Daily message of hope...
July 13, 2026, Monday Message:

Colossians 1:28b NLT, Paul speaking: “We want to present new believers to God, perfect in their relationship to Christ.”

When Jesus ascended back to the Father, he left an assignment with the faithful: “Make disciples of all nations.” This task wasn’t only for the pastors or leaders. Jesus was leaving this duty to all members of the first church, The Way. Generation after generation, this project has been passed down to us.

A disciple is one who embraces and assists in spreading the teachings of another. In this case, we’re to share everything that we learned from the Son. Nowadays we study our Bibles to determine what was important to Jesus. Good disciples make more disciples.

Since this mission was assigned by Jesus himself, we should honor him by doing an especially good job. Don’t shirk your responsibility. Do your best. That’s all any of us can do. The Holy Spirit will take care of the rest!

Pastor Norton Lawellin
The Father’s House
Jesus In the City Fellowship
Truth & Freedom Church

Help When Needed!

For Sunday, July 12, 2026:

Luke 6:10-11 NLT: “Jesus looked around at them one by one and then said to the man, ‘Hold out your hand.’ So the man held out his hand, and it was instantly restored! At this, the enemies of Jesus were wild with rage and began to discuss what to do with him.”

In this scenario, Jesus is teaching the religious elite a lesson in kindness. According to Jesus, every day – even the Sabbath – is the right day to be nice!

Jesus had the power of healing, and as it turns out, this man needed his hand fixed. It could have been next Tuesday or Thursday, but as it was, this was the Sabbath. Jesus wasn’t concerned with what day it was. The important principle is that this man needed help, and Jesus was available. The hand was restored!

Kindness and helpfulness don’t just happen on specific days. The command to love our neighbors doesn’t have any particular day attached to it. Nor should the day of the week preclude being nice!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

The Father’s House

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Truth & Freedom Church

Sabbath Again!

For Saturday, July 11, 2026:

Luke 6:9 NLT: Jesus said to his critics, “I have a question for you. Does the law permit good deeds on the Sabbath, or is it a day for doing evil? Is this a day to save life or to destroy it?”

Saturday is the Jewish Holy Day, so everyone had gathered at the Synagogue. The group included a man with a deformed right hand. At this point, it’s pretty clear that the Pharisees were no fans of Jesus, so this was kind of a trick question. If Jesus healed the man, the Pharisees planned to accuse him of doing work on the Sabbath. After explaining the situation, Jesus healed the man.

Here’s Jesus’ explanation for what happened. While honoring the Sabbath is good, it does not supersede any of God’s other commands, in this case loving your neighbor. Being kind and helpful are always good things to do. Jesus was always doing the next right thing, and this is one more example of that. Our lives should always be modeled after Jesus!

Christians worship on Sunday, the third day after the crucifixion, when Jesus walked away from the tomb, conquering sin and death through the same event.

Q: Is it OK to mow the lawn on Sunday afternoon? A: If it’s just to cross one more thing off your honey-do list, the answer is no. But if it puts a smile on your spouse’s face because they like the yard neat and tidy, do it for them. Show pride in ownership and gratitude for the house and yard God gave you. Take good care of it. Joke with God about why the landscaping barely grows but grass doubles in volume each week! (God likes a good pun, I think!) Then take the kids to a pool, a splash pad, or just let them run through the sprinkler in the yard. Make the Sabbath a fun day for everyone!

God gave you the spouse, the children, the house, the yard and the Sabbath. Enjoy everything!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

The Father’s House

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Truth & Freedom Church