Who's First?

For Saturday, May 23, 2026:

Colossians 1:18 NLT: “Christ is also the head of the church, which is his body. He is the beginning, firstborn over all who rise from the dead. So he is first in everything.”

The Bible says that the church is the bride of Christ, making Jesus the head of the church. Without Jesus, there would be no reason for any church to exist. Mankind could have just stayed with Synagogues. It’s important that we understand the difference between the Old Covenant and the New Covenant.

Under the Old Covenant, mankind was expected to conform to God’s commandments, sometimes called the Law of Moses since God sent most of the commandments through his servant Moses. The grading scale was tough: Live life 100% right, pass; miss one, fail. Any sin disqualified a person from accessibility to heaven.

God’s desire, though, is that none would perish, so he gave us a chance to repent and return. We call this the New Covenant. God’s Son Jesus died to atone for the sins of the world. In other words, He gave us a second chance, a do-over! Forgiven believers, those who would put their faith in Jesus, are given an opportunity to see heaven from the inside!

Abbott and Costello asked, “Who’s on first?” The answer should always be, “Jesus!” He’s responsible for creation, the forgiver of mankind’s sins and head of the church! Jesus is first in everything!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

The Father’s House

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Truth & Freedom Church

Creator!

For Wednesday, May 20, 2026:

Colossians 1:17 NLT: “Christ existed before anything else, and he holds all creation together.”

The Bible describes Jesus as the firstborn of everything, present before anything else was created. He himself is not a created being. But he was an active participant when our world was created.

We often take much of our world for granted, giving little credit to the creator. Mankind doesn’t generally question commonplace occurrences, but some are actually miracles. We are given air to breathe, with enough oxygen to keep us alive. The Earth’s temperature is perfect for sustaining life, warmed by a sun 93M miles away. We have a seemingly endless supply of water. Rivers carry away pollution, which settles in oceans. Only pure H₂0 evaporates into clouds, wind blows them over our land, raining down fresh water! It’s a genius system!

Gravity holds everything together. Even though the Earth speeds around the sun eight times faster than a speeding bullet, we don’t fly off into space! There are more insects in a square mile than there are humans on the planet! A single human chromosome contains twenty billion bits of information. Won’t fit on my phone, my iPad or my laptop – not even close!

God is very good, even when we don’t fully realize it!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

The Father’s House

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Truth & Freedom Church

Creation, Condensed Version!

For Friday, March 20, 2026:

Genesis 1:31 NLT: “Then God looked over all he had made, and he saw that it was very good!”

God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit – created the planet Earth, made light and darkness, separated land and water, grew vegetation, put the stars, moon and sun in the sky, gave us fish and birds, next land animals, and finally male and female human beings. That all took six days, and God rested on the seventh, designating it as Holy. After each day, God declared his creation “good,” but in its entirety, following the sixth day, God declared everything to be “VERY good!”

We have been given the privilege of living in that well-designed world. At one time, it was all very good. Unfortunately, mankind has done a lot to make that not so. Sin, lust and corruption have tarnished God’s creation. Satan and his demons have done all they can to derail the project. Right now, the world we live in is a big mess!

The Good News is that God promised to fix everything! He sent his Son, our Savior Jesus to take away the sins of the world. He’ll restore the earth to be the New Earth, just the way it was originally designed. He’ll splash total forgiveness on loyal believers so they can join him in the hereafter. God’s desire is for all to repent and return. You and I can sign up for that program!

Let’s all join God’s eternal heavenly Kingdom, where there’s no sin, no sickness or disease, where people love God and love their neighbors. What God wants turns out to be a very good way for us to live! Hallelujah!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

The Father’s House

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Truth & Freedom Church

I Am the Way!

For Thursday, March 5, 2026:

John 14:4-5 NLT, Jesus: “You know the way to where I am going.”

Thomas: “No, we don’t know, Lord. We have no idea where you are going, so how can we know the way?”

Thomas is sometimes called “Doubting Thomas.” I wonder how someone could live with Jesus during his three years of ministry and not “get it?” The disciples all took meals together. They traveled everywhere together. Shouldn’t it have been obvious to Thomas by this time that Jesus is the Son of God?

But we need to be forgiving, gentle in our criticism of his apparent ignorance. The disciples – all of them – were witnessing things no one had seen before! Jesus, of course, knows it all. He had come from heaven. John tells us that Jesus was even present during creation. But most of the Hebrews were still trying to decide if there even is a life after this life. Jesus, as we well know, was certain of it! In his mind, he can remember the heavenly Kingdom. He’s already planning to prepare a place for all who will be joining him there.

Friends, if you know Jesus, you already know the way. We are saved by grace through faith, our unwavering belief that Jesus is who he said he was, and that he can do what he said he can do. His promises are always good, and his word is always truth. If Jesus promised that we will join him in the life after this life, don’t plan on being dead for too long! Remember, even Jesus himself walked away from the grave after only three days!

Paul taught in 2 Corinthians 5:8 that when we die, our soul, our eternal essence, would be, “Absent from the body; present with the Lord!” Count on it!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

The Father’s House

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Truth & Freedom Church

The Best is Yet to Come!

For Sunday, February 15, 2026:

Hebrews 13:14 NLT: “This world is not our permanent home; we are looking forward to a home yet to come.”

If only we could more clearly see the future! The Bible is truth. It tells us not only what happened, but also what lies ahead. History is interesting and important, but we can do nothing to alter what has already transpired. So it might be more beneficial to spend more time on Jesus’ words about what is to come. That’s something that we can change and make better!

Interesting sidebar: I’ve found that most Christians could retell a reasonably accurate version of the Christmas story with only a couple of missteps. They’ve sat through a number of Christmas pageants! The same group isn’t so clear about creation. Some know the Bible version, but don’t necessarily believe all of it. But when I teach about life after this life, I get a lot of blank stares. Our churches seem to teach a lot about what has happened, and very little about what is to come. Friends, I believe that we need to be prepared for the future!

Here’s the deal: If you’re alive today but headed in the wrong direction, there’s still time to set things right. By recasting our behavior, we can positively improve our place in eternity. We can join the group that calls Jesus the Lord and Savior of their lives. We can pray for Jesus to forgive our sins, wipe our slates clean and prepare a place for us in the hereafter. Eternity is a very long time! We want to be in the right place!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

The Father’s House

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Truth & Freedom Church

Creation's Gift!

For Saturday, October 25, 2025:

Hebrews 11:3 NLT: “By faith we understand that the entire universe was formed at God’s command, that what we now see did not come from anything that can be seen.”

Having a “high view” of the Bible, we believe the words therein are God-inspired and truthful. The Bible states that Jesus was present during the creation of everything – all planets, all galaxies, all universes, and everything in them – and that nothing was created except through Him. God and his Son didn’t gather little pieces of dust and clump them together, hoping to make a planet. No, they spoke, and that of which they spoke became so! Our universe contains all new materials. It’s not the recycled remains of previous efforts. God started from scratch. He did a good job! We’re allowed to live on one of the planets!

Jesus was present at creation and again in the well-documented New Testament. So when he returns for the end times, what we call the Second Coming will actually be the Third Coming. We call it the Second Coming because it will be the second time Jesus is seen by any large number of humans. At creation, Jesus was known only to the Father and the Holy Spirit, and perhaps Adam and Eve. The earth had not yet been populated.

I pray that we can all enjoy our planet and remember to thank God for his magnificent creation. He keeps us perpetually spinning like a giant top and spinning in a year-long elliptical orbit around the sun. It’s all part of God’s vast eternal plan, and we’re all blessed to be included!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Use Your Head!

For Tuesday, October 21, 2025:

John 14:26 NLT, Jesus speaking: “When the Father sends the Advocate as my representative—that is, the Holy Spirit—he will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you.”

The human brain is a miracle of God’s creation skill. Troves of valuable information are retained inside our heads. That’s long-term memory. Surprisingly, I can remember a lot of things I learned as a youth or in elementary or secondary school.

We also garner information on a need-to-know basis. Short-term memory. We remember everything we need to, now, but discard the data a short time later. Since I work with church musicians, I’ll use them as an example. Songs are typically assigned about a week in advance. I can look over the music and listen to examples of others performing the selection, but that’s a small part of the big picture. The most effective rehearsal is the one closest to the performance. It’s the rehearsal right before the church service that locks everything in place. That way, the details and any changes are fresh in our minds. Consequently, the best we ever do is when that music is performed for the congregation right after our rehearsal. Top of mind! But by Monday afternoon, I might not even remember the name of the song!

Back to today’s scripture… In Jesus’ absence, the Holy Spirit will (re-)teach us what we may have forgotten, reminding us of what Jesus said. That’s why it’s important to stake out our relationship with the Holy Spirit. He empowers us for service and connects us with spiritual gifts. While there is some denominational disagreement as to how best to connect with our Paraclete, there is no disagreement that we need to cultivate this relationship. The Holy Spirit can move Jesus’ teaching from your short-term memory to your long-term memory. As a believer, you’ll need this knowledge for quite some time!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Jesus Messiah!

July 21, 2025, Monday Message:

John 12:10-11 AMP: “The chief priests planned to kill Lazarus also, because on account of him many of the Jews were going away [from the teaching and traditions of the Jewish leaders] and believing in Jesus [following Him as Savior and Messiah].”

Martha, Mary and their brother Lazarus were close friends of Jesus. You may recall that Lazarus became quite ill and eventually died. It was Jesus, Son of God, who brought him back to life four days later! Jesus was intentional about waiting four days to arrive, so that observers could be certain of the miracle and glorify God Almighty! This same Jesus would eventually hold all power over sin and death.

2,000 years ago, there was no radio, TV or internet. So when someone returned home and asked, “What’s been happening,” they expected detailed information. “Tell me everything!” Lazarus being brought back to life was #1 on the local buzz. People couldn’t stop talking about it, and many perceived Jesus to be the prophesied heaven-sent Messiah. Many shifted their allegiance from the Jewish priests to Jesus. Nowadays, we’d call it a Church Split.

Sidebar, just my opinion: I believe that faith in God’s Son, Christianity, was never intended to be a separate religion. It should have been just Judaism Chapter 2, a continuation of God’s relationship with Earth’s people. Jesus was raised Jewish, and observed and taught the centuries-old commandments and traditions. Replacing the Old Covenant with the New Covenant should have been a continuation, not a complete break and a restart. Count on humans to get it wrong!

The Chief Priests first plotted to kill Jesus, and now they’re planning the demise of Lazarus. When your religious leadership has murder on its agenda, you know for certain that it’s time to make a switch. Clearly the train had gone off the tracks.

God always favors life. First, he created everything from scratch, and then he commanded all creation to, “Go forth and multiply!” Reproduce your own kind. Make more like yourself, and fill the earth! God never said, “Figure out who to kill, and make a few animals extinct. There are far too many _____.” (snails, tortoises, dolphins, birds – you pick!)

One more thing. Last Friday, I was at the Rice County Fair in Faribault, MN. A couple had brought their newborn baby, and everyone wanted to take a look. A young girl, all smiles, told me excitedly, “He’s not even a week old!” By the time I backed off, at least 35 people had gathered to see God’s creation! They were ignoring the cows, chickens, goats and horses on display and focusing on the infant! The parents should have been awarded a blue ribbon for their exhibit! Moments like this make God smile!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Holy Spirit!

For Tuesday, June 3, 2025:

Acts 2:4 NLT: “Everyone present was filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking in other languages, as the Holy Spirit gave them this ability.”

On the Day of Pentecost, the believers were all together in one place. A sound like wind filled the room, but the Bible doesn’t say it got windy – just the sound! Flames which looked like little lapping tongues of fire floated down, settling on each of them. God had big plans for this day, and in preparation was filling the faithful with the Holy Spirit. This was so important that God was making a show of it!

Not that believers hadn’t previously known the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit had been around since before creation. Genesis 1:2 “The Spirit of the Lord hovered over the waters of creation!” Forgive my crude analogy: The Holy Spirit is like the battery in my laptop. I plug it in for a recharge every night. If I don’t, it won’t be ready to go the next time I need it! Aid from the Holy Spirit is available to all believers, but we must top off our Holy Spirit tanks for tomorrow’s adventure! We must stay connected!

Christians believe in a triune God, one God who has made himself known to us in three different forms: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The Father sits on heaven’s throne, Jesus walked on earth alongside mankind, while the Holy Spirit is our advocate, encourager and helper until Jesus returns. The Bible says that without the Holy Spirit we can accomplish nothing, but with the Holy Spirit we can accomplish anything! As Jesus sends us out to heal the sick, cast out demons and raise the dead, it’s obvious that we’ll need a heavenly helper.

Not only were believers’ tongues touched to speak in other languages, but their ears were touched as well. Instantly, they could clearly understand languages unknown to Israelites. This would be valuable as this Day of Pentecost unfolds! It’s about outreach and evangelism, about sharing the Good News with others. It’s about doing those things that Jesus commissioned us all to do! Are you “in?”

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Happy Mother's Day!

For Sunday, May 11, 2025:

John 2:5 ESV: “Jesus’ mother said to the servants, ‘Do whatever he tells you.’”

Mary, Jesus and his disciples were all invited to a wedding in Cana. Back then, a wedding was a multi-day celebration. The reception could last for a week! But this festivity was embarrassingly about to end prematurely. They had run out of wine. Because water wasn’t purified like it is nowadays, wine was the standard beverage served with meals, so without wine, the gala would come to an abrupt halt.

