Holy Saturday!

For Holy Saturday, April 4, 2026:

Matthew 27:64 NLT, asking Pilate: “We (the leading priests and Pharisees,) request that you seal the tomb until the third day. This will prevent his disciples from coming and stealing his body and then telling everyone he was raised from the dead! If that happens, we’ll be worse off than we were at first.”

The leading priests seemed unconcerned with spiritual authenticity, unconcerned with truth. To them, Jesus was a threat to their power and money. People had left the Synagogue to follow Jesus, and their tithes had gone to Jesus rather than the Temple. Because Jesus was a perceived threat, the leading priests and Pharisees plotted to kill him, which goes against everything they stood for. Now they were worried that Jesus’ prophecy would come true, that he would rise in three days. Men were sent to guard the tomb so that no one could steal the body and falsely claim that Jesus was alive.

The Great Exchange: Remember that while on the cross, the sins of the world were heaped upon Jesus, and His innocence was imparted to believers. That’s a massive amount of forgiveness, but that was the Father’s plan to bring believers home. That was Jesus’ mission, to rescue mankind from Satan’s territory. You could say that Jesus was on a mission trip to planet Earth!

One more thing: Many of us learned the Apostles’ Creed growing up. There’s a mistranslation that has always bothered me. The creed states, “Jesus was crucified, died and was buried; he descended into hell.” Friends, Jesus did not go to hell. He went to Sheol, a place for the dead. It is not heaven, and it is not hell. It may involve judgment, since Moses wrote, “The anger of Yahweh is a flame which burns in the ‘depths’ of Sheol.” But believers are already forgiven by the work Jesus did on the cross.

I suspect that not much happened on Holy Saturday, since that day is the Sabbath for Jews. It’s the Lord’s day, not a day for customary work. Jesus will be back to work tomorrow, walking away from his grave. Christians worship on Sunday, the day we realized that Jesus had conquered sin and death at the same time! In the meantime, "Shabbat Shalom!"

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

Knowledge + Faith!

For Saturday, June 28, 2025:

Hebrews 4:2 TLB: “This wonderful news—the message that God wants to save us—has been given to us just as it was to those who lived in the time of Moses. But it didn’t do them any good because they didn’t believe it. They didn’t mix it with faith.”

Gospel is translated as Good News or Wonderful News, the account of how, through the Great Exchange, Jesus took the sins of the world upon himself, leaving the faithful spotless, suitable for Kingdom residence.

The four Gospels are written in our Bibles, and we believe the Bible to be truth. We need that knowledge of what happened and what Jesus did for us. And along with that enlightenment, we need to add faith, unshakable belief in the truth of the Bible. We need to believe that things will turn out just as Jesus said, and that he can and will do what he said he could do.

This scripture is explaining that the Hebrew people in Moses’ time had knowledge, but lacked faith that Bible prophecies would come to fruition. Deliverance requires both – knowledge and faith. One won’t get us into the Kingdom without the other.

Pray for abundant knowledge of Jesus’ promise and a double helping of faith!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

For Tuesday, July 02, 2024:

1 Peter 3:21 NLT: “Water is a picture of baptism, which now saves us, not by removing dirt from our bodies, but as a response to God from a clean conscience. It is effective because of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.”

Jesus said that we are to make disciples of all nations and baptize all who believe. Water is used in baptism, not to clean the body but as a sign of the washing away of our sins. It all works because of Jesus!

Jesus’ death on the cross also involved what we call the “Great Exchange,” whereby the sins of the world were put upon Jesus, exchanged with his righteousness. As he died, Jesus took the sins of the world to the place of the dead, thereby leaving believers sinless, pure and holy, prepared to spend eternity in the presence of a holy God.

His resurrection proves that Jesus was right!

Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Mission Accomplished!

For Tuesday, March 19, 2024:

Mark 14:55 NLT: “Inside, the leading priests and the entire high Sanhedrin council were trying to find evidence against Jesus, so they could put him to death. But they couldn’t find any.”

Jesus, who had done nothing wrong, would face six trials or judgments, three before a religious court, and three before a Roman court. No one could find any evidence against Jesus, but his adversaries persisted.

Nowadays we would call this a “kangaroo court,” an unjust group which is without proper authority and characterized by dishonesty. This trial of Jesus was totally illegal according to Jewish law. Just like in our country, there was much in the Jewish legal process to protect the rights of the accused. Those rights were deliberately ignored by those who were determined to put Jesus to death.

Surprisingly, Jesus’ oppressors couldn’t even put together a decent case for their position. Their witnesses kept contradicting each other!

Remember that Jesus was on a mission trip to earth. While he taught and healed people, I believe his primary mission was to take the sin of the world upon himself, deliver it to the place of the dead, thereby leaving believers pure, forgiven, acceptable to join the Lord in heaven.

As bad as this all seems, it was fulfilling God’s plan for mankind’s rescue. We should be grateful to Jesus for obedience, for following God’s masterplan for our rescue. And we should thank the Lord for a second chance, for an opportunity to repent and return.

When this entire scenario draws to a close, Jesus could shout out, “Mission accomplished!”

Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Father's Plan!

For Saturday, June 24, 2023:

Matthew 20:18-19 NLT: “Listen,” Jesus said to the 12, “we’re going up to Jerusalem, where the Son of Man will be betrayed to the leading priests and the teachers of religious law. They will sentence him to die. Then they will hand him over to Gentiles, to the Romans, to be mocked, flogged with a whip, and crucified. But on the third day he will be raised from the dead.”

Jesus was both fully God and fully human. I find it interesting how Jesus (God) can speak of Jesus (man) as if he was another person. In this scripture, Jesus (God) is predicting the horror to befall the Son of Man, a name Jesus called himself. His pronouns are he and him.

Jesus, in addition to being mankind’s savior, was also functioning as a prophet. He knew what the future days would bring. He knew the persecution coming his way, ultimately resulting in death. He also knew that he would overcome death, rising on the third day. So in the end, everything would turn out OK!

God’s plan was for Jesus to take mankind’s sin problem upon himself, take that sin to the grave, and leave the believers suitable to spend eternity in the presence of the Father. We call it “The Great Exchange.” This is the best gift ever!

Sunday’s coming. On the third day, the tomb will open and Jesus will walk away from it all, just as his Father planned!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship

Mission!

For Friday, October 7, 2022:

Mark 7:37 NLT: “The crowd was completely amazed and said again and again, ‘Everything he does is wonderful. He even makes the deaf to hear and gives speech to those who cannot speak.’”

Following compassionate healings and miracles, Jesus always told the people to not tell anyone. But they all shared the Good News in spite of Jesus’ admonition. Miracle healings don’t stay a secret for long!

Jesus’ teaching was straight from heaven. The healings let everyone know that he was the Son of God. But his mission, his main purpose in coming to earth, was to personally pay the price for mankind’s sins. In what we call the Great Exchange, Jesus took the sins of the world to the place of the dead, leaving believers spotless and unblemished, suitable for spending eternity in the presence of the Father. Jesus went ahead to prepare a special place for each of the believers. If you know that Jesus is the Son of the Living God and that he can do what he said he could do, you’ll get to see heaven from the inside!

If you’re a believer, there’s a room in heaven with your name on the door!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

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

Missiion Control!

For Saturday, June 25, 2022:

Romans 10:7 NLT, Jesus speaking to the Lord: “Then I said, ‘Look, I have come to do your will, O God—as is written about me in the Scriptures.’”

Jesus showed us many good things while he was here on earth, but I believe his primary mission was the rescue of mankind. Here, Jesus is stating this himself, confirming the prophecies.

God’s will is that no one would be lost, and the solution was forgiveness of mankind’s sins, a second chance. In the Great Exchange, Jesus took away mankind’s sin problem and thereby left believers suitable for inclusion in the heavenly kingdom.

