The Verdugo Community Church’s Podcast

In his sermon, “Grace Descends,” Chaplain David Saltzman invites us to take a new look at the story of Jacob’s dream of a ladder leading to Heaven found in Genesis 28. Jacob was not the honored patriarch he became. Instead he was on the run after defrauding his brother and father and was using a rock for a pillow, just as homeless people have to sleep on the hard sidewalk. Jacob did not try to climb the ladder to God; instead God came to Jacob and promised to be with him always. Jacob experienced the grace of God, who meets us where we are and goes with us on our life’s journey.

 

Verdugo makes its Sunday sermons and select worship services available to you on Facebook at https://facebook.com/verdugochurch and posts audio copies of the services and sermons at https://verdugochurch.podbean.com. Please note that video copies may be deleted after 90 days under Facebook rules.

 

All song titles, lyrics, and music are used with permission. CCLI license # 2486815.

 

Verdugo Community Church is a Free Methodist congregation serving the Glassell Park, Eagle Rock, and Glendale areas in Los Angeles. It is located at 4300 Verdugo Road, Los Angeles, CA 90065. Our email address is verdugofmc@gmail.com. Contact Pastor Gail at (323) 500-3343.

 

Worship service copyright 2026 by Verdugo Commu

Pastor Gail Linstrom begins our service by welcoming all to worship and to participate in the life of our church family. Pastor Gail leads a Responsive Call to Worship and Dale Reynolds does a reading from Psalm 139. Luisa Fernandez opens us in prayer. Ed Manacop and Caroline Sandoval lead us in joyous singing. Albert Ramseyer takes up the praises and concerns of our church, our city, and our world in the Prayers of the People. Pastor Gail concludes our service by leading us in Communion, and you are invited to participate.

 

In his sermon, “Grace Descends,” Chaplain David Saltzman invites us to take a new look at the story of Jacob’s dream of a ladder leading to Heaven found in Genesis 28. Jacob was not the honored patriarch he became. Instead he was on the run after defrauding his brother and father and was using a rock for a pillow, just as homeless people have to sleep on the hard sidewalk. Jacob did not try to climb the ladder to God; instead God came to Jacob and promised to be with him always. Jacob experienced the grace of God, who meets us where we are and goes with us on our life’s journey.

 

Verdugo makes its Sunday sermons and select worship services available to you on Facebook at https://facebook.com/verdugochurch and posts audio copies of the service and sermon at https://verdugochurch.podbean.com. Please note that video copies may be deleted after 90 days under Facebook rules.

 

Prayers of the People have been edited to respect the privacy and confidentiality of those participating or mentioned.

 

All song titles, lyrics, and music are used with permission. CCLI license # 2486815.

 

Verdugo Community Church is a Free Methodist congregation serving the Glassell Park, Eagle Rock, and Glendale areas in Los Angeles. It is located at 4300 Verdugo Road, Los Angeles, CA 90065. Our email address is verdugofmc@gmail.com. Contact Pastor Gail at (323) 500-3343.

 

Worship service copyright 2026 by Verdugo Community Church. Sermon copyright 2026 by David Saltzman and Verdugo Community Church.

In her sermon, “Celebrating Freedom in the Lord,” Pastor Gail encourages us to see our patriotism through our faith, not our faith through our patriotism. Jesus came to bring freedom to everyone. In Romans 12, Paul challenges us to love everyone, even our enemies, and overcome hard times by praying harder. These are times that challenge how we live our faith, just as the Church has fount injustice and oppression in the past. In 1860 the Free Methodists broke away from the main church because we wanted to oppose, not support, slavery. We need to pray that God will show us how and when to support those who are being abused and oppressed both here and across the globe. As we do this, we are not acting alone but working with God to bring justice and his peace and hope to everyone.

 

Verdugo makes its Sunday sermons and select worship services available to you on Facebook at https://facebook.com/verdugochurch and posts audio copies of the services and sermons at https://verdugochurch.podbean.com. Please note that video copies may be deleted after 90 days under Facebook rules.

 

All song titles, lyrics, and music are used with permission. CCLI license # 2486815.