Mary commented to her son, “They have run out of wine,” to which Jesus replied, “What does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come.” Mary ignored his protest and told the servers, “Do whatever Jesus tells you!”

So Jesus stepped up and did the right thing. He honored his mother! Jesus had the servers bring big stone water jars to the Maitre’d. While being transported, the water changed into wine, and the Maitre’d asked why they had saved the best wine for last?

So examining Jesus’ behavior, even though it was not yet his time to go public with his ministry, it was a good decision to honor mom. Following his example, today we celebrate Mother’s Day in the US. It’s a good day to figuratively put mom up on a pedestal. My own mother has passed, so I can only remember her. But I honor my wife, the mother of my children. I honor my two daughters and my son’s wife, who are mothers to my grandchildren.

As Christians, we should honor all women, whether or not they are actually mothers. God saw that it was not good for man to be alone, so he gave us partners. Honoring women honors God’s decision! We should follow in Jesus’ footsteps and honor our mothers and all women – especially today!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Designed to be Included!

For Friday, January 3, 2025:

Genesis 1:27 NLT: “So God created human beings in his own image. In the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.”

Things created alike tend to stick together. For example, most birds fly south for the winter, but we don’t find mallards in the same flying V with geese. A herd of sheep is just that – sheep! Don’t look for horses among the sheep. (Sheep chew grass right down to the roots! There’d be nothing left to sustain the horses!) Creepy-crawly things stay closer to the ground, and no one wants to live alongside bears and alligators! They keep to themselves. Fish live in schools and dolphins travel in pods, each sticking with their own kind.

God created mankind in His image, after His own kind. So friends, we were designed from the ground up to be members of God’s family, included in God’s community. I remember singing: “Come join the family, the family of God.” That’s a good idea, but we don’t have to JOIN – we’ve already been designed that way! Jesus taught us to pray to “our Father in heaven,” and he wasn’t wrong! Our heavenly Father loves us, cares for us and wants nothing but the best for us! He wants to include us in all that he is doing.

We are blessed to be included in the family of God. God, in His wisdom, intentionally designed us that way!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Freedom to Choose!

For Wednesday, January 1, 2025 New Years Day!

Genesis 1:2 NLT: “The earth was formless and empty, and darkness covered the deep waters. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters.”

God had a blank slate. He could create anything he thought best in his new world. I picture the Holy Spirit hovering over the waters, excitedly saying, “C’mon, man. We’re ready to go! You just give the word, and we’ll get this thing started!”

Everything was going fine. But on the sixth day, God created mankind. In what must have been a difficult decision, he gave mankind the freedom to choose to obey God or not. That way, if mankind truly loved God, it would be real, not just a robot doing the only thing they were programmed to do. That same freedom also gave mankind the ability to make incorrect decisions, to disobey God.

But c’mon friends, we are the Christians, the ones who have chosen to play on God’s team. We’re not perfect and we’ll still make mistakes from time to time. But our heart belongs to the Lord. Think of this new year a dividing line between your old behavior and your new behavior. Make a commitment: “I can live a better life this year, a life more pleasing to God.” Look at this new year as your version of a clean slate, a fresh start!

Get as much as you can out of your gift of another year!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Sabbath!

For Sunday, November 3, 2024:

Hebrews 4:9-10 NLT: “So there is a Sabbath still waiting for the people of God. For all who have entered into God’s rest have rested from their labors, just as God did after creating the world.”

God had big plans! When we call God our Creator, we’re typically thinking of our planet and the things it contains, things within the limits of our knowledge. But God is much bigger than that. He designed a sun and set our planet 93M miles from it to facilitate life. God completed our neighboring planets, and then set thousands of stars in the sky, each with its own galactic system, all gravitationally balanced with the others in the sky. Like I said, it was a big job, but God was up for the task!

He completed the work in six days. (Let’s not argue about how long a day is. Our planet didn’t even have days until the sun was in place and the earth started spinning!) On the seventh day, God stepped back, looked at all he had created, and declared it to be “very good.” Following God’s example, we should take a day, temporarily step out of our lives, look in the window and make an honest assessment of how things are going. Most of us won’t find “very good.” Some things will need adjustment, course corrections. The knowledge we gain from a rigorous self-examination allows us to proactively live the Lord’s way rather than simply reacting when something goes wrong!

We can use the Sabbath to get ourselves back on track, back to the Lord’s ways!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship