All Hallows' Eve!

For Friday, October 31, 2025:

Deuteronomy 18:10b-11 NLT, Instructions for people living in the Promised Land: “Do not let your people practice fortune-telling, or use sorcery, or interpret omens, or engage in witchcraft, or cast spells, or function as mediums or psychics, or call forth the spirits of the dead.”

Q: Should Christians celebrate Halloween? A: Only in an innocent and fun way!

All Hallows’ Eve is the night before All Saints’ Day. Pagan Celts erroneously believed that graves would open, and the dead would walk among the living. That’s why we see cemeteries, tombstones and skeletons as Halloween decorations. Witches with their black cats and brooms filled out the dark side of Halloween, practices Christians should avoid at all costs. But Halloween doesn’t have to be like that!

There’s nothing wrong with kids dressing in fun costumes and seeking free candy. My church held a “Trunk of Treat” event. We ate popcorn, drank hot cider, and signed people up for the New Members’ class. The kids played simple games in which everybody won free candy. We signed some of them up for Sunday School! I brought my grandson, dressed as Spiderman. He had a ball! I saw four Spidermen at the event!

We did not have witches, ghosts or ghouls. No “spirits,” evil or otherwise, walked among us. We kept the good, fun parts of Halloween, while discarding the evil.

I want to close by reminding everyone that Satan is real, and he’s always looking to get his foot in our doors. Halloween presents a perfect opportunity for the Devil’s evil plans. His demon helpers are still problematic today. Jesus spent a fair amount of time casting out demons. There’s a lot of evil in our world, and Satan is fueling most of it, so we need to stay alert. Avoid the Evil One at all costs, while loving the children who enjoy a fall party and free candy!

Happy Halloween!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

All Saints' Day!

For Friday, November 1, 2024:

Revelation 7:10 NLT: “Salvation comes from our God who sits on the throne and from the Lamb!”

Yesterday was Halloween or All Hallows’ Eve, so today is All Hallows’ Day. In the US, we call it All Saints’ Day. Many churches celebrate this on the following Sunday. Our Mexican neighbors celebrate Day of the Dead (Día de los Muertos,) similar to All Saints’ Day.

Christianity was not always a popular and well-established religion. So this feast-day was originally to honor martyrs, those who had given their lives for their faith. Nowadays we honor believers who have returned to the Lord, and that’s a good thing to celebrate!

When our founding fathers came to the US, they were seeking religious freedom, freedom to follow the beliefs of their chosen denomination, which may have been different from their neighbor’s beliefs. Most came from Europe and Great Britain, where governments had mandated a certain religion. Personally, I believe that government and religion should remain separate. We should have the freedom to worship as we choose, or for that matter, the freedom to not worship at all. Now I believe not worshiping is a bad choice, but to be redeemed, one must intentionally choose to follow Jesus. It’s a conscious decision we all need to make.

Note that this day is not about sadness for having lost loved ones. It’s a feast celebrating those who now live in the presence of God Almighty. May we all join them!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

All Hallow's Eve!

For Thursday, October 31, 2024:

2 Corinthians 5:8 PHILLIPS: “We would really rather be “away” from the body (in death) and be “at home” with the Lord.”

In the US, today is “Halloween” or All Hallows’ Eve. Kids don fun costumes, ring doorbells, shout “Trick or Treat” and receive candy, allegedly for not ‘tricking’ anyone! It can be a fun holiday celebrating autumn, harvest and sometimes the first snowfall.

But there are dark parts of Halloween to be avoided. ’Witchcraft’ means the use of magic or supernatural powers to inflict harm or misfortune on others. If anyone has such power, it comes straight from the devil himself. When believers die, our spirits are instantly with the Lord. Non-believers get to hang out in Satan’s realm. The Bible makes no mention of souls caught midway between this life and the next. So there really are no ghosts. Graves do not open up. Once we’ve entered the next reality, there’s no going back. Sorry, Ghostbusters! You’ll have to find another line of work!

The Lord will show you everything you need to know. Hauntings, séances, tarot cards, Ouija boards, and crystal balls are attempts to offer insight into an unknown world that lies beyond the limits of our physical existence. The truth is that we cannot go there.

Tomorrow is “All Saints’ Day,” often celebrated the following Sunday. We remember both our ancestors and other great people who have gone before us. Our Mexican neighbors celebrate Day of the Dead (Día de los Muertos,) similar to All Saints’ Day.

So let’s enjoy the holiday, savoring the fun parts, the good parts, and setting aside rumors and bad theology. Stick with what the Bible teaches!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

New Covenant!

For Wednesday, November 1, 2023:

Romans 14:17-18 NLT: “For the Kingdom of God is not a matter of what we eat or drink, but of living a life of goodness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. If you serve Christ with this attitude, you will please God, and others will approve of you, too.”

Today is All Saints’ Day. We honor those in Christ who have gone before us.

  By dying and then rising from the dead, Jesus re-wrote the rules. He gave us the “New Covenant.” He simplified the commandments saying, “Love God and love your neighbor.” We see heaven not by keeping commandments, but by our faith in Jesus. Following Jesus and being filled with the Holy Spirit, we should live a life of goodness, peace and joy! It’s a good way of living that will please God, your fellows and you!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship

All Hallowed's Eve!

For Sunday, October 31, 2021

1 Corinthians 15:52b NLT: “When the trumpet sounds, those who have died will be raised to live forever. And we who are living will also be transformed.”

In the US, today is Halloween, or all hallowed’s eve. Kids don funny costumes and eat too much candy. I’m OK with that! I’m not so OK with witches and the dark side of the holiday.

Tomorrow is All Saints' Day, or ‘all hallowed’s day,’ when we honor those who preceded us in going to the Lord.

In Mexico, it’s Dia de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, surprisingly a holiday of joyful celebration rather than mourning! If those who died knew Jesus, they’re with him now, and that’s certainly reason to celebrate!

Our eternal hope is in our Savior Jesus – we should all celebrate!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship, 3249 30th Ave. S., Minneapolis, MN 55406

Thy Kingdom Come

October 31, 2011 Monday Message:

The Lord said to my lord, “Sit here at my right side, until I put your enemies under your feet.” Psalm 110:1 GNT

In the life after this life, good and evil will not exist together. Good will live in the presence of God, and evil will not be tolerated in the presence of God. Good people will be on one level; evil will be below them, under their feet.

God is taking his time, and God is patient. God’s wish is that none would perish, but we live in a fallen world, and some who rebel will not make it. There will be anger, fighting, bruises and blood spilt on the spiritual battlefield. There will be wars and rumors of wars until Jesus returns. Some of us will be martyred, but God will win.

Each day here on earth, we’re seeing more and more of God’s kingdom and less and less evil. The prayer, “Thy kingdom come,” is coming true, a little at a time. God’s kingdom (Malkuth) is destined for our physical world, and the earth is becoming “as it is in heaven.”

Those indwelt by the Holy Spirit, adopted into the Lord’s family, will be delivered from evil and reside in God’s kingdom, for ever, in this place Jesus is preparing for us.

Happy All-Hallows-Eve!

Norton Lawellin

Reformation — Sola Fide

October 24, 2011 Monday Message:

It’s time for holiday celebrations! Halloween is one week from today. Remember that Halloween, “All-Hallow’s-Eve,” came out of Catholic liturgy. It’s the night before another holiday on our church calendars, “All Saint’s Day.” (Nov. 1.) So they’re kind of the same holiday, following the Jewish tradition that a feast begins at sundown the previous day.

On October 31, our church calendars list one additional holiday – Reformation. It gets far less attention than Halloween, which is unfortunate, since Reformed Theology brings clarity in our journey to the place Jesus is preparing for us.

Here’s how it happened: German-born Martin Luther, a Catholic Monk and Priest, embarked on a quest for assurance of salvation. Sure, he believed Jesus was the Son of God who died to redeem the repentant, but how can you know that you and God are “OK?” How can you be certain?

The answer was Habakkuk 2:4b: “The righteous will be justified by faith.” We’re not saved by anything we do. It’s our faith in God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit that saves us. It’s God’s choice to offer this gift to us; we just need to say, “Yes.”

A similar principle is stated many other places in the Bible. I like Isaiah 55:1 "Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost." You can’t buy salvation — it’s God’s free gift to you.

This is a prime example of God’s everlasting lovingkindness toward us, His khesed, His agape love, how He takes care of us. God offers us a second chance, and our God is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. God won’t change his mind about redeeming those who put their faith in his Son.

"For by grace you have been saved through faith, and not of yourselves; it is a gift of God, not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9)

Sola fide,

Norton Lawellin