"I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing" (John 15:5).  When we were in Romania last month I was asked to preach at an outdoor evangelistic service under the largest grape vine canopy I have ever seen.  Hilariously, the vine dripped water on my forehead, bible and notes throughout the talk and made me think about this passage.  Jesus uses this image of the vine to describe the relationship His followers are to continue to have with Him as they go about their ministry for Him.  In the OT the image of the vine was used for Israel and also came to be associated with the temple.  However, Jesus says here that He is the true vine, He is the true Israel of God, and only those who abide in relationship with Him will be fruitful. Then He finishes saying: "By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples" (15:8).  So often our temptation is to rush straight into doing the work that needs to be done, rather than abiding and letting God work in our being to make us useable in His service.  It is out of our abiding in Christ (our being in relationship with Him as a child of God) that all of our growing and working (our working out the implications of being a child of the king) should flow.  As Trevor Gould said on Friday night: "the plant doesn't think about having to produce fruit, that happens naturally as it conducts the sap from the roots grounded deep in nourishing water".  However, if we don't first abide in Christ then we cannot produce real fruit - as Wayne said yesterday, it'll only be plastic!
 

Pray Today:

• For our persecuted brothers and sisters around the world as they suffer on account of their faith in Christ.  Pray for their endurance in the face of danger, encouragement and assurance of God's promises.
• For those in our church family who are struggling right now with health difficulties, anxieties, hard circumstances, or the consequences of sin - pray for them to find help as they abide in Christ.
• For the Cafe during the day and Chat65 in the evening as we seek to reach and bless those visiting the city during the festival.