One God!

For Friday, March 28, 2025:

John 14:9b NLT, Jesus speaking: “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father!”

It’s sometimes challenging to explain a God that we cannot see. And the concept of a triune God, one God known to us in three different forms, isn’t clearly laid out in one place in our Bibles. This scripture is Jesus’ explanation of the concept.

Previously, Jesus had said (John 10:30), “The Father and I are one.” That statement almost got him killed; people were picking up stones. (You, a mere man, claiming to be God! Blasphemy!) Jesus explained, “If I do the Father’s work, believe in the evidence. Then you will know and understand that the Father is in me, and I am in the Father.” The miracles, knowledge and sinless nature of Jesus all point to him being heaven-sent.

I’m convinced, and I hope you are too! I believe the primary mission of Jesus coming to earth was to solve mankind’s sin problem. God’s desire is for all to repent and return. God wouldn’t have launched a rescue mission if we didn’t need rescuing! Jesus said that believers are now separated from their sins “as far as the east is from the west.”

Thank you, our one God, for our redemption. God is good!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Church Etiquette:

For Saturday, March 8, 2025:

Leviticus 10:8-9 NLT: Then the Lord said to Aaron, “You and your descendants must never drink wine or any other alcoholic drink before going into the Tabernacle.”

The Tabernacle was a special place. It was where God’s chosen spiritual leaders could meet with him. They would then convey the Lord’s instructions to all the Israelites. When God calls a meeting, you don’t want to miss a thing. The Lord deserves your full attention. So don’t imbibe prior to going before the Lord.

It’s the same way with our churches nowadays. Worshiping God deserves our full attention. Put on your Sunday-go-to-meeting clothes, and put a smile on your face. Come with a sober mind, prepared for the day’s teaching. You may be asked to meet with a newcomer or give your testimony to God’s goodness. When we go to church, we should be prepared to serve.

If our churches are to grow, each of us must have the Good News on our lips 24/7. While church is a place we attend, it should also be a place to which we bring people. Forgiveness and redemption are gifts we shouldn’t keep to ourselves. Jesus is handing out tickets to the hereafter, where forgiven souls can spend eternity with their creator. God’s desire is for everyone to meet there!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Redemption!

For Tuesday, November 26, 2024:

1 Thessalonians 5:10 NLT: “Christ died for us so that, whether we are dead or alive when he returns, we can live with him forever.”

Jesus walking alongside mankind on Earth and then dying on Earth was fulfilling his mission of redeeming mankind. He gave his life as the offering for the sins of the entire world – all sins – past, present and future. It matters not if we’re dead or alive when Jesus returns to take us home. Jesus’ intent is to redeem ALL believers who need redemption, regardless of their physical state. Because of Jesus’ promise, we have confidence in our hereafter destination. Jesus left us with ‘Assurance of Salvation,’ a guarantee of a good life after this life.

We should all look forward to the New Earth!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Heaven!

For Tuesday, August 13, 2024:

2 Peter 3:15a NLT: “Remember, our Lord’s patience gives people time to be saved.”

Believers are the door-to-door field reps for Jesus & Company. Jesus left us in charge of spreading the Good News, of making disciples of all nations. It takes time to do a thorough job.

Understand that Jesus’ second coming will be the make or break day for redemption. If Jesus had returned right after the crucifixion, there’d be only a few saved. But 50 days later on Pentecost, 3,000 joined the believers! Now, centuries later, there are an estimated 2.2 billion Christians living on earth, all candidates for salvation.

Think of it as a ratio. The longer Jesus delays his return, the more people will ride on life’s railway to heaven.

All aboard!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Pristhood!

For Friday, June 28, 2024:

1 Peter 3:15 NLT: “You must worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if someone asks about your hope as a believer, always be ready to explain it.”

