Serve the Lord!

For Friday, January 23, 2026:

Romans 6:12 NLT: “Do not let sin control the way you live; do not give in to sinful desires. Do not let sin reign in your body, which is subject to death.”

Bob Dylan sang that each of us winds up serving somebody. We get to carefully choose who we will serve. This is the same declaration that Joshua, Moses’ assistant, made 3300 years earlier. “Choose today who you will serve. As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”

Your decision is an alliance and an allegiance. Which team do you want to play for, Jesus’ team or the other team? Jesus’ team aligns with our Creator God, while the other team is always battling their wrongdoings. Surprisingly, it’s easier to align with God, although at times we may be outnumbered!

Choosing Jesus’ team doesn’t instantly make us perfect. But deciding in favor of heaven’s ways gives us standards, goals for which we can strive. Believers wisely choose to adopt God’s value system, and the longer we bond with God, the better we get at serving him. We see progress, but our goal is perfection!

Satan’s sinners face death, while Jesus’ team is destined for eternal life in God’s heavenly Kingdom. Jesus made it possible for believers to view that Kingdom from the inside! Choose today who you will serve.

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

The Father’s House

Truth and Freedom Church

Money Trap!

For Thursday, October 9, 2025:

Luke 20:21-22 NLT, question asked of Jesus: “Teacher,” they said, “we know that you speak and teach what is right and are not influenced by what others think. You teach the way of God truthfully. Now tell us—is it right for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?”

This whole incident was a trap. The religious leaders were upset that people were leaving the Temple to follow Jesus. Their tithes went with them! So now we know the real reason! This was about power and money. If you want to get to the bottom of a situation, just follow the money! Those religious leaders hoped to trick Jesus into dissing Caesar. Then the Romans would kill him, and they wouldn’t need to do the nasty deed themselves.

God and Jesus had for years taught that killing was wrong, was a sin. And arranging for someone’s death was as bad as killing them yourself. The Messiah came to earth through the Hebrew people, who should have loved him. But now their religious leaders felt a need to eliminate Jesus. The love of money can cause people to do strange things. The bad guys’ actions violated their own value system.

As you might expect, Jesus came up with the perfect answer. There’s plenty of money to go around. It takes money to set up governments and maintain cities and protect them, so Caesar needs some money. God already has thousands of cattle on thousands of hills, so he’s OK, but he wants us to be a part of things. He wants us to have some skin in the game. Jesus simply answered, “Give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and give to God what belongs to God.”

That’s what we all should do, remembering that the first portion already belongs to God!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Instinctively Right!

For Tuesday, September 23, 2025:

Hebrews 10:16 NLT: “This is the new covenant I will make with my people on that day, says the Lord: I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds.”

The New Covenant represents a better deal for mankind. God’s desire is that none would be lost and that all would repent and return. So instead of having to read God’s Laws and try to memorize them, his commands have been permanently placed within us as instinct. No longer can we say, I didn’t know about that rule or I don‘t understand that policy. Now we intuitively know right from wrong. Thank you, Jesus!

This applies regardless of whether the person is a believer. For example, we have civil laws saying that murder is wrong, but we don’t need those laws to teach us. The Bible teaches us! Everyone from the priest to the prisoner in solitary already knows that we shouldn’t murder one another. It’s written on our hearts. We should love God, be kind to our parents; we shouldn’t steal, lie or covet what isn’t ours. Everyone already knows. Our minds have been pre-programmed to do the right thing!

God wisely put every inhabitant of Earth on the same page, giving us a uniform code of conduct. We all have the same rules, the same behavior standards. If a behavior is wrong in Washington, D.C., it’s wrong in Los Angeles. If a sin is wrong in Kansas City, It’s wrong in Moscow too. God has codified His value system and written it on mankind’s hearts. So we already know the right way to live our lives – God’s way!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Betrayal!

September 8, 2025, Monday Message:

John 13:27 NLT: “When Judas had eaten the bread, Satan entered into him. Then Jesus told him, “Hurry and do what you’re going to do.”

