Jesus = Father = One!

For Tuesday, May 12, 2026:

Colossians 1:15a NLT: “Christ is the visible image of the invisible God.”

I love the story of a little girl putting her crayons to work in the church’s gathering space.

Pastor: What are you drawing?

Girl: I’m making a picture of God!

Pastor: Do you realize that no one knows what God looks like!

Girl: They will when I’m done!

Paul calls Jesus a “visible image” of God. Jesus was created for interaction with humans. He lived alongside us after coming to earth as a little baby. He taught God’s commandments as his own, taught Torah, and healed a great many who needed healing and casting out of demons. Finally, he took the sins of the world to the place of the dead, leaving believers forgiven, reconciled with God!

The word translated “image” could mean an engraving or some kind of picture. And it could also mean “manifestation.” There is a God we cannot see, but seeing Jesus is what God would be like if he were visible. Not only can’t God be seen, but he is unknowable past a certain point. It’s through Jesus that we can learn about God.

Jesus said, ”I and the Father are one.” He’s not only teaching a fact. He’s showing us things about the Father that we could never discern on our own. Jesus also said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” Jesus will lead believers into the hereafter. We can follow him into heaven, into eternity!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

The Father’s House

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Truth & Freedom Church

Keep the Faith!

For Tuesday, July 1, 2025:

Hebrews 4:14 NLT: “So then, since we have a great High Priest who has entered heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to what we believe.”

Jesus walked on the earth alongside mankind. He faced the same trials and temptations we all face, yet he did not sin. He purposely preceded us into heaven to advocate for mankind. When Jesus died on the cross, our sins were not just forgiven, but were permanently removed from our record in the Book of Life. There won’t be any scratch-outs or eraser marks; just blank white space, as if our sin never happened.

In the 1960s, New York Congressman Adam Clayton Powell chanted, “Keep the faith, baby!” as he spoke against prejudice and discrimination. As Christians, we could adopt his slogan as we focus our eyes on the hereafter. Our assignment is to place Jesus at the top of earth’s pecking order, and to never slack in what we believe.

Jesus is the way, the truth and the life. He calls us to heaven. We will know the way if we follow him. Everything he ever said has turned out to be true, and his Father maintains a place of everlasting peace. God’s desire is that all would repent and return. He doesn’t want to lose a single soul!

So keep the faith, baby! Hold firmly to what we believe, and place Jesus at the top of today’s agenda. He has already prepared a place for you in the next life. Never forget that believers already have a reservation in the hereafter. Heaven is expecting you!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Eternal!

For Sunday, August 18, 2024:

Revelation 1:8 NLT: “’I am the Alpha and the Omega—the beginning and the end,’ says the Lord God. ‘I am the one who is, who always was, and who is still to come—the Almighty One.’”

When there was no planet earth, no sun and no stars in the sky, God envisioned the universe in which we live. In spite of mankind’s failures, our God believed that creation of the world was deserving of his effort.

Just how big is our God? He created the stars and each of their planets. Their placement and direction keep everything in perfect harmony. He created space in which to display his creations. He placed mankind on one special planet, and equipped it with everything needed for their survival. None of what you see was conceived by any person or any government. Remember that God is eternal. He is responsible for all creation, the beginning, and will reign on the Day of the Lord, the end.

Sunday is a good day to join your fellow believers to worship, praise and thank our Father in Heaven. He has given us so much; it’s challenging to take it all in! Worship is the right thing to do!

See you at church!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Almighty God!

For Wednesday, December 21, 2022:

Psalm 8:3-4 NLT: “When I look at the night sky and see the work of your fingers—the moon and the stars you set in place—what are mere mortals that you should think about them, human beings that you should care for them?”

David is amazed at the wisdom of God, the planning and execution of building a universe. The Bible says that if we open our eyes to witness the majesty surrounding us, there will be no doubt that there is a God!

The power of God is incredible! God is the greatest power we know, #1, and he made mankind just beneath himself, #2! The Lord gave us charge of everything he made, putting all things under mankind’s authority—the flocks and the herds and all the wild animals, the birds in the sky, the fish in the sea, and everything that swims the ocean currents.

The Lord thinks so highly of us that he wanted to rescue mankind from our sin problem. We are blessed to be included in God’s vast eternal plan!

After all, we were created in God’s image! Christmas is coming, and we’re about to be rescued!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship

Creator!

For Friday, September 9, 2022:

Psalm 124:8 NLT: “Our help is from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.”

The new James Webb telescope is sending us images of faraway places heretofore unseen. While scientists are amazed at this look into our galaxy, know that there are at least 100 billion other galaxies, and that number is expected to increase as our telescopes improve! God has certainly been busy!

Planet Earth is unique. Astronomers have discovered no other planet the right distance from its sun with water and an oxygen atmosphere that could support human life. Our presence here is a gift that should never be taken lightly. God has a plan and you’re a part of it, or you wouldn’t be here! God doesn’t make mistakes!

If I’m explaining God and Jesus to an unbeliever, I call him the Creator! It makes sense to revere someone who could design all this. The plants, animals, water and air are no accident. And if we need help – if we need divine intervention – it makes sense to trust the one who made it all in the first place!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

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

Jesus-team!

For Sunday, October 25, 2020 

Ephesians 2:10 NLT: “We are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.”

God waited until the 6^th day to create mankind. I believe a lot of thought went into the design. We’re created in His image – our spirit is modeled after God himself – and yet curiously we were given freedom of choice. Correctly choosing to follow the Messiah Jesus, we fit right in with God’s vast eternal plan! 

When we’re working WITH God rather than against Him, doing His work becomes a blessing, not a burden. God has only good things planned for the new brothers and sisters of Jesus!

When we join the Jesus-team, our old self dies and our old ways become distant memories. It’s like we’re born again! Fresh, given a new start! God is a God of second chances, and he doesn’t want to lose anyone. He always provides a return path for those who want to come home! 

Blessings to all this Sabbath day!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship

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

Awesome God

April 27, 2020 Monday Message:

“In the beginning, God created…” Gen. 1:1a NLT

We’ve heard these words hundreds of times; they’re so familiar that they just roll off the tongue. But today I want us all to truly appreciate what God did, and to understand the colossal magnitude and magnificence of creation.

God created mankind in His image; both domestic and wild animals; birds, plants and trees; water and dry land; day and night; in short, God created our planet Earth and everything on it. Big job, but God got it done!

Our planet is one of a group that orbits around the sun. There are between 100-400 billion stars (suns) just in our Milky Way galaxy, and Lord knows how many galaxies! To work properly, everything has to be balanced, exactly the right distance from all the other bodies, and orbiting at precisely the right speed.

The universe is an incredible design. Astrophysicists try to figure out creation, and they assemble all their knowledge until they hit a brick wall. The “Big Bang Theory” is their best answer, but somebody had to set it in motion, had to know just how ‘big’ the ‘bang’ needed to be, and first create the ‘space’ into which to build all this. The best answer seems to be Intelligent Design.

Incredibly, here we all are. Humans. David asks, “Who am I that You (God) are mindful of me?” The great big God of the universe knows how many hairs are on your head, which makes it too easy for us to overlook his majesty. Listen to this: Your personal God, the One who walks through life alongside you, is incredibly intelligent, incredibly powerful, and is remarkable at keeping track of little details. Our God is an Awesome God!

This sums it up: “Before God there was nothing. After God there is everything!” And it’s the God of ‘everything’ that we worship!

God’s blessings for you and your loved ones – stay safe!

Norton Lawellin, Worship Pastor

Jesus in the City Fellowship.

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