VERDUGO COMMUNITY CHURCH WORSHIP SERVICE JANUARY 14, 2024

We begin our service with song. Pastor Gail Linstrom opens the service by welcoming all to worship and to participate in the life of our church family and calls us to worship with a reading from Isaiah 9. Luisa Fernandez opens us in prayer. Nick Baltazar and Ed Manacop lead us in our praise singing. Greg Hart takes up the praises and concerns of the church and our world in the Prayers of the People.

 

In her sermon, “Wise Ones Worship,” Pastor Gail looks at the story in Matthew 2 of the Magi or wise men from the east who using their skills and treasure in faith followed a star that they believed heralded the birth of the King of the Jews. They braved a meeting with King Herod, whose evil intent was clear. Yet they still followed the star to Bethlehem, and worshipped Jesus, presenting him with gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh fit for a King. God then sent an angel to warn them against returning to Herod despite his order to do so, just as an angel told Joseph to flee that night with Mary and Jesus to Egypt. Thus these wise ones and the Holy Family were saved from King Herod’s vengeance and the slaughter of the young children in Bethlehem. Like these wise ones, we are strangers who must act in faith to find Jesus and in worship offer him our talents and treasures. While there may be dangers and obstacles, their story reminds us that God’s guidance and presence will be with us at all times.

 

Pastor Gail then leads us in the sacrament of communion, and you are invited to participate as well.

 

Verdugo makes its Sunday sermons available to you on Facebook and posts audio copies of the service and sermon at https://verdugochurch.podbean.com.

 

Prayers of the People have been edited to respect the privacy and confidentiality of those participating or mentioned. All CCLI songs are performed under Verdugo Community Church’s 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 2024 by Verdugo Community Church. Sermon copyright 2024 by Gail Whitcome Linstrom and Verdugo Community Church.