Off to Egypt!

February 9, 2026, Monday Message:

Matthew 2:13b NLT: “Get up! Flee to Egypt with the child and his mother,” the angel said to Joseph. “Stay there until I tell you to return, because Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.”

Fortunately, Joseph and Mary had experience with angels. They had experienced heavenly sightings previously, and everything the angel had told them always came true. A trust relationship had been established.

So when this angel told them to flee to Egypt, they quickly packed and got going. Their child was said to be the “King of the Jews.” And the problem was that Herod believed he was king! And Herod doesn’t want any competition for first place!

This all happened right after the Magi’s visit, so the holy family had adequate resources to sustain a trip to a foreign land. The Wise Men outfoxed Herod and returned home via a different route without ever reporting back to him. This angered Herod, and when he couldn’t locate Jesus, he ordered ALL the male children under two years of age to be killed. There was much wailing and sorrow in that part of Israel, all because of one sanctimonious narcissist.

Believers should rejoice that Jesus and family could seek asylum in a nearby foreign country. Nonresident aliens aren’t welcomed everywhere, and Jesus needed to reach adulthood before his ministry could begin. His primary mission was to take away the sins of the world, allowing mankind to mend our relationship with God Almighty, and we’ve seen that!

Thank you, Father God, for ensuring the completion of your Son’s mission. Thank you, Father, for providing your Son for the rescue of all believers. Thank you for Assurance of Salvation!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

The Father’s House

Truth and Freedom Church

Be a Shepherd!

For Friday, December 26, 2025:

Luke 2:8 NLT: “The night that Jesus was born, there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep.”

Let’s all pretend to be shepherds. The sheep are peaceful, quiet, down for the night. Everyone is relaxed, enjoying the serenity of nature. When all of a sudden this angel showed up! Big, audacious and scary! His first words are, “Be not afraid!” This messenger angel is friendly, bearing good news. “The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem.”

Suddenly, he is joined by a chorus of other angels, all praising the Lord for sending a Savior to the Hebrew people. The shepherd’s curiosity got the best of them, and soon they were off to Bethlehem to see the baby for themselves. They were told to look for an infant, swaddled, lying in a manger, and that’s exactly what they found!

We’ve all seen Christmas pageants with the manger and Jesus in the center, Mary and Joseph right behind them, three shepherds on one side and three wise men on the other. It stages well, but it’s not too accurate, so let’s dispel some myths. The group of shepherds was probably 8-20 men. They could have been pungent as they’d been living with sheep. They never met the wise men, who arrived as much as two years later. They were following a star, and stars don’t move very fast. We don’t know the number of wise men, only that there were three gifts.

But wouldn‘t it have been fun to join the Holy Family in welcoming their Son, our Redeemer? Wouldn’t it have been exciting to celebrate the first Christmas with the shepherds? It’s such a big deal, we reenact it each year! Merry Christmas!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

The Father’s House

Truth and Freedom Church

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

Gentiles too!

January 3, 2022 Monday Message

Matthew 2:2 NLT: “Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star as it rose in the east, and we have come to worship him.”

Epiphany means gaining a full and complete understanding of something that is really important to you. Epiphany means your eyes have been opened, and you can now see the truth! On the church calendar, we celebrate Epiphany on January 6^th, 12-days after Christmas. We celebrate the revelation of the Christ child to the Magi, Wise Men from the east. Up to this point, Jesus was known only in the Hebrew world, known only to his fellow Jews. But the Magi are Gentiles, and as we now know, Jesus came to the world through the Jews with a mission of redeeming ALL of mankind! And this would be the first inclusion of Gentiles, which is Good News for most of you reading this!

We Three Kings details: Tradition shows us a picture of three kings on camels riding across the desert to visit Jesus, but there were probably more. The Bible speaks of three gifts, but never mentions the number in the entourage. It’s unlikely they would have traveled alone. Once in Bethlehem, “They entered the house and saw the child with his mother, Mary.” Apparently the Holy Family had abandoned the stable in favor of a more traditional dwelling. Consequently, these Wise Men never met the Shepherds from the manger scene! Their gifts gave the Holy Family the resources to travel to Egypt when Herod was killing all the male Hebrew babies. God made a way for them to stay safe!

Rejoice that Gentiles are included in God’s redemption plan. Jesus is the hope of the entire world!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

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

Wise Men!

December 27, 2021 Monday Message

Matthew 2:11 NLT: “The wise men entered the house and saw the child with his mother, Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasure chests and gave him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.”

These “Wise Men,” these seekers of truth, apparently traveled quite a ways to worship Jesus, whose name means, “the Lord saves.” They asked Herod, “Where is the newborn king of the Jews?” Herod immediately perceived this as a threat. The bad thing about being king is that someone is always after your job. Kings seem to spend a disproportionate amount of time defending the throne, rather than enjoying their royal position.

These wise men “entered the house” where the family was staying, so this was well past the time of Jesus’ birth, some say as much as two years later. It’s safe to say that the wise men never met the shepherds! After the wise men left their gifts, they returned home by another route.

Apparently Herod was still stewing about the birth of the “king of the Jews!” He thought killing all the Hebrew baby boys would eliminate the “king” competition. But an angel appeared to Joseph, directing his family to Egypt for safety. With the gifts of the Magi, the family had resources to fund this journey until they could return to Israel.

The whole ‘birth of Jesus’ scenario is a series of events that could not have happened if God was not a part of it, always sending angels at just the right moment. Knowing God is “in” it means we should want to learn all we can about these things. That’s why we make such a big deal out of celebrating the birth of Jesus the Christ, who brought newfound hope to all of mankind!

Merry Christmas!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

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

Wise Men Arriving!

For Sunday, December 26, 2021

Matthew 2:2 NLT: “Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star as it rose in the east, and we have come to worship him.”

Variously called “Wise Men,” “Magi” or “men who studied the stars,” we know that these were seekers of truth. It was well known that God had gone to bat for the Hebrew people rescuing them from Egypt, and that the Hebrew religion was “Jewish.”

These men from the East had been told there was a new king of these Jews, and they wanted to meet him in the flesh! Their request was quite specific – not the Pharaoh of Egypt, not the Emperor of Rome, but the “newborn king of the Jews.” They carried three valuable gifts for the new king – gold, frankincense and myrrh.

As it turns out, Jesus wasn’t just “King of the Jews.” In fact, Jesus told his followers to “make disciples of ALL nations!” The Messiah came to us through the Jews, but his mission was to redeem the world, to redeem all who would believe!

Think of Jesus as “King of the World!”

Pastor Norton Lawellin

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

Magi!

 For Saturday, December 26, 2020

Matthew 2:2 NLT, wise men asking: “Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east, and we have come to worship him.”

What the Magi asked upset Herod, who believed HE was the king of the Jews. Jealous, he ordered all males under the age of two to be killed. Herod wanted no competition for his throne.

The wise men from the east brought expensive gifts for the new baby king, which gave the Holy Family provision to seek political asylum in Egypt for a time. The Lord provided for Jesus. Similarly, the Lord will provide for us, and knowing that gives us hope!

Trivia, just for fun: The wise men never met the shepherds. Shepherds visited Jesus in the stable; wise men visited at a house. There were three gifts – gold, frankincense and myrrh, but we do not know the number of Magi – at least four in the group, maybe more!

As we celebrate the Christmas season, we're reminded that Jesus is the hope of the world! Stay safe!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

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

Seekers from the East

Jan. 5, 2015 Monday Message:

Wise Men: “Where is the child born to be King of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him.” Matt. 2:2 CEV

These star-gazers from far away didn’t know much about God or his chosen Hebrew people, yet they were seekers. Attempting to explain creation, divine intervention seemed to be the only answer. So when an unexpected star appeared, they took it as a sign from a higher power, perhaps God, and they followed it until they finally stood beside the baby Jesus.

But upon arriving in Israel, they first encountered Herod, an evil king with no joy. They recognized that although Herod was king of some land, he was not the king over all creation. So their search continued until they found the baby in a manger, and there they left their gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.

Apparently they were good judges-of-character, because they returned to their homeland by a different route, never even saying goodbye to the evil Herod.

These wise men from the east found the true King they had been seeking. Nowadays, many people are still searching for the true king, and our job as Christians is to point them toward the manger.

Blessings to you as we begin our new year!

Norton Lawellin

Come - let’s worship together! Each Sunday Jesus in the City Fellowship (JICF) gathers at 10 a.m. in the North end (gym) of the Oliver Ministry Building, 2647 Bloomington Ave., Minneapolis. This week, Jan. 11, we’re in Acts 13:13-22, Paul and Barnabas in Antioch. Bring your Bible!