VERDUGO COMMUNITY CHURCH WORSHIP SERVICE JANUARY 26, 2025

We begin our service with Pastor Gail Linstrom welcoming all to worship and to participate in the life of our church family. Pastor Gail calls us to worship with verses from Psalm 95. Dale Reynolds centers our thoughts with a reading from Nehemiah 8, and 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, our city, and our world in the Prayers of the People.

 

In her sermon, “Taking a Stand for God,” Pastor Gail looks at Luke 4:14 – 21, where after his baptism Jesus’ first public words are at the synagogue in Nazareth where he grew up. He begins with the prophetic words from Isaiah 61 identifying himself with the person who is full of the Spirit who will announce good news to the poor, freedom for prisoners and oppressed, sight for the blind. Then he proclaims, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” Jesus clearly has a purpose to his life and is not ashamed to express it. As his followers we need to recognize his purpose for our lives. Because Jesus announces that these are being fulfilled at the moment, not in some future time, we also need to not let the mistakes of our past or the possibilities of the future distract us from doing what God wants us to do today to advance his Kingdom on earth. That means as disciples of Jesus we need to act and be known for our generous mercy, kindness, compassion, and willingness to care for others.

 

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.

 

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 Gail Whitcome Linstrom and Verdugo Community Church.