Apart From Me, You Can Do Nothing

In one paragraph

Brad Yates brought the message this Sunday, preaching from John 15:5 as his first Sunday morning sermon at First B. He walked through what it means for Jesus to be the vine, for us to be the branches, and for that relationship to produce real fruit. The whole message kept coming back to one line: apart from Jesus, we can do nothing. Brad set the passage in its context first. John 15 sits in the...

Read together

1. 1 Corinthians 15:57 opening song introduction, he gives us the victory through Jesus Christ
2. James 3:1 Brad cites it as a weight on him before teaching, not many should become teachers, judged more strictly
3. John 15:1-8 primary text read aloud, the vine, vinedresser, and branches analogy
4. John 14:6 I am the way and the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father except through me
5. John 14:12 the one who believes in me will do the works I do and greater works
6. John 14:15 if you love me you will keep my commandments
7. John 14:26 the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send will teach you all things
8. Genesis 2:15 God put man in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it
9. Psalm 16 paraphrased, boundary lines placed in pleasant places
10. Romans 10 declare with your mouth Jesus is Lord and believe God raised him from the dead, you will be saved
11. James 2 faith without deeds contrasted, show me your faith without deeds
12. Romans 11 Paul calls it being grafted in, the church connected to God's mechanism
13. 1 Corinthians 16 stand firm in the faith, used to illustrate what abiding means
14. Galatians 5 fruit of the Spirit listed, love joy peace patience kindness goodness faithfulness gentleness self-control
15. 1 Corinthians 11 be imitators of me as I am imitators of Christ
16. 2 Corinthians 5 we are a new creation, referenced as second Corinthians nine in transcript but likely this passage
17. Galatians 2:20 I have been crucified with Christ, it is no longer I who live but Christ who lives in me
18. Revelation 2 you have abandoned the love you had at first, repent and do the works you did at first
19. Hebrews 10 spurring one another on toward love and good deeds
20. Romans 8:1 closing reminder, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus

Talk about it

1. Brad described ways we hedge our bets with God, holding back some percentage of ourselves while still calling ourselves Christians. Where in your own life do you recognize that kind of holding back, and what do you think is behind it?
2. Brad said he considered himself a Christian for most of his life but could not articulate the gospel, and that it had never really rooted itself in him. When did the gospel become something more than a background assumption for you, and what changed?
3. Brad used the acronym RPWCDM (reading, prayer, worship, confession, discussion, meditation) and compared these practices to meals and snacks, saying you can survive on snacks but not thrive. Which of these do you tend to treat as a meal, and which do you skip or only snack on?
4. Brad asked the group to consider whether they spend more time discussing politics or Christ in intentional conversation, and more time consuming political media or God's word. What does an honest answer to that question reveal about where your identity is actually anchored?
5. Brad said that if we are healthy branches we cannot help but produce fruit, but he also warned against white-knuckled moralism. How do you tell the difference in your own life between fruit that is growing naturally out of abiding in Christ and effort that is really just self-improvement dressed up in religious language?