Sacrificial Giving!

For Wednesday, July 23, 2025:

Mark 12:44 NLT, Jesus speaking: “Most gave a tiny part of their surplus, but this widow, poor as she is, has given everything she had to live on.”

How much should we donate to our home church? The Old Testament teaches that the first 10% of everything already belongs to the Lord. That’s a good starting point.

The New Testament teaches us about sacrificial giving. People sold their land or their animals and donated the proceeds to the church. On the Day of Pentecost, 3,000 new believers came on board. Most were from out of town and would require food and housing right from the start. The first church, The Way, took care of them. Jesus and many others taught that the Kingdom was at hand; heaven was quite close. And those living in God’s Kingdom would have no need for worldly assets.

So what does God want? Many Christians are blessed with abundance, enabling them to help others. God wants each of us to be successful. Prospective Christians should be able to look at the flock and say, “They’re doin’ OK. They’re having fun. Life for them seems to be good. I want to become part of it!”

It’s good to save for when you can no longer work, and it’s good to have a rainy day fund. But it’s bad to hoard money, to become a miser. A delicate balance is required. It would be easy to prioritize money over God, and that would be wrong.

My advice is to pray about the matter, and then follow through with what God puts on your conscience!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Offering!

For Friday, March 7, 2025:

Leviticus 7:28-29 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Give the following instructions to the people of Israel. When you present a peace offering to the Lord, bring part of it as a gift to the Lord.”

3,000 years ago, everyone had to raise their own livestock and harvest their own grain. You couldn’t just stop at Cub on the way home. Here, the Lord is telling Moses to tell the people to bring a little extra for the Priests. Not more fat to burn on the altar, but the breast, good meat, something of sustenance for the religious workers.

Nowadays we give mostly dollars. Cash and checks in the offering. Visa and Mastercard on the web site. Venmo and Paypal for direct deposits. The Old Testament suggested a tithe, 10%, for the Lord’s work. The good news is that we got to keep 90%! The New Testament suggests sacrificial giving. Don’t stop at 10%. Put a little extra towards God’s work.

In Jesus’ day, the mindset was that their Savior would be taking believers to heaven soon, so they really wouldn’t need money or property. Many in the first church, called The Way, sold their homes, their land, their livestock and donated the proceeds to the church. As the saying goes, “You can’t take it with you!”

So prayerfully consider what the Lord would have you do. Talk it out with God. You don’t have to decide this minute. Take this project home, and let the Lord determine your direction, your commitment to growing the church and to making disciples of all nations. What is your piece of God’s project? Then do what the Lord calls you to do.

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Benevolence!

November 27, 2023 Monday Message:

Romans 15:26 NLT: “The believers in Macedonia and Achaia (Greece) have eagerly taken up an offering for the poor among the believers in Jerusalem.”

Jerusalem was the center of religion at that time. Believers gathered for worship, and their church was known as “The Way.” It was good that they all believed, but the business model was unsustainable.

In Acts 2, 3,000 were added to their new members class that day. Imagine 3,000 people walking in to your church next Sunday! Where could you put them all? Could you feed them at the potluck? Many of these newbies were from out of town, visiting Jerusalem to celebrate Shavuot. They needed housing, food and friends. People of The Way were willing to share, but there was a limit to their resources.

I have raised a lot of money for worthy causes simply by letting people know the need, and then creating an opportunity for them to give. It’s not rocket science. People generally want to help. Paul had let the believers in Greece know about the shortfall in Jerusalem, and they too wanted to help. They passed an extra basket earmarked to sustain the church in Jerusalem.

Tomorrow is “Giving Tuesday” in the US, a day when people across the country are encouraged to think about their communities and to help those in need. It’s a welcome reminder of how followers of Jesus should think every day. Jesus said we should love our neighbors, and we can show our love by sharing from our abundance.

Be kind, be helpful, be generous!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship

Spiritual Gifts - More!

For Wednesday, October 18, 2023:

Romans 12:6-8 NLT: “In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well. So if God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out with as much faith as God has given you. If your gift is serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, teach well. If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly.”

Thoughts on Spiritual Gifts:

In college, I was put in front of 40 Middle school students, each of whom had a ukulele. Right then I knew that public education wasn’t a good fit for me. I wasn’t cut out to be a teacher, or so I thought! But nowadays, God uses me to teach about Jesus – lectures, sermons, videos. Turns out that teaching is fine if I’m given the right topic!

I knew a pastor who told his staff, “I’d better stop by the hospital and see Tom.”

His staff replied, “Why would you do that? You’re no good at it!”

A couple wanted to retire from the business they had founded. But their staff was all in place, and their business was largely answering the phone and writing up orders from existing customers. They could work it a few more years and give the proceeds to the church. Since a new worship center was under construction, the pastor encouraged them to do just that. This couple had the spiritual gift of giving.

Visionary Leadership is a rare commodity. Most leaders run things the way we’ve always done them. They do their best to solve problems that have already happened. But visionary leaders can look down the road and see where our church needs to be in five years. They have a goal in sight, an optimistic picture in their minds of a growth scenario, and a plan for getting there.

Blessings as you share your spiritual gifts with the world today!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship

Serving!

For Thursday, May 19, 2022:

Romans 12:7-8 NLT: “If your gift is serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, teach well. If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly.”

When faith calls us to join up with other believers, we serve out of gratitude for what Jesus did for us. The Lord created unique gifts and talents within each of us that we can add to the Christian resource pool, and we are called to do so.

To this I would add that we shouldn’t serve where we’re not gifted, where we have little talent. Our God deserves nothing but our best efforts, so we should serve doing what we can best do.

When God taps you on the shoulder, consider saying ‘yes.’

Pastor Norton Lawellin

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