Predictions!

For Tuesday, April 21, 2026:

John 14:29 NLT, Jesus speaking: “I have told you these things before they happen so that when they do happen, you will believe.”

Q: How can you tell if a prophet is the real deal?
A: The prophecies all come true!

As his ministry draws to a close, I don’t think Jesus looked at these words as any long-term prophecy. But he didn’t want any of the believers to lose faith. He didn’t want them to give up or be scared. That could easily happen when your spiritual mentor is hanging from a cross!

As it happened, everything played out just as Jesus predicted. In death, he took the sins of the world to the place of the dead, leaving mankind forgiven, eligible for life after this life. Three days later, he walked out of the tomb. Death could not hold him! And with sin and death both conquered, mankind was given a fresh start! God is good!

Even the bad things that happened should increase our faith, because it all happened just as Jesus said it would!

Pastor Norton Lawellin
The Father’s House
Jesus In the City Fellowship
Truth & Freedom Church

Miracle Source!

For Thursday, April 16, 2026:

John 12:17-18 NLT: “Many in the crowd had seen Jesus call Lazarus from the tomb, raising him from the dead, and they were testifying about it. That was the reason so many went out to meet him—because they had heard about this miraculous sign.”

Jesus could perform miracles, and miracles impress people. Many were in Jerusalem for Passover, hence the large crowds. They had traveled to experience religious things, and all the buzz was about Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead. Everyone was impressed, but it was kind of like they all had attended a magic show. They worshiped the miracle itself, but not where it came from, who did it, why they did it and who that person is.

Jesus intentionally took his time traveling to Martha and Mary’s house, arriving after Lazarus had died. “O Lord, if only you had been here,” cried the women. They’re thinking in earthly terms. Knowing what we now know about Jesus, he could have healed Lazarus from far away. But to Jesus, this needed to be an event. This was about showcasing the glory of the Lord. He wanted Lazarus clearly dead before calling him out of the tomb – a BIG miracle! Perhaps then people would recognize that this was heaven-sent, and that Jesus was God’s only Son!

Friends, don’t just appreciate the miracle, the event itself. Worship the supernatural entity that brought the miracle to fruition. Worship God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit – as they bestow miracle after miracle on believers!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

The Father’s House

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Truth & Freedom Church

Good Friday!

For Good Friday, April 3, 2026:

Matthew 27:20 NLT: “The leading priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas to be released and for Jesus to be put to death.”

Many people had pilgrimaged to Jerusalem to celebrate Passover at the Temple. So Jesus’ trial before Pilate was witnessed by many. The custom was to release one prisoner on that special day, giving them a second chance. Barabbas was a horrible man, but the priests convinced the crowd to ask for him rather than Jesus.

Pilate responded, “Then what should I do with Jesus who is called the Messiah?”

They shouted back, “Crucify him!”

This dialog went back a forth a number of times. Pilate literally washed his hands of the matter, saying, “I am innocent of this man’s blood.” Pilate’s wife had suffered a nightmare over what was about to happen. The guards took Jesus to be flogged, and eventually crucified. It’s a horrible death. The body grows weak, collapses and dies of asphyxiation, unable to support itself to take in one more breath.

Jesus was fully God and fully human. We sadly remember the human part dying on this day. Our spiritual mentor, our life coach, was gone. His body was quickly placed in a tomb donated by Joseph of Arimathea, and secured with a huge stone. No further work could be done as the Sabbath (Saturday) was drawing near. The women would finish preparing the body on Sunday.

The fully human part will remain in the grave, at least until Sunday. But what will the God-part be doing?

Pastor Norton Lawellin

The Father’s House

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Truth & Freedom Church

Worship with David!

For Sunday, January 18, 2026:

Psalm 122:1 NLT: “I was glad when they said to me, ‘Let us go to the house of the LORD.’”

Do we have to go to church? No, we WANT to go to church, we GET to go to church, we’re ALLOWED to attend. David said that visiting God’s house made him glad, put a smile on his face! This king David is the same one who kept his sheep safe. He stood up for God when facing Goliath. You could say that David was a fan of the Lord all his life.

David was a worshiper and a worship leader. He authored songs for corporate worship. He led the congregation in singing those songs. They’re timeless, because our God is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. Musicians frequently echo David’s words when composing new songs for us to sing.

