Family Biz!

For Thursday, June 11, 2026:

John 15:23 NLT, Jesus speaking: “Anyone who hates me also hates my Father.”

This spiritual battle with the world is family business. Jesus defends Father God just as God keeps a heavenly hand on his Son. They’re inseparable. They’re family!

Believers are included in that Holy Family. John wrote, “To all who believed Jesus and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God.” And Jesus taught us to pray to “our Father in heaven.”

We should not be passive in defending our Holy Family. Active participants get a lot more done! We can testify about the goodness of the Father and his Son. We can advocate for God’s Laws as a better way to live. We can (gently) identify false religions as such, explaining how they’re off track.

All the work required for our eternal salvation was done by Jesus on the cross. Salvation came to mankind as a free gift courtesy of the Most High. This Assurance of Salvation is a major plank in the Christian platform. No other religion has this! Proudly tell others!

Our extended family is incredibly large, and yet there’s always room for a few more. People often arrive at churches when they’re down and out. Our love, kindness and sharing are some of the factors that draw people in. There is therefore agreement that Christians are a good family, a good way to live. People like what they see, and want to become a part of it.

Earthly families can have multiple children, just as our heavenly family always has room for one more. Have you been instrumental in adding anyone to our family? I hope so!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

The Father’s House

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Truth & Freedom Church

Trust in the Lord!

For Thursday, May 28, 2026:

Romans 8:28 NLT: “We know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.”

Trust. We are called to trust in the Lord, even when we don’t understand what’s going on. Only God can see the big picture, how things will turn out next week, next month, or even generations from now. Our job is not to question the Lord, but to trust in Him!

Believers are born again into the Holy family. We become sons and daughters of the Most High God. Jesus taught us to think of God as “Our Father,” an extremely good Father. Parents naturally love their children and desire only the best for them. God may answer your requests, “Yes, no, or not just yet!” Though we may not realize it at the time, God’s answers are always what’s best for us!

That’s a given in Christianity, that God’s mind is focused on giving believers the best. So today’s question is, “Do we trust God?” He always wants the best for us, even if we don’t understand it at the time. God can even take Satan’s mischief and turn it in our favor!

Thank the Lord for taking believers under his wing and for always delivering what’s best for us!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

The Father’s House

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Truth & Freedom Church

Abba, Father!

For Friday, May 8, 2026:

Romans 8:15 NLT: “You have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, ‘Abba, Father.’”

A spirit occupying a human body is more common than you think. The bad ones are demons, sent by Satan to get us off track. Most people don’t talk about it nowadays, but Jesus would repeatedly cast out demons, so we need to take notice of this.

In a way, becoming a believer, a Christian, is trading a bad spirit for a good one. Evil thoughts and deeds depart, replaced by the Holy Spirit of God himself. When filled with the Holy Spirit, we become children of God, adopted into the holy family. Jesus taught us to pray, “Our Father who art in heaven...”

Believers are no longer tied to the evil one. When tempted, we can tell that spirit, “Don’t waste your time. I’m a child of God!”

Pastor Norton Lawellin

The Father’s House

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Truth & Freedom Church

Name of Jesus!

For Sunday, December 21, 2025:

Luke 2:21 NLT: “Eight days later, when the baby was circumcised, he was named Jesus, the name given him by the angel even before he was conceived.”

Translated into the English language as “Jesus,” the name was originally “Yeshua” which means "Yahweh is salvation" or “God is salvation.” Angels are obedient, messengers sent by God himself. (Any who aren’t obedient don’t last long!) So Gabriel was just repeating the Lord’s instructions. God is sending His Son, confirming His intention to rescue mankind, to grant us salvation. God loves us, and his intention is that all would repent and return. God, who is omniscient, knew that Jesus would be persecuted and eventually crucified. The sins of the world would be placed on an otherwise sinless Jesus, who would leave our sins in the place of the dead. Forgiveness would be an important part of mankind’s restoration and our reconciliation with Heaven. So it appears that God, with his infinite wisdom, had this all planned out well in advance of its implementation.

