Bitterness and Resentment!

For Wednesday, July 16, 2025:

Luke 15:25b NLT: “When the older brother returned home, he heard music and dancing in the house.”

The Prodigal Son story hasn’t quite ended. We know the father welcomed him home with open arms. But we also must consider his assimilation into the remainder of the household. As Paul Harvey would say, “The REST of the story!”

One of my commentaries titles this section, “The bitterness and resentment of the older son.” In his mind, what mattered is what he wanted. But what really matters is what God wants! In this parable, the father represents our Father in Heaven.

The older son had never lived a prodigal lifestyle. When he heard the celebration, he refused to enter. “I never disobeyed...” he said, and, “You never gave me…,” clues that a deep-seated grudge lived within the older son. How long had he believed himself to be superior to the younger son?

Let’s get back to what God wants. God expects certain decisions to be ‘forever.’ If you want to be part of God’s team, great. That’s a forever decision. If you decide to be the ‘good’ son, you’ve got that position for life. When you ask Jesus to live in your heart and to be Lord and Savior of your life, that’s an eternal decision. Yes, eternal! God won’t come around daily, asking, “Are you still ‘in?’ Do you still believe? Great!” No, you told Him once that you were ‘in,’ and He expects your word to be good. So was the older son ‘in,’ or was he a backslider?

One more thing. The Hebrew word translated ‘repent’ really means ‘to turn,’ as in, “I was headed North but should have been going South!” It’s referring to turning our lives around. Repent and return. Instead of drifting farther from God, we all need to settle in closer to God, and make that permanent, a forever decision. Our word needs to be good.

Notice that heaven’s celebration begins with the radical transformation of even one sinner. “This son of mine was dead and has now returned to life. He was lost, but now he is found.’ So let he party begin!

When God celebrates, we should celebrate with Him. After all, heaven celebrated when each of us was saved!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Celebration!

For Wednesday, March 19, 2025:

Leviticus 23:1, 2b NLT: The Lord instructed Moses, “These are the Lord’s appointed festivals, which you are to proclaim as official days for holy assembly.”

The first festival appointed by the Lord is kind of a surprise. It’s the weekly celebration of the seventh day or Sabbath. Jews worship from sundown Friday until sundown Saturday. Christians worship on Sunday, the third day after the crucifixion, when Jesus was resurrected. He conquered sin and death on that same day, events worthy of celebration!

Celebrating Passover is a big Jewish deal. It commemorates God rescuing the Israelites from slavery in Egypt. God says that remembering Passover should continue for all time. First Harvest and Harvest acknowledge the God of Provision’s goodness. The Day of Atonement is when sins are confessed and taken away. The Festival of Shelters celebrates construction of the Tabernacle and God living amongst His people.

Christians celebrate Christmas when Jesus came to earth to ultimately rescue mankind. Good Friday is the crucifixion day when Jesus died and took the sins of the world to the place of the dead. Easter or Resurrection Sunday is when Jesus arose from that place of the dead, leaving our sin behind! Pentecost is considered the birthday of the church.

It’s good to gather with our church friends to celebrate the goodness of Father God, His Son our Redeemer and the Holy Spirit, our helper and advocate. Look forward to each Holy Day!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Celebration!

For Saturday, February 8, 2025:

Exodus 14:31 NLT: “When the people of Israel saw the mighty power that the Lord had unleashed against the Egyptians, they were filled with awe before him. They put their faith in the Lord and in his servant Moses.”

Humans are fickle. One minute they think that God is the greatest thing ever, and the next they forget about him. For all that God had done – all the plagues and now their journey out of Egypt – some Israelites were still wishy-washy about the Lord. But now, with the parting of the Red Sea and all the Hebrews escaping to the other side, but the Egyptian army being crushed by the returning water, the fence sitters were convinced. God had been extremely good to the Jews and all were amazed!

When God has been that good, the proper response would be to exalt the Lord, to lift up his name. Praise and worship are the order of the day, and that’s just what they did. The people of Israel gathered and sang hymns, but that wasn’t enough for Miriam the prophet, Moses and Aaron’s sister. She grabbed a tambourine and led the women as they sang and danced even more before the Lord.

While that celebration was good, we should all be celebrating the Lord every day. God deserves praise and worship whether or not he has done anything spectacular. He is still God, the creator of everything in the universe. He is our creator, our Father in heaven. So grab your tambourine and sing a song to the Lord today! Dance if you’re so inclined!

Psalm 150:3-5 “Praise him with a blast of the ram’s horn; praise him with the lyre and harp! Praise him with the tambourine and dancing; praise him with strings and flutes! Praise him with a clash of cymbals; praise him with loud clanging cymbals!”

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

Celebrate!

For Thursday, October 6, 2022:

Nehemiah 8:6 NLT: “Then Ezra the scribe praised the Lord, the great God, and all the people chanted, “Amen! Amen!” as they lifted their hands. Then they bowed down and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground.”

Nehemiah had returned to Jerusalem, providing leadership for the rebuilding of the Holy City. That work was finished, and now it was time to rebuild their worship of the Lord.

Holy writings had been discovered - the Book of the Law of God! The people hadn’t heard these words for quite some time. Those reading also clearly explained the meaning of what was being read, helping the people understand each passage.

The people wept, knowing they had not honored God’s Laws. But the leaders told them to instead celebrate their re-connection with the Lord! When someone repents and returns, Heaven celebrates!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

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

Christmas = Jesus!

For Thursday, December 9, 2021

Romans 1:3-4 NLT: “The Good News is about God’s Son. In his earthly life he was born into King David’s family line, and he was shown to be the Son of God when he was raised from the dead by the power of the Holy Spirit. He is Jesus Christ our Lord.”

Are you ready for Christmas, when we celebrate God’s Son coming to earth to walk alongside mankind? As Andy Williams sang, “It’s the most wonderful time of the year!” Regrettably, the song mentions jingle bells, mistletoe and gatherings of family and friends, but somehow forgets to mention Jesus!

In our country, Christmas is both a secular and a sacred holiday. We need to remember that at the heart of it all is Jesus. Without Jesus as the focus of the season, there would be no pine trees coming indoors, no Black Friday sales of merchandise, no wrapped presents and no sleigh rides just for fun. Most of us get a couple extra days-off to worship and celebrate. It all happens because Jesus came 2k years ago to give us hope!

Let’s prioritize keeping Jesus in the season!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

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

Worship Celebration!

June 7, 2021 Monday Message

2 Samuel 6:14a NLT: “David danced before the Lord with all his might.”

The Ark of the Covenant contained a pot of manna, Aaron’s rod, and most importantly the two stone tablets of the Ten Commandments. David’s mission was to bring the Ark to Jerusalem. He filled the journey with joyous, over-the-top celebration, the singing of songs and playing all kinds of musical instruments—lyres, harps, tambourines, castanets, and cymbals. Truly an exuberant cacophony!

David-leading-worship wasn’t a half-hearted effort. He worshiped “with all his might,” both to honor God and as a model for how we are to worship. Not just half-heatedly mouthing the words of a forgotten hymn, David had dedicated the entire day, in fact the entire event, to the Lord. This was a celebration with dancing in the streets that went on for a long time!

Perhaps our worship nowadays could use a little more “David” in it!

Blessings to all today!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

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