Sabbath!

 For Sunday, April 26, 2026:

Luke 4:16 NLT: “When Jesus came to the village of Nazareth, his boyhood home, he went as usual to the synagogue on the Sabbath and stood up to read the Scriptures.”

 Looking at that text, we already know about Jesus, we know about Nazareth, we know about synagogues and the Sabbath. What strikes me as the teachable moment are the words, “as usual.” It was normal and customary to attend a religious gathering, to praise God and worship him on the Sabbath. It would have been far more unusual to NOT attend!

 I know a pastor whose son asked on Sunday morning, “Dad, do we have to go to church today?”

Dad: “That‘s about the dumbest question I’ve ever heard! We don’t HAVE to go to church; we WANT to go to church!”

 Church is where we meet our best friends, like-minded individuals. Church is our community, our fellowship. But most of all, we gather to praise the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, giving thanks for our creation and rescue from sin. We worship God as the head of everything. We’re thankful for the offer of life after this life, and for God honoring us with the offer of eternity in his Kingdom. We get to hear scripture from the Bible to inspire us to face another week!

 Church is a good, safe place to invite others. Bring your new friends. Help make disciples of all nations!

Pastor Norton Lawellin
Jesus In the City Fellowship
The Father’s House
Truth and Freedom Church

Church = Community!

For Wednesday, March 9, 2022

Matthew 26:18 NLT: “As you go into the city,” Jesus told his disciples, “you will see a certain man. Tell him, ‘The Teacher says: My time has come, and I will eat the Passover meal with my disciples at your house.’”

For Jesus’ last meal on earth, he could have done it any way he chose. He is, after all, fully God and fully man.

What Jesus actually did was celebrate the Passover meal, a commanded tradition that honors his Father in heaven. He chose to do this with his best friends – the people with whom he worshiped, his ‘church’ friends. Yes, Jesus had family, and some of them were in attendance, but those with whom he worshiped were now his community, his best friends in the world!

We can learn from Jesus’ example. If you’re seeking a good friend, it will most likely be someone with whom you worship, someone from your church. And if you have a really good friend but you don’t worship together, perhaps you should!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

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