Messiah!

For Tuesday, June 24, 2025:

John 10:24b-25 NLT: Q: “How long are you going to keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.”

Jesus replied, “I have already told you, and you don’t believe me. The proof is the work I do in my Father’s name.”

Who Jesus is and who sent him seems obvious to us. If he’s fulfilling the job description of the Messiah, that must be who he is. Call him God’s Son, God’s right-hand man or Moshiach – it’s all the same thing! If you examine the miracles, the healings, the kindness and teaching above expectations, Jesus is indeed God’s man for the mission!

You must have a teachable mind to recognize Jesus. People whose minds are closed to new ideas will keep asking for more evidence. They can never be sure. They ask for more and more proof when there’s already plenty!

Jesus says that we need to be like sheep. Sheep know the master’s voice and follow him. Jesus watches out for the sheep, granting them eternal life! They will never perish! If these sheep belong to Jesus and the Father, no one can snatch them from his hand. No one!

Jesus wraps up his comments with the bold statement, “The Father and I are one.”

In a few sentences, Jesus just summarized Christian doctrine. He was sent by the Father, and through his taking away of our sins, he grants believers eternal life. We are saved by grace through Jesus, the Messiah. Though we have experienced God in three different forms, there is in reality only one God. Jesus said, “If you have seen me, you have seen the Father.”

So stay close to Jesus, your ticket to the hereafter. Love God and love your neighbor, but don’t forget to include Jesus!

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

Believe!

April 11, 2023 Monday Message:

Luke 24:38-39 NLT: “’Why are you frightened?’ Jesus asked. ‘Why are your hearts filled with doubt? Look at my hands. Look at my feet. You can see that it’s really me. Touch me and make sure that I am not a ghost, because ghosts don’t have bodies, as you see that I do.’”

Two men had been walking toward Emmaus. Jesus joined them, teaching about all the prophesies fulfilled by his death and resurrection, but they did not recognize him. As they sat for dinner, it all came into focus. This indeed was Jesus himself! But once they recognized him, he vanished!

Excited, the two men assembled their friends to tell them about the incident, and suddenly Jesus appeared in their midst! Everyone was frightened. They thought they were seeing a ghost, but Jesus reassured them and told them to use their heads! Check it out: “Look at my hands. Look at my feet. Touch me to prove that my body is real.”

Everything that recently happened was fulfilling scripture. Jesus dying for the sins of the world was part of God’s plan for including us in eternity! The two men were eyewitnesses, sharing what they observed with the world! Their testimony is our proof! Jesus wondered, if you’re seeing this with your own two eyes, “Why are your hearts filled with doubt?” Friends, we need to make a decision for Christ based on what we’ve observed!

Jesus said, “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship