Same God!

     For Sunday, February 1, 2026:

Hebrews 13:8 NLT: “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.”

This scripture tells us that God and his Son Jesus are consistent. If God gave a command 2K years ago, it’s still in effect nowadays. We can have confidence in the prophecies given to us. Rules are rules, and laws are laws. What God wants us to do doesn’t change. Tell everyone about the Father’s love and forgiveness. Tell them about Jesus, that he paid the penalty for our sins. Tell the people that our Lord has offered us a second chance, a do-over – and a third chance, and a fourth chance… His desire is that everyone would repent and return.

We can put our faith, hope and trust in the God of Abraham. He’s the same God yesterday, today and tomorrow. Our God is powerful enough to create an entire universe, but still quite interested in each of our lives. He wants us to talk to him today. He wants to favor us with his blessings today – right now, so connect with him frequently. Share not only your hurts and sorrows with him, but your good news and blessings as well. Get to the heart of the matter. You can’t just do small talk when conversing with God. Smile when you meet with the Lord!

God and his Son desire a relationship with you. Make a point of including him in your life!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

The Father’s House

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Truth & Freedom Church

Never-ending Faith!

For Sunday, November 23, 2025:

Hebrews 11:38 AMP: “(people of whom the world was not worthy), wandered in deserts and mountains and [lived in] caves and holes in the ground.”

Hebrews has been teaching us about faith, the never-ending belief in God and his Son. Some will rise to greatness and point others to the Lord. Others will be persecuted by nonbelievers, beaten, whipped and sometimes killed. For them, it would be easy to lose faith, but that would be a bad decision.

No matter our lot in this life, our best reward is waiting for us in the next life. Keep your eye on the prize. The only two choices are (#1) spending eternity in God’s presence, or (#2) treading forever in the deep lake of fire. The right choice instantly becomes obvious.

Whatever happens to us in this life is only temporary. We will have whatever blessings God has planned for us, but we never want to lose faith in the blessings God has for believers in the next life.

Stick with God, and he’ll stick with you!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

The Father’s House

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Truth & Freedom Church

Miracle of Faith!

For Friday, September 5, 2025:

Luke 18:35 NLT: “As Jesus approached Jericho, a blind beggar was sitting beside the road.”

I love this story! I could preach on it all day. But I won’t!

As usual, a crowd was following Jesus as he made his way toward Jerusalem. A blind beggar heard the commotion and asked what was happening. He was told, “Jesus of Nazareth was passing by.”

It turns out that the blind man knew some theology and had heard about Jesus being the Messiah. It turns out that our blind man was a believer! So he shouted, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” Some told him to quiet down, but he shouted the same thing over and over, louder and louder!

Jesus asked that the man be brought to him, and then asked, “What do you want me to do for you?“ Duh! Everyone knew the man was blind. What do you think he wants? But I believe Jesus also had a little sense of humor, asking the man to state the obvious!

It also teaches us that when we need help in this life, we need to ask. Who? God! We need to pray about our problems and our predicaments. We sometimes need to restate the obvious, what God already knows. God wants to be involved in our lives, and communicating our needs shows that we consider God our friend and helper. “Lord,” said the blind man, “I want to see!”

Jesus’ response was positive. “Receive your sight! Your faith has healed you.” It’s always our faith in God’s grace that saves us. Faith in Jesus can restore sight, heal other infirmities, and give us the best gift of all, access , Praisingto the Kingdom of Heaven!

This miracle didn’t take a long time. Instantly the man could see, and he joined the others following Jesus, praising God all the way! And everyone who saw it praised God, as should we all when we receive God’s blessings!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Our Shepherd!

For Sunday, June 6, 2021

John 10:4 TLB: “The shepherd walks ahead of his sheep; and they follow him, for they recognize his voice.”

Back in Jesus’ day, a lot of people raised sheep, so everyone knew the relationship between a shepherd and his sheep. Over and over, the Bible uses the sheep/shepherd analogy as a model for our relationship with God.

So the question is, are you listening for the Shepherd’s voice? If he calls, do you follow? Or are you sometimes led astray? I hope not!

We can take great comfort in knowing well the voice of our Shepherd. He can instill us with a lot of hope! We can abandon worry and anxiety in our lives, and simply follow our Shepherd, our leader, our Savior.

Blessings to all this day of worship!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

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

Blessings!

For Friday, May 14, 2021

Galatians 6:9 NLT: “Let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up.”

Mankind inherently knows right from wrong. God wrote these laws on our hearts, and they’re not unique to Christians. Anyone – from the most respected individuals to prisoners with a lifetime sentence – knows that you shouldn’t lie, cheat and steal. It’s easy to do good and it’s easy to do bad, but you have been given the freedom to choose.

The Bible says that those who play on the “God” team will receive blessings. Life will be better for them. They will have hope. The biggest blessing is knowing that they have a reservation to spend eternity in the presence of the Father!

Sow what you would like to reap!

Blessings and safety today!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

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

Test God?

For Sunday, January 31, 2021

Malachi 3:10 NIV: “Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it.”

In general, we're supposed to trust God, not test God. This is the one exception where God says, “Go ahead – test me on this – see if it isn't so!”

God's promises are always good. If we bring God a little, the Bible says that he will pour out a lot of blessings for us, and that good news gives us hope! Nowadays we use money; dollars. Back then people would tithe a portion of their harvest, bringing it to the storehouse for the priests. We bring our tithes to our local church.

“'Then all the nations will call you blessed, for yours will be a delightful land,' says the Lord Almighty.”

Blessings and safety to all on our day of worship!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

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

God is Good!

For Tuesday, October 20, 2020 

Psalm 119:65 NLT: “You have done many good things for me, Lord, just as you promised.”

We tend to reach out to God when something is wrong, when something needs fixing. That’s OK – God is there for us and wants to help. But did you ever stop to consider all the blessings God has ALREADY poured out on you? 

If you have Jesus in your heart, Satan cannot exist in that same space. Sometimes God’s blessing is as simple as protection from evil. Our lives are immeasurably improved when God has his hand on the situation.

If you’ve tried living with God and living without God, I’m sure you’ll agree that life is way better WITH God! 

Blessings and safety to all!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship

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

God has Your Back

March 11, 2019 Monday Message

“God has said, “I will never leave you or forsake you.” Heb. 13:5b

God’s promises are seldom private. If a blessing is given to one believer, it’s available to ALL believers. There is not a high blessing too good for you, nor a generous mercy not available to all.

As we read in our Bibles about the love and care God has bestowed upon his people throughout the centuries, that’s the same love and care with which he showers each of us. All Christians are equal beneficiaries of God’s blessings.

As believers, we have been adopted into the Holy Family and have equal rights and privileges with all the other children of God. Nothing is withheld from us, and God loves every one of his creations. And that lasts until we leave this earth and enter the next reality, where God will care for us as well.

There is nothing you can want or ask for or need that God can’t provide – nothing in this world, nothing in the next world – nothing in all of creation. God has your back: “I will never leave you or forsake you.”

Norton Lawellin

Let’s worship together. Jesus in the City Fellowship meets next Sunday, March 17, 2019 at 10:30AM, 3249 30^th Ave. S., Minneapolis, MN 55406. Pastor Pilla returns; Jesus teaches about the Rich Man. Luke 18:18-10