Psalms 95 - Sing for Joy!

May 29, 2017 Monday Message:

“Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord.” Psalms 95:1a NIV

Does Psalm 95 sound familiar? Many denominations recite parts of Psalm 95 in their daily worship, sometimes called the Venite (veh-nee’-tey in Latin.) Venite means, “come.”

The first half is praise and worship – the words describe the goodness and greatness of God. The second half tells us to obey God. We need both halves in our lives.

Countless songs of praise were inspired by Psalm 95. “Come into God’s house and thank him! Tell him that he is great with music and songs!” (v2) Many great worship anthems based on Psalm 95 have not yet been written!

God welcomes these accolades from obedient believers. A big part of remaining obedient is having the faith to still believe even when faced with life’s challenges. God is still God, he’s still on the throne, and everything will turn out all right in the end. Don’t let your faith suffer because of a lack of confidence in God.

“Come, let us bow down in worship.” (v6a)

Norton Lawellin

Let’s worship together! Jesus in the City Fellowship gathers Pentecost Sunday, June 4, 2017, at the Akina Church, 3249 30^th Ave. S., Minneapolis, MN 55406, 10:30 AM. Peter gives the altar call and 3,000 are baptized! See you at church!

Psalms 94 - God's Way

May 22, 2017 Monday Message:

“The Lord knows all human plans; he knows that they are futile.” Psalms 94:11 NIV

There are two ways you can go in this life: God’s way, or the wrong way. Using contemporary language, you might say, “It’s God’s way or the highway!”

I’m reminded of Jonah and the big fish. It seems God commanded Jonah to go to Nineveh, to prophesy about God’s anger with the wickedness in their city. But Jonah was afraid to let these people know where they really stood with God. So Jonah headed in the opposite direction.

While sailing away from God’s call, a storm ensued, the seas got rough, and everyone could have been killed. Jonah knows the storm is the result of God’s displeasure with him, and after exhausting all other options, the sailors finally cast Jonah overboard.

Immediately, the storm subsides, Jonah is swallowed up by a giant fish, and three days later the fish spits him up on the beach, and Jonah, now obedient, heads straight for Nineveh! Jonah preached God’s message, the King “got it,” the people repented and returned to God, who then spared Nineveh.

So you see, when God called Jonah to Nineveh, Jonah should have immediately started filling out change-of-address forms, because – like it or not - Nineveh was to be his home for a while.

Understand that sovereign God could have gotten his message to Nineveh with or without Jonah, but God choose to include him. Jonah almost missed a chance to play for God’s team when God wanted to put him into the game.

Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship gathers the Sunday before Memorial Day, May 28, 2017, at the Akina Church, 3249 30^th Ave. S., Minneapolis, MN 55406, 10:30 AM. Lead Pastor Michael Pilla brings a message from the Bible.

Psalms 93 - God's Truth

May 15, 2017 Monday Message:

“Your statutes, Lord, stand firm.” Psalms 93:5a NIV

God doesn’t change his mind. His value system is forever. If God’s law says that something is wrong, that we shouldn’t do something – that thing was wrong yesterday, today and tomorrow, because God’s not about to change his mind.

Similarly, if God says that we SHOULD do something – that something is good to do, then we should keep on doing it, because it will remain good for all time.

You can count on God’s word; God keeps his promises. God promised that if we would repent and return to Him and ask his Son to cover our sins, that we would be assured a place in God’s eternal kingdom. Jesus even said that he himself would go on ahead and prepare a place for us. Therefore we have “Assurance of Salvation,” and that’s awesome!

No other religion has “Assurance of Salvation.” With other religions, you try to be good and hope that it’s enough. But with Christianity, Jesus did all the work FOR us. With Jesus, our sin problem is permanently resolved, and we don’t have to worry if we’ll see heaven from the inside – because we have “Assurance of Salvation!”

God’s truth lasts forever!

Norton Lawellin

Let’s worship together! Jesus in the City Fellowship gathers Sunday, May 21, 2017, at the Akina Church, 3249 30^th Ave. S., Minneapolis, MN 55406, 10:30 AM. I’ll be talking about “Jesus traits” – unconditional love, compassion, and forgiveness. See you at church!

Psalms 92 - Hope!

May 8, 2017 Monday Message:

“It is good to praise the Lord and make music to your name, O Most High.” Psalms 92:1 NIV

There’s a Hebrew story that Adam sang this song on the first Sabbath, the day after his creation. Probably not, but it makes the point that acknowledging God’s majesty, and that singing songs about God and to God honors God. And the Sabbath is the perfect day to put this into motion.

A long time ago, lutes, harps and lyres accompanied church music. Today we use organs, pianos, and guitars. Sometimes we add bass, drums, and a saxophone. In other psalms, cymbals, trumpets and tambourines are mentioned. Even dancing! It sounds like Worship of the Lord was not a dull affair! “You make me glad by your deeds, Lord; I sing for joy for what your hands have done.” Ps. 92:4

True followers of God, “the righteous, will flourish like palm trees.” (Ps. 92:12a) Palm trees grow to extreme heights in the harshest conditions. Sometimes our world presents us with the harshest of conditions, but being a follower of God gives us hope! Like the mighty palm tree, we too will flourish.

“The Lord is upright; he is my Rock.” from Ps. 92:15

Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship gathers Sunday, May 14, 2017, at the Akina Church, 3249 30^th Ave. S., Minneapolis, MN 55406, 10:30 AM. Pastor Retha brings the Mother’s Day message.

Psalms 91 - Closer to God

May 1, 2017 Monday Message:

“Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.” Psalms 91:1 NIV

Psalm 91 is about our relationship with God. It’s encouraging us to live our lives close to God. In the Hebrew tradition, a sinner is said to be “far from God.” But when that person repents and returns, they’re becoming “closer to God” – and the closer the better!

A good analogy is how a mother bird gathers her chicks under her wings for warmth and protection. God will bestow goodness on those under his wings, those who call him Lord.

The Psalm continues with a list of things you no longer need to fear if you’ve been adopted into the Holy Family.

Then God himself speaks the last 3 verses: “Because (the believer) loves me, I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name. He will call on me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver and honor him. With long life I will satisfy him and show him my salvation.” Psalms 91:14-16

Closer to God is always better!

Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship gathers Sunday, May 7, 2017, at the Akina Church, 3249 30^th Ave. S., Minneapolis, MN 55406, 10:30 AM. David Boeltl leads worship and Pastor Retha brings the message.