 

Verdugo Community Church is a Free Methodist congregation serving the Glassell Park, Eagle Rock, and Glendale areas in Los Angeles. It is located at 4300 Verdugo Road, Los Angeles, CA 90065. Our email address is verdugofmc@gmail.com. Contact Pastor Gail at (323) 500-3343.

 

Worship service copyright 2026 by Verdugo Community Church. Sermon copyright 2026 by Gail Whitcome Linstrom and Verdugo Community Church.

We begin the service by singing “America the Beautiful.” Pastor Gail Linstrom then welcomes all to worship and to participate in the life of our church family. Dale Reynolds focuses us with a reading from Proverbs 3. Ian James-Bergland opens us with a written prayer from Martin Luther King, Jr. Kristina James and Caroline Sandoval lead us in joyous singing. Pastor Gail takes up up the praises and concerns of our church, our city, and our world in the Prayers of the People. She concludes our service by leading us in Communion, and you are invited to participate.

 

In her sermon, “Celebrating Freedom in the Lord,” Pastor Gail encourages us to see our patriotism through our faith, not our faith through our patriotism. Jesus came to bring freedom to everyone. In Romans 12, Paul challenges us to love everyone, even our enemies, and overcome hard times by praying harder. These are times that challenge how we live our faith, just as the Church has fount injustice and oppression in the past. In 1860 the Free Methodists broke away from the main church because we wanted to oppose, not support, slavery. We need to pray that God will show us how and when to support those who are being abused and oppressed both here and across the globe. As we do this, we are not acting alone but working with God to bring justice and his peace and hope to everyone.

 

Verdugo makes its Sunday sermons and select worship services available to you on Facebook at https://facebook.com/verdugochurch and posts audio copies of the service and sermon at https://verdugochurch.podbean.com. Please note that video copies may be deleted after 90 days under Facebook rules.

 

Prayers of the People have been edited to respect the privacy and confidentiality of those participating or mentioned.

 

All song titles, lyrics, and music are used with permission. CCLI license # 2486815.

 

Verdugo Community Church is a Free Methodist congregation serving the Glassell Park, Eagle Rock, and Glendale areas in Los Angeles. It is located at 4300 Verdugo Road, Los Angeles, CA 90065. Our email address is verdugofmc@gmail.com. Contact Pastor Gail at (323) 500-3343.

 

Worship service copyright 2026 by Verdugo Community Church. Sermon copyright 2026 by Gail Whitcome Linstrom and Verdugo Community Church.

 

In his sermon, “The Many Faces of Faith,” Martín Mumm looks at how Abraham, Jeremiah, and Peter showed their faith in action. Abraham in Genesis 22 must confront a demand that he sacrifice his son, Issac. Abraham goes right up to the point of death when God provides the alternative sacrifice. In Jeremiah 20 the prophet complains that his messages from God lead to ridicule and opposition, yet he knows that the God of Angel Armies is backing him up and that he must continue. Peter boasts in Luke 22, that he will never betray Jesus, but after Jesus is arrested he denies him three times before the cock crows, just what Jesus had told him would happen. Peter is heartbroken and repentant. Yet if Peter had not done what he did, God’s plan for his work in the church might never have happened. God knows our faults and has our backs even when we try to turn away, and he wants us to be part of his plan for our world.

 

Verdugo makes its Sunday sermons and select worship services available to you on Facebook at https://facebook.com/verdugochurch and posts audio copies of the services and sermons at https://verdugochurch.podbean.com. Please note that video copies may be deleted after 90 days under Facebook rules.

 

All song titles, lyrics, and music are used with permission. CCLI license # 2486815.

 

Verdugo Community Church is a Free Methodist congregation serving the Glassell Park, Eagle Rock, and Glendale areas in Los Angeles. It is located at 4300 Verdugo Road, Los Angeles, CA 90065. Our email address is verdugofmc@gmail.com. Contact Pastor Gail at (323) 500-3343.

 

Worship service copyright 2026 by Verdugo Community Church. Sermon copyright 2026 by Martín Mumm and Verdugo Community Church.

