Hear the word of the Lord: John 15:1-11

Similar documents
Abundant LIFE: Making Our Home in Christ John 15:1-11. A Sermon Preached by Ernest Thompson. First Presbyterian Church Wilmington NC

branch can t bear grapes by itself but only by being joined to the vine, you can t bear fruit unless you are joined with me.

Sacred Space: A Resource for Small-group Ministry

John 15:4-5 esv Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide

Abide in My Love April 29,2018 Dr. Frank J. Allen, Jr., Pastor First Presbyterian Church of Kissimmee, Florida

Divine Mercy Sunday (2nd Sunday of Easter)

Interwoven Branches, Abiding in Love

Abide in God 1 John 4:7-21, John 15:1-11 May 6, 2012 Pastor James York

April 29, th Sunday of Easter John 15:1-8 COJLBC. Abide and Abound. by Mark Jarvinen

LEARNING TO ABIDE JOHN 15:1-8

Fifth Sunday of Easter, Year B Lectio divina on Jn 15, 1-8

A Reading From the Book of the Prophet Jeremiah

Rooted in Love

2. What or who are the branches, and what is the relationship to the vine? ** and **

From the Gospel of John, chapter fifteen, verses one through eight, we listen to the words of Jesus

GOD WITH US Part 8: JESUS Message 20 MASTER: Final Words to Disciples John 13-16

MY FATHER S VINEYARD 14/8/16

He is D vine I am D branch

Jesus and Identity Lesson 3/Living As Branches

Title Week 1. John 1-11

Abiding in Christ Jesus. Part one from verse 1-2

The Divine Flow of Life

New Year s Eve Sermon 12/31/17 John 15:1-11 The Ultimate New Year s Resolution- Theme- Abiding in Christ Introduction- Happy New Year s Eve morning-

"Healthy Fruitful Branches" John 15:1-8

Abide-dwell, tarry, stay, remain in a place

THE BIBLICAL TRUTH ABOUT RECEIVING MESSIAH INTO OUR HEARTS SOWING THE WORD OF GOD TUESDAY, AUGUST 2, 2016

Welcome Prayer for Illumination John 15:1-8 (NRSV)

John 15f I am the Vine Pruning

Bridgefolk Footwashing and Agape Meal

Valley Bible Church Sermon Transcript

Connected and Fruitful Going Deeper Series

God s Vineyard Revised

Resources for Central District Conference Sunday Abounding in Love...Abiding in Grace

Jesus said, I am the true vine. This five word clause is packed with layers of

The Bible Meets Life

Sabbath Listening Isaiah 60:1-5 & Luke 5:33-39 Pastor James York January 3, 2016

him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing. If

John Chapter 15. John 15:1 "I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman."

FIFTH SUNDAY OF EASTER April 29, 2018 GATHERING TIME (10-15 Minutes)

Week 3 John 15 Remain In Me Day 1

Cram Session: Jesus Parting Words Abide! John 15:1-17

John 15:1-17. Jesus: The God Who Commands

Abiding in the Vine. Devotional Studies Course. Online Bible College DSC-03

SPIRITUAL FRIENDSHIPS:

Readings and Sermon notes, Sunday 29 April 2018, Easter 5, St Philip s Collingwood.

A Bible Study with Stan Key GOOF PROOF DISCIPLESHIP. John 15:1 17

WORD OF ENCOURAGEMENT

DEFENSE FOR THE THE EVIDENCE OF MY LIFE. I AM THE BEST APOLOGETIC. PART 12 The Fruit of the Spirit The Ultimate Apologetic

Abide, Love, Be Hated, Witness John 15

Christ the Branch of Righteousness

The Answer For Dead Christianity

VINE Branches VINE DRESSER

The Garden Ouch, That Hurt!: Pruning God uses pruning to produce abundant, healthy fruit in our lives. Pastor Kevin Syes July 15, 2012

petertan.net HOLY SPIRIT SERIES MANIFESTATION OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

Abide in Me Bible Study November Abide in Me

Growing in the Grace of God. Lesson 5 Grace for Knowing God. Blue Letter Bible

Message January 22-23, 2011 The Big Read Deuteronomy 6:1-9; Luke 8:1-15 Let Anyone With Ears to Listen, Hear!

The Possibility of Apostasy

Book 1. Compiled By Dr. Harold Bollinger

[Jesus says,] I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine grower.

