Better Direction!

For Friday, June 6, 2025:

Acts 2:38 NLT: “Peter replied, ‘Each of you must repent of your sins and turn to God, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.’”

“Repent and return to the Lord.” Sound familiar? For centuries, prophets had been trying to get everyone back on track. One example is Jonah, delivering God’s message to the people of Nineveh. Repent and return. Before Jesus arrived, John-the-Baptist used those same words. Jesus himself spoke those words. And now Peter, following Jesus’ instructions, is encouraging a colossal crowd of Jews to repent and return.

Every language has its quirks, and Hebrew is no exception. “Teshuvah” (repent) indicates a change in direction. “We were headed East, but decided West would be better.” Sinners are “far from God.” Believers are “closer to God.” Combining those two thoughts, people caroming through the world are advised to change directions and return, thereby becoming closer to God. The best way to get closer to God is to repent, change your ways and make a total commitment to follow God Almighty and His Son.

Baptism is an outward confirmation of an inward change. If a person is convinced that Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life, public baptism shares their decision with the world. There were healing pools nearby, and several other believers to perform the baptisms, making this scenario possible.

Take a moment and re-commit yourself to service on the “Jesus Team!” Each of us has been given specific gifts and talents to add value to our church family. Everyone is needed. Do you know your piece of the worship equation?

See you at church!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Good Problem To Have!

July 29, 2024 Monday Message:

Acts 2:41 NLT: “Those who believed what Peter said were baptized and added to the church that day—about 3,000 in all.”

I love the story of the birthday of the church on the first Pentecost following the crucifixion. Here’s the short version:

The believers were all in one place, in Jerusalem, together, worshiping and praying, following Jesus’ instructions to the letter, when the Holy Spirit came upon them. Without the Spirit, they could accomplish nothing, but WITH the Spirit they were capable of great things. That’s also a lesson for us! Without the Holy Spirit, we can’t accomplish much, but WITH the Spirit, great things are possible!

Peter stepped into the town square and hopped up on his soapbox, re-stating the same things that got Jesus killed! But this time, all those visiting Jerusalem for the Pentecost celebration listened, each able to understand in his own language! (Holy Spirit working again…)

Obedience prevailed, and the question followed: “Brothers, what should we do?”

"Each of you must repent of your sins and turn to God, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”

So how do you baptize 3,000 people? Well, the healing pool of Bethesda was nearby, and all the Apostles and disciples could help with the baptisms. How do you assimilate 3,000 people? That’s a good problem for a church to have!

If that happened nowadays, who would be doing the work? Who would give the speech, who would preach the truth, who could help with the baptisms, and who could sustain the local church so there’d be a home for 3,000 newly saved? Did your hand go up? I certainly hope so! We are ALL called to spread the Good News!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Holy Spirit!

For Saturday, December 30, 2023:

Luke 3:16 NLT: “John (the Baptist) answered their questions by saying, ‘I baptize you with water; but someone is coming soon who is greater than I am—so much greater that I’m not even worthy to be his slave and untie the straps of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.’”

Everyone assumed the Messiah’s arrival was imminent, just around the corner. John was telling people to repent of their sins as he baptized them. They knew that only God could forgive sins against God’s law. So the question arose, is this “John” the one for whom we’ve been waiting?

John is quite clear in his response. He’s a number of things. He’s a baptizer, preparing the world for the soon-to-come Messiah. In a way he’s like a prophet, heralding the Messiah’s arrival. But he is not the one.

John makes mention of receiving the Holy Spirit, the ‘fire’ baptism. The gift of the Holy Spirit is received by believing in Jesus Christ. Peter explains in Acts 2:38 “Each of you must repent of your sins and turn to God, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”

The Holy Spirit never leaves a believer, but mankind can become lax in worshiping God-the-Spirit. That’s why it’s essential to stay plugged in to a church, to recharge your Holy Spirit battery, to top off your Holy Spirit tank.

With the Spirit, we are prepared to do battle in the world in the name of Jesus!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship

New Year - New Beginning!

 For Sunday, January 1, 2023 – Happy New Year!

Matthew 3:16-17 NLT: “After his baptism, as Jesus came up out of the water, the heavens were opened and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and settling on him. And a voice from heaven said, ‘This is my dearly loved Son, who brings me great joy.’”

This is the beginning of a new year, so it’s appropriate to look at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry. Don’t you wish you’d been present that day? Obedient in his baptism, the Holy Spirit descended from heaven, like a dove, and landed right on its intended target - Jesus of Nazareth! Imagine God’s voice booming from heaven: “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased!” Jesus’ ministry was given a jump-start, a seal of approval, from God himself!

Many of us make New Year’s resolutions, hoping to change something in our lives, hoping to follow a better path. Frankly, we could make that change any day, but somehow it seems that a new year is a good time to make a fresh start. So go ahead – commit or re-commit to our Savior! New Year’s Day is a good day to lock-in our relationship with Jesus.

Jesus is, after all, God-approved!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship

Holy Spirit Baptism!

For Tuesday, December 13, 2022:

Mark 1:7-8 NLT: “John (the Baptist) announced: ‘Someone is coming soon who is greater than I am—so much greater that I’m not even worthy to stoop down like a slave and untie the straps of his sandals. I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit!’”

Most people understand water-baptism. We confess our sins, and next comes the water. It’s an outward sign of an inward change. We’re turning our backs on darkness, and enjoying the light of Jesus. We still may stumble, but we’ll get up again and keep going!

Holy Spirit baptism is different. It’s part of our permanent decision to be a Christian. On the Day of Pentecost, for the first time, believers were indwelt by the Holy Spirit. 3,000 were added to their number that day. It was the beginning of the church. “We were all baptized by one Spirit into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit.” This is not a special experience for only a few. All believers have received the Holy Spirit baptism, synonymous with the gift of salvation!

Believers are aligned with Christ in his death, burial, and resurrection through Holy Spirit baptism. This separates us from the power of sin, and we can now walk in newness of life, having been given a fresh start by our Savior!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship

Prophesy Fulfilled!

For Tuesday, December 6, 2022:

Malachi 3:1 NLT: “’Look! I am sending my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. Then the Lord you are seeking will suddenly come to his Temple. The messenger of the covenant, whom you look for so eagerly, is surely coming,’ says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.”

That messenger, of course, was John-the-Baptist. He was in the wilderness and preached that people should be baptized to show that they had repented of their sins and turned to God to be forgiven. All of Judea, including all the people of Jerusalem, went out to see and hear John. And when they confessed their sins, John baptized them in the Jordan River. An odd looking man, his clothes were woven from coarse camel hair, and for food he ate locusts and wild honey.

What I find interesting is the use of pronouns: “I am sending... prepare the way before ME...” It’s as if Jesus himself was giving the prophesy! Another prophesy says that a Messiah would be coming, and that turns out to be our Jesus! And it just makes sense that the Son of God would teach at the Temple. Everything happened just the way the prophets said.

As Christians, we have one God, known to us in three forms: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Personally I don’t make a big distinction between them, for they all represent the one God. Jesus is a part of the “Lord of Heaven’s Armies.” So it’s possible that Jesus would foretell his own arrival on earth. He would be on a mission trip to offer salvation to mankind! He came to rescue you and me!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship

Arrival!

November 28, 2022 Monday Message:

2 Peter 1:17b NLT: “The voice from the majestic glory of God said to Jesus, ‘This is my dearly loved Son, who brings me great joy.’”

On the church calendar, yesterday was the First Sunday in Advent, the beginning of the church’s liturgical year. The name comes from the Latin “adventus,” which means coming or arrival. It’s a time of preparation before we celebrate the birth of the Messiah Jesus.

This Sunday’s scripture points toward John-the-Baptist. It’s God’s words following the Baptism of Jesus. God almost always lets his people know what’s coming, usually through prophets. But this time is special, so the Lord is sent a messenger to earth, John-the-Baptist, to herald or announce the impending arrival of his Son. John told the people that it was time to repent and return to the Lord. God’s kingdom would be arriving soon!

With John preaching a revival, the arrival of Jesus on the ministry scene was no surprise. People didn’t need convincing arguments about who Jesus was. They simply said, “We were expecting this. This is what we’ve been talking about!” The Messiah’s arrival was prophesied; John was just reminding everyone!

Believers will soon find the Kingdom in a manger in Bethlehem!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship

Christians!

June 6, 2022 Monday Message:

Acts 2:38 NLT, Peter responding to the Pentecost crowd: “Each of you must repent of your sins and turn to God, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”

Yesterday we celebrated Pentecost Sunday, remembering the birthday of the church with 3,000 responding to the altar call. Magnificent day!

The path to salvation is the same nowadays as it was back then. #1 Repent and return to the Lord; #2 Baptism, the ‘new’ you coming up out of the water; and #3 Receive the Holy Spirit. Jesus promised, “I will send you the Spirit who comes from the Father and shows what is true. The Spirit will help you and will tell you about me.”

Today is the accepted day to commit or re-commit our lives to Jesus. And we can help others do the same.

Pastor Norton Lawellin

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

My God!

For Thursday, January 20, 2022

Mark 6:6a NLT: “Jesus was amazed at their unbelief.”

Me too! I’ve never understood how people could watch Jesus heal and perform so many other miracles and then seek out a different god. The Bible is pretty clear that Jesus is the Messiah who came to rescue us!

At Jesus’ baptism, heaven opened and voice of God boomed out, “This is my Son…” That’s good enough for me. I’m ‘good’ with Jesus. I don’t need any other god.

The Bible says, “God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.” The Son of God brings hope to the people on earth!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

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