We hope today’s message was encouraging and helpful. These notes are meant to help you remember and reflect on the message, help you go deeper into study on the subject, or to be used for a Bible/sermon group study. Enjoy!

Main Scripture: JOHN 15:1-17

Other scripture mentioned: Galatians 5:22-23; John 3:1-8; 1 Corinthians 2:10-16

If you’re going through this discussion with a community group this week consider taking the time to read or paraphrase through some of the provided scripture to catch everyone up!

Overview:

John 15:1-17 is one of my favorite Bible passages. Jesus is with His disciples in the upper room days before his crucifixion. In our text, Jesus uses an allegory, an illustration of a vineyard to explain how a connection to the Kingdom of God works in our physical world. Preparing them for his departure, Jesus implores them to spiritually remain in fellowship with Him to grow in the characteristics and work needed to be productive in his physical absence.

Christians are called to follow and live like Jesus. The call is not easy and Christ-like characteristics are spiritual and cannot be obtained from this world. So where do we go to find these qualities and become more like Jesus? How do we connect to God spiritually or grow spiritually? And what's the purpose of becoming more like Jesus or “bearing fruit?”
My hope and prayer for this series is that we connect to the true source of life and eternal life. I pray we will grow in our relationship with God and grow into the person we are meant to be. I pray we the presence, purpose, and power of Jesus will flow in and out of us to help those who do not have Jesus.

Notes:

John 15:1-17 NLT

The Roles and Elements of the Vineyard Allegory/Illustration

God is the Gardner in the vineyard tending and caring for the health and protection of His people.
The Vine is Jesus, the source of spiritual life, feeding and sending to our hearts and minds what we need to be transformed and more like Him.
We are the branches. We are included or grafted into the vine at Salvation. We are meant to be in spiritual connection with Jesus so we can be strengthened and grow to bear and hold the fruit of Christ, not only for our benefit but also to bring life and benefits to anyone in contact with them.
The Invisible element: The sap is the Holy Spirit.
Pruning is the sanctification that immediately makes us holy, set apart at salvation but is also part of the ongoing progressive process of pruning and increasing fruitfulness.
The Fruit: the qualities, characteristics of Christ, the fruit of the Spirit, but also the good works, the ministry of making disciples and fulfilling the great commission (we’ll see this later).

Galatians 5:22-23 But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control.

Remain in me or abide in me (Christ) is a call to faithfulness, given eight times, 10 if you include that God will remain in us. This isn’t a suggestion it is a vital command in order to experience the life Jesus can give. To abide means to remain in, to stay connected to the source of life. This means to consciously, intentionally, and consistently, have faith in Jesus, and be in fellowship with Him through prayer, a lifestyle of worship, listening, learning, and obeying His Word. Being Spirit-led, etc.
Lasting Fruit or much fruit is the big picture. The result of being in the vine and remaining in the vine is we bear lasting fruit that brings glory to God by fulfilling the great commission, making disciples, and seeing the lost be included or grafted into the kingdom of God.

Application:

IS JESUS YOUR SOURCE OF LIFE?

Is Jesus first in your life? Is He your everything? Who do you strive to follow and live like? Is Jesus your go-to when you have a need? Is He the one who gets the credit when you succeed?
Jesus himself is life (John 14:7). John 1 and Colossians 1 teach us that in the beginning, Jesus was with God, and all things were created through Jesus Christ. In Him, we live, move, and have our being. Jesus Is the source of spiritual life, any other source is a counterfeit from the devil to sway people from the true source. What other sources do we go to? What have we made a source of life that shouldn’t be? There’s no replacement for Jesus.
What you need this year is Jesus. What your family needs from you this year is in Jesus. What your workplace needs from you is Jesus. What your eternal destiny needs is Jesus. Jesus is the source of everything we need for this life and eternal life.
We will lack true contentment and joy in people, positions, or places until we have the presence, purpose, and peace of God dwelling in us. This is me and any of us when we lack a strong connection with Jesus. But with Jesus, we experience the presence of true love, true purpose, and true peace, which all result in joy and contentment.

CONNECT TO THE SOURCE BY FAITH

How do we get into the vine and be a branch that receives life from the vine?

Connection to Jesus begins when we place our faith and life in Christ. Salvation is the way we are grafted in. (Grafted pictures) Salvation gives us the Spirit so we can receive life from the vine through the Holy Spirit. We are reborn or grafted into the vine through salvation by the work of the Holy Spirit. This marks or identifies us as a branch or child of God.

John 3:1-8 NLT
1 Corinthians 2:10-16 NLT
The Spirit enables us to have fellowship with God and receive wisdom, encouragement, conviction, and love from God because His Spirit dwells in us through salvation.
If you were wondering how we have a spiritual connection with God, now you know. And this is why you have felt a spiritual connection when you live in Biblical fellowship with other followers. The same Holy Spirit dwells in all of us. We become like-minded through our connection to Christ.

RECONNECT TO THE SOURCE

Upon faith in Christ is salvation. You are cleansed, made holy, and acceptable to God by the Word of God, Jesus Christ. You are transplanted from the world and grafted into the vine.
But the scripture calls us to continue to remain in him. And as we remain in Him we are continually pruned so we can bear and display more traits and characteristics of Jesus.
For us who may be a little apathetic or on cruise control because this has been your journey for a long time. Or maybe you have gotten comfortable with your salvation but have not progressed. Maybe you truly believe and acknowledge what Jesus has done for you but you haven’t been in fellowship and following Jesus. Let me encourage all true Christians to reconnect to our one true source for life, spiritual life, and eternal life. The Christian life cannot thrive or survive separate from the source. If we try to live this life without Jesus we will find ourselves being religious but our journey will have no joy and lack a relationship of love with God.
Some of us think we have experienced the Christian life God intended but you may not have…you may have only scratched the surface. This may be why some have turned away from God, stopped seeking a relationship with God, and don’t connect with the body of Christ. Many have either never learned how to connect to the true source of spiritual life or were drawn away by life's burdens or distractions. Many thought they connected to Christ but they connected to a religious system, a church, or one of their own making. But there is no substitute for Jesus. You must come to trust and follow Jesus if you want to truly experience what it's like to have a relationship with God and all that comes with it.

Ask God to prune and cut away what is unhealthy and dead in your life so you can have a more life-giving and vibrant relationship with Him and others.

Discussion:

What is one thing from the message that resonated with you?
How do you know that Jesus is the source of YOUR life?
How can check on your connection and reconnect with Jesus?
Pastor Ryan encouraged us to ask God to prune and cut away what is unhealthy and dead in our lives. Was there any areas or things that God spoke to you to prune or cut away? What will be hard to let go?
What other notes did you make for today’s message?

The most important decision you will ever make!

If you’re ready to trust in Jesus for salvation and eternal life we encourage you to process this decision with a strong believer and when you’re ready say a simple prayer like this from your heart: Dear God, I acknowledge and admit I have sinned. I see my need for Jesus Christ. I believe in Jesus as my Lord and Savior. I believe I am forgiven and cleansed of my sin by His death. I also believe I have eternal life because of His resurrection from the dead. I repent, I turn away from my old ways and I choose to live my life to worship you and follow Jesus, Amen!

We would love to know if you decided to accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior. Let us know here.

Pray Together

We hope you found this AFTER THE SERMON discussion helpful for your walk with Jesus. We pray you can find ways to apply it this week!

Ryan Coon

CONNECTING TO THE SOURCE