Compassion!

August 24, 2026, Monday Message:

Luke 6:36 NLT, Jesus speaking: “You must be compassionate, just as your Father is compassionate.”

God went to all the work of creating the universe, the planets, plants, animals, and finally human beings. Then the humans disobeyed, sinned. At that point, God could have thrown in the towel, concluding that the project was doomed. He did not!

God had fallen in love with these little humanoid creatures he had created. In spite of mankind’s shortcomings, God desired the best for everyone. Rather than abandoning the project, he devised a plan to rescue the faithful. He’d send his son Jesus to pay the penalty for mankind’s sinning. In a way, we’d be rescued by God himself. That’s the ultimate example of being compassionate!

Now that we know what all-out compassion looks like, we can emulate the Father and his Son. It’s said that imitation is the most sincere form of flattery, so we endeavor to live our lives with Jesus as our model!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

The Father’s House

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Truth & Freedom Church

New Miracles!

For Wednesday, August 19, 2026:

John 16:20 NLT, Jesus speaking: “I tell you the truth, you will weep and mourn over what is going to happen to me, but the world will rejoice. You will grieve, but your grief will suddenly turn to wonderful joy.”

Jesus is getting the disciples up to speed on what is about to happen. This is prior to the crucifixion. As this scenario plays out, believers will mourn the death of their spiritual mentor, as they should, while the unenlightened chant, “Crucify him!” But Jesus won’t be gone for long. Three days later he’ll walk away from the tomb, and the shouts will change to, “He is risen!” Indeed.

At that time, there were a lot of fake gods in the land. Idols. They couldn’t actually accomplish anything. Jesus is explaining the actions of a true God, a Creator, someone with authority over life and death! This resurrection would be the first time someone was revived following a public crucifixion! God can do that! That’s why it needs explaining. No one has ever seen anything like this!

Jesus compares this series of events to childbirth. As painful as childbirth is, the joy of a new baby triumphs. Believers will be saddened by the crucifixion, but celebrate the resurrection with joy and amazement! Are you as amazed as these disciples were?

You’ll be even more amazed by knowing that Jesus took our sins to the grave and returned without them! It’s all part of God’s plan to rescue mankind!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

The Father’s House

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Truth & Freedom Church

Take Me Home!

For Sunday, August 9, 2026:

Romans 9:5b NKJV, Paul testifying to the church in Rome: “Christ came, who is Lord over all, the eternally blessed God. Amen.”

There is only one God. Our one God is known to us in three different forms: Father God in his Heavenly Kingdom, Jesus who came to earth as the offering for mankind’s sins, and the Holy Spirit, our helper and advocate. The three forms are all of one mind with the same goals, the same mission. The rescue of mankind must have been on God’s agenda when Jesus arrived on our planet.

Sin and holiness cannot coexist, and the Bible says that “All have sinned and fallen short of God’s glory.” How many sinned? ALL! Therefore, unless sins could be forgiven, no one would have been seeing heaven from the inside! As Jesus died, he took the sins of the world to the place of the dead, making believers once again eligible to reside in the Kingdom.

God loves everything that was created and declared it to be “very good!” Therefore, having believers occupy his Kingdom pleases God. He’s glad to see us! Christ is the forgiving conduit that reconnects mankind with our Maker.

If you see God on the streets of gold, tell him, “Good to see you!” He may answer, “Good to see you, too!” The Father’s Kingdom is our forever home!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

The Father’s House

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Truth & Freedom Church

Flip the Script!

August 3, 2026, Monday Message:

Luke 6:21 NLT: “God blesses you who are hungry now, for you will be satisfied.

God blesses you who weep now, for in due time you will laugh.”

In this scripture, Jesus continues teaching the Beatitudes, truth about life after this life. He says that those who are loyal to God’s Son will experience a much better life in the next reality. This always reminds me of Jesus saying the first will be last and the last will be first. So if you are hungry in this life, your plate will be full in the next. If life has you down and depressed, laughter will fill your Kingdom days. As a general rule, bad stuff will be corrected and only goodness will survive in God’s Kingdom.

A reservation in the Kingdom is the result of God’s kindness, undeserved favor from above. This gift of grace is given to those with unflinching allegiance to the Son. We’re saved through our faith.

In the next reality that we call Heaven, God flips the scene. Those who were persecuted on this planet will receive God’s best in his Kingdom. Rescued Christian believers will be free of Satan, his demons and sin’s temptations. The Lord’s Prayer asks him to, “Deliver us from evil.”

In the life after this life, believers will have been delivered!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

The Father’s House

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Truth & Freedom Church

God's Love!

For Thursday, July 30, 2026:

Romans 8:39 NLT, Paul testifying to the church in Rome: “No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Our Bibles tell us that God loves us. But mankind asks, “Really? How do we know for sure?”

The first humans disobeyed God by sinning, by deliberately doing what he said to NOT do! They succumbed to Satan’s temptation. I believe God was disappointed with the return rate of his Creations. If earthlings were to return to the Father, God himself would have to intervene.

Therefore, God sent his Son Jesus to our planet. I’ve said before that Jesus healed many, taught God’s ways, and interpreted Torah. But I believe his primary mission was to take away mankind’s sins, to offer forgiveness. Once earth’s residents were made sinless by Jesus’ sacrifice, the Father could welcome them back into his forever heavenly Kingdom.

Q: So how do we know for sure that God loves us? A: He sacrificed his only Son for our freedom. We are no longer slaves to Satan. We belong to the God whose Son paid the price for our redemption.

Rejoice! Believers belong to their Creator! Believers have been rescued!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

The Father’s House

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Truth & Freedom Church

Victory!

July 20, 2026, Monday Message:

Romans 8:37 NLT: “No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.”

Despite all these things: trouble, calamity, persecution, hunger, being destitute, in danger, or even death. That’s the list, but it’s not an exhaustive list. Let’s just call it, “everything that could possibly go wrong!” These may seem like monumental problems, but to a Christian who has a certain life after this life, they’re just minor bumps on our road of life.

The Bible says “victory IS ours,” not “victory WAS ours,” or “victory Will Be ours.” In other words, Jesus has settled the matter ahead of time. Our tribulation becomes a small inconvenience after Jesus. Before we even know that we have a problem, he has the solution all worked out. It’s because of Christ’s love for us, his creations. That love is never-ending. We can always count on this to be true.

Jesus came to earth to bring us home, and he won’t take ‘no’ for an answer. Jesus himself was victorious, walking away from the tomb after three days. Our eternal future will be victorious if we stick with the Savior and love Him as much as He loves us!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

The Father’s House

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Truth & Freedom Church

Right Hand Man!

For Tuesday, July 14, 2026:

Romans 8:34 NLT: “Who then will condemn us? No one—for Christ Jesus died for us and was raised to life for us, and he is sitting in the place of honor at God’s right hand, pleading for us.”

Paul is writing to the church in Rome, to those in opposition to the tyranny of the Roman government; in a way, protesters, since the government didn’t have much time for the church. So the ‘us’ he’s writing to is fellow believers, first in Rome, and following the canonization of Paul’s writings, for the faithful everywhere.

Paul asks a rhetorical question: “Who then will condemn us?” Believers should already know the obvious answer. Certainly God won’t condemn us. In fact, he sent his Son to rescue us. And Jesus won’t condemn us. He gave up his earthly life to pay the penalty for the sins of the world. And who is more powerful­ – the creator of the universe or the Roman government? God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit – is all-powerful. The Romans only think they have power. Their influence is limited and short-term.

There are benefits to joining any organization of like-minded individuals. If joining wasn’t beneficial, no one would ever sign up! Believers have joined the ‘Jesus Team.’ Benefits include fellowship and a sense of community, spiritual education that will serve us well in this life and the next, the Holy Spirit as a helper in this life, and the Father with his Son, pleading for our success from heaven’s throne. They’re our advocates, cheering for us all the time!

Have a blessed day! Stay cool and stay hydrated!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

The Father’s House

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Truth & Freedom Church

Logic?

For Tuesday, June 30, 2026:

Romans 8:32 NLT: “Since God did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won’t he also give us everything else?”

Paul is asking the Romans to use logic to project their salvation. It’s a look into the future. It involves following a scenario through to its logical conclusion, though it may not have happened yet. It’s like an ‘if then’ line of computer code. ‘If’ the operator chooses this command, ‘then’ a specific thing happens.

Does our God love us? Yes! Has our God provided for us? Yes! Did God arrange for our sins to be forgiven? Yes! Is God’s desire for believers to join him in his eternal Kingdom? It hasn’t happened yet, but logic tells us that the answer would be a resounding yes!

God gave up the earthly life of his Son to rescue mankind. So it would behove us to be good stewards of his grace, that undeserved gift freely given to us. The love of the Father should be reciprocal!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

The Father’s House

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Truth & Freedom Church

Good vs Evil!

For Thursday, May 7, 2026:

Colossians 1:13-14 NLT: “For the Father has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of his dear Son, who purchased our freedom (with his blood) and forgave our sins.”

The Father rescued us through the Son’s actions, and the Spirit keeps us on the Holy path! We hear about “God’s vast eternal plan,” and this is part of it. The rescue of mankind was no accident. It was well planned out by God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. It’s perhaps easier for us to think of them as three separate entities, but they are of one mind. Mankind was living in the darkness of Satan’s world, but Jesus showed us light. The story of Jesus’ actions is called the Gospel or Good News.

Here’s how the story develops: Humans were floundering like fish without enough water. Our lives had no goal, no purpose. Not surprisingly, very few ever made it to heaven. But the Bible says that all have sinned and fallen short of God’s glory. All! How’d that happen? I can picture God saying, “What went wrong? What happened here?”

Let me explain. There is good in this world, and there is evil. God is good, and Satan and his demons are evil. Those who have bonded with Jesus belong to God. The rest are subject to constant tempting by Satan. In fact, we’re all subject to the devil’s temptations, and the result is always pain and misery. But Christians have a higher standard, something to live up to. If Christ is our model, we have his reward in our sights, which is eternal life in the Father’s Kingdom. Eternity is a long time!

Paul advised us to focus our eyes on the prize!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

The Father’s House

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Truth & Freedom Church

Teaching Truth!

For Sunday, April 19, 2026:

Luke 4:14-15 NLT: “Jesus returned to Galilee, filled with the Holy Spirit’s power. He taught regularly in their synagogues and was praised by everyone.”

Jerusalem to Galilee is about 80 miles. In Jesus’ day, most people were on foot, so it was about a week-long hike. Depending upon the route, you might encounter mountains, have to cross a river or deal with unclean Samaritans. So many went to the Mediterranean and just proceeded North up the coast.

The region around the Sea of Galilee is where Jesus grew up, specifically the city of Nazareth. At the time, little is known about him other than that he’s Joseph the builder’s son. But immediately, he begins teaching in the Synagogues. The congregants are amazed by his knowledge and wisdom.

I like that my Bible calls this “teaching.” Personally, I’m better at teaching than preaching. I believe that if I teach the truth from the Bible, what someone should do becomes self-evident. I don’t like to harp at them. My 2¢.

This is Sunday morning, a good time to attend church. Hopefully, your church will teach truthful topics from the Bible. They should teach eternal salvation through the goodness of Jesus the Christ, fulfilling his Father’s plan for the rescue of mankind. It’s a good plan. We should leave with smiles on our faces!

Have a blessed day!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

The Father’s House

Truth and Freedom Church

One God!

For Saturday, March 7, 2026:

John 14:7 NLT, Jesus speaking: “If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.”

Father God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit are three forms of the same God. Think of it like this. We turn on our tap and get water, good for cooking, drinking and washing. In the freezer, it’s known as ice, good for cooling beverages. We might say that a summer day feels humid, and that’s a surplus of water vapor in the air. It’s all still water, H₂O.

As I compose these daily messages, I often mix up our God labels. Jesus may have said it, but I might call it a command of God. Or the other way, Jesus tells us to do something and research shows us that the words originally came from the Father. I usually catch myself and straighten it out, but the truth is I don’t believe it really matters. Father, Son and Holy Spirit are all of one mind, with the same goals, pulling in the same direction. They will never contradict one another. So there really is only one God.

Prophesy told the Jews to expect a Messiah to rescue them, they believed from Roman oppression. God indeed sent Jesus, the Messiah, but to rescue them from their sin burden, not the Romans. Jesus was sent to love and forgive. In this case, the desire of the God “team” is to return more souls to God’s eternal heavenly Kingdom. Jesus is the one who puts the plan in motion. On the cross, the sins of the world are heaped upon him, and as he dies a human death, he takes those sins to the place of the dead and leaves them there. Now repentant humans can be forgiven, be made suitable for residence in the eternal Kingdom.

If we repent of our sins and claim Jesus as our hope and salvation, we will be forgiven. We will get to see heaven from the inside. Friends, that’s assurance of salvation!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

The Father’s House

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Truth & Freedom Church

Immediately!

For Saturday, February 21, 2026:

Matthew 4:21-22 NLT: “A little farther up the shore, Jesus saw two other brothers, James and John, sitting in a boat with their father, Zebedee, repairing their nets. And he called them to come, too. They immediately followed him, leaving the boat and their father behind.”

Jesus was continuing his ministry around the Sea of Galilee. Simon, also known as Peter, and his brother Andrew were now walking with Jesus, his first two disciples. I’m sure all the fishermen on this body of water knew each other, so as Jesus said the names James and John, Simon called out, “We have found the Messiah!”

Most of the Hebrew nation had been waiting for the moment God would send a rescuer to his people, and if this was it, James and John didn’t want to be left out. An emissary from God could certainly counter the grief they experienced dealing with the Roman government and army. They immediately took a leave of absence from the family business and joined up with Simon, Andrew and Jesus on their trek around the lake.

The key word here is “immediately.” No hesitation, no hemming and hawing, just go with Jesus when he calls you. Pretend you’re the kicker on a football team, it’s fourth down, and the coach says, “Now! Get in the game. We need you to kick that field goal!” You don’t dawdle. You don’t waste any time. You go running onto the field, eager to serve!

