Your Sins are Forgiven!

For Thursday, December 18, 2025:

Luke 2:16 NLT: “The shepherds hurried to the village and found Mary and Joseph. And there was the baby, lying in the manger.”

Mary, Joseph and baby Jesus were in town, staying at the stable where Jesus had been born. The shepherds were out in the countryside tending their sheep. Angel(s) told them about the birth of the Messiah, in that nearby town, in a stable. Expect to find the baby in a manger amongst the hay.

God gave mankind insatiable curiosity, so the shepherds just had to check this out! The Messiah, an anointed rescuer, had been prophesied for centuries. Also, think of the angel’s words as prophecy. The shepherds would find the newborn Savior not in a castle or a palace. Rather, he’d be among the common folk, seeking shelter in the stable alongside animals.

At that time, the Promised Land had been occupied by the Roman Army. So the Jewish prayers were, “Liberate us from the Romans!”

Jesus would grow up to say, “Your sins are forgiven!” He had the best answer. The Hebrews just hadn’t asked the right question!

Jesus completed his entire ministry while Rome occupied the land intended for the Chosen People. It turns out that who’s running the country isn’t nearly as important as having your sins forgiven. Make sure you’re asking the right question!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

The Father’s House

Truth and Freedom Church

Merry Christmas!

For Wednesday, December 25, 2024 – Merry Christmas!

Luke 2:32 NLT, Simeon praising baby Jesus at the Temple: “He (Jesus) is a light to reveal God to the nations, and he is the glory of your people Israel!”

Who is this stable-born baby? Let’s have a look.

An angel had appeared to both Mary and Joseph explaining the pregnancy even though Mary had never been with a man. Maybe IVF, I dunno... Then an angel and later a chorus of angels spoke to shepherds, telling them to go into town, Bethlehem, and find a baby in a manger. A bright star later led Magi to visit this newborn. Then Jesus was brought to the Temple, circumcised, and as a first-born male, was dedicated to the Lord.

If there was ever any doubt, Simeon pins down the answer. He was a devout believer who had been told that he would not die until he had seen the Messiah, the one to rescue Israel. Sure enough, this all came together at the Temple. Simeon took the baby in his arms, saying he could now die in peace as he had seen the heaven-sent Messiah, the Savior of mankind. The Bible says that the Messiah would come through the Israelites, but that he was the Savior for the whole world, including you and me. We should all rejoice that God, in his wisdom, provided forgiveness for our sins and made a way for believers to return to him in the eternal kingdom.

In spite of their previous spirit-filled encounters, Jesus’ parents were amazed at what was being said about him!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Shepherds!

For Tuesday, December 24, 2024:

Luke 2:20 NLT: “The shepherds went back to their flocks, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen. It was just as the angel had told them.”

Have you ever seen an angel? Neither had the shepherds. When angels appear to humans, their first words are typically, “Be not afraid.” That’s because everyone who sees an angel is quite shaken. This isn’t a common sighting!

Angels are not like the cute little figurines you see at Hallmark. The Bible refers to them as the Angel-armies of heaven, defenders of truth. And the Bible later refers to the “heavenly host,” meaning the sky was filled with many of these creatures. The shepherds were told where to go and what to look for when they got there. “The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem. You will find a baby wrapped snugly in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.” Amazed, the shepherds worshiped, and then moved outside the stable to share this Good News with everyone!

The shepherds returned to their flocks, glorifying and praising God for everything they had heard and seen. Reflecting on the scene, they realized everything turned out exactly how the angels told them!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Bethlehem!

For Sunday, December 22, 2024:

Luke 2:4 NLT: “Because Joseph was a descendant of King David, he had to go to Bethlehem in Judea, David’s ancient home. He traveled there from the village of Nazareth in Galilee.”

Augustus, the Roman emperor, ordered a census. Each person was to return to their ancestral home town, and since Joseph was a descendant of King David, the holy family was off to Bethlehem. Augustus had no idea he was causing prophesy to be fulfilled. He was working for the Lord even when he didn’t have a clue!

I’m guessing there was a convention in town, since all the motels had their “No Vacancy” signs on. Joseph, Mary and eventually baby Jesus took refuge in a stable, certainly a humble beginning. In the manger, Jesus was called Immanuel or God with us!

Angels appeared to the shepherds, told them where the Messiah had been born, and a bright star pointed the way. The shepherds dropped what they were doing and went straight to the stable to worship! What would you do if angels appeared?

After baby Jesus was born in Bethlehem, the family returned to Nazareth, fulfilling the prophesy about the Messiah being known as a Nazarene.

Prophesies fulfilled verify the truth of Jesus’ identity: Son of the living God!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Wise Men?

December 27, 2022 Monday Message:

Matthew 2:1-2 NLT: “Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the reign of King Herod. About that time some wise men, Magi, from eastern lands arrived in Jerusalem, asking, “Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east, and we have come to worship him.”

Today is the third day of Christmas. When Jesus was born, the star rose in the east signifying the arrival of the promised Messiah. Wise men from the east began their journey when they first saw the star, but had to travel for quite some time. So they didn’t arrive until much later – as much as two years later! Suffice it to say that they didn’t visit a newborn in a manger! By that time, Jesus’ family would have been living elsewhere.

As a child, I participated in the Christmas pageant at church – and – believe it or not – the Christmas pageant at our school! Picture this: Jesus would be in the center in a manger, with Joseph on one side, Mary on the other, with three shepherds off to one side and three wise men on the opposite side. But friends, it didn’t really happen that way! The shepherds and wise men were never in the same room together! And were they wise? They could be astronomers, the Greek calls them Magi (magicians) and we sing “We Three Kings.” And the Bible never says there were only three of them, so a lot of detail is missing from this beautiful story, or confused by our tradition.

But the arrival of visitors from the east seeking the King of the Jews upset King Herod so much that he felt he had to defend his throne. And this is where it gets ugly – more tomorrow...

Merry Christmas!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship

Humble Beginnings!

For Sunday, December 18, 2022:

John 1:10 NLT: “He (Jesus) came into the very world he created, but the world didn’t recognize him.”

The other day I needed a screwdriver, and searched in our tool drawer. It was nowhere to be found. I emptied the entire drawer, but couldn’t find it. Finally I remembered where I last used it, and there it was! My bad! I hadn't put it away! The point is that I had been looking in the wrong place!

A Messiah had been promised, and people were looking among the Pharisees at the Temple. The expectation was that the Messiah would free Israel from Roman occupation. They had been looking for the wrong thing in the wrong place.

Jesus came to free mankind not from the Romans but from their sin problem. Jesus brought with him the greatest gift of all – eternal life in the presence of Father. Jesus was going to make reservations for believers in the heavenly hereafter!

And who would have thought the Savior would be born to a builder and his new wife, in – of all places – a stable! They had been searching in the wrong place!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship

Hope in a Manger!

For Thursday, December 23, 2021

Luke 2:1 NLT: “At that time the Roman emperor, Augustus, decreed that a census should be taken throughout the Roman Empire.”

Interesting times 2k years ago. Who would have thought that the Roman emperor Augustus, a pagan unbeliever, would be taking orders from our Creator God, the God of the Hebrew people? And yet here was the king, ordering everyone to their hometowns for the census, causing Joseph and Mary to be in Bethlehem where baby Jesus was born, thereby fulfilling prophecy. The fact that everything fell into place just as predicted lends credibility to the Nativity events.

Then the angel brought the Good News to the shepherds, the angel chorus sang in the sky and the shepherds came to town to check it all out. They found everything just as the angel had told them, holy family in a stable, baby in a manger. They worshiped and then told everyone the Good News!

The shepherds had no clue as to the amount of hope that had been delivered to mankind that night!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

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