Psalms 107 - God's Deep Love

Aug. 28, 2017 Monday Message:

“Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever.” Psalms 107:1 NIV

It seems that the closer we are to God, the better life goes. And the farther we are from God, the more difficulties fall into our lives.

Psalm 107 goes into great detail about the plight of the Hebrew people and the predicaments in which they found themselves when they drifted farther from God. But each story also tells how God rescued them in their time of great need. “They cried out to the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress.” v6 “Give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love.” v8a

Jesus offered us similar assurance when he echoed the words of God: “I will never leave you or forsake you.” Deut. 31:6b, Matt. 28:20b

Once we’re adopted into the Holy Family, we have assurance of salvation – forever! God isn’t just a fair-weather friend. In fact, God already knows that your life will experience ups and downs. The Good News is that he’s not going anywhere, and neither is his Son. He is our God and we are his people, no matter what!

“If you are really wise, you’ll think this over — it’s time you appreciated God’s deep love.” Ps. 107:43 MSG

Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship gathers next Sunday, Sept. 3, 2017, 3249 30^th Ave. S., Minneapolis, MN 55406, 10:30 AM, with guest Worship Leader David Boeltl.

Psalms 106 - Chesedic Love

Aug. 21, 2017 Monday Message:

“Praise the Lord. Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever.” Psalms 106:1 NIV

In the Hebrew Bible, “Praise the Lord” is simply “Hallelujah.” “Hallelu” means praise or exalt – like saying “thank-you” to God for all He has done for us. “Jah” or “Yah” is God’s name. Some people translate God’s name as Jehovah or Yahweh, but the truth is that we don’t know the correct pronunciation of his name. Shout it out - Hallelu-Jah!

“His love endures forever” describes a special kind of love: chesed or khesed in Hebrew. There are many degrees of love, but the English language only gives us one word – love. When we say, “I love my car,” “I love my wife,” or “I love my God,” they have very different meanings.

Chesed love is similar to the love a parent has for their child. The child might be far from perfect, but the parent still loves the child simply because it’s a parent/child relationship. God told David that He would be a Father to David’s son Solomon. Jesus taught us to pray to “our Father in heaven.” It’s that love-of-a-child relationship that God has for his people.

Older translations of the Bible used the words “everlasting lovingkindness” to describe chesed. That’ll engage “auto-correct” or at least “spell-checker” nowadays, but it clearly describes God’s love.

All people matter to God. Therefore all people should matter to us.

Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship gathers next Sunday, Aug. 27, 2017, 3249 30^th Ave. S., Minneapolis, MN 55406, 10:30 AM. Lead Pastor Michael Pilla brings a message from God’s Word.

Psalms 105 - God's Covenant

Aug. 14, 2017 Monday Message:

“The Lord our God remembers his covenant forever.” Psalms 105:8a NKJV

There are 43 places in the Bible where God says similar words: “You will be my people, and I will be your God.”

This is God’s covenant, first with the Hebrew people, and then with the followers of Jesus, who added, “I will never leave you or forsake you.”

Just so you understand, a covenant is an irrevocable perpetual promise. As humans in a sinful world, we sometimes neglect our half of the covenant. Fortunately, God never forgets his promise. God is like a rock, like an anchor. God is the same yesterday and today, and we can count on him remaining true to his covenant tomorrow as well.

If we look outside the church, we can see that many humans haven’t held up their end of the covenant. They don’t behave as God’s people should. This past weekend saw violent confrontations in Charlottesville, VA, over a civil war statue, a white supremacy protest, protesters against that protest, and ultimately the death of a young woman, Heather D. Heyer, 32. None of that is the way God wants people to live.

Jesus said, “A new command I give you: Love one another as I have loved you.” Yes, Jesus is the answer our nation needs – love, tolerance, patience and understanding are better answers than prejudice, hatred and violence. The more people we tell about Jesus, the better chance that we can swing the pendulum in a more positive direction.

Perhaps you could bring someone with you to church next weekend. Our God could be their God too, and they could become one of his people.

Norton Lawellin

Let’s worship together! Jesus in the City Fellowship gathers next Sunday, Aug. 20, 2017, 3249 30^th Ave. S., Minneapolis, MN 55406, 10:30 AM. The Pharisees complained that Jesus ate with sinners and tax collectors. We’ll visit Matthew’s party this week, and see the assortment of people who came to hear the words of the teacher who loved everyone. See you at church!

Psalms 104 - God-the-Creator!

Aug. 7, 2017 Monday Message:

“Lord my God, you are very great.” Psalms 104:1b

God is the creator of everything, and Psalm 104 describes most of it, starting with light and darkness. God created both heaven and earth, and the earthly description mentions clouds, wind, fire, water and mountains.

David moves on mentioning growing things: grass, trees, other plants, and food for animals and mankind.

Finally, things that are alive: cattle, birds, goats, hyrax and lions.

God made the moon to mark the seasons, and separated the day from the night. He made the sea and all its inhabitants. All creatures look to God for their food, and God delivers just the right amount at the proper time. When God takes away their breath, they die and return to the earth as dust.

The Psalm concludes with a worship prayer: “May the glory of the Lord endure forever. I will sing to my God as long as I live.”

And then, almost as a P.S., the psalmist adds, “May sinners vanish from the earth and the wicked be no more.” v35a

God’s world is a wonderful place in which we get to live!

Norton Lawellin

Let’s worship together! Jesus in the City Fellowship gathers next Sunday, Aug. 13, 2017, 3249 30^th Ave. S., Minneapolis, MN 55406, 10:30 AM. Several people in the Bible had a best friend – Jesus! See you at church!