JOHN STEPHENSON Sermon at Canley Community Church

1. The True vine and its branches
Canley – March 2015

2. It’s all about fruit!

4. The importance of the vine in The
Bible and in biblical Israel
• Used in many places as a symbol for Israel: Isaiah ch.5,
Ezekiel ch.15, Psalm 80.
• Judea was well known for the excellence of its wines
throughout biblical times.
• Well tended and guarded, workers were exempt from
military service.
• Frequently used as a symbol for prosperity and peace.
• Grapes were an important part of the diet as they
provided important vitamins and minerals, especially iron.
• Wine was, and still is, an important part of Jewish every
day life, medicine and religious ceremony, and of course
part of Christian communion.

6. The fruitful Christian – vs 8-13
• Show ourselves to be Jesus’ disciples – v8.
• Remain in his love – v9
• Obey his commands – v10
• The prime command is to love each other - vvs
9&10, 12&13, v17
• Demonstrate the fruits of the Spirit – Galatians
ch5, 22-23.
• Examine our lives for evidence of these “fruits”.
• Make disciples – Matthew ch28, vs 19&20.

7. What does it mean to
“remain in my love”?
• The Biblical word for love is agape or agapeo, almost universally
used in The Bible, but rarely in classical Greek.
• “The highest and noblest form of love which sees something
infinitely precious in its object”. In The Bible it is used almost
exclusively to refer to love between God and humans and between
humans, culminating in self-sacrifice.
• Jesus’ description of the vine and the branches indicates the very
close and unique relationship between us. We are both human!
• Jesus clearly had a body like us, but God dwelt fully in him. “God
created man in his own image” and “formed the man from the dust
of the ground”, so clearly we also have a physical and spiritual
component.
• The ultimate result of this intimate loving relationship – our “joy may
be complete”.

8. Why is it necessary to
“remain” in Jesus’ love
Without a continuous supply of water and nutrients the branch will die before it bears
fruit. Without a continuous supply of spiritual “food” we will be unfruitful.

9. How to prune your vine
Pruning is necessary to prevent disease
and ensure all the vine’s energy goes towards producing fruit.

10. What do we need to prune? (v2)
• “Disease” – see Galatians ch5 vs 19-21.
• Less obvious, modern things – our use of the
internet and other “secret” activities.
• Careless use of social media.
• “Harmless” activities which are purely selfish
and ignore the needs of others.
• Jesus can then treat us like friends and share his
vision v15.
• Appoint us to work for him – v16.

11. Conclusions
• We are precious and unique
• Jesus wants an intimate and joyful relation with us.
• The relationship with Jesus is based on love
• Our relationship with each other is based on love
• We need to remain in close communication -
communion
• We need pruning!
• We will have a purpose to our lives and a job to do!
• Our joy will be complete