Summary: You don’t have to be Tarzan to learn to hold on to the Vine. Practical outline on abiding in Christ and how to ’branch out’ and bear fruit for the Father, our Husbandman. Link inc. to formatted text, audio, and PowerPoint.

Don’t Let Go of the Vine

John 15

http://gbcdecatur.org/sermons/DontLetGo.html

Sometimes it may seem we are spinning our wheels and going nowhere. What are we supposed to do then? We live in an age where we feel we must always be busy and be doing something. We are restless [and young!] and easily bored. We crave entertainment and action, and wonder why we’re stressed beyond belief and so tired all the time.

We need to learn to be still.

Psalms 46:10

Be still, and know that I am God:

Here’s the ‘411’...

1 Thessalonians 4:11

And that ye study to be quiet...

Our Sun. PM services have nothing offered for children...on purpose. This is when they learn to be still, quiet, and how we can be a family together in ‘big church.’ Are you bringing your kids, or allowing them to keep you out of church?!

So, what do we do when our life seems to be on hold in some area? Hold on! Just abide! Stay connected! You don’t have to be Tarzan to cling to the Vine!

Ill.—alcohol the cure for my wife’s kidney stones? [see audio for illustration!]

The Vine

1. Selfish saints are shelved. (v. 2)

2. Unused talents may be lost. (v. 2)

3. The life of the branch comes from the Vine. (v.4)

4. Without the Vine the branch is just a dead stick.

5. The Vine will give the results not the branches. (v.5)

6. When the branch is abiding there will be fruit. (v.4)

7. As the branch continues to abide there will be more fruit. (v.2)

8. Then, as the branch faithfully abides, there will be much fruit. (v.5)

9. The glory for the fruit is given to the Vine and the husbandman…not the branch. (v.8)

The Branches

1. The branch is nothing. The Vine is everything. (v.4)

2. The branch does not try to produce but only abides.

3. It is not the talent or the ability of the branch that produces.

4. Each branch is responsible for fruit. (v.2)

5. The branch that does not produce fruit is burned. (v.6)

The Abiding

1. Abide means “to join together without the thought of separating.”

2. The Vine and the branch need each other to produce fruit. (v.4)

3. Sap is symbolic of the Holy Spirit.

4. To abide is to ‘hang on’, and stay connected.

5. Fruit that remains is ideal. (v. 16)

The Purging

1. Purging means to “chasten or correct” the dead parts of the branch. (vv.2-3)

2. Purging also means to prune.

http://gbcdecatur.org/sermons/DontLetGo.html