Today is Sunday, worship day for Christians. It’s the day Jesus conquered both sin and death. It’s the day he walked away from the tomb. He had left the sins of the world in the place of the dead, and became a living example of eternal life. Jesus’ believers get to share in his forgiveness and resurrection. When it’s our turn to enter the next reality, Jesus will welcome us with open arms!

When we arrive in the life after this life, there won’t be any doubt about attending worship! Look for a lot of smiles. We’ll all be glad!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

The Father’s House

Truth and Freedom Church

Death Is Not the End!

September 1, 2025, Monday Message:

Luke 18:31-33 NLT: “Taking the twelve disciples aside, Jesus said, ‘Listen, we’re going up to Jerusalem, where all the predictions of the prophets concerning the Son of Man will come true. He will be handed over to the Romans, and he will be mocked, treated shamefully, and spit upon. They will flog him with a whip and kill him, but on the third day he will rise again.’”

The “going up to Jerusalem” would be the Triumphal Entry, what we celebrate as Palm Sunday. Following that, things would quickly go downhill. The Pharisees had been plotting to kill Jesus for quite some time, and this time they would get their wish. Judas-the-traitor would betray our Savior, who would be arrested, mocked, beaten and spit upon. On the following Friday, he would be nailed to a cross. Crucifixion always ended in death. The Romans were diligent about their evil task.

On the cross, Jesus cried out, “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?” Jesus had lived an innocent life, but at that point, I believe the sins of the world were heaped upon him. Since he really died, Jesus visited the place of the dead, and there he left the sins of the world, separating sin from believers as far as the east is from the west, as far as the ocean is deep.

Three days later Jesus went missing from the tomb. Everyone he encountered could see him, talk to him and hear him speak. Jesus continued to teach, and I suspect the main message was that death is not the end! Jesus was a walking, talking example of resurrection! In the life after this life, the sheep are separated from the goats, and Jesus will prepare a place for his flock in the Eternal Kingdom

Jesus was fulfilling prophesy after prophesy, proving him to be beyond a shadow of a doubt the expected Messiah. God’s plan was that mankind’s sins could be forgiven through faith in the Son. Jesus’ obedience made it possible for us to see heaven from the inside. God’s desire is that none would perish, but that all would repent and return. Have you made arrangements to join Jesus in the hereafter?

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Plotting to Kill!

July 7, 2025, Monday Message:

John 11:48 NLT, Jewish High Council discussing Jesus: “If we allow him to go on like this, soon everyone will believe in him. Then the Roman army will come and destroy both our Temple and our nation.”

Jesus had just raised Lazarus from the dead, brought him back to life! Jesus made quite a show of the whole thing. After being informed of Lazarus’ illness, Jesus tarried for two more days, I believe to make a point and to better show God’s glory! When Jesus finally arrived, he was cautioned not to open the tomb. Lazarus had been dead for four days and the smell would be horrible. Throwing caution to the wind, Jesus ordered the tomb opened and commanded, “Lazarus, come out!” As Lazarus exited the grave, his body appeared bound up for the hereafter. So Jesus commanded, “Unwrap him and let him go!”

Now this isn’t something you see every day, someone four days dead walking out of a tomb! So everybody was talking about it, shouting the news and exalting the heavenly powers of Jesus of Nazareth. Some people began shifting their allegiance from the Temple to Jesus and his radical ministry. And as I’ve said before, when people leave the Temple, their tithes go with them!

Note that the High Council didn’t say that Jesus had done anything wrong. Only that if they allowed Jesus to continue, they feared that they’d be out of business! Jews had a special deal with Rome. If they kept peace in their region, Rome would allow their religion to continue. This was a unique concession on the part of Rome, since their Caesar wanted to be thought of as a god. But somehow the Jews were allowed to have their own God! The Council feared that the success of Jesus would threaten their sweetheart deal!

The high priest Caiaphas counseled the others: “It’s better that one man should die for the people than for the whole nation to be destroyed.” So from that time on, the Jewish leaders began to plot Jesus’ death. This was a sad time in the Jewish religion, where the leadership got so off track that they would consider murder. Little did they know that they were plotting the murder of the Son of God!

In fact, they were doing exactly what God wanted. As Jesus died, he would take the sins of the world to the place of the dead, thereby cleansing mankind and making them suitable for spending eternity alongside God Almighty! Heaven awaits!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship