Celebrate!

For Tuesday, October 31, 2023:

Exodus 34:22 NLT, God speaking: “You must celebrate the Festival of Harvest with the first crop of the wheat harvest, and celebrate the Festival of the Final Harvest at the end of the harvest season.”

God is good to us. Each year crops grow and we get to reap the harvest. We then have provision for the winter. With gratitude, we should celebrate God’s goodness. Throw a party! It’s called Pentecost, the festival of weeks, 50 days after Easter Sunday.

Most countries have some sort of autumn harvest festival. In the US, Halloween serves that purpose, followed on Nov. 1 by All Saints’ Day when we honor believers who have gone before us. We should leave out the ghosts, goblins and witches, pagan beliefs that somehow crept into our festival.

In Mexico, they celebrate Day of the Dead, or Día de los Muertos. It’s a celebration, a fun festival honoring the dead without the spooky parts. Pan de muerto, a sweet bread and tamales are on the menu. I’m “IN!”

Should Christians celebrate Halloween? Maybe, emphasis on the ‘good’ parts: God and the saints who have gone before us.

Don’t let Satan hijack our holiday!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship

Sabbath!

October 30, 2023 Monday Message:

Romans 14:5 NLT: “Some think one day is more holy than another day, while others think every day is alike. You should each be fully convinced that whichever day you choose is acceptable.”

I’m often asked about which day of the week we should worship. Traditional Jewish worship includes parts of two days – from sundown Friday until sundown Saturday. This is called Shabbat or Shabbos, which roughly translates to Sabbath. A few Christians worship on Saturday since that’s the majority of Shabbat time. But most Christians gather for worship on Sunday. That’s the day Jesus rose from the dead, conquering sin and death with one act of love. That’s a big part of what we celebrate!

Paul is teaching that whichever day you choose is acceptable. Set a day aside for the Lord and your family. It’s what God said to do. Worshiping should happen regularly and be somewhat repeatable. Don’t work your fingers to the bone. We all need a day of rest – God said so! Take a day to honor the Lord! Worshiping God is a big deal; which day of the week – not so much!

A group of un-churched people was surveyed: ”IF you decided to attend a church, when would that be?” The overwhelming majority picked “Sunday morning.”

Each Sabbath we should look forward to gathering with our family and our church friends to honor God! See you at church!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship

End Times Signs!

For Sunday, October 29, 2023:

Matthew 24:6-7 NLT: “You will hear of wars and threats of wars, but don’t panic. Yes, these things must take place, but the end won’t follow immediately. Nation will go to war against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in many parts of the world.”

The disciples are asking end times questions. When do we get to join you in heaven? Give us some signs so that we know when the end is coming!

Jesus began by telling the disciples to beware of false prophets. If someone is trying to convince the world that they are the Messiah, they’re not. When Jesus returns, it will be a spectacular event and the whole world will know. No one will need convincing!

Jesus said there will be wars and rumors of wars. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is the largest incursion. Watch out! It’s kind of like WWIII, with the US and NATO nations helping Ukraine, and China and North Korea arming the Russian army. It’s being fought on Ukraine’s soil!

Of special interest is Hamas’ attack on Israel, the country known as the Holy Land. Gaza, home of Hamas, is a tiny strip of land on the Mediterranean Sea. But Israel is also trying to keep peace in the West Bank, and defend against Hezbollah in Lebanon and Syria.

Significant earthquakes struck Israel’s neighbors, Turkey and Afghanistan. There’s a great famine in Africa, unable to receive grain shipments from Ukraine.

These are all signs that the end times scenario is starting to play out. We will never know the exact day and hour of God’s victory in the world, but we have been given signs, warnings for us to get our houses in order.

Today is the best day to commit or re-commit our lives to following Jesus. Today, the end is one day closer!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship

Trust Your Faith!

For Saturday, October 28, 2023:

1 Peter 1:8-9 NLT: “You love him (Jesus) even though you have never seen him. Though you do not see him now, you trust him; and you rejoice with a glorious, inexpressible joy. The reward for trusting him will be the salvation of your souls.”

No one living today has seen Jesus. Yet we love him and trust him with our eternal souls. Salvation is the reward for our faith. Peter had seen Jesus both before and after the resurrection, but most people had not. We’re redeemed by grace, the gift from above, through our faith.

There is so much written about Jesus that his existence 2,000 years ago cannot be disputed. There are not only the sacred writings in our Bibles, but also secular writings detailing his life, his travels, his teachings and the many, many miracles, especially healings. Jesus is easy to love even if we have never seen him!

This scripture concludes, “The reward for trusting him will be the salvation of your souls,” eternal life in God’s presence. I want “in” on that deal!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship

Sola Scriptura!

For Friday, October 27, 2023:

Romans 13:4 NLT: “Who are you to condemn someone else’s servants? Their own master will judge whether they stand or fall. And with the Lord’s help, they will stand and receive his approval.”

We are never to sit in the judge’s seat. Each person on earth serves somebody, and we have been given free choice to decide who that is. There are only two answers: You can serve God, Jesus and everything that is good, or you can serve the dark side, Satan and his minions. Choose wisely!

There are a lot of Christian denominations. My favorite ones use the Bible as their handbook. Christianity got back to the truth in the 1500’s when Martin Luther preached, “sola scriptura,” latin for, “only scripture” or “only the Bible.”

Using the Bible as our “owner’s manual” for life, we need to separate in our minds what the Bible teaches from those things that are just religious traditions.

Following traditions doesn’t save us. Following Jesus does!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship

Ready To Go!

For Thursday, October 26, 2023:

Romans 13:12 NLT: “The night is almost gone; the day of salvation will soon be here. So remove your dark deeds like dirty clothes, and put on the shining armor of right living.”

We don’t know the exact day or hour when Jesus will return. But the Bible says that when the day of salvation comes, we might not see it coming! So we need to constantly be prepared for Jesus’ arrival. Stay clear of evil deeds, and don shining garb suitable for meeting the King of kings!

Jesus told a parable of a bride waiting for her new husband, so they could begin their life together. The new husband will return for her, but she didn’t know exactly when. So she had to constantly be ready to go! Those not ready could be left behind! (Matthew 25)

So put on the shining armor of right living. This life will go better, and you’ll be prepared when the new heaven and the new earth come knocking!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship