For Sunday, March 1, 2026:

Hebrews 13:20-21 NLT: “Now may the God of peace—who brought up from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great Shepherd of the sheep, and ratified an eternal covenant with his blood—may he equip you with all you need for doing his will. May he produce in you, through the power of Jesus Christ, every good thing that is pleasing to him. All glory to him forever and ever! Amen.”

This is not only a beautiful prayer of conclusion, but also a commissioning of the Hebrew people to continue doing the will of Jesus. Oddly, the author of Hebrews is uncertain. It was thought that Paul wrote this, but it doesn’t seem to be his writing style. Some experts say the style is more similar to Luke in Acts. Perhaps Paul wrote it in Hebrew and Luke translated it to Greek? Interesting. The writings have been included in the collective works of Paul for 20 Centuries. Nowadays, the authorship isn’t as important as the fact that it reinforces other writings in the Bible and contradicts nothing. If it was Paul, he would have been leaving to plant churches in Asia Minor, so saying goodbye makes sense.

The prayer is also what we should pray for each other—that the Almighty would equip you with everything you need to accomplish his will, and that good things, things pleasing to God, would be the result.

May the Lord walk alongside each of you as you go about his work today!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

The Father’s House

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Truth & Freedom Church

Beware Greed!

For Tuesday, June 10, 2025:

Luke 12:15 NLT, Jesus speaking: “Beware! Guard against every kind of greed. Life is not measured by how much you own.”

Our God, Jehovah Jireh, is a God of provision. He gives us all we need for the work he has given us to do. He will not send us on a mission without equipping us for that mission. I thank the Lord that he set me down in the US, a land of abundance. I have everything I need, and most of what I want.

But not everyone is as blessed. One of our African readers sent me a picture of a young boy with what could only be described as a bowl of mush. The boy had a big smile, grinning ear to ear, happy that he had something to eat today. I don’t know if he had anything to eat yesterday.

Mankind’s tendency is to want just a little bit more. OK – show of hands – How many want to keep up with the Joneses? (Nowadays it might be keeping up with the Kardashians!) That’s not a good thing. Here, Jesus is counseling his followers to not be greedy, to be content with what they have been given. On judgment day, it won’t matter if you drove a Kia or a Cadillac. Either way, you can’t take it with you!

Amassing earthly stuff won’t get you any heaven points. Loving the Lord and loving your neighbor will help with that. That’s what Jesus said to do!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Disciple's Mission Trip!

For Wednesday, March 8, 2023:

Matthew 10:1 NLT: “Jesus called his twelve disciples together and gave them authority to cast out evil spirits and to heal every kind of disease and illness.”

McDonalds could only sell a limited number of hamburgers from one store. But through franchising, authorizing others to use the McDonalds brand, they could sell billions of burgers! Jesus is applying the same principle here. Only one Jesus was walking on this earth, but authorizing 12 others greatly increased his reach. This diverse group had little in common other than their love for the Lord Jesus.

I’m intrigued by the order in which these gifts are listed – first cast out evil spirits, and then heal. This tells me that Satan and his demons are a bigger problem than we acknowledge nowadays, and that healing may not occur while Satan is still at work. Satan’s minions will back off when they hear the name of Jesus! They know who he is!

Jesus is equipping his disciples for their mission trip. When God sends you on a mission, he will always equip you for the task. We need faith! The equipping may not be evident before the mission begins, but it will be evident along the way. So don’t worry about provisions. Just get ready to go when He calls!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship

Treasure in Heaven!

For Thursday, October 22, 2020 

1 Corinthians 1:7 NLT: “Now (that you’re a Christ follower,) you have every spiritual gift you need as you eagerly wait for the return of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

The Bible says that God will always equip you for the journey on which He’s sending you. If you’re a believer, part of a church family, you’re included in God’s family, where the Good Shepherd always takes excellent care of his flock, and that gives us hope! 

Jehovah Jireh, God the provider, will meet both your earthly needs and your spiritual needs. Believers will have everything they need, not everything they want!

In the US, we have Social Security, kind of a savings account for when we get older. Some of us have a 401k retirement plan. Don’t forget to also fund your heavenly 401k. Jesus taught to store up treasure in heaven. You’ll be retired on earth for 20-40 years, but you’ll be in heaven for eternity! 

Blessings and safety to all!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship

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

Psalms 78 - Teach Me Your Experience

January 23, 2017 Monday Message:

“We will not hide (knowledge of the past) from our descendants; we will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord.” Psalms 78:4 (NIV)

If you could graph Israel’s relationship with God, it would look like a roller coaster — up and down, up and down, over and over again. Here’s the pattern: the people sin and forget about God, grow far from God, until God finally rescues them (again and again) and the people repent and return and honor God — until they once again forget and fall away.

Psalm 78 is long - 72 verses! As I said, the pattern repeats itself numerous times, and the Psalmist’s point is that if we don’t hide these things, perhaps the next generation can learn from our past mistakes.

As leaders, it’s our responsibility to raise up, convince and equip the next generation. Teach them what God would have us do, but first give them knowledge of the past. God wants us to learn from those mistakes – to do better next time. He needs each succeeding generation to be able to take a step forward – to be equipped to do better, and we’re to help with the equipping!

The psalmist Asaph concludes with a call for Jewish unity. He says that everyone needs to support David, who was chosen through heavenly intervention. David is God’s man for the job, a man after God’s own heart.

Learn from Asaph’s examples – everything goes better when you’re working WITH God!

Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship gathers next Sunday, January 29, 2017. We meet at the Akina Church, 3249 30^th Ave. S., Minneapolis, MN 55406, 10:30am.