Love God & Neighbor!

February 23, 2026, Monday Message:

Hebrews 13:16 NLT: “Don’t forget to do good and to share with those in need. These are the sacrifices that please God.”

If something in the Bible is extra-important, the writer may repeat those words. They’ll change the text only slightly while restating the principal. The Bible says it twice for emphasis. We get to see it twice so the words sink in!

To facilitate doing good and sharing, Moses taught this message, and Abraham led his followers with these principals. Later, John the baptist previewed these lessons before Jesus, who taught this behavior throughout his entire ministry. These thoughts were some of Jesus’ last reminders as he transitioned to the life after this life.

In the Epistles, followers of Jesus are teaching these things to the Hebrew believers and the Roman converts. Paul dispensed these instructions as he planted churches throughout Asia Minor.

Today, we are the ambassadors bringing these words to the world. “Love God and love your neighbor.” Be nice, be kind, be helpful. Look for the next way to do the right thing. Instead of only looking out for #1, put “Loving the Lord” at the top of your agenda, followed by “compassion and caring” for those on the short end of life. Any prayers for ourselves should come after those items!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

The Father’s House

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Truth & Freedom Church

Please pray for peace in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. Drug kingpin “El Mencho” and eight of his cohorts were killed in a Mexican military operation, and the Cartels are responding with violence. The airport is closed, school is cancelled and the town is basically on fire. Buildings and vehicles are being burned, including busses and the giant Costco store. Most roads are closed, and people are advised to shelter in place. The violence is spreading to neighboring towns in and around Jalisco, including Cancun, Cozumel, Playa del Carmen and Tulum, all US tourist destinations. Pray for everyone’s safety, for the violent killings to end and for the peace of the Lord to reign in the region.

Commandments!

For Sunday, February 23, 2025:

Exodus 24:12 NLT: Then the Lord said to Moses, “Come up to me on the mountain. Stay there, and I will give you the tablets of stone on which I have inscribed the instructions and commands so you can teach the people.”

How many commandments did God give mankind? Jewish tradition says 613. God highlighted 10 key points on the tablets he gave Moses. Jesus simplified it further, saying that if we’d love God and love our neighbors, we would be on the right path!

If there’s something important that you need to remember, write it down! God did it himself in the Bible, so it’s good advice for us all, not just for religious things, but for business things and life’s lessons as well. Nothing is lost due to faulty memory or misguided oral translations. Print the principle in big letters and post it on your wall! Or put the principle under the glass on your desk. That implies that the principle can’t be changed since we can’t reach it. Or do as God did: etch it in stone! Tradition says he wrote on the stone with his finger! Can you do that? (Rhetorical question; you don’t need to answer!)

Why was Moses given the tablets? Why have we been given the Bible? So that we can teach others! Let’s all use our gifts and talents to share the Good News! It seems that would please the Lord!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Don't shoot backward

December 03, 2012 Monday Message:

Don’t waste time shooting bullets backward.

God has an agenda, his “things-to-do” list. He loves us, his human creations, and wants us to be with him in heaven, forever.

When humans sinned and messed it all up, God didn’t quit. “Fellowship with the humans” is still at the top of God’s agenda. His unchanging nature and steadfast perseverance establish a trend that we can trace throughout the Bible. Watch for trends as you read your Bibles.

Therefore God sent his Son, and launched the process for our redemption. Giving up on the humans simply wasn’t an option. The principles of God, his trends, will not change. You can count on God.

God doesn’t hold onto a grudge or harbor resentment against mankind. Once Adam and Eve were disciplined and course-corrected, God let go of the offense. It does no good to shoot bullets backward.

Our God of provision looks forward, and so should we. He has made a way for us to live together, in the New Jerusalem, forever.

Come quickly, Lord Jesus.

Norton Lawellin

Sunday, Dec. 09, 10:30am Jesus in the City Fellowship (JICF) gathers in the North end of the Oliver Ministry Building, 27^th Street & Bloomington Avenue, Minneapolis. We welcome guests from New Hope Center this week, as Pastor Michael continues teaching from Luke: the birth of John the Baptist.

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