Each of us has been given unique spiritual gifts, and the time will come when your gifts are exactly what the Lord needs. He’ll tap you on the shoulder and say, “Now! Get in the game. We need you!” The quicker you respond, the better!

We all need to be walking with the Lord, just like Simon, Andrew, James and John. If you’re closer to Jesus, it’s easier for him to tap you on the shoulder!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

The Father’s House

Truth and Freedom Church

Golden Rule!

     For Saturday, January 31, 2026:

Hebrews 13:6 NLT: “We can say with confidence, ‘The Lord is my helper, so I will have no fear. What can mere people do to me?’”

 "Do unto others as you would like them to do unto you.” The golden rule! At first glance, this seems like a nice reciprocal arrangement. If you’re nice to me, I’ll be nice to you, and vice versa.

But this is a little different. Not all humans respond in a positive manner, for a variety of reasons. But Christians should. If we treat others with kindness as Jesus told us to, God will respond positively. God loves believers so much that he planned our rescue even while we were sinning. His Son died so our sins would be forgiven. God is “all in” on mankind’s rescue project. We may or may not receive a thank you for our God-inspired behavior. Our best reward may be heaven-sent!

If you’re OK with your behavior and it fits with what God/Jesus commanded, then it really doesn’t matter what someone else thinks. Let the Lord be your helper. What can mere people do to you?

Pastor Norton Lawellin

The Father’s House

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Truth & Freedom Church

Messiah!

For Thursday, January 22, 2026:

Luke 2:28-29 NLT: “Simeon took baby Jesus in his arms and praised God, saying, ‘Sovereign Lord, now let your servant die in peace, as you have promised.’”

It had been prophesied to Simeon that he would not die until the Lord’s Messiah had been revealed to him. And now he’s personally lifting baby Jesus in his arms! Voilà! The Messiah had arrived!

God always makes good on his promises! He promised to send a Savior, a Rescuer, a Messiah for his people. As it turns out, God’s gift was much more important than what the people were expecting. They were frustrated with Roman occupation of their land. They would have been happy just to be free of the Roman Army. God’s almighty gift was forgiveness of sins. Forgiveness opens the door to eternal life and residence in God’s forever heavenly Kingdom! BTW, there is no Roman army in God’s Kingdom! Mission accomplished and then some!

Don’t expect to understand supernatural events. Just accept the results. The Holy Spirit brought Jesus and Simeon together that day in the Temple, and Simeon identified Jesus to the world. This was only eight days into Jesus’ life. So everyone would have known right from the beginning that Jesus was heaven-sent.

His promise to forgive the sins of all who repent and return is as good today as it was 2k years ago. And God’s desire is that ALL would repent and return. His desire is that none would be lost. You can sign up for that program for free. Just acknowledge Jesus as Lord and Savior of your life and repent of past sins. Draw a line in the sand, before Jesus and after Jesus. The after Jesus side of the line will be clean and fresh. Garbage will be left on the other side of the line. It’s easy to make the right decision. The sun will be shining on Jesus’ side of the line. See you there!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

The Father’s House

Truth and Freedom Church

Messiah = Rescuer!

January 12, 2026, Monday Message:

Luke 2:25-26 NLT: “There was a man in Jerusalem named Simeon. He was righteous and devout and was eagerly waiting for the Messiah to come and rescue Israel. The Holy Spirit was upon him, and had revealed to him that he would not die until he had seen the Lord’s Messiah.”

On the eighth day, Jesus was presented in the Temple. There, the Holy Family encountered Simeon, who was filled with the Holy Spirit. He believed that he would not die until he had seen the Messiah. At that point, most of Israel had been watching and waiting for a Messiah. Angels verified Jesus’ identity to the shepherds. Gabriel confirmed Jesus’ mission for his earthly parents. And now the Holy Spirit helps Simeon identify the Son of God. There should be no doubt concerning Jesus’ true identity and his mission in coming to Earth.

At that time, Rome had captured Israel. The police keeping order were Roman soldiers. The Hebrew people were not happy about this, and the popular thinking was that God’s Messiah would rescue them from Roman oppression. They were only half right. Jesus would rescue them all right, but from their sin penalty, not from the Roman government.

Let’s keep this simple. Before Jesus, Israel was in disarray. After Jesus, everything got better. If he had fixed Israel, it would have benefitted mankind only for their lifetimes, perhaps 50-100 years. Instead, he fixed mankind’s eternal sin problem, ensuring us a safe life in God’s forever Heavenly kingdom.

Jesus gave mankind not what they asked for, but rather the gift with the greatest long-term benefit. Stick with Jesus, and in the end, everything will be OK! Jesus and his Father are always looking out for us!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

The Father’s House

Truth and Freedom Church