Psalms 108 - Say It Again!

Sept. 04, 2017 Labor Day Monday Message:

“My heart, O God, is steadfast.” Psalms 108:1a NIV

As we become believers, we learn a little about God, and then we learn a little bit more. We don’t get all the information all at once. The Holy Spirit spoon-feeds us small portions, letting us absorb only what we are capable taking in at the time.

But as we become more mature believers, it’s good to create a summary – to list everything we’ve learned about God up to this point. That’s what David did in Psalm 108, which is two Psalms combined. Verses 1-5 come from Psalm 57, and the last 8 verses come from Psalm 60.

“God, I have decided to always belong to you.” David restates what we have known for quite some time, that David is a man after God’s own heart. It’s a good decision; David is glad he made the decision to go with God; if he had to do it over, David would make the same decision again, because things have worked out well as the result of this decision.

David is in a unique position, being not only king, but worship leader for a nation. “I will sing and make music with all my soul. I will make music with the harp and lyre. I will awaken the dawn.” As far as worshiping God is concerned, David is in 100%. Not just casually singing a few songs, David promises to make music with his SOUL! He wants to get an early start on this – David intends to awaken the dawn with songs praising God! “I will sing your praises everywhere.”

That’s David’s worship goal; what’s yours?

Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship gathers next Sunday, Sept. 10, 2017, 3249 30^th Ave. S., Minneapolis, MN 55406, 10:30 AM, for our fall kickoff! Guests from New Hope Center and the neighborhood. Pastor Pilla brings a message from 2^nd Corinthians. Lunch following – see you there!

Psalms 107 - God's Deep Love

Aug. 28, 2017 Monday Message:

“Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever.” Psalms 107:1 NIV

It seems that the closer we are to God, the better life goes. And the farther we are from God, the more difficulties fall into our lives.

Psalm 107 goes into great detail about the plight of the Hebrew people and the predicaments in which they found themselves when they drifted farther from God. But each story also tells how God rescued them in their time of great need. “They cried out to the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress.” v6 “Give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love.” v8a

Jesus offered us similar assurance when he echoed the words of God: “I will never leave you or forsake you.” Deut. 31:6b, Matt. 28:20b

Once we’re adopted into the Holy Family, we have assurance of salvation – forever! God isn’t just a fair-weather friend. In fact, God already knows that your life will experience ups and downs. The Good News is that he’s not going anywhere, and neither is his Son. He is our God and we are his people, no matter what!

“If you are really wise, you’ll think this over — it’s time you appreciated God’s deep love.” Ps. 107:43 MSG

Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship gathers next Sunday, Sept. 3, 2017, 3249 30^th Ave. S., Minneapolis, MN 55406, 10:30 AM, with guest Worship Leader David Boeltl.

Psalms 106 - Chesedic Love

Aug. 21, 2017 Monday Message:

“Praise the Lord. Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever.” Psalms 106:1 NIV

In the Hebrew Bible, “Praise the Lord” is simply “Hallelujah.” “Hallelu” means praise or exalt – like saying “thank-you” to God for all He has done for us. “Jah” or “Yah” is God’s name. Some people translate God’s name as Jehovah or Yahweh, but the truth is that we don’t know the correct pronunciation of his name. Shout it out - Hallelu-Jah!

“His love endures forever” describes a special kind of love: chesed or khesed in Hebrew. There are many degrees of love, but the English language only gives us one word – love. When we say, “I love my car,” “I love my wife,” or “I love my God,” they have very different meanings.

Chesed love is similar to the love a parent has for their child. The child might be far from perfect, but the parent still loves the child simply because it’s a parent/child relationship. God told David that He would be a Father to David’s son Solomon. Jesus taught us to pray to “our Father in heaven.” It’s that love-of-a-child relationship that God has for his people.

Older translations of the Bible used the words “everlasting lovingkindness” to describe chesed. That’ll engage “auto-correct” or at least “spell-checker” nowadays, but it clearly describes God’s love.

All people matter to God. Therefore all people should matter to us.

Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship gathers next Sunday, Aug. 27, 2017, 3249 30^th Ave. S., Minneapolis, MN 55406, 10:30 AM. Lead Pastor Michael Pilla brings a message from God’s Word.