Thanks!

For Friday, August 8, 2025:

Luke 17:13 NLT, 10 men with leprosy appealing to the Son: “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!”

Leprosy was a long, drawn-out death sentence. These men had been to doctors and healers of all sorts, with no success. Knowledge of Jesus’ healing abilities preceded their meeting up with him. So the 10 men called out, “Have mercy on us!”

Jesus decided to accommodate their request. For him, this was easy to do. “Go show yourselves to the priests.” The men would be healed as they walked. Problem solved. Jesus was being kind, loving everyone as he was wont to do. The men weren’t members of his congregation or of his Synagogue. They weren’t disciples or even necessarily believers. They simply asked for help, and Jesus delivered.

Only one of the ten, when he saw that he was healed, came back to Jesus, shouting, “Praise God!” Where were the other nine? This really isn’t a theological point. It’s common courtesy. If someone does you a huge favor, in this case saving your life, you should make a point of thanking them! And the only man showing gratitude was a Samaritan, a foreigner, not a member of Jesus’ group!

Jesus told the grateful one, “Your faith has saved you.” You can bet that he stayed healed. The leprosy never returned. Our faith saves us as well. Faith in the Son assures us a place in God’s eternal Kingdom. Don’t forget to return with gratitude on your lips!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Second Coming!

November 20, 2023 Monday Message:

John 4:28-29 NLT: “The woman (at the well) left her water jar beside the well and ran back to the village, telling everyone, ‘Come and see a man who told me everything I ever did! Could he possibly be the Messiah?’”

We need to be more excited! We need to show more enthusiasm! This woman left her water jar, RAN full tilt back to the village, told EVERYONE what had happened, and posed the question, “Could he possibly be the Messiah?” She caught their curiosity!

Remember that these people are Samaritans, not Jews, but they knew the scriptures promising the arrival of a Messiah. They had been watching and waiting, anticipating Jesus coming to earth. They were expecting a Savior, a Redeemer! Could this man be the one?

I heard a pastor say that he believes we are in the last days. Jesus gave the disciples many signs that would point to the end of the world as we know it. We are seeing many of those signs right now. I heard another pastor say that he believes we are in the end times of the end times! The Kingdom of God is at hand!

If the return of Jesus doesn’t excite you, I don’t know what will. We should not walk but instead RUN to our friends, our relatives, our co-workers and the corners of the earth to share the Good News with everyone! Turn on the excitement! Turn up the enthusiasm! This event will be the most important thing that ever happens in your life! With each passing day, we’re one day closer to Jesus’ second coming!

More tomorrow! Blessings!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship

Worship in Spirit!

For Friday, May 12, 2023:

John 4:23 NLT, Jesus speaking: “The time is coming—indeed it’s here now—when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. The Father is looking for those who will worship him that way.”

Jesus is wrapping up his conversation with the Samaritan woman at the well. Traditionally, Jews did not speak with “unclean” Samaritans, although they’re distant cousins who worshiped the same God. Samaritans didn’t know as much about the Lord, but nowadays we would call them “seekers,” eager to learn more. Jews, on the other hand, knew more about God, but had construed worship as obeying a series of commands. They ignored the scripture about loving the Lord and loving their neighbor. They weren’t counting on God’s extreme love for mankind, so much so that he would send his Son to personally redeem us!

Jesus further explains: “God is Spirit, so those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth.” We too are spirit; our human bodies are temporary. When our bodies decay, it is our soul, our eternal spirit that lives on to worship God-the-spirit. So program your spirit to worship God’s spirit!

The Samaritan woman inquires about a coming Messiah, to which Jesus responds, “I am.”

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship

Love Your Neighbor!

For Friday, January 20, 2023:

Matthew 5:20 NLT, Jesus speaking: “But I warn you—unless your righteousness is better than the righteousness of the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees, you will never enter the Kingdom of Heaven!”

Jesus didn’t have a lot of time for the Pharisees. They had memorized all the laws. They faithfully observed traditions (some of which were made up.) They held a high and mighty position in the Jewish pecking order, but they had forgotten how to love their neighbor. In short, Pharisees took care of #1 but ignored the teachings about being helpful and loving.

Pharisees all should have known Leviticus 19:18: “Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against a fellow Israelite, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord.”

In Luke ch. 10 Jesus was asked, “Who is my neighbor?” and he responded with the story of the Good Samaritan, someone from another country with a different religion. Though they had little in common, the man from Samaria did his best to help the injured Jewish traveler, paying for the man’s care out of his own pocket. Samaritans were (unjustly) despised, and this one made the right humanitarian decision to be helpful, to do the right thing. By the way, a Jewish Priest and a Temple worker both passed by the injured man but did nothing, making the Samaritan look like a hero!

Heaven will be filled with souls who know Jesus and are nice, kind and helpful. We should all strive to be among them!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship

Tonight I’ll be teaching about War vs Peacemakers on the Jesus in the City Fellowship’s Facebook live-stream, 8pm Eastern, 7pm Central. Hope you can tune in!

I Am!

For Tuesday, July 19, 2022:

John 4:25-26 NLT: “The woman at the well said, “I know the Messiah is coming—the one who is called Christ. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.”

Then Jesus told her, “I am the Messiah!”

Jesus asked the Samaritan woman at the well for a drink. Traditionally, Jews and Samaritans didn’t associate with each other. The Jews considered Samaritans impure and spiritually off track, but in fact they were cousins. Samaritans still worshiped God Almighty and were waiting for the promised Messiah, to which Jesus replied, “I am, the one speaking to you.”

Jesus pushed prejudice aside. He stayed another two days in Samaria teaching about God and the Kingdom, and many Samaritans became believers. This is Jesus proving that his forgiveness of your past and his promise of salvation are for ALL people! You and I are included!

The Savior of the world is for ALL the world!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

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

Living Water for All!

June 8, 2020 Monday Message:

“The Samaritan woman said to him, ‘You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?’” John 4:9 NIV

Jesus, a Rabbi, speaking directly with a woman? Unheard of! Furthermore, Jews and Samaritans didn’t get along at all. This inherent hate was a ‘racial prejudice’ problem. Therefore they avoided any contact with each other. Example: To get from Jerusalem to Galilee, Jews would routinely go west about 10 miles, travel up the coast, and then back east about 5 miles rather than travel in a straight line across Samaria, adding an extra day to their journey rather than meet a Samaritan.

The Jews claimed that they were racially ‘pure,’ while the Samaritans had inter-married. Jews worshiped at the Temple in Jerusalem; Samaritans worshiped at a mountain in their own land. In their minds, they couldn’t be more different. (But – surprise - if you go back a few generations, they’re probably cousins!)

Jesus asks the Samaritan woman for a drink, and she explains how socially unacceptable that would be since she is a Samaritan woman, and Jesus is a Jewish Rabbi. But Jesus as much as says, “We’re not going to let that come between us, are we? I could give you living water, and you would never thirst again!”

As usual, Jesus had the right answer – the Samaritan woman just hadn’t asked the right question yet. She’s trying: “Sir, give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water.” But her question shouldn’t have been about water. Her question should have been about forgiveness of sins and eternal life in the presence of the Father.

Woman: “I know that the Messiah, the Christ, is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.”

Jesus: “I, the one speaking to you—I am he.”

So the woman brought the townspeople to meet Jesus, he stayed with the Samaritans for two days, and because of his teaching many more became believers.

Nearly two weeks later, the worldwide protests following the murder of George Floyd have turned into demands for inclusion of people of all races, specifically black people, and to put an end to excessive violence by our police. If the ‘Woman at the Well’ story is any clue, Jesus would have jumped right in the middle of the fray and started teaching about the Kingdom, to ALL of God’s people. If you’re sometimes unsure how to handle a situation, just ask yourself, “What would Jesus do?” Then do that. It’s the right thing to do.

I’ll be teaching in-depth about the parables in Luke 8:1-18 on our Facebook Live Stream Wednesday 7pm. See you there!

God’s blessings on you as we start this new week - xstay safe!

Norton Lawellin, Worship Pastor

Jesus in the City Fellowship.

3249 30th Ave. S., Minneapolis, MN 55406

Monday Message is also available at:

http://www.mondaymessage-norton.blogspot.com/

All are Welcome

Jan. 26, 2015 Monday Message:

“Our ancestors worshiped on this (Samarian) mountain, but the Jews claim we must worship in Jerusalem.” John 4:20

Jerusalem was the capitol of southern Israel, while Samaria was the headquarters for northern Israel. At one point, they had all been Jews, brothers and sisters. But Samaria was invaded from the north, and some Samaritans had inter-married with the conquerors. Even so, they’re probably all still cousins!

So in God’s eyes, just how different are the Samaritans from the Jews, and does that difference matter? Jesus set the record straight that day. Jesus said that the day is coming when all believers will worship in Spirit and in Truth, for God is spirit. And worshiping God is always better than failing to worship God, regardless of where you are. Surprisingly, the woman at the well, in spite of her past, was still seeking the Lord, and Jesus offered her Living Water, so she would never thirst again.

That’s how Jesus did it. While the path to salvation was first shown through the Hebrew people, they are called to be a light to the world, sharing God’s Good News with all. Jesus didn’t exclude the woman at the well because she looked, spoke, acted or dressed differently. He forgave her past sins. In fact, Jesus stepped far away from tradition to make sure the woman and the people of Samaria were included.

ALL are welcome at church – that’s the way Jesus did it.

See you on Sunday!

Norton Lawellin

Special note: This Sunday, Feb. 1, we’ll be combining our worship service with Victory Christian Church, 3500 E. Lake Street, Minneapolis, 55406. So our service will be in their building that week. It willl be a great day – we always go “all out” when worshiping with our Christian brothers and sisters. Mark your calendars and call your friends!