Psalm 5 - Everlasting Lovingkindness

June 29, 2015 Monday Message:

To the Lord: “Because of your unfailing love, I can enter your house.” Psalm 5:7a NLT

Last week I recorded 4 sermons for a pastor from Thailand who was mostly speaking in his native language. But since he’s now in the USA and leading a church in Minnesota, an occasional English-language phrase would slip through.

It caught me by surprise when, in the midst of a passionate dissertation in Siamese, he uttered in perfect English, “If God didn’t forgive sinners, heaven would be empty!”

I thought to myself, “That’s a gem – a perfect sound-bite – prophetic, in a way. I’m going to keep that one and use it!”

The Bible often describes God’s love for us as “everlasting lovingkindness.” These words were first used in the King James Bible, and you probably won’t find them used anywhere else, because no one else shows as much love, mercy and forgiveness as our God. Your spellchecker may flag these words, but they stand for the extreme love of God that exceeds what our language can adequately describe.

God loved us when he created us, and he continues to love us even as sinners on this earth. He sent his own Son to redeem us. God really wants us to come home, to be with him in eternity. God DOES forgive sinners, and therefore heaven is NOT empty!

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16 NIV

Norton Lawellin

Let’s worship together! Jesus in the City Fellowship (JICF) gathers at 10 a.m. every Sunday in the North end (gym) of the Oliver Ministry Building, 2647 Bloomington Ave., Minneapolis. This Sunday, July 5, Paul confronts the Centurions with his Roman citizenship. See you at church!

Psalm 4

June 22, 2015 Monday Message:

There are some who ask, “Who will be good to us?” Psalm 4:6a CEV

David pens Psalm 4 for worship, instructing the leader to enhance the words with stringed instruments.

Recurring themes surface: God is my protector, God answers my prayers, foolish people run after worthless things, wise people pursue the Lord. The Lord has chosen everyone who is faithful to be his very own. Psalm 4:3a

David counsels us to turn from our sins, to silently search our hearts as we lie in bed. Psalm 4:4

Who can we trust? The Lord will bring us happiness, like a rich harvest of grain and grapes. The Lord’s goodness shines brightly.

With the Lord, you can relax; you can sleep soundly. Don’t worry – the Lord will keep you safe. Psalm 4:8

Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship (JICF) gathers at 10 a.m. every Sunday in the North end (gym) of the Oliver Ministry Building, 2647 Bloomington Ave., Minneapolis. Join us!

Psalm 3

June 15, 2015 Monday Message:

“Lord, you are a shield around me.” Psalm 3:3a NIV

In Psalm 3, David is having a bad day. It seems his son Absalom wanted to hasten his turn at running the kingdom, and was hunting down King David, who was forced to flee and hide. David’s also feeling a little sorry for himself – David is human!

But David ultimately puts faith in God over fear of Absalom. He can sleep now, knowing that God will sustain him. His confidence is bolstered to the point that David is unafraid not only of Absalom; he’s unafraid of tens of thousands coming against him! It was not easy being King!

David prays that God would fully deliver him. “Strike all my enemies on the jaw, and break the teeth of the wicked.”

Sometimes in life, evil tries to sideline each of us, but David teaches that the solution is to turn it over to God. Have great faith and confidence that the Lord will keep you safe. God still shelters, still protects, and still delivers us from all kinds of evil. God is on your side!

“From the Lord comes deliverance.” Psalm 3:8a

Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship (JICF) gathers at 10 a.m. every Sunday in the North end (gym) of the Oliver Ministry Building, 2647 Bloomington Ave., Minneapolis. This week, June 21, Dan Pilla outlines the Christian roots of our nation.

Psalm 2

June 08, 2015 Monday Message:

“Why do the nations plot, … make useless plans?” from Psalm 2:1 CEV

Psalm 2 tells us that “the world” is in a perpetual struggle against

God. Kings of this world think they would be better off without God. They want to cut the ropes and free themselves.

God just laughs at them, but his laughter soon turns to anger. God has made his Son Jesus King over all believers, and the nations are to worship the Son. God has given Jesus the authority to smash them with an iron rod and shatter them like dishes of clay if they don’t comply.

Those who pay close attention to these warnings, those who serve and honor the Lord are said to be smart, said to be wise. We are to show respect for the Son. Otherwise the Lord could become furious with us, and destroy us.

But Psalm 2 ends on a very positive note: “God blesses and protects all those who seek him.” Psalm 2:12b

Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship (JICF) gathers at 10 a.m. every Sunday in the North end (gym) of the Oliver Ministry Building, 2647 Bloomington Ave., Minneapolis. This week, June 14, Pastor Michael Pilla teaches from Acts, and it’s our special Pot Luck Sunday – we’ll have food for everyone following worship!

Psalm 1

June 01, 2015 Monday Message:

“The Lord protects everyone who follows him, but the wicked follow a road that leads to ruin.” Psalm 1:6 CEV

Let’s spend some time in Psalms. King David wrote a lot of Psalms, his worship team authored several, and still others wrote a few. But David is the one who had mastered the new “alphabetic script,” where a letter represents a sound, and the sounds in any word could be represented by a series of letters. Now they could write about concepts such as love, honesty, forgiveness, compassion, grace, mercy and compound interest – subjects difficult to represent with picture-writing!

Psalm 1 counsels the believer to be like a tree planted near a riverbank, with deep roots that draw from a never-ending source of life. Verse 3 says followers of the Lord will prosper and bear fruit for the kingdom.

But not so the wicked! The worthless will be condemned at the time of judgment. Verse 5 warns us that sinners will have no place among the godly.

Therefore believers would do well to spend time with other believers. Become a member of a church family. Attend Christian events. Of course the person with whom you share the Good News about Jesus won’t be a believer, but you bring to them the Gospel FROM your solid home base where you have deep roots.

Oh the joy of those who delight in the law of the Lord!

Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship (JICF) gathers at 10 a.m. every Sunday in the North end (gym) of the Oliver Ministry Building, 2647 Bloomington Ave., Minneapolis. This week, June 7, Pastor Dale Rader – “EKG of the Heart.”