Make Disciples!

For Tuesday, July 28, 2026:

John 16:9 NLT, Jesus speaking to believers: “The world’s sin is that it refuses to believe in me.”

What’s wrong with the world? Nothing that a healthy dose of ‘Jesus’ wouldn’t fix! If everyone believed that Jesus was the heaven-sent Son of God, they’d soon start following his other commands and living like he lived. Our world would be a better place. But the first step is helping everyone believe in Jesus!

Jesus commissioned believers to make disciples of all nations. But if you’re keeping score, friends, we’re falling behind. Christianity is no longer the dominant religion in England and France, largely displaced by Islam, and we seem to be losing ground in the US. We can do better!

Last week, I heard part of a message from an Imam, the Muslim version of a Pastor. Elections are coming up, and he advised his congregation to seek every political office, from Senator to dog catcher. This push is part of their five-year plan to take over the United States.

Our country was founded promising freedom of religion, but all under God’s value system, God’s rules and commands. Different denominations were OK as long as they were Christian denominations. You could claim to be Lutheran, Presbyterian or even Roman Catholic, as long as Jesus was the center of your faith. Our founding fathers never anticipated non-believers trying to manage a nation founded under God’s laws. To non-believers, God’s rules and laws seem irrelevant.

The time is now to prayerfully consider your piece of the Great Commission. Jesus not only wants you to help, but he is graciously allowing you to help! Make this the week you bring a friend to church. Once they know Jesus, the rest will fall into place!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

The Father’s House

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Truth & Freedom Church

Sabbath Again!

For Saturday, July 11, 2026:

Luke 6:9 NLT: Jesus said to his critics, “I have a question for you. Does the law permit good deeds on the Sabbath, or is it a day for doing evil? Is this a day to save life or to destroy it?”

Saturday is the Jewish Holy Day, so everyone had gathered at the Synagogue. The group included a man with a deformed right hand. At this point, it’s pretty clear that the Pharisees were no fans of Jesus, so this was kind of a trick question. If Jesus healed the man, the Pharisees planned to accuse him of doing work on the Sabbath. After explaining the situation, Jesus healed the man.

Here’s Jesus’ explanation for what happened. While honoring the Sabbath is good, it does not supersede any of God’s other commands, in this case loving your neighbor. Being kind and helpful are always good things to do. Jesus was always doing the next right thing, and this is one more example of that. Our lives should always be modeled after Jesus!

Christians worship on Sunday, the third day after the crucifixion, when Jesus walked away from the tomb, conquering sin and death through the same event.

Q: Is it OK to mow the lawn on Sunday afternoon? A: If it’s just to cross one more thing off your honey-do list, the answer is no. But if it puts a smile on your spouse’s face because they like the yard neat and tidy, do it for them. Show pride in ownership and gratitude for the house and yard God gave you. Take good care of it. Joke with God about why the landscaping barely grows but grass doubles in volume each week! (God likes a good pun, I think!) Then take the kids to a pool, a splash pad, or just let them run through the sprinkler in the yard. Make the Sabbath a fun day for everyone!

God gave you the spouse, the children, the house, the yard and the Sabbath. Enjoy everything!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

The Father’s House

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Truth & Freedom Church

God's Presence!

For Tuesday, October 7, 2025:

John 14:15-17a NLT, Jesus speaking: “If you love me, obey my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you. He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth.”

Jesus wants us to obey his (and his Father’s) commandments. Sounds reasonable, but how does that work for mankind? Wasn’t it the Apostle Paul who said, “I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.” Paul was human. Paul experienced what we all experience: “shortcomings.”

The Bibles we read were translated from centuries-old writings that were hand-copied and therefore subject to minor differences. I discovered originals that said, “obey my commands,” “you will obey my commands,” and “you should obey my commands.” All of this tells us that following Jesus’ direction is a good idea, but we may not always get it right. After all, we’re flawed humans, subject to shortcomings. As pagans, we used to not care. But now that we know Jesus, we do the best that we can. We’re not perfect, but we have a goal in place of living our lives in a God-pleasing manner.

Jesus said he’d ask the Father to send the Holy Spirit to us. (Aha – so there are three of them – Triune God!) He is sending someone to advocate for us, to comfort, encourage and counsel us, someone to walk alongside us through this lifetime. The Greek writers call him “Paraclete.”

Jesus said, “I will never leave you or forsake you.” The “I” refers to the 3-in-1 God. Jesus was on earth with us and died so our sins could be forgiven. He ascended to Heaven, so the Holy Spirit will be our helper for the rest of our time here. And when we transition to God’s Kingdom, Heaven, the Father himself will be our master.

Pray that the Holy Spirit would keep all believers pointed in the right direction!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Pecking Order!

June 19, 2023 Monday Message:

Matthew 19:30 NLT: “Many who are the greatest now will be least important then, and those who seem least important now will be the greatest then.”

Jesus is pointing out groups of people judged by different standards. When judged by the world, popular people with recognizable names rise to the top: politicians and media people; actors and beauty queens; musicians. Their lives and their activities make daily headlines, even when they’re flaunting God’s rules.

The children of God remain humble and loyal. They’re helpful. They always try to do what is right. They care for their neighbors even when there is no apparent reward. But they are loyal to Father God and his commands.

Their reward comes later. When we transition from this life to the next, Jesus says that the first will be last and the last will be first, a complete reversal of the world’s pecking order. We are then being judged by the Lord’s standards. What the ‘world’ thinks no longer matters!

The most popular people on earth may not even get to see heaven from the inside!

In the next life, everything will be in the proper order!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship