The Verdugo Community Church’s Podcast

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 of Psalm 85. Luisa Fernandez opens us in prayer. Nick Baltazar, Caroline Sandoval, and Ed Manacop lead us in joyous singing. Pastor Gail takes up the praises and concerns of our church, our city, and our world in the Prayers of the People. She also concludes our service by leading us in Communion, and you are invited to participate.

 

In his sermon, “Boldly Compassionate Always,” Chaplain David Saltzman considers how in Genesis 18 Abraham boldly used his friendship with God to bargain for compassion for the innocents living in Sodom and Gomorrah. In Luke 11, Jesus first teaches his disciples to pray, and then tells the parable of the neighbor who needs bread at midnight to meet his social obligation of hospitality. The neighbor continues his efforts until he gets what was required. We need to see Christ in each of our neighbors and extend our compassion to them. To allow our compassion to change the world we live in, we need both the relationship with God and our neighbors. The lesson Jesus taught was for his followers to likewise continue to ask, seek, and knock, for then prayers will be answered.

 

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

In his sermon, “The True Myth,” Pastor Brian Scott of Foothill Church, Azusa, begins with the affirmation in Colossians 1 of who Jesus really is. He is co-equal with the Father, as author and artist of creation and has dominion over all things. His death reconciled us to God, and his resurrection previews our own victory over death. These are the types of attributes and accomplishments we find in myths and legends outside of Christianity. But a myth can be a story that points to a greater truth. A true myth is the Gospel. We are to accept through faith what Jesus is and has done in our real world, and in that knowledge and power work together to advance the Kingdom of God.

 

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 will 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 2025 by Verdugo Community Church. Sermon copyright 2025 by Brian Scott 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. Michael Blanco opens us in prayer. Nick Baltazar, Caroline Sandoval, and Ed Manacop lead us in joyous singing. Chaplain David Satlzman 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, “The True Myth,” Pastor Brian Scott of Foothill Church, Azusa, begins with the affirmation in Colossians 1 of who Jesus really is. He is co-equal with the Father, as author and artist of creation and has dominion over all things. His death reconciled us to God, and his resurrection previews our own victory over death. These are the types of attributes and accomplishments we find in myths and legends outside of Christianity. But a myth can be a story that points to a greater truth. A true myth is the Gospel. We are to accept through faith what Jesus is and has done in our real world, and in that knowledge and power work together to advance the Kingdom of God.

 

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 Brian Scott and Verdugo Community Church.

In his sermon, “Speaking the Truth to Power: The Freedom of God’s Truth,” Chaplain David Saltzman uses the story of the prophet Amos, a working man called by God to prophesy against the oppression and corruption of Israel and God’s judgment on the king and the people for this sin. God has tasked his followers to condemn and oppose oppression and corruption, both physical and spiritual, throughout history. Jesus confronted the oppression and corruption of his times. The truth of the message that Jesus gives us sets us free from fear and the enslavement of sin. We are to use that freedom to stand with those who are being oppressed, to speak through this truth to power. Today, as in the days of Amos and Jesus, we are called to oppose the corruption, oppression, and cruelty we find in our own society and boldly proclaim the truth of how God’s love should rule 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 will 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 2025 by Verdugo Community Church. Sermon copyright 2025 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 Psalm 25. Louisa Fernandez opens with a prayer. Nicholas Baltazar, Caroline Sandoval, and Ed Manacop 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, “Speaking the Truth to Power: The Freedom of God’s Truth,” Chaplain David Saltzman uses the story of the prophet Amos, a working man called by God to prophesy against the oppression and corruption of Israel and God’s judgment on the king and the people for this sin. God has tasked his followers to condemn and oppose oppression and corruption, both physical and spiritual, throughout history. Jesus confronted the oppression and corruption of his times. The truth of the message that Jesus gives us sets us free from fear and the enslavement of sin. We are to use that freedom to stand with those who are being oppressed, to speak through this truth to power. Today, as in the days of Amos and Jesus, we are called to oppose the corruption, oppression, and cruelty we find in our own society and boldly proclaim the truth of how God’s love should rule 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 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.

 

In her sermon, “For Such a Time as This . . . From Lament to Action,” Pastor Gail Whitcome Linstrom reflects on how we should respond to the fears and acts of official discrimination in our society. She reminds us that the true meaning of lament is truth.-telling. Nehemiah acknowledged the sins of all the people, including his own, while seeking God’s direction and help with the pagan authorities to rebuild Jerusalem. In Luke 10 Jesus used the parable about the “despised Samaritan” to teach us who our neighbors are and that we are to have compassion and show them mercy, even if it costs us our time and money. Matthew 25 tells us that we will be judged on how we treated those rejected by society. In Ephesians 3 Paul reminds us that with the help of the Holy Spirit we can be empowered to do what is necessary, as Nehemiah did. We need to follow these examples, seeking God’s guidance and power to take the action he wants us to follow in these times.

 

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 will 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 2025 by Verdugo Community Church. Sermon copyright 2025 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 66. Ben Jimenez opens with a prayer from Martin Luther King, Jr.. Nicholas Baltazar and Ed Manacop lead us in joyous singing. Chaplain David Saltzman 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, “For Such a Time as This . . . From Lament to Action,” Pastor Gail Whitcome Linstrom reflects on how we should respond to the fears and acts of official discrimination in our society. She reminds us that the true meaning of lament is truth.-telling. Nehemiah acknowledged the sins of all the people, including his own, while seeking God’s direction and help with the pagan authorities to rebuild Jerusalem. In Luke 10 Jesus used the parable about the “despised Samaritan” to teach us who our neighbors are and that we are to have compassion and show them mercy, even if it costs us our time and money. Matthew 25 tells us that we will be judged on how we treated those rejected by society. In Ephesians 3 Paul reminds us that with the help of the Holy Spirit we can be empowered to do what is necessary, as Nehemiah did. We need to follow these examples, seeking God’s guidance and power to take the action he wants us to follow in these times.

 

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 Gail Whitcome Linstrom and Verdugo Community Church.

In his sermon, “Prophets of Grace: Mirroring God’s Faithfulness,” Chaplain David Saltzman uses the story of Elijah and Elisha in 2 Kings 2, set just before Elijah is taken into heaven in a whirlwind, as an example of how to boldly live our faith in the present, trusting in God’s love and power. Elisha faithfully shared the journey with Elijah, who mentored Elisha and willingly handed over his mantle of leadership to him when the time came. As prophets they pointed to God, not to the future, and to hope, not fear, to encourage us to follow God in our spiritual journey.

 

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 will 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 2025 by Verdugo Community Church. Sermon copyright 2025 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 Luke 1. Michael Blanco opens us in prayer. Nicholas Baltazar and Ed Manacop 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. Chaplain David Saltzman concludes our service by leading us in Communion, and you are invited to participate.

 

In his sermon, “Prophets of Grace: Mirroring God’s Faithfulness,” Chaplain David Saltzman uses the story of Elijah and Elisha in 2 Kings 2, set just before Elijah is taken into heaven in a whirlwind, as an example of how to boldly live our faith in the present, trusting in God’s love and power. Elisha faithfully shared the journey with Elijah, who mentored Elisha and willingly handed over his mantle of leadership to him when the time came. As prophets they pointed to God, not to the future, and to hope, not fear, to encourage us to follow God in our spiritual journey.

 

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.

 

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 will 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 2025 by Verdugo Community Church. Sermon copyright 2025 by Brian Scott and Verdugo Community Church.