I once owned a small business. One Christmas Eve, someone picked up a very large order and paid with cash, nearly $2,000.00. Our bank was closed for the holiday, so the deposit would have to wait until the next business day. That night, a break-in was staged, and all the cash went missing. I say “staged” because it turned out to be an inside job. My right-hand man had cut a hole in a wooden door to make it look like a crime, and absconded with the cash. Silly – he had keys to the place! I would have been a little angry if it were a random burglary, but I felt deeply hurt that a trusted employee could have done such a thing. I know what betrayal feels like. Fortunately, I only lost money. Jesus lost his life!

When Satan indwelt Judas, it was no longer Judas making decisions. Satan was perpetrating evil from within Judas’ body. Similarly, demons indwelling humans cause them to make irrational decisions, doing things that violate their value system. Recovery requires that those demons be cast out, exorcized.

Since two things cannot occupy the same space, (see Science 101,) filling someone with Jesus leaves little room for demons! And since Jesus was present, he could have cast out Satan. But he knew God’s plan for mankind’s forgiveness. Jesus was to be the sacrifice, paying the penalty for mankind’s sins. Obedience to the Father took precedence, and Jesus had to allow this scenario to play out. It would be painful, but only for a short time.

In the end, Jesus took the sins of the world to the place of the dead. Those who sign on with Jesus receive forgiveness and will spend eternity in God’s Kingdom, Heaven.

Keep your eyes on the prize!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Value System!

For Tuesday, August 26, 2025:

Mark 14:1b NLT: “The leading priests and the teachers of religious law were still looking for an opportunity to capture Jesus secretly and kill him.”

It was two days before Pasach, the Passover, the Festival of Unleavened Bread. The men behind the conspiracy against Jesus were priests and Jewish teachers of religious law. They should have known better.

On one hand, their religious beliefs taught that murder is wrong. Their parents and schools taught that murder is wrong. They teach others their deep-rooted moral belief that murder is wrong. And here they all are, plotting a murder, in direct conflict with their own value system, their own beliefs. Listen to this: Anyone who is doing what they would counsel others to NOT do is caught up in a big mental mess. In this case, perpetuating their religion had taken precedence over the religion’s fundamental principles, and that’s backwards. The priests believed Jesus was threatening their religion, and suddenly, plotting a murder became acceptable to them. They were wrong.

The priests and religious teachers didn’t want this event to happen on a holy day. The people might rebel! This tells us that, deep down, they knew the whole affair was wrong. If this secret were exposed, people could lose confidence in their religion.

With Jesus, God gave us the New Covenant. Believers have God’s Laws written on their hearts. In other words, God gave us a conscience. We should instinctively know right from wrong. So when a question arises, we should ask ourselves, “Is this good, is this right, is it fair, is it honest – should we be doing this thing?” With our God-inspired internal value system, we already know the right answer!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Oral Tradition!

For Friday, December 20, 2024:

2 Thessalonians 2:5 NLT: “Don’t you remember that I told you about all this when I was with you?”

This is one believer counseling other believers in the same way that Jesus counseled disciples when he walked alongside mankind. Even before there was written language, people learned in this way. It’s called ‘oral tradition,’ one believer sharing with others what he had been taught.

The older teaching is still valid. God’s value system is not about to change. If God said something was wrong 2k years ago, it’s still wrong today. And if God assigned us a task or established a principle, we should still follow those instructions nowadays.

Jesus is the only one to alter a few things. We call his way the “New Covenant.” A couple of examples: 1. We no longer have animal sacrifices because Jesus himself was the ultimate sacrifice for the sins of the world. 2. We celebrate Holy Communion because Jesus said to do this “in remembrance of me.” That’s being obedient!

We still use oral tradition nowadays. Each Sunday your pastor should research a topic and give the congregation the ‘inside scoop’ on that topic. Week by week we increase our knowledge of God, our Savior and the Holy Spirit!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

For Saturday, November 16, 2024:

1 Thessalonians 4:1 NLT: “We urge you in the name of the Lord Jesus to live in a way that pleases God, as we have taught you. You live this way already, and we encourage you to do so even more.”

Paul is encouraging the Thessalonian church: We have taught you to live in God’s ways, according to his commandments, according to his value system. We know that you are already living that way, but can you go a step further? Can you prioritize God even more in your lives? When God looks down from heaven upon the Thessalonian church, don’t you all want him to have a smile on his face? And when God looks down on each of our churches, aren’t we also looking for that smile of approval?

Can we all love the Lord a little more each day? More time and stronger devotion? And certainly we can do a better job of loving our neighbors, of taking care of the needy, the sick, the orphaned and the widowed. We should be the hands and feet that pour God’s mercy into the world. Friends, this kind of help and love has to come from the church. We cannot count on the government for benevolence, and we cannot legislate virtue. Only from God and his church can come these planks in our moral platform.

God’s will is for us to be holy!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Trust!

For Tuesday, July 16, 2024:

1 Peter 4:19 NLT: “If you are suffering in a manner that pleases God, keep on doing what is right, and trust your lives to the God who created you, for he will never fail you.”

If you are suffering, that isn’t from God. Sin runs rampant in the human race, and those doing good, those obeying God’s instructions are often criticized out of jealousy, greed or narcissism. God wants us to continue doing right whether criticized or not, whether suffering or not.

Doing the right things for the right reasons is a worthy goal. We already know what to do because, with the New Covenant, God wrote his laws on our hearts. He gave us a conscience. And God gave us the gift of discernment. We don’t need to waste time looking things up in a book. Now we instinctively know right from wrong!

Trust in the Lord with all your heart! He will never fail you!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Hopelessly Confused!

For Saturday, May 11, 2024:

Ephesians 4:17 NLT: “With the Lord’s authority I say this: Live no longer as the Gentiles do, for they are hopelessly confused.”

When reading your Bibles, one of the most important things to remember is “context.” The same words can have different meanings in different situations. Paul is not condemning all Gentiles any more than he would exalt all Jews. There are, after all, good Gentiles and bad Jews!

Who Paul is condemning are those living a wild and sinful life, living only for their own pleasure, living only for the world. Do not emulate those who are hopelessly confused. We already know right from wrong, since God’s New Covenant writes God’s Laws on our hearts. God has given each of us his value system. We call it a conscience! If we stop and think for a minute, we already know when we shouldn’t do something.

Many in the world nowadays are “hopelessly confused.” Wars are being fought, and entire races of people are falling victim to genocide. As followers of Jesus, we have been given a higher standard. Live like the Lord says in his Bible!

Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Life and Death!

April 29, 2024 Monday Message:

Philippians 2:30 NLT: “Epaphroditus risked his life for the work of Christ, and he was at the point of death while doing for me what you couldn’t do from far away.”

Life was different 2k years ago. Nowadays, if there’s a problem with someone, you call 911 or the police department. Back then, there were no police. People who disagreed would pull out a sword or knife and go after whomever offended them. Violent retribution was the custom of the day.

I mention this because if someone was involved in politics, religion or philosophy, there was a good chance that they might not come home tonight! Paul was writing this message from a prison cell, detained for preaching the Good News. Paul talked about a God, and Jesus, the Son of God. Rome, who policed the world at the time, claimed deity for the current Caesar. They considered Paul’s testimony sacrilege. So even though we know Paul was right, he was jailed for being wrong!

If you’re doing the work of Jesus, it may cost you popularity. That’s OK. I’d rather please God than please pagans. Friends, we can’t be all things to all people. There’s right, and there’s wrong, and we need to choose. God is not wishy-washy about separating the sheep from the goats. Our value system should line up with God’s value system. Those who disagree with God’s value system are on the other side, the wrong side.

We can still love our neighbors, being kind and helpful, even when we disagree. They will know we are Christians by our love!

Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Death to Sin!

April 15, 2024 Monday Message:

Colossians 3:5 NLT: “Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry.”