Pre-Election Prayer Vigil Monday, November 7, 2016 St. Columba s Episcopal Church

FIFTH SUNDAY OF EASTER 3, 2015 GATHERING TIME

Scripture to Read Psalm 80 Hosea 14 Romans 11

Sunday School Lesson Summary for February 25, 2007 Released on Wednesday, February 21, Jesus Is the True Vine

KCC April Don t Worry, It s Good that I m Leaving John 14

1 Kings 4:25 So Judah and Israel lived in safety, every man under his vine and his fig tree, from Dan even to Beersheba, all the days of Solomon.

John 15 (ESV) John 15 2/14/2017 THE TRUE VINE / ABIDING REVIEW:

Lifestyle Repentance. 2 Corinthians 7:10-11

The Parable of the Sower

TO BE ALL THAT YOU CAN BE (John 15:1-17 April 17, 2005)

OUR NEED FOR PURPOSE SESSION 6. The Point. The Passage. The Bible Meets Life. The Setting

Retreating to a Lonely Place Mark 6: The text for this sermon, the theme of which is, Retreating to a Lonely

Abiding in Christ Delighting in Immortality

KNOWING OUR LASALLIAN HERITAGE PRAYING for OUR LASALLIAN FAMILY

Peace. Part 4: Galatians 5: Galatians 5: /6/12

OUR NEED FOR PURPOSE

6TH SUNDAY OF EASTER (B)! GOD HAS NO FAVOURITES!

Branches John 15:1-8 April 7, 2019

I Am the True Vine. John 15:1 8

LESSONS FROM THE VINE: ABIDE IN CHRIST John 15:1-7; Isaiah 11:1-2

The Ultimate LOVE STORY

Barnabas explained to the apostles how the Lord appeared to Saul and spoke to him on his journey.

Ordinary Time INTRODUCTION

THE MAN WHO WAS BORN BLIND (John 9: 1-38)

Week 8 - I AM Statements of Jesus The Vine

*THE MESSAGE OF THE CROSS OF CHRIST 1 Corinthians 1:18-31

In My Father s House. John 14: There is something about that moment when one chapter in your life ends

The Gospel of John. Living in the Vineyard John 15:1-11

Transformative Influence : Part Two

Wesley on Romans: The First Fruits of the Spirit Romans 8:1-11 Rev. Thomas G. James Washington Street UMC July 16, 2017

Wednesday of the Fifth Week of Easter May 13, Scripture: Acts15:1-6; Psalm 122:1-5; John 15:1-8

God of grace and God of glory, this is the hour, this is the day, this is the time to

Farewell Discourse: Jesus, The Way to Heaven

Praying Like Paul Pastor Jason Van Bemmel Ephesians 3:14-19

Fifth Sunday of Easter

Midweek Experience Curriculum NAC-USA DEVELOPMENT INSTITUTE. Do you bear fruit? Peace. Gentleness. Self-Control MIDWEEK SCRIPT.


A Simple Choice. Psalm 1. Allan McCullough

52 Weeks Bible Verses

The Last Supper. Tintoretto

Transcription:

1 Abide in Me as I Abide in You John 15: 1-11 August 13, 2017 Kristie Finley First Presbyterian Church Lake Forest, Illinois This morning s scripture is found in the 15 th chapter of the Gospel of John. It is part of Jesus farewell discourse. Jesus has washed the feet of the disciples and told them he is leaving. He has told them this before, but here he is making it clear that it is immanent, and he leaves them with words of comfort. Not a list of rules to follow, he leaves them with a vision of how to continue in community with him through their relationships with each other. Hear the word of the Lord: John 15:1-11 I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine grower. 2 He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit he prunes to make it bear more fruit. 3 You have already been cleansed by the word that I have spoken to you. 4 Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. 5 I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing. 6 Whoever does not abide in me is thrown away like a branch and withers; such branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. 7 If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples. 9 As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love. 10 If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father s commandments and abide in his love. 11 I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete. This is the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God. Please pray for illumination. We give thanks, O God of sacred stories, for the witness of Holy Scripture. Through it, you nurture our imaginations, touch our feelings, increase our awareness, and challenge our assumptions. Bless we pray, our hearing of your word this day. Speak to each of us; speak to all of us; and grant that by the power of your Holy Spirit, we may be hearers and doers of your word. Amen.

2 This prayer of illumination invites us into the exploration of the scripture. I hope our imaginations will be nurtured, our feelings will be touched, our awareness will be increased, and our assumptions will be challenged. Jesus was about all these things. So on this, the last night the disciples were with Jesus, they gathered around him, and they must have been so fearful. Can you imagine the questions they would have? How will we continue without our leader, our teacher, the one we gave up everything for? We ve tried so hard to comprehend and follow, but we trip up over and over again. Having slipped so often, how will we pick ourselves up if he is not there to reach out to us, to catch us? And what will happen when our weak faith surfaces again, will we again be forgiven even when we are separated from him? The words Jesus speaks are meant to bring them comfort. He tells them that they have been cleansed already, pruning has already taken place. Much of this cleansing was painful. The disciples had to let go of pretty much their whole world view, and lifestyle to be a disciple of Jesus. Most were cut off from family, either by belief in Jesus as the messiah or by being physically removed; some have literally walked away from their families. They have given up their livelihoods as fisherman, farmers, and tax collectors. But it would be comforting to hear that the cleansing had already taken place. Following Jesus has been a radical turn from all they know. It is just the beginning of a mission that would continue and be synonymous with radical reordering, reforming. A socially disruptive work that they had seen firsthand. The disciples might have felt that they just wanted to stay there with him. Is that why Jesus paints the picture of them just being together with him and God. Not a list of rules to follow, just to keep close, feel his presence so that they could feel it again when he was gone.

And the people of John s community, in hearing this about the branch that withers and dies, and is cut off? They have already experienced this as Christian Jews who had originally been a part of the Synagogue. They had been castoff, sent away from their community for being followers of Christ. They would be frightened at what more they might lose; or doubted their own ability to remain faithful. At that time being cut off from your family meant the loss of identity, and community. So abiding in the vine would give them an identity again. So Jesus speaks to their imaginations. He presents them with the image of the vineyard. Something they would understand. They would understand how the vineyard is a source of life. If the vine is to produce fruit, it must be nurtured and tended to lovingly by the vine grower. And the vine needs to provide nurture to the branches in order for them to produce fruit. The flow of connection to the disciples would be obvious. God is the diligent nourisher ever present and aware of what the vine and through the vine, the branches need to produce fruit. The vine grower knows what each needs. Jesus touches their emotions as he speaks of the love God has for him, and his love for God and the disciples, and their love for each other, and their love for Jesus and God. They would see the cycle of growth, and themselves as a part of it. They just might grasp an understanding of how they will not be left adrift, and how this will enable them to make new disciples to increase the fruit, if they stay connected and abide in what Jesus has taught them. For us hearing this today, it seems as if not much has changed for those called to be disciples. We carry fear with us. We may not physically leave our families, but we can feel cast off, even cut off. Even within our church, where we read and teach about the love that connects us to God and Christ, it can be hard for us to see that life force flowing as in the vine. Views in the world have become so polarized that we often can t even have conversations with each other. Even when we are in the same church or 3

community, even with those we love. In our individualistic culture it is hard to see how we are to abide in the vine, with Christ, with that brother or sister who we feel totally separated from, ideologically or politically. Within our own denomination we have seen splits, people cutting off. The news in Charlottesville, VA is heartbreaking, and maddening. Will we never get the idea of peace? Not merely getting along, but the peace Christ offers us. Where hatred and intimidation are not acceptable. So many of our views are held so closely, they actually hold our identity, and we can only think to withdraw from each other. If we are followers of Jesus, that radical lover of all people, we cannot withdraw from situations that do not offer a glimpse of that love. Christ is our identity, if we are abiding in the Christ that is the vine, love for him, each other and our neighbor is the only response we can have. We must be the glimpse of love the world is offered. It is even more important now to abide, dwell together, to be connected. Abiding runs counter to our individualistic culture. To be connected to the vine we need dependence and interdependence, not to be independent. Having mutual respect for all, offering love and hope, and believing in the ongoing presence of Christ. This is what community, mission, and discipleship look like. If we use a different word for abide, such as dwell, or as Eugene Peterson translates in the Message, to find our home in Christ it can be easier to imagine. I took a break from sermon writing yesterday and went through my email, something that definitely needs pruning. I came upon the renewal for a magazine I subscribe to. It is Dwell Magazine and the word alone formed a connection. Dwell is advertised as the best place to design your modern home or apartment. Many of you know that I was an interior designer before I was called to ministry, and boy can I dwell in that magazine. I can get lost in the innovative designs. Everything disappears for a while. This made me reflect on how our awareness is heightened when we are totally absorbed. The 4

