Sermon Notes: April 25, 2010

SHOWING INSTEAD OF TELLING

Sermon Notes

John 15

INTRO

Today is CHANGE THE WORLD Sunday.

So, we are going to talk about one of the essentials to CHANGE THE WORLD.

Question: Do you want to change the world? Why? To what?

Passing of the Peace

Scripture:

When an EMT arrives on an accident scene, they check for vital signs:

(pulse, breathing, etc.)

Question: Imagine yourself as an EMT and you arrive at a church

and you check for vital signs, what do you check for?

What is one vital sign of the church?

Call to Worship

What does God call us to do?

To Love God and others.

To be love driven and sharing that love beyond ourselves into the world.

OPENING PRAYER

Lord, we are called to be love driven. We are called to emulate the full extent of

your love. Help us to Change the World through your love. Amen.

LAST WEEK

John 13: “full extent of his love” = CROSS

PUPPET

There are many reasons to attend worship

A. Tradition

1. Obligated
2. Fun
3. Inspirational

There are many reasons to be a part of a church

1. Relationships
2. Involvement

INTRO TO JOHN 15 (Farewell Discourse)

This section (Book of Glory: the path to the cross), Jesus is teaching the disciples that he will still be connected (remaining in relationship) with the disciples even though he is going to the cross. In moments: Garden of Gethsemane

CHANGE IS ABOUT TO TAKE PLACE: 3 years of relationship with Jesus / cross

Jesus speaks about three relationships that involve the disciples:

1. their relationship with him,
2. their relationship with one another, and
3. their relationship with the world around them.

John 15:1-11 is about the relationship of the disciples with Jesus. The very existence of the group depended on the union of each individual with Christ. Jesus uses the analogy of the vine.

VINEYARDS - are cool (Napa & Paso)

orderly and they are pruned ???

In Judaism, Jewish people were quite familiar with vines and their maintenance. Most likely they could have easily seen the vines of Israel during this discourse. And even possibly the great golden vine, the national emblem of Israel, on the front of the temple.

SCRIPTURE: John 15

1"I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener.

Last of the “I am” statements (Exodus 3:14

2He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.

4 Players

Vinedresser (God)

Vine (Jesus)

Branches (Us)

Fruit (works)

NOTICE: Cannot bear fruit, unless we are in relationship with God (connected).

POINT: Need to remain connected to the vine,

the disciples need to remain connected to Jesus

we need to remain connected to Jesus

point: if we remain connected, we will bear fruit

Question: what is the fruit that you bear?

a grape vine produces grapes

A GOD vine produces what kind of fruit?

And when we are not bearing fruit, does that mean we have severed ourselves from the god vine?

Are there times that we feel severed from the vine?

TO PRODUCE FRUIT

we need to remain connected

a grape vine produces grapes

what are you producing

to grow spiritually, we need to remain connected and produce fruit

NOTE

This is the last “I am” statements of Jesus. Notice that the vine is not the People of God in this case, but Jesus.

SCRIPTURE: John 15:4

Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.

POINT: The following verses remind us that we cannot bear fruit unless connected to THE VINE.

QUESTION TO PONDER

How connected are we to God and to each other

POINT: GENUINE/AUTHENTIC Followers of Jesus bear fruit

IMPLICATION: Not pew warmers (called to be in the game: GO!)

Not here to be entertained, but to SERVE

VITAL SIGNS OF THE CHURCH: FRUIT

SCRIPTURE: John 15:8

This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.

QUESTION: What kind of fruit?

SCRIPTURE: Galatians 5:22-23

22But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23gentleness and self-control.

NOTICE: First on the list is LOVE

This is probably why, we see:

SCRIPTURE: John 15:9

9"As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. 10If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father's commands and remain in his love.

AGAPE/LOVE/CHARITY

Agape was a generic word for love (greeks have a word for everything). They like specific/exact words, thus agape was hardly used because it was generic. when Christians were talking about love, they wanted a word for love that was different than the usual greek words for love, and pulled agape “off the back shelf of the closet” and redefined it as: grace/unconditional-love.

CELSUS: Critic of Christianity (2nd Century)

In one of the oldest literary attacks on Christianity

True Discourses

“These Christians love each other even before they are acquainted.”

John 13:

they will know we are Christians by our love

TODAY

WHAT IS YOUR CRITICISM OF US?

NO FRUIT, NO LOVE

NO LOVE, NO FRUIT

IF NO FRUIT,

WHAT THEN?

GET CONNECTED TO THE VINE (ReJesus)

Return to your first love (Rev 3)

Some folks act like a branch

that does not want to be connected to vine

and they are trying to bear fruit

BACK TO JOHN 15:1

"I AM the TRUE vine

I don’t know what that means to you,

but to me....it means, I need to be connected to Jesus

if not, i won’t produce fruit.

And then he connects TRUE,

i suppose there are a lot of vines, and things that look like the vine

but Jesus is THE TRUE VINE

we can’t do it on our own, we need to be connected to Jesus

and to each other.

JESUS IS LORD!