Faith!

For Thursday, October 16, 2025:

Hebrews 10:37-38a NLT: “In just a little while, the Coming One will come and not delay. And my righteous ones will live by faith.”

The “Coming One” refers to the second coming of Jesus the Messiah. He will arrive at the perfect time to fulfill God’s plans for the rescue of the faithful. The Bible speaks of the first Christians undergoing terrible suffering, public ridicule, beatings, losing all their possessions, and even jail. We have been blessed by living in the USA, where Christianity is the prevalent religion, and we are free to openly speak of Jesus. There’s no penalty for being a believer, but it may not always be that way. People on our planet are persecuted daily for their allegiance to Jesus.

We are saved (redeemed, granted eternal life) by grace through our faith, believing that Jesus is who He said he is, and that He will do what He said He can do. When Martin Luther was searching for Assurance of Salvation in the 1500s, he concluded that Habakkuk 2:4b was our key to eternal life: “The righteous will live by their faithfulness to God,” and that is quoted in today’s scripture. Our faith in Jesus opens the door to eternal life until He comes again to personally welcome us into the hereafter!

And that’s why we worship together, to share our faith with one another and to bolster our belief in the Messiah Jesus and the Father’s Forever Heavenly Kingdom. Remember, God always keeps his promises!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Jesus' True Words!

October 6, 2025, Monday Message:

Luke 20:17b NLT, Jesus, quoting Psalm 118:22: “The stone that the builders rejected has now become the cornerstone.”

Last Sunday, our preacher stated that the death of a martyr often triggers a revival or a revolution. When Jesus was about to face death, He was rejected by all those who should have been his biggest supporters: Priests, Bible teachers, Pharisees and Temple leaders. His (Father’s) foundational principles became the cornerstone of The Way, which became Christianity, the world’s largest religion with 2.3B followers. Turns out that it’s best to NOT reject Jesus!

Any gods prior to Jesus (and his Father) were fictitious, made-up gods. Back then, you could buy a god-statuette – even a nice silver one – at the local market, bring it home and put it up on your mantle. And what you had was a nice decoration, not any kind of a real God. Jesus performed healings and miracles that were well documented. Jesus even raised a few people from the dead, notably Lazarus, the Centurion’s son and the Widow’s Son. After Jesus, there was a significant decrease in fictitious gods, because Jesus’ actions were factually recorded.

Jesus said, “No one comes to the Father except through me.” Every word Jesus said has proven to be true, and this statement is no exception. People who say that all religions lead to heaven are wrong.

Other examples: Martin Luther was trying to get his denomination back to the Bible. He nailed his list of issues to the church door in Wittenberg. He used Gutenberg’s printing method to publish the Bible in his native language. He was never trying to break away from the church or to start a new religion. But when he passed, his followers continued the work, calling themselves “Lutherans,” and Protestant Christianity was born.

In 1964, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for combating racial inequality through nonviolent resistance. He continued on that path while preaching Jesus until his demise. When he was assassinated in 1968, the Civil Rights movement went into high gear. The protests, marches and positive changes increased. His efforts changed our country forever.

I always try to keep these messages non-political. Our topic is Jesus, not politics. But I couldn’t help but notice the many references to Jesus and forgiveness as the news covered Charlie Kirk’s memorial service. Perhaps Jesus will serve as the common denominator to draw our nation back together. Perhaps we will love one another once again! After all, that’s what Jesus said to do!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Get Back On Track!

For Thursday, March 9, 2023:

Matthew 10:5-6 NLT: “Jesus sent out the twelve apostles with these instructions: ‘Don’t go to the Gentiles or the Samaritans, but only to the people of Israel—God’s lost sheep.’”

Jesus was sending the 12 on a mission trip, to spread the Good News that the Kingdom of Heaven was near, and that there was now a New Covenant! At this point, their target market wasn’t to be the entire world. They were to begin by getting God’s chosen people – the people of Israel – back on track. Man-made rules and traditions had clouded their worship, and it was time to return to God’s intent. In Jesus’ words, they were like sheep without a shepherd!

In the 1500’s, man-made ceremony and traditions were again central in the church. Martin Luther compared what they were doing with what the Bible said, and made a list of what was incorrect. For all his trouble, he was thrown out of the church, but nowadays we know he was right. Good works don’t get you into heaven. Neither does paying a certain sum. Salvation is a gift that we can’t buy, and faith in Jesus is the key! We are saved by grace through faith!

Plenty of churches nowadays are not honoring the Bible’s commands, and we need to pray that they get back on track. It always bothers me when churches with “Jesus” in their name aren’t living like he instructed. Pray that those with a high view of the Bible are sustained.

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship

Reformation — Sola Fide

October 24, 2011 Monday Message:

It’s time for holiday celebrations! Halloween is one week from today. Remember that Halloween, “All-Hallow’s-Eve,” came out of Catholic liturgy. It’s the night before another holiday on our church calendars, “All Saint’s Day.” (Nov. 1.) So they’re kind of the same holiday, following the Jewish tradition that a feast begins at sundown the previous day.

On October 31, our church calendars list one additional holiday – Reformation. It gets far less attention than Halloween, which is unfortunate, since Reformed Theology brings clarity in our journey to the place Jesus is preparing for us.

Here’s how it happened: German-born Martin Luther, a Catholic Monk and Priest, embarked on a quest for assurance of salvation. Sure, he believed Jesus was the Son of God who died to redeem the repentant, but how can you know that you and God are “OK?” How can you be certain?

The answer was Habakkuk 2:4b: “The righteous will be justified by faith.” We’re not saved by anything we do. It’s our faith in God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit that saves us. It’s God’s choice to offer this gift to us; we just need to say, “Yes.”

A similar principle is stated many other places in the Bible. I like Isaiah 55:1 "Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost." You can’t buy salvation — it’s God’s free gift to you.

This is a prime example of God’s everlasting lovingkindness toward us, His khesed, His agape love, how He takes care of us. God offers us a second chance, and our God is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. God won’t change his mind about redeeming those who put their faith in his Son.

"For by grace you have been saved through faith, and not of yourselves; it is a gift of God, not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9)

Sola fide,

Norton Lawellin