feelings are even stronger when it is in an experience with people we love. We may not remember what we did in detail, but we remember the distinct feelings associated with the event, they stay with us. Think of a time when your attention and imagination were heightened so that you were totally absorbed. This is what abiding is. It is about relationship and connecting. Christ is not asking us to do something that is depleting, but life giving when he says abide in me. We think that abiding is hard, well, the pruning can be unimaginable. We strive for perfection and pruning becomes a looming fear that if we don t get it right, then it will be cut off, we fail. We see pruning as a punishment or judgement. Maybe we should challenge that assumption and see pruning as a letting go, simplifying and getting rid of what is not needed or useful, of those things that get in the way of our abiding. But when we remain faithful it is not failure, it s growth. The branch cannot escape pruning if it bears fruit. Jesus says Every branch that bears fruit God prunes to make it bear more fruit. Pruning allows the fruitful branches to be even more fruitful. I fear that we hear pruning as a negative, but here, in relation to the branches it is for a more fruitful bounty. Pruning becomes a part of a faithful life. In vine growing, cuttings, the pruned parts, can be grafted onto the vine to grow new branches. With God, even what needs to be pruned can be become new. We do not do the pruning, but we need to do some maintenance of our branches. We might need to clear away some space. Nate Stucky, taught a class in seminary on Sabbath. And it speaks to this pruning, or letting go. The first day of class we watched a video from Sesame Street. It seemed as strange to us that day as it must to you now. A classful of master s students watching a children s show. I wish I could play it for you, because the song they sing says it all. And believe me you do not want me to do the singing. The story is about Ernie and his desire to play the saxophone. 5

Ernie does not understand why the saxophone squeaks every time he tries to play. Mr. Hoots, the sax playing band leader, tells Ernie that he has to put down the ducky to play the saxophone. He can t play with the ducky in his hand too. Something that Ernie loves is keeping him from doing something new. Nate gave us each a rubber ducky to remind us of this message. The message was that we all have so much going on in our lives, that we need to make room, to put something down so that we could practice Sabbath, spend time with God. Time to abide. What pruning lessons can you recall? Gentle ones where it is made clear that there is something we can set aside so that we can get on with the ministry we are called to. Or some tougher ones where we have to make a hard pivot in direction to hold fast to the vine? Our pruning may be so that we can make room for something else, which just might be abiding with Christ and each other. As we need to remember to hand the pruning over the God, we also have to remember that the bounty is God s as well. We can t compete for who has the most bounty, because the bounty is not produced by us individually. The bounty comes from the nourishment of God s tending through Christ, the Vine. We abide in the vine together and the vine abides in us together, we produce the bounty together. The disciples were afraid after Jesus arrest, when he was no longer with them. They scattered, but they came back together. Through his love for them, and their love for him they continued to abide in Christ and each other. And the fruitful bounty this abiding produced changed the world. The beauty of this abiding is that the connection, the relationship continues even when we are apart. This is all about our dependence on the vine grower, and the vine. It is not about what any one of us can do on our own, no matter how strongly one might feel that it is. It is also about our interdependence with each other, about 6

relationships, about community. This is precarious work. We will be exposed, vulnerable, people will be able to judge us when we are fruitful. Exposure is hard for a self-reliant culture. Jesus wants us, just as he did for the disciples, to know that this is hard work, being his disciples. That it takes all of us together, nourished by God s tending, and Christ s love, to do his work. The scriptures give us many examples of abiding. The story of Martha and Mary in Luke 10:38-42 gives a clear message of the importance of abiding in Christ especially when we get distracted and think how can I abide, I have so much to do. Jesus is in the home of Martha and Mary, Mary is sitting at the feet of Jesus, listening to his teaching. Martha is upset because she is doing all the work. But Jesus answers her, saying Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things; 42 there is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her. I would like to think that in light of today s passage, that Mary might have said to Martha, Come and sit with us, and after I will help with the work. So that Martha and Mary could abide with Jesus, and each other. If we abide in Christ and each other, we will choose the better thing, and it will not be taken from us. We will be strengthened through the love of God and Christ. We can see active visible signs. As in the ordination and installation of John Noble as deacon last Sunday. When the elders and deacons and clergy came forward to lay hands on him, there abundance of people coming forward who trailed down the aisles. Now there is an image of branches, and those branches bear fruit through the nourishing love of God the vine grower and Christ the vine, and us the disciples who are send out into the world to bear more fruit. This challenges the assumption of many that our faith is dying, or that we are cut off. We are a community that is connected to each other, fed by our nourishing God through the vine that is Christ growing and moving ever outward into the world. Amen. 7