Our Holy Family, Mary, Joseph and now their baby, consisted of loyal, obedient Jews. So eight days after Jesus’ birth, they found themselves in a Synagogue, in front of a Rabbi, to offer thank-you sacrifices for a successful childbirth and a healthy baby boy. Firstborn males were always dedicated to the Lord. While I’m not sure they understood the significance of all these events, I’m pretty sure they knew this baby was special. Mary was mentally piecing this puzzle together and kept these godly things in her heart.

As believers nowadays, we get more than glimpses of a scenario in motion. With our Bibles, we can read the “Jesus story” all the way to its conclusion. We know that, in the end, God wins, and we are the beneficiaries of His grace. Believers will be adopted into Jesus’ Holy Family, and have the right to call God, “Our Father!”

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

The Father’s House

Truth and Freedom Church

Our Father, Our Teacher!

For Friday, December 19, 2025:

Hebrews 12:9 NLT: “Since we respected our earthly fathers who disciplined us, shouldn’t we submit even more to the discipline of the Father of our spirits, and live forever?”

In spite of what they think, children don’t know everything. They need to be taught right from wrong, good from bad, and Godly from evil. As we raise children, they will test us. “Can I get away with this?” No!,

As believers, we have voluntarily joined a new family. We have become Children of God. Jesus said to refer to God as “Our Father,” and a Father’s job description includes teaching His children the rights and wrongs in life. We wind up being better people because of His efforts!

So don’t become discouraged if life isn’t always a bed of roses. Our Father may need to discipline us from time to time. His promise of a loyalty reward comes in the next life. Remember, the first will be last. The last get to move to the front of the line! Thank you, Jesus!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

The Father’s House

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Truth & Freedom Church

Priests!

March 17, 2025, Monday Message:

Leviticus 21:1 NLT: The Lord said to Moses, “Give the following instructions to the priests, the descendants of Aaron.”

Under the Old Covenant, Priests were go-betweens. The general population was separated from God Almighty in the Tabernacle. On the people’s behalf, the Priests would offer sacrifices, sometimes to atone for someone’s sin, and other times just because that tithe belonged to the Lord. Priests were set apart from other Jews. They were considered special, sanctified.

In the New Testament, Jesus taught us to pray, “Our Father who art in heaven...” So we no longer need a go-between, someone to speak with God on our behalf. Jesus said that any believer, you and I, can pray directly to God himself.

When Jesus died and took the sins of the world to the place of the dead, believers were purified. Our sins were blotted out, taken away, and now being without sin, we can speak directly with the Lord. The curtain separating the most holy place was torn from top to bottom, so it was God doing the tearing. People whose sins are forgiven no longer need to be separated from God.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day. Although he wasn’t born in Ireland, legend has it that Patrick did much to evangelize the region. And any day you can make new Christians is a good day!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Saved!

For Wednesday, October 4, 2023:

Romans 10:9 NLT: “If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”

Being saved by faith was a new concept for many people, and it still is nowadays. Most expect that good works or obeying the law would justify a person before God. And since salvation is so valuable, Jesus offering it as a free gift is unexpected.

As Paul writes to the Christians in Rome, he states the way to salvation over and over again. He doesn’t want any confusion over the path to eternity in the presence of our Father. Jesus said he would go ahead a prepare a place in his Father’s house for all who believe.

"For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by openly declaring your faith that you are saved.” (Romans 10:10)

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship

About Prayer!

For Wednesday, January 25, 2023:

Matthew 6:7-8 NLT, Jesus speaking: “When you pray, don’t babble on and on as the Gentiles do. They think their prayers are answered merely by repeating their words again and again. Don’t be like them, for your Father knows exactly what you need even before you ask him!”

Our Father doesn’t want us wasting our time or his time. From this scripture, I surmise that God appreciates people who are direct and get right to the point. Repeating something over and over doesn’t make a prayer better. The Bible calls that “vain repetitions.” Inserting the word “just” 16 times doesn’t make the prayer better. Jesus is teaching that longer prayer isn’t better prayer. He advises less verbiage and more heart. Present your case to the Lord and move on.

Prayer doesn’t inform God. You can’t tell the Lord something and expect him to respond, “Gee, I never thought of that!” In fact, he already knows. We pray because we have a relationship with Our Father, and like any father, he wants to hear from his children.

Jesus doesn’t specifically mention it, but I believe the same principle applies to preaching. Longer isn’t better. The words, “In conclusion…” should only be in a sermon once! A friend told me about an elderly lady in church who suffered from dementia. She thought she was whispering: “When’s that windbag gonna knock it off so we can get out of here?” Everyone laughed! It’s funny because we’ve all been there!

God is in heaven and you are on earth, so let your words be few. (Ecclesiastes 5:2)

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship

Heavenly Reward!

January 23, 2023 Monday Message:

Matthew 6:1 NLT, Jesus speaking: “Watch out! Don’t do your good deeds publicly, to be admired by others, for you will lose the reward from your Father in heaven.”

It’s always good to help others, but this teaching from Jesus comes down to motivation. If you’re doing a charitable thing, some benevolent act, only to attach your name to the project, that’s the wrong motivation behind it. For example, if you supported a hospital so that they’d name the new building after your family, that’s wrong. We all appreciate a pat on the back once in a while, but receiving accolades shouldn’t be our goal.

We should all love our neighbors because that’s what Jesus said to do. We need to be kind and helpful because it’s the right thing to do. Our goal should be to be helpful, not to let others know what a good person we are! Our reward for doing the right thing for the right reason will come from our Father in heaven. On earth he has given us hope, and there’s a lot more to come in heaven!

God will bestow us with something infinitely better than an earthly reward!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship

Last are now First!

For Friday, June 24, 2022:

Mark 10:31 NLT, Jesus speaking: “Many who are the greatest now will be least important then, and those who seem least important now will be the greatest then.”

People who seem important to us now may not be important in the next life, if they make it there at all! We look up to actors, musicians and politicians. They make headlines, but oftentimes are poor examples of God’s values.

Jesus said that the first will be last, and the last will be first. He explains it like this: “I assure you that everyone who has given up house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or property, for my sake and for the Good News, will receive now in return a hundred times as many houses, brothers, sisters, mothers, children, and property—along with persecution. And in the world to come that person will have eternal life.”

And that’s what we all want – Eternal life with Our Father!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

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

God the Provider!

For Saturday, March 5, 2022

Matthew 6:33 NLT, Jesus speaking: “Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.”

Life needn’t be overly complicated. Jesus had just counseled his listeners to stop worrying about things over which they have no control. And with fewer worries, the life simplified becomes the better life, becomes a life filled with hope!

Jesus points out that God already knows your needs. Just as he cares for the lilies of the field, he will provide for you. We pray to have a relationship with God, but don’t think for a minute that he doesn’t already know what’s going on!

Believers should count themselves as adopted into the Holy Family; we are children of God, and surely our good Father will take care of us!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

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

Our Father...

For Friday, March 4, 2022

Matthew 6:9 CJB, Jesus speaking: “You, therefore, pray like this: ‘Our Father in heaven! May your Name be kept holy.’”

In Jesus’ day, hypocrites lined the streets of Jerusalem, praying out loud. Like thespians in a play, rather than actually praying to God, they were putting on a show to let everyone know just how righteous they were. Their prayers were long and complicated, as if God appreciated verbiage. But he’s not a fan!

Jesus recommends praying simply, getting right to the point. God understands our everyday words because God knows what’s in our hearts. Don’t picture God as so far away. He designed us and created us, so we should have a close relationship with him. Think of him as your Father. Believers, after all, have been adopted into the Holy Family, which fills us with never-ending hope!

Our prayers should be one-on-one time with our Father!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

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