The Verdugo Community Church’s Podcast

In his sermon, “Let It Go,” Chaplain David Saltzman continues the Easter narrative in John 20 regarding Thomas’s doubting to show us that Jesus wants us to forgive and love others. Thomas refused to believe in the Resurrection until he met the risen Lord. Jesus did not hold this against Thomas, but offered him forgiveness for his doubting. Thomas’ response was to proclaim the good news of Jesus. Jesus models how we have to let go of our anger and disappointment over what others have done, and not retain it in our lives.

 

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 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 based on Psalms 96 and 97. Luisa Fernandez focuses us with a reading of Psalm 16 and opens us in prayer. Ed Manacop, Caroline Sandoval, and Rodolfo Diaz 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 his sermon, “Let It Go,” Chaplain David Saltzman continues the Easter narrative in John 20 regarding Thomas’s doubting to show us that Jesus wants us to forgive and love others. Thomas refused to believe in the Resurrection until he met the risen Lord. Jesus did not hold this against Thomas, but offered him forgiveness for his doubting. Thomas’s response was to proclaim the good news of Jesus. Jesus models how we have to let go of our anger and disappointment over what others have done, and not retain it in our lives.

 

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, “Awake and Aware,” Pastor Gail uses the Easter narrative in John 20 to remind us that the Resurrection account begins in darkness and confusion at the empty tomb. Unlike the disciples who ran to the tomb and then went home, Mary Magdalene stayed there, locked in her grief. But then she encountered the risen Jesus, who brought her out of her despondency by addressing her by name and then giving her instructions for the other disciples. Jesus shows his love for each of his followers because he calls each of us by name. While it is easy to become lost in the pageantry of Easter, we need to be awake to the presence of the living Christ and aware of his leading and care for us each and every day.

 

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 our service by welcoming all to worship and to participate in the life of our church family. Dale Reynolds focuses us with readings from Isaiah 9 and 25. Pastor Gail and Dale lead a Responsive Call to Worship, and Pastor Gail opens us in prayer. Kristina James, Ed Manacop, Caroline Sandoval, Rodolfo Diaz, Nancy Marfisi and Marvin Juan 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 her sermon, “Awake and Aware,” Pastor Gail uses the Easter narrative in John 20 to remind us that the Resurrection account begins in darkness and confusion at the empty tomb. Unlike the disciples who ran to the tomb and then went home, Mary Magdalene stayed there, locked in her grief. But then she encountered the risen Jesus, who brought her out of her despondency by addressing her by name and then giving her instructions for the other disciples. Jesus shows his love for each of his followers because he calls each of us by name. While it is easy to become lost in the pageantry of Easter, we need to be awake to the presence of the living Christ and aware of his leading and care for us each and every day.

 

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 her sermon, “The Clash of Empires – Then and Now,” Pastor Gail uses the Palm Sunday narrative in Matthew 21 to contrast Jesus’ joyous entry to Jerusalem at Passover to celebrate the coming of the Kingdom of God with the entry of Pontius Pilate and the Roman army into Jerusalem at the same time to enforce the rule of Rome and of the elites that ran the domination system of oppression for their own and Rome’s enrichment. As Holy Week goes on, Jesus will encounter growing opposition from the leaders of his society and the abandonment of the crowds, leading to his Crucifixion. The challenges facing Jesus’ followers that week as to who and what to follow are the same ones we face. Are we doing what needs to be done to bring the Kingdom to those who need its hope and love? Will we follow Jesus or the world? Are we walking with Jesus or marching with Pilate?

 

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 our 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 118 and Luisa Fernandez opens us in prayer. Kristina James, Ed Manacop, Caroline Sandoval, Rodolfo Diaz, and John Bergland 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 her sermon, “The Clash of Empires – Then and Now,” Pastor Gail uses the Palm Sunday narrative in Matthew 21 to contrast Jesus’ joyous entry to Jerusalem at Passover to celebrate the coming of the Kingdom of God with the entry of Pontius Pilate and the Roman army into Jerusalem at the same time to enforce the rule of Rome and of the elites that ran the domination system of oppression for their own and Rome’s enrichment. As Holy Week goes on, Jesus will encounter growing opposition from the leaders of his society and the abandonment of the crowds, leading to his Crucifixion. The challenges facing Jesus’ followers that week as to who and what to follow are the same ones we face. Are we doing what needs to be done to bring the Kingdom to those who need its hope and love? Will we follow Jesus or the world? Are we walking with Jesus or marching with Pilate?

 

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, “Here’s Mud in Your Eye,” Chaplain David Saltzman uses the story in John 9 where Jesus cured a man blind from birth using mud. He reminds us that as in that story, Jesus sought the blind man out and offered to heal him, demonstrating the love and grace of God toward all of us. As the blind man discovered the love and grace of God is always there, has no requirements or preconditions, and will seek us out and offers to end our spiritual blindness if we accept it.

 

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. The ARC video is found at https://arcrestoration.org/ and used by their public invitation.

 

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 our service by welcoming all to worship and to participate in the life of our church family. Dale Reynolds focuses us with a reading from Isaiah 42, and Albert Ramseyer opens us in prayer. Kristina James, Ed Manacop, Caroline Sandoval and Rodolfo Diaz 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 his sermon, “Here’s Mud in Your Eye,” Chaplain David Saltzman uses the story in John 9 where Jesus cured a man blind from birth using mud. He reminds us that as in that story, Jesus sought the blind man out and offered to heal him, demonstrating the love and grace of God toward all of us. As the blind man discovered the love and grace of God is always there, has no requirements or preconditions, and will seek us out and offers to end our spiritual blindness if we accept it.

 

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. The ARC video is found at https://arcrestoration.org/ and used by their public invitation.

 

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, “Living Water Brings Living Faith,” Pastor Gail uses the story of the woman at the well in John 4 to encourage us to seek a more personal relationship with Jesus so that we can accept the new life he offers. Jesus accepted the woman as she was, and she responded by telling others about him. Jesus offered her the living water of the Spirit, as he does today, and we can accept it and begin to experience all the joys of the new life it brings.

 

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 our service by welcoming all to worship and to participate in the life of our church family. Dale Reynolds focuses us with a reading from Isaiah 55 and Rodolfo Diaz opens us in prayer. 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, “Living Water Brings Living Faith,” Pastor Gail uses the story of the woman at the well in John 4 to encourage us to seek a more personal relationship with Jesus so that we can accept the new life he offers. Jesus accepted the woman as she was, and she responded by telling others about him. Jesus offered her the living water of the Spirit, as he does today, and we can accept it and begin to experience all the joys of the new life it brings.

 

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.