VERDUGO COMMUNITY CHURCH WORSHIP SERVICE JULY 9, 2023

We open our service with song. Pastor Gail Linstrom welcomes all to worship and to participate in the life of our church family, and Michelle Hensley calls us to worship and guides us in a responsive prayer using Psalm 119. Nick Baltazar and Mike Minasyan lead us in our praise singing. Luisa Fernandez takes up the praises and concerns of the church and our world in the Prayers of the People.

 

In her sermon, “Fruitful Transformation by the Holy Spirit,” Pastor Gail looks at Paul’s comparison in Galatians 5 of the differences between a Spirit-filled and worldly life. . She points out that Paul was not seeking to impose rules on the new believers, but to invite them to live in the freedom of the Spirit as God intended. Too often people seek to gain power over others by creating “church” rules and forcing others to comply. Paul rejected this and reminds us that it’s only through the Holy Spirit transforming our hearts, not by adhering to rules, that we receive the fruits of the Spirit and use them to show love towards each other and the world.

 

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 has been edited to respect the privacy and confidentiality of individual prayer requests. All CCLI songs are performed under Verdugo Community Church’s license with CCLI.

 

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.

 

Sermon copyright 2023 by Gail Whitcome Linstrom and Verdugo Community Church.