The God We Can Know- The True Vine

Share a high and a low from the past week.

Answer this question again: “I am… (noun)”— something that describes you, or how you are feeling right now.

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John 15:1-8 New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

1 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine grower. 2 He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit he prunes to make it bear more fruit. 3 You have already been cleansed by the word that I have spoken to you. 4 Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. 5 I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing. 6 Whoever does not abide in me is thrown away like a branch and withers; such branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. 7 If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples.

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What is the purpose of pruning when gardening? How does this relate to the way that Jesus calls us to live?

Have you ever felt that you were being “pruned”? What kinds of things have been cut away from you that were painful at the time but brought about a beneficial change?

What kind of fruit are you bearing? What kinds of things are “good fruit”? “bad fruit”?

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Dear God, thank you for bringing us all here together again. We have learned so much about you through the words of your son, Jesus Christ, and we hunger for a deeper sense of you and your love for us. Be with us as we continue on this journey; help us to love one another and to use the gifts you gave us for the building up of your kingdom. In your name we pray. Amen.

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May the True Vine give you strength, life and possibility.
Amen.

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