If you are not already a believer, today is the best day to claim Jesus as your Savior. If you are a believer, today is a good day to share the Good News with a friend.

Pastor Norton Lawellin

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

Cornerstone of Hope!

For Thursday, April 14, 2022:

Matthew 21:42 NIV: Jesus asked the religious leaders, “Didn’t you ever read this in the Scriptures? ‘The stone that the builders rejected has now become the cornerstone. This is the Lord’s doing, and it is wonderful to see.’”

When the leading priests and Pharisees heard this Jesus’ words, they realized he was telling the story against them. Sadly, their goals were too shallow. They were seeking only liberation from Roman occupation, while Jesus was sent to liberate them from their sin problem.

Today, faith in that same Jesus will separate us from our sins. Believers know that Jesus took all the sins of the world to the place of the dead, and left those with faith cleansed, prepared to take up residence in God’s eternal Kingdom, Heaven!

When God’s people were seeking hope, he sent his Son, Jesus!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

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

God's Big Picture!

For Friday, April 8, 2022

Matthew 16:23 NLT: “Jesus turned to Peter and said, “Get away from me, Satan! You are a dangerous trap to me. You are seeing things merely from a human point of view, not from God’s.”

Jesus had been telling the disciples about his impending persecution, suffering and death. Peter didn’t want to lose his friend, his spiritual leader. In his mind, Jesus should be exalted, not put to death! But he’s not seeing the big picture.

Calling him “Satan” might seem a little harsh, but Jesus was on a mission from God, and he needed to finish what had been set in motion. I believe Jesus’ primary mission was to take the sin of the world to the place of the dead, leaving mankind suitable for an afterlife in the presence of God the Father. Jesus’ eyes were focused on that goal, and he didn’t want anything or anyone diverting his attention from God’s agenda.

What Jesus gave us was hope. He explained, “What do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul?” Jesus is in the soul-saving business. He knows the big picture!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

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

Jesus!

September 20, 2021 Monday Message

Luke 2:7 Phillips: “Mary gave birth to her first child, a son. And as there was no place for them inside the inn, she wrapped him up and laid him in a manger.”

This seemingly small event is the turning point for mankind’s destiny. It’s so significant that we even count years as the time before Jesus and the time after Jesus’ birth, BC and AD. The BC stands for ‘Before Christ,’ or ‘Before Christian Era,’ while AD is the abbreviation for the Latin term, ‘Anno Domini,’ which means in the year of our Lord. This is 2021, the two-thousand twenty-first year after Jesus’ birth. We have not forgotten!

God sent Jesus to earth to solve our sin-problem, to make it possible for mankind to return to heaven. Jesus was in fact on a rescue mission. At the cross, he took upon himself the sin of the world, and clothed believers in garments of white. That’s called the Great Exchange. Even today, Jesus stands ready to redeem anyone truly seeking salvation. Are you “in?”

The birth of Jesus delivered hope to the planet!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

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

Eternal Hope!

For Sunday, April 11, 2021

Titus 1:2 CEV, Paul speaking: “Believers will have the hope of eternal life that God promised long ago. And God never tells a lie!”

Christianity offers many things, such as an intellectual view into God and creation and a moral code for living. But the heart of Christian religion – the really big thing – is the hope we have for eternal life. God’s long-standing desire is that none would perish, but that all would to repent and return. God was prepared to welcome mankind into heaven before time began. We can count on this because God doesn’t lie!

Jesus made this possible! Mankind was plagued with a sin-problem, but Jesus turned out to be the solution. In the Great Exchange, he took the sin of the world to the place of the dead leaving the believers pure and unblemished, totally suitable for induction into the heavenly Kingdom. Jesus traded mankind’s sin for eternal hope, fulfilling the promise long ago made by God himself.

This would be a good day to worship, to thank God and his Son for all they did for you!

Blessings and safety on our Sabbath!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

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