. May we be blessed in this moment, as we make our offerings of mercy for those near and far. 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: Cantilena                   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                      Christian Albano

Merciful and holy one, you have blessed us in our sorrow and trouble, and you have blessed us in our joy and success. Bless those who benefit from the gifts we present to you now, that they may know the blessings of righteousness, comfort, and richness of spirit. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

* Hymn #343: Jesus Took the Bread (v. 1-4)

 Please be seated

SACRAMENT OF HOLY COMMUNION

Invitation

Consecrating the Bread and Cup    

Prayer of Thanksgiving

* Hymn #436: God of Grace and God of Glory (v. 1 -5)

Please be seated

Announcements Rev. Eric S. Anderson

Benediction          Rev. Eric S. Anderson

Postlude: Voluntary                   Kayleen Yuda

* Please stand if you are able.

Permissions

Psalm of Glory
Stanley E. Saxton
Tune: © 1977 Lorenz Publishing Company,
a division of The Lorenz Corporation
(Admin. by Music Services)
Streamed by permission ONELICENSE A-735890

Blessed Are the Poor in Spirit
Text by Rusty Edwards, 1993
Tune ANNIKA’S DANCE by Jane Marshall, 1993
Text & Tune © 1994 by Hope Publishing Company
Streamed by permission ONELICENSE A-735890

I Will Lift My Hands
Text & Tune by Maggie Dakui
Streamed by permission

Cantilena
Davis Paxton
Tune: © 1979 Lorenz Publishing Company,
a division of The Lorenz Corporation
(Admin. by Music Services)
Streamed by permission ONELICENSE A-735890

Jesus Took the Bread
Text by Ruth Duck, 1982
Tune NEW HOPE by Ruth Duck, 1982
Arr. by Randall Sensmeier, 1982
Copyright © 1992 G.I.A. 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

Voluntary
Karl Flodin
Tune: © 1977 Lorenz Publishing Company,
a division of The Lorenz Corporation
(Admin. by Music Services)
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).

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.

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           Christian Albano
Chapel Decoration      Ruth Ohata
Organist      Kayleen Yuda        
Choir Director Bob Grove
Hand Bell 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

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.

Rev. Eric Anderson Pastor's Corner, What I'm Thinking

What I’m Thinking: Promise and Fulfillment

Transcript 1/27/2026

In the Beatitudes, Jesus said that people who were suffering were also blessed. It takes time to appreciate God’s presence.

Here’s a transcript:

I’m thinking about one of the best known passages in one of the best remembered sections of all the Scriptures. I’m thinking about the Beatitudes, which open the Sermon on the Mount in the fifth chapter of Matthew’s Gospel (Matthew 5:1-12).

I’m sure you’ll recognize probably most of these words:

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.

Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.

Familiar, I’m sure. Familiar and comforting. Jesus, I’m sure, intended them to be comforting, but they are comforting in a way that looks forward. They are less comforting in the now. Although Jesus described all of the people having these experiences as “blessed” and blessed in the here and now, the blessings that he associated with these conditions…

So, for example, the blessings for the poor in spirit: Theirs is the Kingdom of heaven, Jesus said. Well, we may own the Kingdom of heaven if we are poor in spirit, but those who are poor in spirit — at least any time that I’ve felt poor in spirit I’ve not been able to perceive even my presence in the Kingdom of heaven, let alone that the Kingdom of heaven was mine. When I was mourning, it took some time before I could appreciate and settle into the comfort. And that’s true for pretty much all of these.

When we are in those conditions of suffering, of sorrow, of loss, of oppression, we are still awaiting the fulfillment of Jesus’ promises. Even that very famous one — blessed are the merciful for they will receive mercy — well, all too frequently the merciful are paid with oppression, and suffering, even death. Mercy, it seems comes later.

I don’t think Jesus meant for his followers to always be looking ahead for the fulfillment of his promises. I think he meant for us to understand that we are always accompanied by God. We are always held by God. We are always relieved in our trials by God.

But there is a step between the experience and the realization of God’s presence and strength and mercy. That gap, to some degree, is just natural humanity. When we are in the midst of struggle or trial, I’m not sure it’s possible to fully appreciate God’s presence. Our attention is focused on what we feel, and what we feel is bad. I think what Jesus encourages us to do in the Beatitudes is to expand our awareness from that which is most evident in the moment, to expand our awareness to the presence of God that always was, always is, and always will be there.

Then we can appreciate the comfort. Then we can experience the Kingdom of heaven. Then we can know we are held in the arms of mercy.

That’s what I’m thinking. I’m curious to hear what you’re thinking. Leave me your thoughts in the comment section below. I’d love to hear from you.