Mothers' Day!

For Sunday, May 10, 2026, Mother’s Day:

Luke 1:31 NLT: “You, Mary, will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus.”

Jesus’ Father is in his heavenly Kingdom, but he needed a mother on earth. Everyone born here needs someone to love them, care for them, feed them, and change out their nappy! Jesus' mother had been told by the angel Gabriel that baby Jesus would actually be the Son of the Most High, so she wasn’t surprised when miracles happened. She 100% supported her Son, God’s Son.

Mom had faith in Jesus’ abilities even before his ministry began. At the wedding in Cana when the wine supply was exhausted, Mary told the servers, “Do whatever Jesus tells you.”

Jesus protested. “It’s not my time yet,” but Mary persisted. Giant jars of water were available for Jewish ceremonial washing, and were now brought to the sommelier who determined the jars contained the finest wine. In fact, he questioned why it had not been served first! Thank you, Jesus!

Mary knew her Son was special, and Jesus had honored his mother’s request even though it was not yet his time. And on the cross, he arranged for his mother’s perpetual care. Jesus used every day to honor women, even those who aren’t mothers. For our Messiah, every day was Mother’s Day! May God bless the women!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

The Father’s House

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Truth & Freedom Church

Happy Mother's Day!

For Sunday, May 11, 2025:

John 2:5 ESV: “Jesus’ mother said to the servants, ‘Do whatever he tells you.’”

Mary, Jesus and his disciples were all invited to a wedding in Cana. Back then, a wedding was a multi-day celebration. The reception could last for a week! But this festivity was embarrassingly about to end prematurely. They had run out of wine. Because water wasn’t purified like it is nowadays, wine was the standard beverage served with meals, so without wine, the gala would come to an abrupt halt.

Mary commented to her son, “They have run out of wine,” to which Jesus replied, “What does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come.” Mary ignored his protest and told the servers, “Do whatever Jesus tells you!”

So Jesus stepped up and did the right thing. He honored his mother! Jesus had the servers bring big stone water jars to the Maitre’d. While being transported, the water changed into wine, and the Maitre’d asked why they had saved the best wine for last?

So examining Jesus’ behavior, even though it was not yet his time to go public with his ministry, it was a good decision to honor mom. Following his example, today we celebrate Mother’s Day in the US. It’s a good day to figuratively put mom up on a pedestal. My own mother has passed, so I can only remember her. But I honor my wife, the mother of my children. I honor my two daughters and my son’s wife, who are mothers to my grandchildren.

As Christians, we should honor all women, whether or not they are actually mothers. God saw that it was not good for man to be alone, so he gave us partners. Honoring women honors God’s decision! We should follow in Jesus’ footsteps and honor our mothers and all women – especially today!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Wedding - You're Invited!

For Tuesday, September 12, 2023:

Romans 8:16 NLT: “All creation is waiting eagerly for that future day when God will reveal who his children really are.”

Peggy Lee won a Grammy for her late 1960’s song asking the rhetorical question, “Is that all there is?” In fact, there’s a whole lot more in store for believers! Jesus said so!

Believers from the church (the bride of Christ) will be gathered up in one magnificent event for the wedding feast in heaven. God told us through his Word that we could be included in this great celebration if we stick with his Son Jesus! Then we get to live out eternity in the presence of God along with all the saints. It’s a free gift for believers. God is good!

Make sure that you’re ready for that special day! The rest of creation is looking forward to it!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship

Next Right Thing!

For Saturday, May 20, 2023:

John 2:3 NLT: “The wine supply ran out during the festivities, so Jesus’ mother told him, ‘They have no more wine.’”

Wedding celebrations aren’t that different nowadays. There’s a simple religious ceremony uniting the couple, followed by an over-the-top reception! Expect music and dancing, plenty of food and an open bar. The reception was often a statement of the wealth and success of the couple’s parents. This party could go on for a week!

At the wedding in Cana, they ran out of wine far too soon. This would be an embarrassing start for the couple and, worst of all, reflect poorly on their families. That’s when Mary told her son, “They have no more wine,” implying that Jesus should do something about the problem. Jesus had not yet shown his glory, so Mary didn’t know what exactly Jesus would do, but she had been told that her baby was the Son of God, so she had high expectations.

Although it was not yet his time, how could Jesus say ‘no’ to mom? There were six 20-30 gallon stone water jars used for ritual washing, and Jesus had the waiters fill them. Voilà, 150 gallons of the finest wine! Jesus had them ladle some out and take it to the maitre d’, who wondered why they had saved the best wine for last!

Count on Jesus to do the next right thing! He’ll do that for you too!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship

God's Love!

For Sunday, September 25, 2022::

Galatians 3:28 NIV: “There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male and female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus.”

All humans were created in God’s image. He loves each and every one of us, and his desire is that none would perish. You could be Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male or female, black or white or any other color. You could be short or tall, have a lot of money or be dirt-poor, it makes no difference. God shows no prejudice when it comes to our inclusion in his Kingdom. Those who are friends of Jesus are friends of God – no exceptions!

Paul writes that our devotion to Jesus is like donning a new set of clothes. Here’s an example: You may do manual labor all week, but pretend that your daughter is getting married. You clean up. If you’re a man, you put on a tuxedo. If you don’t own one, you rent one for the occasion. If you’re a woman, you get a fancy dress for this special event. In other words, we put on special clothes for a special celebration. It’s like that. You’ve been given an invitation to heaven, so it’s time to put on the special “Jesus” clothes!

After all, the church is the bride of Christ, so we ARE going to a wedding!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

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

Helpful!

Monday Message, October 12, 2020: 

John 2:5 NLT: “Mary told the servants, ‘Do whatever he (Jesus) tells you.’”

There’s nothing like a big wedding celebration! Nowadays, the wedding and reception both take place on the same day, and an average basic wedding costs over $10,000. In Jesus’ day, the celebrating could last for a week, so it’s not surprising that they could run a little short on provisions! 

In the case of the wedding at Cana, they were short of wine, and Jesus’ mother Mary first thought, “What could we do that would be helpful?” She asked Jesus to intervene. While others were faulting couple and their parents, complaining about the situation, Mary wanted to do something positive. She explained the problem to Jesus, who said it was not yet his time. Nonetheless, he told the servers to refill the jars used for ritual washing, and then offer some to the maître d’, who raved about the wine’s quality.

This was Jesus’ first known miracle, and Bible teachers tend to focus in on that. But I want us to also look at the motivation for Jesus’ response. When confronted with a problem, the solution wasn’t to complain or assign blame. The solution was to ask, “What could I do that would be helpful? What could I do that would make this better?” 

So reject your first impulse to complain and get angry, and instead improve things - make the situation better! Your hope is in Jesus, so just do what he did!

Blessings and safety all week, 

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship

3249 30th Ave. S., Minneapolis, MN 55406

The Ten Virgins

May 16, 2011 Monday Message:

Set the Wayback machine for 2000 years ago, and let’s go to a wedding. It’s different than nowadays…

To start the marriage process, the groom’s parents would search for a suitable bride for their son. Next, everyone would meet, and agree that this marriage would be a good thing. Then the groom’s family would give a considerable sum to the bride’s family, to finalize the marriage.

Here’s where it really gets weird – then the groom leaves. That’s right – he takes off, but it’s to get everything ready for his new bride. They’ll need a house, furniture, a supply of food, and a plan for employment. Fortunately, he doesn’t have to do this all by himself. The groom’s family and his groomsmen-friends all pitch in to help meet the goal.

While he’s gone the bride, her family and her bridesmaid-friends have a parallel assignment. They make clothing and linens, and procure all the other household essentials. This assignment was not to be taken lightly – each bridesmaid had a specific task to complete, her piece of the puzzle.

When the groom had everything prepared, he would return to claim his new wife. But the women didn’t know in advance the exact time of the groom’s return. So they had to be intentional in their work, and always on the lookout, ready to go at any moment.

The bridesmaids who were diligent in their duties and committed members of the wedding team would wind up knowing a lot about the new groom and his family. They were involved. But those who were lax in their assignments would not possess this information. It’s easy to tell them apart. The diligent ones had oil for their lamps, because they cared about the impending wedding, while the lax group did not. The lax group hadn’t completed their tasks for the groom—therefore they didn’t know much about him, and when it was time for the wedding he didn’t know them either.

The Parable of the Ten Virgins is just that, a parable, but it has eschatological implications. Jesus is the Savior who came, and the judge who will come again. His bride, the church, has tasks to complete in his absence, and each one of us is a piece of the puzzle. Those who helped prepare for the wedding will be guests at the wedding. But if you do not know Jesus, he may not know you either.

Norton Lawellin

I’ll be teaching the Parable of the Ten Virgins in a lot more detail this Friday at New Hope Center, 7PM.