Pastor Gail Linstrom begins the service by welcoming all to worship and to participate in the life of our church family. Dale Reynolds focuses us with a reading from Psalm 34. Kristina James opens us in prayer. Kristina, Ed Manacop, and Caroline Sandoval lead us in joyous singing. Pastor Gail takes up up the praises and concerns of our church, our city, and our world in the Prayers of the People. She concludes our service by leading us in Communion, and you are invited to participate.

 

In his sermon, “The Many Faces of Faith,” Martín Mumm looks at how Abraham, Jeremiah, and Peter showed their faith in action. Abraham in Genesis 22 must confront a demand that he sacrifice his son, Issac. Abraham goes right up to the point of death when God provides the alternative sacrifice. In Jeremiah 20 the prophet complains that his messages from God lead to ridicule and opposition, yet he knows that the God of Angel Armies is backing him up and that he must continue. Peter boasts in Luke 22, that he will never betray Jesus, but after Jesus is arrested he denies him three times before the cock crows, just what Jesus had told him would happen. Peter is heartbroken and repentant. Yet if Peter had not done what he did, God’s plan for his work in the church might never have happened. God knows our faults and has our backs even when we try to turn away, and he wants us to be part of his plan for our world.

 

Verdugo makes its Sunday sermons and select worship services available to you on Facebook at https://facebook.com/verdugochurch and posts audio copies of the service and sermon at https://verdugochurch.podbean.com. Please note that video copies may be deleted after 90 days under Facebook rules.

 

Prayers of the People have been edited to respect the privacy and confidentiality of those participating or mentioned.

 

All song titles, lyrics, and music are used with permission. CCLI license # 2486815.

 

Verdugo Community Church is a Free Methodist congregation serving the Glassell Park, Eagle Rock, and Glendale areas in Los Angeles. It is located at 4300 Verdugo Road, Los Angeles, CA 90065. Our email address is verdugofmc@gmail.com. Contact Pastor Gail at (323) 500-3343.

 

Worship service copyright 2026 by Verdugo Community Church. Sermon copyright 2026 by Martín Mumm and Verdugo Community Church.

In his sermon, “Losing to Win,” Chaplain David Saltzman explains that in Matthew 10:34 – 39 the sword Jesus talks about it the Word of God. Jesus wants to remove what is preventing us from fully accepting the true life that God wants us to live. It might upset our family hierarchy to face these truths, but we must decide to follow Jesus, placing him ahead of even our families to find our own lives in him.

 

Verdugo makes its Sunday sermons and select worship services available to you on Facebook at https://facebook.com/verdugochurch and posts audio copies of the services and sermons at https://verdugochurch.podbean.com. Please note that video copies may be deleted after 90 days under Facebook rules.

 

All song titles, lyrics, and music are used with permission. CCLI license # 2486815.

 

Verdugo Community Church is a Free Methodist congregation serving the Glassell Park, Eagle Rock, and Glendale areas in Los Angeles. It is located at 4300 Verdugo Road, Los Angeles, CA 90065. Our email address is verdugofmc@gmail.com. Contact Pastor Gail at (323) 500-3343.

 

Worship service copyright 2026 by Verdugo Community Church. Sermon copyright 2026 by David Saltzman and Verdugo Community Church.

 

Pastor Gail Linstrom begins the service by welcoming all to worship and to participate in the life of our church family, and leads us in a Responsive Call to Worship. Dale Reynolds focuses us with a reading from Psalm 86. Luisa Fernandez opens us in prayer. Ed Manacop and Caroline Sandoval lead us in joyous singing. Pastor Gail takes up up the praises and concerns of our church, our city, and our world in the Prayers of the People. She concludes our service by leading us in Communion, and you are invited to participate.

 

In his sermon, “Losing to Win,” Chaplain David Saltzman explains that in Matthew 10:34 – 39 the sword Jesus talks about it the Word of God. Jesus wants to remove what is preventing us from fully accepting the true life that God wants us to live. It might upset our family hierarchy to face these truths, but we must decide to follow Jesus, placing him ahead of even our families to find our own lives in him.

