CONNECTED TO A LOVING COMMUNITY
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 15:9-13
Other scripture mentioned: Ephesians 4:4-6; John 15:18-19; John 17:20-23; Ephesians 4:2-3; Galatians 5:13; Romans 13:8-10; 1 Thessalonians 5:10-11; Hebrews 3:12-14, and James 5:16
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!
Notes:
John 15:9-13
You are not the only branch in the vineyard
You’re not, I’m not, the only branch in the vine. We belong to this spiritual vineyard many people on this journey together. The church of Jesus Christ is full of different cultures and personalities. The church has new and young believers, wise and seasoned believers. We come from different backgrounds, walks of life, and experiences before salvation. Some have experienced great loss and some have experienced great gain. Some have been raised in the Lord and church and some just started the journey and attending church. Some can quote the Bible from memory and some are just learning to open the Bible. I could go on and on but you get the point. We belong to one big spiritual family called the church. We are one and have more in common than we realize. But no matter what, we have to remember the most important common denominator in our lives is Jesus.
Ephesians 4:4-6 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
Jesus commands us to love one another.
Jesus repeated his command to “love each other” (cf. 13:34) because he knew that the future of the work among men depended on the disciples’ attitude toward one another. Tenney, M. C. (1981). John. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: John and Acts (Vol. 9, p. 153). Zondervan Publishing House.
Love is vital for each individual to grow and the church’s impact to grow in its community.
The Lord would soon depart and leave his disciples in a hostile world.
John 15:18-19 “If the world hates you, remember that it hated me first. 19 The world would love you as one of its own if you belonged to it, but you are no longer part of the world. I chose you to come out of the world, so it hates you.
Jesus knows and understands the community formed in Him will have its challenges.
There’s difficulty in bringing together all walks of life into one new family or the stress of wrestling with the world and evil powers that could cause infighting and test our unity. Jesus knows this very well from his disciples and how they behaved at times. Loving one another would keep the unity needed to face the true enemy, the devil, and to stay in harmony and on mission for the Lord. Two chapters later Jesus prays for our unity.
John 17:20-23 NLT “I am praying not only for these disciples but also for all who will ever believe in me through their message. 21 I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one—as you are in me, Father, and I am in you. And may they be in us so that the world will believe you sent me. 22 “I have given them the glory you gave me, so they may be one as we are one. 23 I am in them and you are in me. May they experience such perfect unity that the world will know that you sent me and that you love them as much as you love me.
We need each other even more as the day of Christ’s return approaches because persecution, deception, and delusion about sin intensify. For our good, we need a loving community rooted in Christ and His Word…
Jesus calls us to love the way He loves
To love one another like Jesus loves is a call to self-sacrifice for others rather than a self-serving life.
We need the love of Christ to love one another like He loved us. This is impossible if we do not have Christ and His love in us. This brings us all the way back to making sure we have a relationship with Jesus and that we remain in His love. If we do, we will know and have the love of Christ for one another.
Loving one another helps Christians grow in fruitfulness. When we love and care for one another we exercises the fruit of Christ helping others learn how to live in the love and character of Christ as well.
There are many examples of what it looks like to love one another…Here’s a few ways we can love one another and the scriptures to guide us…
Be gracious to one another
Ephesians 4:2-3 Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. 3 Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.
Don’t be arrogant or act like you are perfect. Be gentle with your words. Patient with shortcomings. Bear or endure some of the strange things or weird things people do or say in the body of Christ.
Speak well of one another. Be peacemakers and peacekeepers.
There are probably more times than not that we need to hold or bite our tongues and keep our opinions to ourselves. Ask God for wisdom and discernment to know when your criticism isn’t constructive. On the other hand, know when you should lovingly say something, but always check your own life first.
We are capable of showing grace to one another if we remain in fellowship with Christ. If we aren’t we’ll be off and everyone will know it :)
Serve and care for one another
Galatians 5:13 For you have been called to live in freedom, my brothers and sisters. But don’t use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature. Instead, use your freedom to serve one another in love.
Jesus laid down his life for us. We don’t need to die for each other, that can be taken too far. But we can deny ourselves, deny our selfish ambitions and desires that are unholy so we can selflessly serve one another.
Sacrifice time away from things that preoccupy you and keep you from ministering and serving one another.
Help a fellow believer in their walk with Christ. Pray together for a burden. Help carry a burden. Lend a helping hand. Serve in a ministry so the work isn’t on just a few people every week.
To love is to serve.
Refrain from sinning against one another
Romans 13:8-10 Owe nothing to anyone—except for your obligation to love one another. If you love your neighbor, you will fulfill the requirements of God’s law. 9 For the commandments say, “You must not commit adultery. You must not murder. You must not steal. You must not covet.” These—and other such commandments—are summed up in this one commandment: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” 10 Love does no wrong to others, so love fulfills the requirements of God’s law.
Speak well of one another. Do not gossip or slander. Respect each other. Don’t take advantage of another person’s love…Do unto others as you would like them to do to you. But even more so treat each other the way God wants us to.
Encourage and pray for one another
1 Thessalonians 5:10-11 He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him. 11 Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.
Hebrews 3:12-14 See to it, brothers and sisters, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. 13 But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called “Today,” so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness. 14 We have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original conviction firmly to the very end.
James 5:16 Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.
Close
We live in this spiritual family, this vineyard or kingdom together. Let’s lift and hold each other up. The lifting in the metaphor of the vine and branches doesn't work as much but other trees in creation remind us to do this
Redwoods Take Care of Each Other A redwood’s shallow but widespread roots, help them survive by intertwining with the roots of other trees around them. Intertwined root systems provide stability to these mighty trees during strong winds and floods - quite literally holding one another down. Redwoods can often be seen growing in circles, known as “fairy rings” or “family circles”, because they sprouted from the roots of a parent tree. The parent tree helps to nourish the sprouts with water and sugars through its well-established root system while they grow. When the parent trees die, the young redwoods continue to grow in the circle shielding, stabilizing, and nourishing each other through their roots. Redwoods will help each other even if they aren’t “family”. Trees in the ring aren’t always genetically identical or clones of the parent tree. Redwoods take care of one another supporting each other with nutrients through their interconnected roots including their young, sick and old. We’re also just beginning to learn about how trees like redwoods communicate and work together https://sempervirens.org/webinars/discovering-the-wisdom-of-the-forest-suzanne-simard/
1 John 4:12 No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is brought to full expression in us.
Discussion:
What is one thing from the message that resonated with you?
What did Pastor Ryan mean when he said you are not the only branch in the vineyard?
In what ways do you excel in showing the love of God? In what areas can you improve?
When Pastor Ryan encouraged us to serve and care for one another, did anyone specific come to mind? What is the need and how can you serve this person?
Do you have any prayer needs?
What additional notes did you make during the sermon?
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!