Christians speak of the “Priesthood of all believers.” That doesn’t mean that we all have to wear black garb and quit our day-jobs! But remember that the early church, “The Way,” grew through attraction. Observers liked what they saw, and wanted to become a part of it. So they inquired of the general membership, people like you and me. Explaining their faith wasn’t limited to the apostles or church leaders. All of us are called to task, and should have the proper answers at hand whenever asked. In a way, we’re all evangelists for Jesus!

So a church member has a two-fold purpose:

#1. To worship God and his Son as creators of everything – the ultimate supreme God!

#2. To share the Good News of forgiveness, redemption and salvation through the Son. Remember, God’s desire is that none would perish!

Jesus said to make disciples of all nations, so let’s all get busy!

Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Fishers of Men!

For Friday, May 10, 2024:

Mark 1:17-18: “‘Come, follow me,’ Jesus said, ‘and I will make you fishers of men.’ At once they left their nets and followed him.”

Many of Jesus’ disciples earned their living by fishing, but ALL of them understood fishing. Simon and Andrew were using nets to multiply their fishing efforts. They could bring in a large number of fish by gathering the net once. That’s the principle.

In a way, Jesus said, “That’s nothing! Follow me and we’ll fish for human souls!” Jesus is preparing to speak the truth of salvation, the truth of being rescued from our sin problem. This analogy touched their hearts. They knew fishing.

Are we going to put out big nets and capture people? No! Our net is truth. Our net is heavenly truth straight from the mouth of Jesus. Our net is the promise of forgiveness. Our net is living in God’s presence in the life after this life.

This is Good News! It shouldn’t be too hard. Our net looks pretty good. People should be jumping into our boat! Encourage them!

Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Assurance of Salvation!

For Friday, April 5, 2024:

Colossians 1:10 NLT, to the church in Colosse: “The way you live will always honor and please the Lord, and your lives will produce every kind of good fruit. All the while, you will grow as you learn to know God better and better.”

Why do Christians live according to God’s directions? Because God’s way is a good way, the best way, and we want to be a part of it! If we love our neighbors, we’ll be welcomed by the Christian community. Others will know we are Christians by our love. Living by God’s rules will please him, and we want the Lord to be pleased with us!

But understand that following commandments won’t get you into heaven! By doing good we don’t gather more “heaven points!” Let’s call most other religions “do” religions. You have to “do” something to please their God. But Christianity is a “done” religion. Your redemption was accomplished by the guy on the center cross. He took our sins to the place of the dead, and handed out tickets for the hereafter! The work of seeing heaven from the inside has already been “done” for us. That’s called grace, a free gift. We need unwavering faith to accept God’s free gift of eternal life.

Our faith in Jesus gives us assurance of salvation!

Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Redemption!

For Wednesday, January 3, 2024:

Mark 3:8b NLT: “The news about Jesus’ miracles had spread far and wide, and vast numbers of people came to see him.”

With no newspapers, no radio or television, and no internet, how did so many people so quickly know about Jesus? It’s a “God thing!” Life was much simpler then, and word of the miracles and the healings traveled from person to person, not gossipy but informationally. People had heard good things about Jesus, so they wanted to tell everyone. But if they only talked about the miracles, they didn’t know half or what Jesus was about!

Jesus left his home in Nazareth, and went out to the lake. We call it the Sea of Galilee. It’s kind of like Minnesotans going up North for the weekend! A large crowd could gather at the lake, and voices carry well around bodies of water. Jesus arranged for a boat to take him a short distance from the shore, and spoke from there.

What’s amazing is that the assembled crowd came from all over: Galilee, Judea, Jerusalem, Idumea, from east of the Jordan River, and even from as far north as Tyre and Sidon. As I said, word about Jesus spread quickly and no one wanted to miss any of the action!

It was a memorable day! Sick people tried to touch Jesus, and he healed them all. Evil spirits were cast out of the possessed, saying, “You are the Son of God!” But Jesus commanded the evil ones to not reveal who he was. Jesus was heaven-sent on a mission trip. It’s great that Jesus could cure both physical and mental illnesses and lecture in depth about the Torah. But his primary purpose, his mission statement, was to be the sacrifice for the sins of the world, thereby rescuing mankind! Healing wasn’t his goal, but redemption was!

It’s like Jesus was passing out tickets to heaven for all who believed!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship

Merry Christmas!

December 25, 2023 Monday Message:

Luke 2:11 NLT. Angel speaking to the shepherds: “Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.”

Today we celebrate Jesus, the Messiah, our Lord coming to earth. Sacred writers like Matthew, Mark, Luke and John have documented exactly what happened. Secular writers also mention Jesus, his healings, the large crowds he attracted and the crucifixion. Over 2,000 years later, we still remember and celebrate every detail. The question is, “why?” Why did God cause all this to happen?

God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit – created everything, including mankind. God was pleased with everything he created, and declared it to be very good! But he must have known that mankind would fall into sin, becoming incompatible with heaven. I believe that broke God’s heart. After all, his desire is that no one would perish; that all would repent and return.

Therefore Jesus came to earth to redeem mankind. His knowledge was exhaustive. He taught like no one else. His healing ability could not be ignored. But never forget that the rescue of mankind was his main mission.

Let’s skip ahead to the cross. In the “Great Exchange,” Jesus took the sins of the world to the place of the dead, where they belong. The absence of sin left the believers pure and innocent, suitable to take up residence in heaven alongside God, Jesus and all the saints! This is God’s great gift to mankind, God’s grace, undeserved favor. On the cross, Jesus said, “It is finished,” and then he gave up his spirit. It wasn’t just his earthly life that was finished. He was also saying, “Mission accomplished! I have completed what I was sent to do!”

And now, because of what Jesus did, believers have assurance of salvation. Merry Christmas!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship

Salvation!

December 18, 2023 Monday Message:

John 8:31b-32 NLT, Jesus speaking: “You are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my teachings. And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

Acts ch. 2 is the best example we have of how the first Cristians, “The Way,” lived out their faith. Jesus had told them to not leave Jerusalem until they received the Holy Spirit, and here they were, all together, all of one mind, all of one purpose. Suddenly there was a sound like the roaring of a mighty wind! Notice the Bible doesn’t report that it was windy; just that it SOUNDED like wind.

Soon flickering flames fell onto the believers, representing the Holy Spirit. Picture a dog lapping up water from a dish. The dog’s tongue is what these flames looked like, flickering down until landing on each person. No one caught fire. Now, equipped with the Holy Spirit, nothing could stop them!

They were speaking in unfamiliar languages that only God knew. Quite a number of Jews had pilgrimaged to Jerusalem for Shavuot. Their homelands were different, their languages were different, but somehow everyone could understand each other.

Peter seized this opportunity to address the gathered crowd. His message was similar to the thoughts and words that got Jesus killed, but Peter didn’t hold back. The Holy Spirit had opened the minds of the listeners, and rather than inciting violence, they asked, “Brothers, what should we do?”

1. Repent and believe, and 2. Turn to God and be baptized. 3,000 were baptized and added to their number that day. While it was all good, this must have created disorganized chaos within The Way. What would your church do if 3,000 new believers showed up next Sunday? Many were from out of town. They didn’t have jobs in Jerusalem, or places to live. They needed to be fed! A lot of details to figure out.

At the time, the church had been meeting in homes. They didn’t have a building, chairs or pews, a fellowship hall or a youth group. They didn’t have a sound system, powerpoint projector or video cameras. But in a very authentic way, they had Jesus. They knew Jesus. They knew absolute truth. They knew forgiveness and redemption. They knew to love their follows. In short, they just did what Jesus would have done, and let God work out the details.

Pray that your local church doesn’t get bogged down in administrative details that have nothing to do with redemption and salvation. Pray that your local church could focus on truth and stick with it, truth being God’s opinion on everything! Pray that your local church would do what Jesus would have done!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship