Serve like Jesus!

For Sunday, March 15, 2026:

John 14:12 NLT, Jesus speaking: “I tell you the truth, anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works, because I am going to be with the Father.”

There’s only one Jesus. He wanted to multiply his efforts. So he sent disciples, believers, to spread the Good News. “God loves you, repentant sinners can be forgiven, there is life after this life and you can be included.” Think of this like McDonald’s franchising new locations. Sending teams of disciples to other towns would open up entirely new markets, convincing more people to repent and return! Good plan, Jesus!

In the same way, as Jesus returns to the Father, he wants to empower the faithful to continue his work. “Go and make disciples of all nations,” he tells them. “Heal the sick, raise the dead, cast out demons and preach the Good News!” In 2K years, the job description for a believer hasn’t changed!

A non-serving Christian is a contradiction!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

The Father’s House

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Truth & Freedom Church

 

Tax Collectors and Sinners!

For Friday, July 11, 2025:

Luke 15:1 NLT: “Tax collectors and other notorious sinners often came to listen to Jesus teach.”

Tax collectors were considered the worst of the sinners, so much so that the Bible often speaks of “tax collectors and sinners,” giving them their own distinct category. Sinners had simply done something wrong, but tax collectors were working for the opposition, the bad guys! They were working FOR Rome, against the Hebrew people. Tax collectors were also known for taxing a little bit extra to line their own pockets. They were skimming, taking more from their Hebrew brothers than Rome required. Needless to say, tax collectors had abandoned their heritage in favor of the almighty dollar. (OK, denarius.)

Tax collectors knew they weren’t welcome in Synagogues, but many were still interested in God and religion, the way they had been raised. So when Jesus taught, they would stop and listen. Their presence angered the Pharisees. Even though Jesus wasn’t “their guy,” they wanted to maintain a certain majesty at religious gatherings, and including tax collectors wasn’t on the Pharisee agenda.

Jesus had previously stated, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do. I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners.” Therefore, tax collectors and sinners needed to hear what the Pharisees should have already known! (Mark 2:17)

This raises some tough questions. Does your Sunday church cater to those who already believe, or to the notorious sinners in your community? Look around; see who’s there. Hopefully you’ll see some from each group! Those hosting the meeting need to be welcoming to those just checking things out. We can gently make a case that following Jesus is the better way to live. Let everyone know that being a Christian can be exciting and fun. Tell your face! Love your neighbor, even if they don’t yet have Christian ethics. That’s what Jesus did!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

God's Desire!

For Sunday January 14, 2024:

2 Peter 3:9b NLT: “The Lord is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent.”

As a child, I attended my parent’s church, which displayed a painting that depicted a very tall God standing above a miserable sinner on his knees. God was pointing down toward the fires of hell, inasmuch as saying, “Get down there! That’s where you belong!” Nothing could be further from the truth!

Mankind has been trying to figure out God and religion for thousands of years. Many still get a lot of it wrong! In the back of our minds, we have the Hebrew/Jewish model, whereby we were given God’s laws, God’s commandments, and a pass/fail system for seeing heaven from the inside. That system ignored mankind’s propensity to fall off the straight and narrow path. It ignored repentance, our ability to come to the realization that sinning is wrong and our desire to set things right with the Lord. It ignored teshuvah, “repent and return.” In that old system, mankind was set up for failure, not success!

But let’s not forget God’s desire, that all would repent and return and that none would be lost. This principle is so important that I’m going to go out on a limb and call it the prime directive! It’s the foundation of the New Covenant, the New Deal. It’s about kindness, forgiveness and loving your neighbor. Our God is a God of do-overs, of keep trying until you get it right! He sent Jesus to teach us about this new plan for salvation.

Consequently, churches of the New Covenant will look different. Rather than containing only pious, holier-than-thou souls, a New Covenant church will be filled with reformed sinners, those with changed minds, changed hearts and changed lives – those who have repented and returned.

That’s what a church should look like nowadays! There’s plenty of room to accommodate even more penitent sinners!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship

Radical Transformation!

For Sunday, December 31, 2023:

Mark 2:15 NLT: “Later, Levi invited Jesus and his disciples to his home as dinner guests, along with many tax collectors and other disreputable sinners. (There were many people of this kind among Jesus’ followers.)”

Levi is known to us as Matthew, whose name graces the first book of the New Testament. He’s a former tax collector. Tax collectors were known for charging a bit extra and skimming a little off the top. Therefore we believe that Matthew lived a comfortable life, a life of opulence. Jesus was gathering disciples and apostles, many of whom had loathsome backgrounds. But Matthew had the resources to host a big dinner party for all of them. This would be their chance to learn from the Messiah!

Pharisees questioned the wisdom of people purporting to be holy hanging out with known sinners. But friends, that’s the only way evangelism works! If the saved never talked to those with questionable morals, there would be no new Christians! If your church is working right, there should be quite a number of disreputable citizens in the pews! Churches need to get off their high horse and get used to it! Jesus answered the Pharisees: “Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do. I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners.”

The first step may be casting out demons!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship

Psalm 58 - Everything's Gonna Be All Right

August 22, 2016 Monday Message:

“People will say, ‘There IS a reward for the righteous.’” Psalms 58:11a

Jesus loves me, this I know. God loves me, and will not forsake me. Expect a lot of love from a big God.

In Psalm 58, the Bible is telling us that – in the end, eventually - the steadfast will see things play out just as they expect, just as they have been told. God is honest, just and true to his word. Therefore sinners will receive the punishment they deserve, and the righteous will receive the reward they deserve. God really only has one way of doing it.

Evil is like poison. God needs to weed it out before it spreads and poisons all the good stuff around it, ruining everything. Remember, the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through his Son Jesus Christ.

Everything will be all right in the end; if it’s not all right, it’s not the end. That’s what the Bible says.

People will say, “There IS a God who judges what happens on earth.” Psalms 58:11b

Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship (JICF) meets at the Akina Church, 3249 30^th Ave. S., Minneapolis, MN 55406, 10:30am. This Sunday, August 28, 2016, Pastor Retha Dowells open up Philippians Ch. 4.

Tax Collectors and Sinners

November 07, 2011 Monday Message:

“Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” Matthew 9:11b NIV

Jesus was always hanging out with the “wrong” kind of people. Tax collectors were among the worst.

In that day, Rome was ruling over Israel. But Roman-citizen tax collectors were greatly despised and might even be killed. Therefore Rome recruited Jews to be their tax collectors. The Hebrew people might not like paying taxes to Rome, but it was thought that they would not kill one of their own.

Levi-the-tax-collector’s ancestry was in the succession of Temple Priests. Now it’s bad enough when one of your own starts working for the enemy. But just imagine how people felt when they found that one of their high priests had gone to the dark side.

But apparently Levi wasn’t too happy with his choices. I believe he was looking for an opportunity to repent and return. When Jesus said, “Follow me,” Levi left the tax-collection booth immediately, and went with the teacher. They gathered for dinner at Levi’s house, and were joined by many other tax collectors and still more sinners.

When the Pharisees asked about this, Jesus said, “It is the sick people who need a doctor, not those who are healthy.“

So if you’re going to work with Jesus, you may find yourself socializing with sinners. You may be called to visit places to which you would not normally go, and to work with those who really need to repent and return. You’ll meet people who don’t look like you, don’t dress like you, and don’t speak like you. Choose to sit at their table and share the Good News. That’s what Jesus did.

Today we know the tax collector Levi by his Greek name; he’s the Apostle Matthew.

May the Lord walk with you this week,

Norton Lawellin