Remain in Jesus

In one paragraph

Pastor Carl opened 2022 with a message from John 15, centered on a single idea: remain in Jesus. He walked through verses 1 through 17, letting the image of the vine and the branches carry the weight of the whole passage. Jesus uses common, everyday things to teach spiritual truth, and the vine is no exception. Carl pointed back to the Old Testament, where Israel was called God's vineyard, a...

Read together

1. John 15:1-17 the main passage read and taught through for the entire sermon
2. Isaiah 5:7 quoted to show Israel as God's vineyard that failed to produce justice and righteousness
3. Luke 4 (implied) Jesus reading in the temple about the Spirit of the Lord being upon him, proclaiming good news to the poor and release to captives
4. Galatians 5 (implied) the fruit of the Spirit listed: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control
5. John 14 (implied) referenced as the first time in John that asking anything in Jesus' name was mentioned
6. Matthew 6 (implied) the Lord's Prayer quoted to show how remaining in Jesus shapes what we ask for
7. 1 John 5:3 quoted to show that loving God means keeping his commands, and his commands are not burdensome
8. John 15:5 quoted as the closing verse to carry through the week: apart from Jesus we can do nothing

Talk about it

1. Carl summed up the whole chapter in three words: 'Remain in Jesus.' What does remaining in Jesus actually look like in your daily life, and what makes it hard to stay connected?
2. Carl pointed out that Israel was called God's vineyard in Isaiah, but they were not producing the fruit God wanted, and that Jesus came as the true vine to be the justice and righteousness Israel could not produce. What does it mean to you personally that you can only produce that kind of fruit by staying connected to him rather than by trying harder on your own?
3. Carl said that when we truly pray 'Your kingdom come, Your will be done,' it changes what we ask for. Has praying that way ever shifted something you wanted? What happened?
4. Carl said that obedience does not feel like a burden when you know the goodness of the one you are being obedient to. Do you find that to be true in your own experience, and if not, what gets in the way?
5. Scott brought up the image of a Christmas tree cut from its roots, looking alive but no longer connected to any power, and compared it to someone who looks like a Christian from the outside but is not actually attached to the vine. How do we guard against that in our own lives without just putting on a better facade?