Paul is counseling the Colossian church to live a more virtuous life than the rest of the world. In Paul’s language, these impure behaviors should be “put to death!” Ideally, sin would never be present in a Christian assembly.

But let me be clear: Eliminating mankind’s earthly nature won’t get you into heaven. You can’t “earn” your way into heaven. Salvation is an undeserved gift (grace) given to us by the work Jesus did on the cross. We receive it because of our faith in who Jesus is, and believing that he can and will do what scripture promises.

So what we need to do is ask Jesus to live in our hearts and then change everything! Jesus will take care of living in you if you ask, forgiveness of those who repent and return, and ultimately salvation. But getting your way of living back on track is your responsibility. Sinful ways that used to be the norm need to be put to death. Stopping the sin but still thinking about it isn’t good enough. We need to completely eliminate it from our thoughts. Sin no longer has a place on our agenda of possible things to do today. It’s out of the question! We should put it to death, bury it and walk away forever.

Paul wrote, “You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived.” The key is that this is written as “past tense.” Most of us used to do things like these, but now because of Jesus we are born again. Because of Jesus, everything is changed. Because of Jesus, everything is better!

Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Love One Another!

For Thursday, May 4, 2023:

1 John 3:11 NLT: “This is the message you have heard from the beginning: We should love one another.”

This basic heavenly message has not changed, and I see no sign of it ever changing. From the beginning of creation, God has commanded that we be kind, that we play nicely with others, that we show compassion for the needy and care for our neighbors as much as we care for ourselves! Frankly, mankind hasn’t been very good at this. Considering Adam and Eve’s disobedience in the garden and the Cain vs Abel incident, the train was going off the tracks right from the get-go!

Believers need to learn from the mistakes of our ancestors. Mankind needs to reorient our thinking, our value system, to be in alignment with our Lord. When Jesus said – “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.” – He was speaking of how we should treat one another.

That we show love to our brothers and sisters matters to God!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship

Jesus' Value System!

August 29, 2022 Monday Message:

​Ephesians 4:22 CEV: “You were told that your foolish desires will destroy you and that you must give up your old way of life with all its bad habits.”

​Pagans have no moral compass. They wander through life not knowing if they did the right thing.

Christians have been given a value system. Jesus’ life was an example of how we should live. It’s a high standard! We won’t achieve that, but it’s a worthy goal. It’s been described as putting on a new suit of clothes.

The Bible says that all have sinned and fallen short of God’s glory. We are plagued with shortcomings, but deep down we know when it’s time to repent and return.

Thankfully, God’s laws are written on our hearts!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

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

Psalms 112 - The Winning Team

Oct. 2, 2017 Monday Message:

“The children (of those who believe) will be mighty in the land; the generation of the upright will be blessed.” Psalms 112:2 NIV

There’s a value system – a standard-of-character – in every person, every family, every organization, and on a larger scale, every country. Let’s call it the DNA of character, standards to which we have all tacitly agreed to adhere. God gave us these standards.

New believers need to check each situation against the owner’s manual – the Bible, while seasoned believers can say the right things and make the right decisions instinctively. They have been immersed in Jesus’ teaching - his value system – for so long, it becomes second nature.

If all the parents are believers, and they teach their children to believe, and their children’s children are on the right path, God will bless that nation. His gift of righteousness is for those who repent and return, those who love him and serve him.

The Psalm concludes by telling us that evil people will see God favoring the believers and become angry, but the desires of the wicked will come to nothing.

So there are 2 teams – God’s people vs the bad guys, and God has given us free will to decide which is our team. I want to be on the winning side, so I peeked at the end of the book – God wins!

Norton Lawellin

Let’s worship together! Jesus in the City Fellowship gathers next Sunday, Oct. 8, 2017, 3249 30^th Ave. S., Minneapolis, MN 55406, 10:30 AM. We’ll continue our discussion of Spiritual Gifts in 1 Corinthians 12 – each of us is a necessary part of the body of Christ. See you at church!