Davie vs Goliath!

Memorial Day Monday Message, May 25, 2026:

1 Samuel 17:32 NLT: “Don’t worry about this Philistine,” David told Saul. “I’ll go fight him!”

In the US, this is Memorial Day, when we honor the lives of patriots who died in defense of our country. I don’t really like wars and fighting, and I don’t think God does either. But we can’t let the bad guys win either. When evil appears to be on a winning path, we have to put our feet down, draw a line in the sand and put a stop to it. Enough is enough!

Bible history tells us that Israel seemed to be in a perpetual war with the Philistines. For 40 days, Saul’s army was on one hill and the Philistines on another, fighting in the valley in between. (Why is it always 40 days?) Little shepherd-boy David was bringing gifts to his brothers who were in Israel’s army, and he saw everything. The Philistines held a distinct advantage via the 9-foot tall warrior Goliath.

David told king Saul, “Don’t worry about this Philistine. I’ll go fight him!”

Saul protested, “You’re only a boy, and he’s been a man of war since his youth.”

David justified his involvement. “I have fought lions and bears protecting my father’s sheep. This pagan has defied the living God. Let me at him!” He probably thought, “I’m saving you, your army and your country. Why should I have to justify myself?”

With his sling, David lobbed a river stone into Goliath’s forehead, the Philistines turned tail and ran away, and that pretty much wraps up the story. God, who wants us to love one another, granted victory to Israel. Sometimes fighting is necessary to stand up for the Lord’s value system. If something upsets God, it’s worth fighting for. Sometimes we have to be the ones doing the fighting!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

The Father’s House

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Truth & Freedom Church

David's Anointing!

For Tuesday, March 24, 2026:

1 Samuel 16:11c NLT: “At once, send for the youngest, the shepherd,” Samuel said. “We will not sit down to eat until he arrives.”

God had told Samuel that one of Jesse’s sons was to be anointed as Israel’s next king. Samuel thought he had interviewed all the young men, but God had yet to pull the trigger. So Samuel asked, “Are these all the sons you have?”

“There is still the youngest,” Jesse replied. “But he’s out in the fields watching the sheep and goats.”

“Send for him at once,” Samuel said. “We will not sit down to eat until he arrives.” Voilà: David, anointed to be the next king of Israel! Not because his father Jesse decreed it, not because Samuel said so, but because he was God’s choice! Because God said so!

Frankly, there was no way David could have turned down the assignment. Think back to Jonah, called to deliver the “repent and return” message to the people of Nineveh. Fearing for his life, Jonah took off in the opposite direction, went overboard during the voyage, was swallowed up by a giant sea creature who spit him out. Where? On the beach of Nineveh, right where God had called him to be. God always gets his way! It would take a few more years, but David would ultimately assume the position for which he had been earmarked by God.

Have you ever been called by the Lord? First, identify your God-given gifts and talents. God will not call you to a task for which you have no skill, no knowledge. He will not send you on a mission without supplying the tools needed for success. If you’re volunteering to join the “God team,” something He needs will jump out at you, will fall right into your lap. You’ll be better at it than others. It wouldn’t be the same without you! God knows what he’s doing!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

The Father’s House

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Truth & Freedom Church

David!

For Tuesday, March 24, 2026:

1 Samuel 16:11c NLT: “At once, send for the youngest, the shepherd,” Samuel said. “We will not sit down to eat until he arrives.”

God had told Samuel that one of Jesse’s sons was to be anointed as Israel’s next king. Samuel thought he had interviewed all the young men, but God had yet to pull the trigger. So Samuel asked, “Are these all the sons you have?”

“There is still the youngest,” Jesse replied. “But he’s out in the fields watching the sheep and goats.”

“Send for him at once,” Samuel said. “We will not sit down to eat until he arrives.” Voilà: David, anointed to be the next king of Israel! Not because his father Jesse decreed it, not because Samuel said so, but because he was God’s choice! Because God said so!

Frankly, there was no way David could have turned down the assignment. Think back to Jonah, called to deliver the “repent and return” message to the people of Nineveh. Fearing for his life, Jonah took off in the opposite direction, went overboard during the voyage, was swallowed up by a giant sea creature who spit him out. Where? On the beach of Nineveh, right where God had called him to be. God always gets his way! It would take a few more years, but David would ultimately assume the position for which he had been earmarked by God.

Have you ever been called by the Lord? First, identify your God-given gifts and talents. God will not call you to a task for which you have no skill, no knowledge. He will not send you on a mission without supplying the tools needed for success. If you’re volunteering to join the “God team,” something He needs will jump out at you, will fall right into your lap. You’ll be better at it than others. It wouldn’t be the same without you! God knows what he’s doing!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

The Father’s House

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Truth & Freedom Church

Merry Christmas!

For Thursday, Christmas Day, December 25, 2025:

Luke 2:11 NLT: “The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David!”

If we are faithful, God promises that everything will be all right in the end. He will finish what he started, and that includes bringing faithful believers to his forever Kingdom, in spite of their sin. The coming of Jesus is a sign that we’re on the right path.

While sin is a problem, it can be overcome. God can decry the world’s sins while forgiving those who repent and desire to return to the Lord. Jesus will suffer the penalty for mankind’s sins. He is our Savior, our redeemer, our one-way ticket to heaven. But we’re getting ahead of ourselves!

As we shout “Merry Christmas” to one another, understand that the solution has arrived, and that’s good news! Father God will not abandon us if we’re loyal to him. So for today, celebrate the birth of our Messiah. Remain confident in believers being rescued. Believe that we all have a reservation in a better place. Baby Jesus will be very good to believers! That’s what the Bible says!

Merry Christmas!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

The Father’s House

Truth and Freedom Church

My Lord!

For Saturday, July 19, 2025:

Mark 12:36 AMP: “David himself said [when inspired] by the Holy Spirit, ‘The Lord (the Father) said to my Lord (the Son, the Messiah): Sit at My right hand, until I put Your enemies under Your feet.’”

Jesus was teaching in the Temple, which in and of itself seems odd since the Temple leaders weren’t big fans of Jesus. Part of what he was doing was correcting incorrect theology put forth by the other Temple teachers. In this case, they were claiming that the Messiah was David’s son. Not so!

In Psalm 101, David himself wrote, “The Lord said to my Lord...” So the first “Lord,” God Almighty, was speaking to the other “Lord,” Jesus the Messiah. It’s a confusing generational puzzle the way it’s stated, but the Amplified Bible helps clear things up!

If you want to learn theology, choose your teacher carefully. Jesus is a safe bet. God’s Son would certainly know what’s going on with God stuff! It’s called truth, and the Bible is full of it. The “High View” of the Bible believes that every word is true, and that things happened just the way the Bible says. But be discerning. A lot of bad stuff happened in the Bible. The text documents it accurately, but we should not engage in such behavior.

Remember, the Lord (God) spoke to our Lord, and our Lord should be Jesus the Christ!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Call On the Lord!

For Sunday, September 3, 2023:

Psalm 86:7 NLT: “I will call to you, God, whenever I’m in trouble, and you will answer me.”

David was in danger his entire life. Saul’s jealousy fueled attempts to kill Israel’s future king. When David was king, somebody else always wanted his job. Other countries tried to take over his country. Life was never peaceful for David!

Wisely, David turned to the Lord for help and consolation. No earthly entity could have preserved him through all that he encountered – only God!

We should follow David’s example. When difficulties fall into our lives, we should call on the same God with whom we already have a relationship. God will lift us up and offer relief.

Calling out to God is always the right thing to do!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship

Thanks and Praise!

For Tuesday, July 18, 2023:

1 Chronicles 16:8 NLT: “Give thanks to the Lord and proclaim his greatness. Let the whole world know what he has done.”

God had been good to David. By this time, he was king of Israel. God had given Israel many military victories, raising the importance of the Chosen People’s homeland. So in humble gratitude, David wrote this Song of Praise and gave it to the priests so that they could lead everyone in praising the Lord! It was the right thing to do!

Following David’s example, when God has been good to us, we should give thanks to the Lord and proclaim his greatness. And as Christians, we are commissioned by Jesus himself to share the Good News with the whole world!

It’s easy to praise the Lord when things are going well. But let us not forget that David was a faithful believer even when it seemed that everything was working against him. Before he became king, he was persecuted by Saul’s soldiers. He was forced to flee into the wilderness and live in caves. He had few trusted friends. But David remained confident that God would lift him out of the mire. God had anointed David, and – good or bad circumstances – David remained faithful to the Lord.

God kept David alive as his purpose was not yet fulfilled!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship

Only One God!

For Thursday, June 15, 2023:

1 Chronicles 17:20 NLT, David praying: “O Lord, there is no one like you. We have never even heard of another God like you!”

God hand-picked David to lead the people of Israel. Even when David strayed off the straight and narrow, he gave us a beautiful example of repenting and returning to the Lord. David was forgiven and welcomed back.

God doesn’t just forgive sin. When we repent and return, any record of that sin is blotted out, as if at the bottom of the deepest ocean, as far as the east is from the west. Forgiven and forgotten.

In David’s time, people worshiped many gods, false gods. But in David’s mind, his God, the God of Israel, was the top God. In a way he was right, but he didn’t have all the theology yet. Jesus would teach that there really is only one God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

The Creator of everything deserves to be our only God!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship

Judgement!

For Saturday, September 10, 2022:

Psalm 62:12b NLT: “Surely, O God, you repay all people according to what they have done.”

David was anointed by the prophet Samuel to be the next king of Israel while he was still a little shepherd-boy. Many years would pass before the death of Saul, before David could claim his position. Back then, disagreements between individuals were often settled by fighting, and many who wanted the kingdom for themselves made very real threats against David’s life. The future king David was forced to flee and hide, rather than be killed.

David’s loyalty to God Almighty was repeatedly tested, but David never flinched. God was his unchanging rock, the solid foundation upon which all things were created. He waited quietly for the Lord, knowing that in God’s time he would ascent to his calling, to lead the nation of Israel.

Almost an afterthought, David comments that surely God will repay people according to what they have done. God is fair and just, in addition to his being holy and righteous.

Pastor Norton Lawellin

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

Believer Benefits!

For Friday, August 5, 2022:

Psalm103:2-5 NLT, words of David: “Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all his benefits—who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.”

Being a believer comes with benefits. No one should ever associate with Christians just to ‘get stuff,’ but indeed there are benefits once you’re a member of the flock.

The biggest benefit is God’s gift of a life after this life in his presence. We call it heaven. Our time on earth is short, but the presence of the Lord is eternal. Jesus is willing to redeem your life from the pit of despair and crown you as a child of God!

So it’s OK to focus on the benefits of being a believer. Like Paul said, “Keep your eye on the prize!”

Pastor Norton Lawellin

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

Praise the Lord God!

For Thursday, August 4, 2022:

Psalm 72:19 NLT, David praying: “Praise be to the Lord God’s glorious name forever; may the whole earth be filled with his glory. Amen and Amen.”

Believers ‘get it,’ and unbelievers don’t ‘get it.’ Everything we find here on earth was made possible by a God who loves us and desires a relationship with us.

God loves us so much that he trusted us with free choice. Believers have made a decision that God is God, and we are not! The God we follow promises a life after this life in paradise.

Some people think they’re so important that they can be their own god. For them I have one question: What is your heaven like?

David had settled this matter in his mind. He was committed to the God who called him, “A man after my own heart!” God loved David, and David loved the Lord!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

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

Talk to the Lord!

For Saturday, May 28, 2022:

Psalm 55:22 NLT: “Give your burdens to the Lord, and he will take care of you. He will not permit the godly to slip and fall.”

David is not talking to the Lord about a long-time enemy. His complaint is about a close friend who betrayed him. If this conflict was with an expected enemy, David would know how to retaliate. But when a friend turns against you, it’s sometimes complicated. It’s time to talk things over with God.

It’s inevitable that we’ll all experience some problems, and David’s advice is that when things get difficult, it’s time to talk it over with the Lord. If you’re a believer, you’re on the ‘God Team.’ Our Father is the coach, and he will take care of you! He will not allow you to slip or fall. David was convinced that his fate did not rest in the hands of treacherous men.

Spurgeon writes, “If I cast my burden upon the Lord, what business have I to carry it myself?”

Pastor Norton Lawellin

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