Off to Egypt!

February 9, 2026, Monday Message:

Matthew 2:13b NLT: “Get up! Flee to Egypt with the child and his mother,” the angel said to Joseph. “Stay there until I tell you to return, because Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.”

Fortunately, Joseph and Mary had experience with angels. They had experienced heavenly sightings previously, and everything the angel had told them always came true. A trust relationship had been established.

So when this angel told them to flee to Egypt, they quickly packed and got going. Their child was said to be the “King of the Jews.” And the problem was that Herod believed he was king! And Herod doesn’t want any competition for first place!

This all happened right after the Magi’s visit, so the holy family had adequate resources to sustain a trip to a foreign land. The Wise Men outfoxed Herod and returned home via a different route without ever reporting back to him. This angered Herod, and when he couldn’t locate Jesus, he ordered ALL the male children under two years of age to be killed. There was much wailing and sorrow in that part of Israel, all because of one sanctimonious narcissist.

Believers should rejoice that Jesus and family could seek asylum in a nearby foreign country. Nonresident aliens aren’t welcomed everywhere, and Jesus needed to reach adulthood before his ministry could begin. His primary mission was to take away the sins of the world, allowing mankind to mend our relationship with God Almighty, and we’ve seen that!

Thank you, Father God, for ensuring the completion of your Son’s mission. Thank you, Father, for providing your Son for the rescue of all believers. Thank you for Assurance of Salvation!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

The Father’s House

Truth and Freedom Church

God of Protection!

For Wednesday, December 27, 2022:

Matthew 2:8 NLT: Then Herod told the Magi, “Go to Bethlehem and search carefully for the child. And when you find him, come back and tell me so that I can go and worship him, too!”

Lies, lies, lies! Jesus, the new baby, the promised Messiah, was purported to be “King of the Jews,” but Herod thought HE should be ruler of that region, and you can’t have it both ways! Since Jesus was a little baby and Herod was already the ruler, he was confident about how this scenario would conclude! He planned to use the Wise Men to pin down Jesus’ location, and then execute his competition.

Being wise men, they saw right through Herod’s plot. After visiting Jesus and leaving their gifts, they returned via a different route and never did report back to Herod, who was furious. His solution was to kill all the Hebrew babies less than two years old. God, who provides everything including solutions for safety, sent an angel to tell Joseph to gather his family and seek refuge in Egypt. The next morning they were off, and tragedy was averted, at least for Joesph’s family. Herod, though, showed his true colors, and the blood of many babies was on his hands.

We worship the Savior who was protected by the Lord. We are proud to have him as our Redeemer and our King!

Merry Christmas!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship

Triumphal Entry

March 21, 2016 Monday Message:

“See, your king is coming, seated on a donkey’s colt!” John 12:15b

Christians could use any of three titles for this past Sunday.

Some call it “Passion Sunday.” Passion is the word for what took place during the week leading up to Easter or Resurrection Sunday.

“Palm Sunday” is probably the most often-heard name, referring to the palm branches waved overhead and placed in the path of Jesus as he entered the streets of Jerusalem for the Passover celebration.

Others call this section of scripture, “Triumphal Entry,” and I like that title a lot.

Jesus’ ministry had been on the increase for three years, and this was the peak, the apex, of all that had been happening. Word about Jesus’ miracles preceded him. He could calm the storm, he could walk on water, and he could feed people as necessary, and not just a few. Feeding 3,000 and 5,000 men is documented in the Bible, but they might have had their wives with them, so is that number closer to 10,000? What if their children were there too? Does the number become 20,000? We don’t know the exact number, but my point is that this wasn’t 35 people or 65 people or even 100 people. At this point, thousands and thousands of people were enamored with the carpenter’s son from Nazareth.

But the crowning achievement in a lot of people’s eyes was when Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead. Remember Lazarus had been ill, they sent for Jesus, but he didn’t come right away. By the time Jesus arrived, Lazarus was long dead, prepared for burial. But Jesus shouted at the tomb, “Lazarus, come out!” and out he came, wrapped in strips of burial cloth. Eyewitness accounts of Jesus’ power over death fueled the Triumphal Entry.

The people shouted, “Hosanna,” which means “save us, save us NOW!” Think about it - people would not ask someone to save them unless they had a reasonable expectation that that person COULD save them.

And that day, they knew that Jesus was not just King of the Jews – he was King of the World!

Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship (JICF) meets every Sunday at 10 am in the North end (gym) of the Oliver Ministry Building, 2647 Bloomington Ave., Minneapolis. This Easter Sunday, March 27, 2016, Pastor Pilla celebrates the resurrection.

Palms Away!

March 30, 2015 Monday Message:

“They took palm branches and went out to meet him shouting, ‘Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the King of Israel!’” John 12:13 NIV

Last Sunday, most of our churches celebrated Palm Sunday. Let’s take a second look at the first Palm Sunday.

In 538BC, the Jews were allowed to return and rebuild the Temple. They used palm branches in the rededication, and the palm became a symbol, a type of logo, for the Hebrew people, the Jewish religion and the Temple.

Minted coins were to feature the image of Caesar, but twice, during wars against Rome, Israel minted coins featuring palms. Waving a palm branch at a Centurion was highly confrontational, and would surely get you arrested.

God had promised the Israelites a Messiah for quite some time, and many believed that Jesus was the anointed one. But they were expecting a Messiah who would liberate them from Rome. They hadn’t considered that the Messiah would rescue them from sin and open the doors of heaven.

So on that day, Jesus rode in to Jerusalem, and out came the palm branches and bright clothes to line the street, as would be done for a king. The crowd shouted, “Blessed is the King of Israel!” They honored Jesus, not Caesar, as King of the Jews.

Some things are not Caesar’s.

Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship (JICF) gathers at 10 a.m. every Sunday in the North end (gym) of the Oliver Ministry Building, 2647 Bloomington Ave., Minneapolis. This week, April 5, Pastor Michael Pilla teaches about the empty tomb.