I AM: The True Vine
Easter 2021 | John 15:1-11 | Ryan Falls, Senior Pastor
I. The longing for growth
- Is a longing to be remembered
- By becoming a person of integrity and wholeness
- By achieving significance through accomplishment
- By being loved through deep connection
- The two trees
- The Tree of Life – growth with God
- Genesis 2:8-9
- Proverbs 3:18
- Proverbs 11:30
- Revelation 22:1-2
- The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil – growth on our own
- Genesis 3:22-24
- The Tree of Life – growth with God
II.The method of growth
- Organic
- Internal
- Natural
- Connected
- Seasonal
- Inevitable
III. The possibility of growth
- Jesus went to the tree we chose so that we could become connected to the one we need
- He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. (1 Peter 2:24)
- Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree” (Galatians 3:13)
- You are remembered. Live a life of remembrance.
“Now I have had most of the life I am going to have, and I can see what it has been. I can remember those early years when it seemed to me I was cut completely adrift, and times when, looking back at earlier times, it seemed I had been wandering in the dark woods of error. But now it looks to me as though I was following a path that was laid out for me, unbroken, and maybe even as straight as possible, from one end to the other, and I have this feeling, which never leaves me anymore, that I have been led.”
–Wendell Berry
Discussion Questions:
- What stood out to you from the passage or message?
- How do you see growth happening in your life right now?
- What is your takeaway for this week?