 

Verdugo makes its Sunday sermons and select worship services available to you on Facebook at https://facebook.com/verdugochurch and posts audio copies of the service and sermon at https://verdugochurch.podbean.com. Please note that video copies may be deleted after 90 days under Facebook rules.

 

Prayers of the People have been edited to respect the privacy and confidentiality of those participating or mentioned.

 

All song titles, lyrics, and music are used with permission. CCLI license # 2486815.

 

Verdugo Community Church is a Free Methodist congregation serving the Glassell Park, Eagle Rock, and Glendale areas in Los Angeles. It is located at 4300 Verdugo Road, Los Angeles, CA 90065. Our email address is verdugofmc@gmail.com. Contact Pastor Gail at (323) 500-3343.

 

Worship service copyright 2026 by Verdugo Community Church. Sermon copyright 2026 by David Saltzman and Verdugo Community Church.

In her sermon, “A Voice for All,” Pastor Gail reminds us of the power of words to help or hurt others. In Genesis the story of the Tower of Babel explains how humanity was separated by a multitude of languages. In Acts 2 at Pentecost this was reversed when the Holy Spirit entered into the lives and hearts of those first believers, who began to speak the message of God’s love everyone, whatever their native language. As Jesus explained to the disciples in John 14, the Holy Spirit is given to each believer, enabling them to use their spiritual gifts to share God’s love with others in whatever situation they find themselves. Our responsibility to to follow through with this, because God’s love is an action verb.

 

Verdugo makes its Sunday sermons and select worship services available to you on Facebook at https://facebook.com/verdugochurch and posts audio copies of the services and sermons at https://verdugochurch.podbean.com. Please note that video copies may be deleted after 90 days under Facebook rules.

 

All song titles, lyrics, and music are used with permission. CCLI license # 2486815.

 

Verdugo Community Church is a Free Methodist congregation serving the Glassell Park, Eagle Rock, and Glendale areas in Los Angeles. It is located at 4300 Verdugo Road, Los Angeles, CA 90065. Our email address is verdugofmc@gmail.com. Contact Pastor Gail at (323) 500-3343.

 

Worship service copyright 2026 by Verdugo Community Church. Sermon copyright 2026 by Gail Whitcome Linstrom and Verdugo Community Church.

Pastor Gail Linstrom begins the service by welcoming all to worship and to participate in the life of our church family. Dale Reynolds focuses us with a reading from Psalm 33. Albert Ramseyer opens us in prayer. Kristina James, Ed Manacop, and Caroline Sandoval lead us in joyous singing. Greg Hart takes up the praises and concerns of our church, our city, and our world in the Prayers of the People. Pastor Gail concludes our service by leading us in Communion, and you are invited to participate.

 

In her sermon, “A Voice for All,” Pastor Gail reminds us of the power of words to help or hurt others. In Genesis the story of the Tower of Babel explains how humanity was separated by a multitude of languages. In Acts 2 at Pentecost this was reversed when the Holy Spirit entered into the lives and hearts of those first believers, who began to speak the message of God’s love everyone, whatever their native language. As Jesus explained to the disciples in John 14, the Holy Spirit is given to each believer, enabling them to use their spiritual gifts to share God’s love with others in whatever situation they find themselves. Our responsibility to to follow through with this, because God’s love is an action verb.

 

Verdugo makes its Sunday sermons and select worship services available to you on Facebook at https://facebook.com/verdugochurch and posts audio copies of the service and sermon at https://verdugochurch.podbean.com. Please note that video copies may be deleted after 90 days under Facebook rules.

 

Prayers of the People have been edited to respect the privacy and confidentiality of those participating or mentioned.

 

All song titles, lyrics, and music are used with permission. CCLI license # 2486815.

 

Verdugo Community Church is a Free Methodist congregation serving the Glassell Park, Eagle Rock, and Glendale areas in Los Angeles. It is located at 4300 Verdugo Road, Los Angeles, CA 90065. Our email address is verdugofmc@gmail.com. Contact Pastor Gail at (323) 500-3343.

 

Worship service copyright 2026 by Verdugo Community Church. Sermon copyright 2026 by Gail Whitcome Linstrom and Verdugo Community Church.