Jesus' Character!

April 26, 2021 Monday Message

Titus 3:4-5 CEV: “God our Savior showed us how good and kind he is. He saved us because of his mercy, and not because of any good things that we have done. God washed us by the power of the Holy Spirit. He gave us new birth and a fresh beginning.”

I’ve been speaking lately about the character of our Savior. If I asked you all to write down the traits of a person of good character, and then we compared lists, a lot of the same items would come up over and over again - honesty, integrity, fairness, compassion, loyalty, humility, perseverance, forgiveness – this list goes on. But every one of these traits applies to Jesus.

Last Friday we looked at the compassion Jesus showed to the woman caught in adultery. This Wednesday we’ll look at Jesus restoring sight in a blind beggar. His faith also resulted in the restoration of the man’s soul. See? Good character is a God-trend!

If you look up “Person of Good Character,” a picture of Jesus will be right there. He’s the kind of person you want in your corner. It’s worthwhile to pursue and maintain your relationship with our Redeemer.

Jesus offers hope!

Blessings and safety to all this week!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

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

Forever!

Monday Message for July 20, 2020.

Psalm 23:6 ESV: “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord — forever.

If you’ve been following our daily progression through Psalm 23, I hope you spotted what I call a “God trend.” God behaves a certain way, treats us a certain way – that establishes a trend. God treats us with love, care and forgiveness – that a God trend. Fairness and honesty point to the character of God, point to a God trend.

‘Goodness and mercy’ – God’s steadfast love for us – will continue as long as we live – and beyond! We have a Shepherd out front, leading us in both spiritual matters and day-to-day living. The key is to humbly follow that Shepherd, not to try to find a different way on our own. Keep your eyes on the Shepherd.

‘Dwell in the house of the Lord’ refers back to the previous verse, God preparing a table for you. That indicates much more than a casual relationship. If you’re taking meals together, it’s a reference to living together. Remember that on earth, God comes over to your house. In heaven, you’ve gone over to God’s house!

Eternity (or forever) is a long time. We have been given a choice – follow the Shepherd or spend eternity bobbing in a lake of fire! Personally, I’d rather live where things go well, where I can look forward to each day, proudly following my Shepherd! See you there!

Commentary on all of Psalm 23 was available this past week on my personal Facebook page, the JesusInTheCityFellowship.org web site, or the Blogspot link, and I’d encourage you to check it out. Psalm 23 is awesome!

Blessings as we begin this new week!

Pastor Norton

Jesus in the City Fellowship

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

Monday Message is also available at:

http://www.mondaymessage-norton.blogspot.com/

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!

God's Trends - Up and to the Right

June 04, 2012 Monday Message:

David: “Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name.” Psalm 29:2a

If I gave each of you a yellow pad and asked you to describe a person of “good character,” most would write down similar answers. If you were trying to BECOME a person of “good character,” this list could be your goals.

Regrettably, humans don’t all-at-once stop making bad choices and become totally perfect. Our expectation on the journey to becoming a better person, to becoming a better Christian, is progress, not perfection.

Lately I’ve become a “trends” advocate. In life, we sometimes seem to take two steps forward and then one step backwards. But if we continually do just that – take TWO steps forward while only taking ONE step backward – our trend will keep moving up and to the right. Progress (not perfection.)

If you took your yellow pad and wrote down the characteristics of a good GOD, you might fill several pages. Your list would not be exhaustive, but you’d have a good grasp of the “character” of God. So when you can’t find your exact problem, your situation, in the Bible, you know what God recommends because you understand the “character” of God and are confident that His value system will not change.

In Psalm 29, David lists examples of God’s power, providence, provision and everlasting lovingkindness – God’s trends – which is why David finds YHWH worthy of all glory!

Norton Lawellin

We had a great time of worship last Sunday as Rick Anderson and Christian songwriter Janet Carlson shared their gifts. Thanks to both!

On July 29, Jesus in the City Sunday worship will move to the Oliver Ministry Center, 27^th Street & Bloomington Avenue. Note the new service time: 10:30am. Prayers covering this transition and move would be appreciated.