For Sunday, March 8, 2026:

John 14:8 NLT, Philip speaking: “Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied.”

Jesus has been telling the disciples about the life after this life. Philip, one of the 12, has questions about the Trinity, the 3-in-1 God. I understand. As I meet with people to answer their Bible questions, this is the #1 topic!

Understanding the awesome power of God Almighty helps us make sense of the Trinity. First, God is omnipotent, meaning all powerful. Mankind can imagine supernatural things, but God can actually do them. God had the power to create planets, our solar system, the whole universe and the space into which it could all be put; plants, animals and human beings, from scratch! He can create anything and do anything, so don’t be surprised when God does something out of the ordinary, something kind of unusual.

Our all-powerful God is also omnipresent. He can be in more than one place at the same time, simultaneously. Being omnipresent, God can decide to walk on planet Earth to rescue mankind, while remaining in Heaven. Sort of like cloning, but still of one mind. God can also do different things at the same time, multi-tasking, if you will. And if you pray to God, He’s never too busy to take the call. God doesn’t have voicemail or call waiting. Omnipresence makes him perpetually available.

Omniscience is another God trait. He possesses all knowledge. God is smart, much smarter than any of us! He knows what’s good for us, and even if it hurts, He’ll give us what’s best for us. Mankind is better off living under God’s plan.

So can Jesus show the Father to Philip? Jesus answered, “If you have seen me, you have seen the Father.” I hope Philip gets it; I hope we ALL get it!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

The Father’s House

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Truth & Freedom Church

One God!

For Friday, March 28, 2025:

John 14:9b NLT, Jesus speaking: “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father!”

It’s sometimes challenging to explain a God that we cannot see. And the concept of a triune God, one God known to us in three different forms, isn’t clearly laid out in one place in our Bibles. This scripture is Jesus’ explanation of the concept.

Previously, Jesus had said (John 10:30), “The Father and I are one.” That statement almost got him killed; people were picking up stones. (You, a mere man, claiming to be God! Blasphemy!) Jesus explained, “If I do the Father’s work, believe in the evidence. Then you will know and understand that the Father is in me, and I am in the Father.” The miracles, knowledge and sinless nature of Jesus all point to him being heaven-sent.

I’m convinced, and I hope you are too! I believe the primary mission of Jesus coming to earth was to solve mankind’s sin problem. God’s desire is for all to repent and return. God wouldn’t have launched a rescue mission if we didn’t need rescuing! Jesus said that believers are now separated from their sins “as far as the east is from the west.”

Thank you, our one God, for our redemption. God is good!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Jesus' Baptism

Sept. 16, 2019 Monday Message:

Jesus speaking: “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.” Matthew 28:19 NLT

Jesus sets the example when it comes to baptism, saying, “We must carry out all that God requires.” So he went to the Jordan River, and after a brief discussion with John the Baptist over which one of them should baptize the other, Jesus went into the water. (See Matt. 3:13-16)

We aren’t given much detail about the baptism ritual, which tells me that God isn’t overly concerned with such details. The important thing is obedience - that we make an outward visible sign of the radical transformation that’s occurred within us – Just DO IT!

What I love best is what happened AFTER the baptism. “The Spirit of God descending like a dove settled on Jesus. And a voice from heaven called out, ‘This is my dearly beloved Son, who brings me great joy.’”

And there you have it – Jesus Son-of-God in the water, the Holy Spirit showing up in a visible way, and the voice of God booming from the heavens, clearly identifying Jesus as the Son of God. Father – Son – Holy Spirit, in the same sentence. That’s the one God in three different forms – the Triune God that we worship. That’s what differentiates the Christian God from the gods of all other religions.

Jesus speaking: “The Father and I are one.” John 10:30

Norton Lawellin

Let’s worship together! Jesus in the City Fellowship meets next Sunday, Sept. 22, 2019, 3249 30^th Ave. S., Minneapolis, MN 55406, 10:30 AM. This week we’ll look at 1 Cor. 12:1-11 - Spiritual Gifts for all! See you at church!

Psalms 110 - Trinity

Sept. 18, 2017 Monday Message:

“The Lord says to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.” Psalms 110:1 NIV

Most of you know that in the Old Testament, “Lord,” written in capital letters, stands for God’s name, sometimes translated as Yahweh or Jehovah, but we usually use “Lord” since the exact pronunciation is uncertain.

“Lord” or “lord,” upper/lower case or all lower case letters, refers to a master, in this case the Messiah or Adonai, the anointed one. In Psalm 110, David is prophesying about Jesus, the one we call the Christ.

If we just see the word “Lord” by itself, we assume it’s referring to the triune God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. But in this scripture, God-the-Father is clearly speaking to God-the-Son. Jesus would face many enemies on his mission trip to earth to rescue mankind, and the Father is reassuring him that the enemies will wind up under his feet. (We sing about that!)

‘Sitting at the right hand of God’ tells us that Jesus occupies the most honored position in all of heaven. Jesus is, after all, one with the Father, as is our advocate and counselor, the Holy Spirit.

And that’s one of the mysteries of the Christian faith. We have one God who has shown himself to us in three persons. While the Bible is quite clear that we worship only one God, the Hebrew word for God, “Elohim,” is plural. Interesting. God had David write these things 1,000 years before Jesus ever walked on earth!

Norton Lawellin

Let’s worship together! Jesus in the City Fellowship gathers next Sunday, Sept. 24, 2017, 3249 30^th Ave. S., Minneapolis, MN 55406, 10:30 AM. We’ll open our series in 1 Corinthians 12. See you at church!