Son of God Defined!

July 3, 2023 Monday Message:

Romans 1:3-4 NLT: “The Good News is about God’s Son. In his earthly life he was born into King David’s family line, and he was shown to be the Son of God when he was raised from the dead by the power of the Holy Spirit. He is Jesus Christ our Lord.”

Being a Christian requires faith in who Jesus is and belief that he can do what he said he can do. Paul gave us a quick summary: Son of God; from the line of David; rose from the dead. That settles it: “He IS Jesus Christ our Lord.”

What Jesus said he would do is take the sins of the world to the place of the dead. In the Great Exchange, we would be forgiven, and Jesus would go on ahead to prepare a place for believers in the heavenly kingdom. Everything else Jesus told us has come to fruition, so we can have full confidence that assurance of salvation is also true.

I knew a man who when he became a believer, said, “This is great news! Just wait ‘til everybody finds out!” And then he set out to do just that – tell everybody! He attended seminary, became an itinerant evangelist and eventually founded a church.

Our lives undergo a radical transformation when we become a believer. It’s a change for the better!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship

Good-News Prophesy!

For Sunday, July 2, 2023:

Romans 1:2 NLT: “God promised this Good News long ago through his prophets in the holy Scriptures.”

As a Christmas hymn, we sing, “Come thou long expected Jesus.” In the Jewish scriptures, there’s clue after clue detailing the arrival of a Messiah. Jesus fulfilled every prophesy about the Messiah’s arrival. Everyone should have been expecting him.

“Good News” means “Gospel,” what happened after Jesus’ arrival, God’s plan for mankind’s rescue. I’ve always thought that the New Testament should be thought of as a continuation of the Old Testament, and that Jesus’ arrival should be Judaism-the-next-chapter, not a completely separate religion. But instead of honoring their own prophesies, the obstinate Pharisees refused to budge on the Son-of-God issue. And new Christians weren’t about to abandon their miracle-working leader who promised forgiveness and eternal salvation.

So we find ourselves here today, totally loyal to Jesus our Savior and yet separated from his ancestors. We’ll shout the Good News whenever and wherever possible, telling all nations of forgiveness only through faith in Jesus who went ahead to prepare a place in the hereafter for believers.

Everyone needs to hear the Good News. It doesn’t get any better than that!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship

Commissioned!

For Saturday, July 1, 2023:

Romans 1:1 NLT: “This letter is from Paul, a slave of Christ Jesus, chosen by God to be an apostle and sent out to preach his Good News.”

Jesus had personally tapped Paul on the shoulder to be an apostle, a devoted follower of Jesus and a preacher of the Gospel. His conversion was beyond remarkable. He took his call very seriously. You might say that he jumped with both feet into the deep end! Paul never did anything half-way. While he accomplished a lot of ministry along the way, Paul’s ultimate goal was to bring the Gospel to Rome.

Jesus said we all should help with evangelism. Before he ascended, Jesus commissioned believers to make disciples of all nations. There were no exceptions and participation wasn’t optional. Our individual pieces of the evangelism puzzle may look different, but we’re all a necessary part of the equation.

Like Paul, we’ve all been chosen to help spread the Good News! We’re blessed to be a part of Jesus’ team!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship