Happy New Year!

For Thursday, January 1, 2026:

Luke 2:7 NLT: “Mary gave birth to her firstborn son. She wrapped him snugly in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no lodging available for them.”

I’ll go out on a limb and say that Jesus’ arrival was the most important event to happen on earth – EVER! Prophets had been expecting a Messiah, and Jesus was “it!” By forgiving sins and thereby securing believers’ eternal destination, the arrival of Jesus affected countless people. Millions were rescued from Satan. There are currently 2.6 billion Christian believers, the largest religion in the world, and about 1/3 of the earth’s population. All this from a baby born over 2k years ago!

The birth of Jesus inspired the world to adjust their calendars. Jesus’ arrival would be year zero. Pope Gregory started counting forward from the birth of our Savior. It’s currently 2026 years later. Happy New Year! These years are known as AD, Anno Domini in Latin, which means "in the year of the Lord.” Past events count backwards from Jesus’ birthday, like negative numbers, abbreviated as BC or Before Christ.

There has been a trend in non-believing scientific groups to call our current years CE or Current Era. Before Jesus, the dates are BCE, Before Current Era. These titles were made up just so that non-believers could deny the importance of Jesus. But the dividing line of “eras” is still His birth. Each time you write 2026 on a check or on an important document, you’re acknowledging Jesus coming to earth to redeem mankind. It’s real; it actually happened.

The Bible is truth! Jesus is salvation!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

The Father’s House

Truth and Freedom Church

Throne Room of Heaven!

 For Wednesday, August 20, 2025:

Hebrews 9:12 AMP: “Jesus went once for all into the Holy Place [the Holy of Holies of heaven, into the presence of God], and not through the blood of goats and calves, but through His own blood, having obtained and secured eternal redemption [that is, the salvation of all who personally believe in Him as Savior]”

 The Amplified scripture not only gives us the text, but also explains it. Jesus returning to his Father in Heaven following his sojourn to earth only happens once. In other words, Jesus came to walk alongside mankind and then returned to the Father from whence he came. It will not happen again. God will not keep sending Jesus back and forth, hoping that mankind can ‘get it’ this time. Once should be enough!

 Jesus, Son of the Most High, did not return to the general population of heaven. The Tabernacle had a “Holy of Holies,” but the one in heaven is the “most Holy of all Holy places. It’s where the spirit of God Almighty lives. Jesus returned to that most holy place to sit at the right hand of his Father.

 This occurred not because of any animal sacrifice as mankind practiced. Jesus had shed his own blood, paying the penalty for the sins of all mankind, once and for all. All who call Jesus Messiah, Savior or Redeemer have a reservation in heaven. We call that “Assurance of Salvation.” It’s a gift from Jesus and his Father. It’s not debatable or negotiable. God said, and it is so! Salvation is for all who personally believe in Jesus. God said!

 I believe the principal goal of Jesus coming to earth was to redeem mankind. So, do you have Jesus in your heart? Does there remain any question in your mind about your eternal destination? Today is the best day to cement your relationship with Jesus, to make an irrevocable decision to call him Lord of lords!

Pastor Norton Lawellin
Jesus In the City Fellowship

Eternal Address!

For Saturday, June 21, 2025:

John 10:11 NIV, Jesus speaking: “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.”

Jesus again uses an agricultural analogy to make his point. Most young men and some women had experience in sheep-tending. So let’s examine the commitment level of the various shepherds.

Hired hands are just that. “I’ll watch your sheep, but I expect a paycheck.” They’re only in it for the money. You don’t have enough money to get them to stay on through big problems.

The chief shepherd is a leader. He makes certain that the sheep have food and water. Pesky little varmints come by, and he runs them off.

The real test, though, comes when a bear or a lion approaches. These carnivores threaten not only the sheep but also the life of the shepherd. And this is where we separate the men from the boys. Hired shepherds may turn tail and run for safety. But if the shepherd is the owner of the sheep, he will fight to the finish to protect them. He would jeopardize his own life to protect the flock.

And that is what Jesus did. He laid down his own life to settle our sin debt, thereby buying believers eternal life in the Kingdom. Jesus was the Good Shepherd who laid down his life for his flock.

You can have an eternal heavenly address because of what Jesus did!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Covenant!

March 3, 2025, Monday Message:

Exodus 34:27 NLT: Then the Lord said to Moses, “Write down all these instructions, for they represent the terms of the covenant I am making with you and with Israel.”

A covenant is an agreement or a contract. It’s a 2-way obligation. “You do this thing for me, and I’ll do that thing for you.” Since this covenant was given to Moses, it’s often called the Mosaic Covenant, but it’s really God’s Covenant. We also call it the Old Covenant, since Jesus updated it and gave mankind a much better deal.

The Law given to Moses contains dietary instructions and marks celebrations to honor what the Lord had done for the Hebrew people. The New Covenant, our connection with Jesus, acknowledges that mankind isn’t very good at remembering or observing all those rules and traditions. Instead, we worship Jesus as God’s Son and claim him as Lord and Savior of our lives. In return, Jesus removes our sins, as far as the East is from the West. Our sin lies at the bottom of the deepest ocean. The Book of Life no longer contains any record of our sin. That’s Jesus’ gift to believers!

Mankind is destined to die once and then go before the judgment seat to determine our eternal destination. This will be a terrible time for non-believers. But those walking with Jesus will have him as their advocate, as their defense attorney, so to speak. With our sins forgiven, our destination is predetermined. Jesus has already gone ahead to prepare a place for us in the hereafter!

"But to all who believed him (Jesus) and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God.” Believers are adopted into God’s Holy family. Enjoy eternity with your brothers and sisters!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Teams!

For Friday, December 6, 2024:

2 Thessalonians 1:12 NLT: “The name of our Lord Jesus will be honored because of the way you (believers) live, and you will be honored along with him. This is all made possible because of the grace of our God and our Lord, Jesus Christ.”

It’s like choosing up sides for a game, except our eternal destination is no game! It’s serious business!

God desires each of us on his team. Those who make a decision to follow the Son are on God’s side, while those rejecting the Son are on the other team. God honors those on his team, and believers being on the Lord’s side honors God. It’s an unbalanced symbiotic relationship, in which the believers benefit greatly. In the end, there are only two teams, God’s team and the wrong one.

Honor God today by choosing to be on his team. He’ll honor you by choosing you for his eternal Kingdom!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Restoration!

December 12, 2022 Monday Message:

Job 42:12-13 NLT: “The Lord blessed Job in the second half of his life even more than in the beginning. For now he had 14,000 sheep, 6,000 camels, 1,000 teams of oxen and 1,000 female donkeys. He also gave Job seven more sons and three more daughters.”

Job kept his faith in the Lord through both good times and bad times. Job never faltered in his faith, regardless of his dire circumstances. Circumstances are what currently happens to you, but have no eternal consequences. But faith in our Lord carries forever ramifications. Where you stand with Jesus determines your eternal destination!

Job and God had a conversation, concluding that God is Almighty and Job was just a man, a created being. Job acknowledged that only God could rescue him from his problematic predicament, so he doubled-down on loving the Lord. God not only rescued him, but restored him beyond his wildest dreams!

Job’s wife thought he should just give up. “Curse God and then die.” Job did not do that! He stuck with the Almighty God of rescue and restoration. There is no one like our God!

Pastor Norton Lawellin 

Jesus in the City Fellowship

Set Me Free!

For Thursday, June 30, 2022:

John 8:31-32 NLT: “Jesus said to the people who believed in him, ‘You are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my teachings. And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.’”

There is only one path to perfect freedom from mankind’s sin problem. Jesus-the-Messiah not only forgives sin; he blots out any record of sin, puts it at the bottom of the deepest ocean, separates it from us ‘as far as the east is from the west.’ If you’re a follower of Jesus, a believer who trusts in the Son, your name will be in the book of life. And when heaven looks under the column marked ‘sin,’ there will be nothing but blank space – no scratch-outs, no eraser marks, no record of any kind of sin in your life.

This gift is for all who, by faith, trust in the Son. Don’t give up! Eternity is a very long time, and knowing your eternal destination is well worth the effort!

"If the Son sets you free, you are truly free.” (John 8:36)

Pastor Norton Lawellin

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

Destination?

For Thursday, June 16, 2022:

Mark 8:36 NIV, Jesus speaking: “What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?”

Jesus is saying that his mission is quite serious, having eternal ramifications. He’s not talking about joining a new church or investigating some new religion. Claiming Jesus as your spiritual leader is about the destination of your spirit, your soul, in the life after this life. It’s a ‘forever’ decision.

When we die, there are only two possible destinations for our souls, heaven/paradise and hell/eternal misery. The Bible says that while we all deserve hell, we have been given freedom to choose forgiveness and redemption by associating with Jesus the Messiah. Jesus has offered to blot out our sin record, thereby opening up heaven to all who put their trust in him. This is a good decision, and you won’t regret it!

Your eternal destination is way more important than anything in this world!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

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

Winning the Battle!

For Thursday, February 17, 2022

1 John 5:5 NLT: “Who can win this battle against the world? Only those who believe that Jesus is the Son of God.”

Jesus said, "In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world."

A lot of people live life in a "re-active" mode. When something in life goes wrong, they react; they try to fix it. But they're always playing catch-up.

True believers live life in a "pro-active" mode. We are pre-equipped with Jesus. He explained that the world is fraught with tribulation, but that we can rejoice because he has overcome the world. Jesus secured our eternal destination. Knowing that heaven awaits fills us with hope!

Keep your eye on the final destination!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

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