Slave vs Friend!

May 11, 2026, Monday Message:

John 15:14-15 NLT, Jesus speaking: “You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you slaves, because a master doesn’t confide in his slaves. Now you are my friends, since I have told you everything the Father told me.”

Life was different 2K years ago. Nowadays, if we use the word ‘slave,’ our minds go primarily to African people, taken against their will and forced to serve their captors. But in Jesus’ day, being a slave could be voluntary, kind of like having a job or mutually beneficial employment.

If I pitch my tent near Abram’s, I can help him with the herds. He in turn will see that I have food for my family, and protection from raiders. He can command me because I’m there to help. I do what he asks because living within Abram’s group is a better, safer life for my family.

Jesus cleans up the language a bit, calling the relationship ‘friends.’ He confides in his friends, sharing prophecies given to him by God Almighty. As Jesus traveled with his itinerant ministry, there were first the 12 apostles, and then many other disciples in the group. Perhaps hundreds! They were like slaves in that they would do Jesus’ bidding. They were also friends in whom Jesus could confide. They would protect each other. You could say they were all playing for the same team.

So do like Jesus did. Identify your friends, and let them know that they are friends, not slaves. A group of friends with religious beliefs in common is called a church. If you are not part of one, today is the accepted day to sign up. It could be a relationship that lasts a lifetime!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

The Father’s House

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Truth & Freedom Church

Jesus Direct!

For Friday, February 20, 2026:

Hebrews 13:15 NLT: “Let us offer through Jesus a continual sacrifice of praise to God, proclaiming our allegiance to his name.”

The key words in this scripture are, “through Jesus.” Jesus is our heaven connection. Before Jesus, Jewish priests fulfilled that function. The priests could present our petitions, good or bad, to the Lord. Mankind would seldom hear God’s response.

After Jesus, the process changed. Jesus is part of our Holy Trinity God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. So if we offer prayers through Jesus, we’re already praying directly to God. No middle-man needed! God desires a direct relationship with each of us. (Note: This scripture was written to Hebrews, who would need adjust their beliefs post-Jesus.)

Interestingly, when Jesus died on the cross and took mankind’s sins to the place of the dead, the thick, heavy curtain isolating the Holy of Holies from public areas was torn in half, top to bottom, so God had to do the tearing himself, and mankind was no longer separated from God. Again, this was God’s doing. He decreed that it should be this way.

So we can praise God directly for his goodness, exalt his omniscience and offer confessions and repentance. In return, God can offer us forgiveness and a “mulligan,” a do-over, a second chance. With Jesus, we don’t just have a religion; we have a relationship!

What a friend we have in Jesus!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

The Father’s House

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Truth & Freedom Church

Great Exchange!

For Friday, January 9, 2026:

Romans 6:6 NLT: “We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin.”

Believers are forever with Jesus. Let me explain. As Jesus died on the cross, the sins of the world were heaped upon him. That includes your sin and my sin. And those sins went away with Jesus to the place of the dead. He rose three days later, coming back without those sins. So this resurrected Jesus is without sin, just as He always was. And He is our friend, just as He always was.

Our sinful nature died with Christ. He carried our sins away, thereby leaving us clean and forgiven. This is called the Great Exchange, Jesus taking our sins away and leaving us pure, suitable for residence in God’s forever kingdom of Heaven. Because of Jesus’ mission, sin has lost its power over believers. Believers are no longer slaves to Satan or his Demons. Mission accomplished!

Sin died so that believers might have eternal life!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

The Father’s House

Truth and Freedom Church

God's Rescue Plan!

For Saturday, December 27, 2025:

Luke 2:38 NLT: “Anna, a prophet, came along just as Simeon was talking with Mary and Joseph, and she began praising God. She talked about the child to everyone who had been waiting expectantly for God to rescue Jerusalem.”

Anna had the right idea. While everyone else was fussing over baby Jesus, Anna’s prayers were to thank the Lord for sending a rescuer to Jerusalem. Their Holy City was under Roman siege, and the Roman army thought Caesar was a god. Followers of the true God know better. Yes, Jesus Son-of-God had arrived, and that’s one piece in God’s masterplan. And with God in charge, mankind’s rescue was never in doubt.

To God, the biggest problem wasn’t the Romans. It was sin, so God went after the biggest problem first. While the people would pray, “Rescue us from the Romans,” Jesus and Father God would answer, “Your sins are forgiven!” Forget the Romans for a minute. They have long since fallen from power, but Jesus taking mankind’s sins to the place of the dead still matters to us 2,000 years later, and has eternal ramifications.

With mankind’s sin problem out of the way, believers could spend eternity in God’s hereafter, Heaven. Our friend Jesus said he would prepare a place for all believers. He’ll meet us with open arms!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

The Father’s House

Truth and Freedom Church

Jesus = Friend of God!

For Thursday, December 11, 2025:

Romans 5:11 NLT: “Now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God because our Lord Jesus Christ has made us friends of God.”

Christmas is coming! Soon! The time between Christmases seems to grow shorter with each passing year. Jesus’ coming to earth represents a turning point in mankind’s relationship with Father God, so it’s certainly appropriate and worthwhile to celebrate each birthday anniversary.

You may have heard that the date is wrong. Probably. Scholars claim Jesus’ birth was between 6 & 4 BCE, most likely in the springtime if shepherds are staying overnight tending their flocks. I don’t think the exact date matters as much as the fact that we would select an annual date to honor God and celebrate the Heaven-sent Savior’s birth. December 25^th is close to the winter solstice, when there is little to do in an agricultural economy. Great time to celebrate God’s goodness!

Let’s begin by confirming that God and sin cannot coexist. Therefore, if we want to spend eternity in the presence of the Lord, we need to separate ourselves from any manner of sin. Jesus comes to earth with a plan to make it easy for us. When Jesus leaves this world, he will take the sins of the world to the place of the dead. If we believers put our faith, hope and trust in Jesus, our sins stay there, leaving us suitable for residence in God’s forever kingdom, Heaven. Jesus being a Savior for mankind is an undeserved gift from a loving God. Jesus has separated us from sin, making us friends for life with the Almighty!

Come quickly, Lord Jesus! (both then and again...)

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

The Father’s House

Truth and Freedom Church

Friend of Jesus!

For Wednesday, December 10, 2025:

John 15:14 NLT, Jesus speaking: “You are my friends if you do what I command.”

Have you ever wanted to be one of the Apostles? Or at least a disciple who attended Jesus’ events and heard him speak? How do you become known as a friend of God?

As you might expect, nowadays it comes down to faith. Since Jesus returned to the Father, we can’t follow him around listening to his teaching. It’s our obedience to his commands that shows our commitment to friendship. Jesus (and his Father) gave us a model of how to live our lives. Our conformity to those instructions shows our level of friendship.

In this scripture, Jesus goes on to explain our friendship. He has confided in believers, teaching us what Father God taught him. We don’t confide in one another if we’re not friends. Therefore, each believer can proudly proclaim, “I am a friend of Jesus; I am a friend of God!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

The Father’s House

Truth and Freedom Church

Growth!

For Thursday, April 11, 2024:

Colossians 2:6 NLT: “Just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to follow him.”

New believers seem to be full of energy, excited about the Good News! But as time passes, enthusiasm can fade, and Paul is warning the Colossians to guard against this. God is expanding his church, and we should be just as excited when we witness to a new believer as when we first learned about Jesus. In this early stage of the church, we don’t need any backsliders!

Continue teaching others and sharing the Good News. Watch in amazement as the people at church become your best friends! You all have a lot in common. After all, you both signed up for the “Eternity” package!

Refer to it as “my church.” Take some ownership of the project, along with your fellow believers. “It’s almost time to start; I need to get over to my church!”

Your love for Jesus shouldn’t hit a peak and then decline. Your bidirectional agape love graph should keep moving up and to the right!

Blessings!

Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Faith!

For Friday, December 15, 2023:

Mark 2:5 NLT: “Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralyzed man, ‘My child, your sins are forgiven.’”

This is one of my favorite Bible scenarios. Word of Jesus’ ability to heal any malady had spread widely, and this paralyzed man had four friends who totally believed. Besides, nothing else had worked! So the prospect of Jesus healing their friend was promising indeed!

But so many people had come to hear Jesus’ teaching that there was no chance of gaining entrance. The room, the hallways, the paths leading into the building were all clogged with people. That did not deter the friends of the paralyzed man. They devised a plan to carry their friend onto the roof, cut a hole in the roof and then lower their friend into the room, setting him right in front of Jesus! That should get Jesus’ attention!

So the friends did just that, lowered the man on his mat right down in front of Jesus! Believe me, that stopped whatever was going on in the room at the time, and all eyes were now on this paralyzed man and on Jesus. What would you expect Jesus to do? Jesus did the next right thing and healed the man, saying, “My child, your sins are forgiven.”

As it turns out, our lesson here is that the healing was secondary. Jesus’ primary mission was to reconcile mankind’s sin problem, to make forgiven believers acceptable for taking up residence alongside God and Jesus in the heavenly kingdom. God’s desire is that none would perish, that all would repent and return. Jesus alone can dispense this necessary forgiveness which offers us assurance of salvation. Pray that the Holy Spirit would fill you with as much faith as the four friends.

Jesus went ahead to prepare your place in the Kingdom!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship

God's Value System!

For Saturday, October 21, 2023:

Romans 12:16 NLT: “Live in harmony with each other. Don’t be too proud to enjoy the company of ordinary people. And don’t think you know it all!”

Everyone has a mother. Some taught their children well, things like good manners and common sense, while others came up short. Here Paul is counseling Christians in Rome, but his words sound just like my mother’s!

Try to get along with everyone. Live in peace. Be nice. Do the next right thing. Do what you can to be helpful. Realize that the unpopular kid needs a friend too. Get off your throne of being ‘cool,’ and make a new acquaintance. If the trouble maker had more friends, he might not be a trouble maker! Nobody likes a know-it-all. Be humble. Do not think more highly of yourself than you ought.

Surprisingly, the trend back then was to look out for #1, not to love your neighbor. Jesus changed all that. Loving your neighbor became a priority for the new Christian community. And people liked what they saw and wanted to become a part of it!

We can call these behavior suggestions a part of God’s value system. We should endeavor to live like Jesus lived and like the Bible says we should. We can shine the light of Jesus into the world! Others will see it!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship

Friendship!

For Wednesday, August 16, 2023:

Romans 5:11 NLT: “So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God because our Lord Jesus Christ has made us friends of God.”

Did you ever have a friend, a really good friend, but something went awry and the friendship dissolved. But you miss your friend, so you forgive and compromise to rebuild and restore the friendship. When all is reassembled, we tend to value that special friendship even more, because it was once lost!

God has always loved his premier creation, mankind, but being good friends was out of the question because mankind was lost in sin. Jesus came to straighten things out. He carried our sin away, leaving us free to reestablish our friendship with the Lord. Thank you, Jesus!

Friendship is always bi-directional. Since God is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow, if the friendship isn’t working, it’s mankind that needs to change.

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship

Friend of God!

For Tuesday, September 20, 2022::

Psalm 25:14 GNT: “The Lord is the friend of those who obey him and he affirms his covenant with them.”

Imagine that God is assembling a neighborhood team to play baseball or soccer or something like that. He’d first choose those with whom he already enjoyed friendship. After all, you’d never ask unknown outsiders to join your team! You’d choose only those you already know and trust.

There may be special plays or secret signals unique to God’s team, and the Lord gladly shares this information with those who love and obey him. When you agreed to join the team, God agreed to equip you for that mission. That agreement to work together is called a Covenant. We had an older Covenant under the Law given through Moses, and a New Covenant given to us by Jesus!

The New Covenant is God’s free gift to us, available to all who believe. We can make new friends and share that Good News with all who have ears to hear! That’s what Jesus said to do!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

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

Closer to Jesus is Better!

For Sunday, April 3, 2022

Matthew 14:36 NIV: “The people begged Jesus to let the sick just touch the edge of his cloak, and all who touched it were healed.”

It still works like that nowadays. Unfortunately, we know a lot of sickness in our world. And incidents we call bad luck may have actually been set in motion by the evil one.

Jesus is the solution, our hope. Come closer. In your mind’s eye, touch his garment. Make Jesus your best friend, someone who can walk alongside you in difficult times.

Sometimes Jesus heals in this life, and sometimes in the life after this life. Either way is good. With Jesus you’ll receive a ticket to eternity with the Father! Closer to Jesus is better!

What a friend we have in Jesus!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

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