VERDUGO COMMUNITY CHURCH WORSHIP SERVICE APRIL 13, 2025

Pastor Gail Linstrom welcomes all to our service worship and to participate in the life of our church family. Dale Reynolds and Chaplain David Saltzman call us to worship with a responsive reading from Psalm 118. Luisa Fernandez opens us in prayer. Nicolas Baltazar and Ed Manacop lead us in our praise singing. Albert Ramseyer takes up the praises and concerns of the church, our city, and our world in the Prayers of the People. Pastor Gail baptizes River Ace Gullusci. She also concludes our service by leading us in Communion, and you are invited to participate.

 

In his sermon “The Colt, the Cloaks and the Crowd,” Chaplain David Saltzman looks at the events of Palm Sunday described in Mark 11 as a foreshadowing of Jesus’ ultimate victory over sin and death. He comes to Jerusalem riding a borrowed humble donkey, not as a victorious leader on a warhorse. The disciples and the crowd throw what was then their most valued possession, their cloaks, in front of him, showing how valuable Jesus is to them. Yet because Jesus is not coming as a victorious military leader, the same crowd will, in a few days, go from adoration to demanding his crucifixion. Many people today reach the same conclusion about Jesus and reject his message of love, grace, mercy and self-sacrifice. Jesus shows us that following him means servitude, not conquest, but he enters our hearts bringing peace and love. When we show this peace and love to others, they will see Jesus as well.

 

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 will 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 2025 by Verdugo Community Church. Sermon copyright 2025 by David Saltzman and Verdugo Community Church.