Theological Status: COMPROMISED (Worldly/Sloppy)
Biblical Parallel(Archetype): Pergamum
❓ What do these grades mean?
🔍 Biblical Discernment: The 7 Church Parallels
The Cold Orthodox Parallel
Ephesus
Teaching that upholds doctrinal precision yet parallels the loss of the "first love"—the vital, motivating power of the Gospel (Rev 2:4).
The Compromised Parallel
Pergamum
Teaching that parallels churches tolerating the "doctrine of Balaam" through cultural accommodation (Rev 2:14), characterized by weak boundaries, sloppy theology, and worldly compromise.
Why strictly "Mark & Avoid"?
We do not issue this rating to attack the speaker, but to protect the listener. This ministry's overall teaching trend consistently deviates from sound doctrine. As per Romans 16:17, we identify these patterns so believers can guard their hearts.
We do not issue this rating to attack the speaker, but to protect the listener. This ministry's overall teaching trend consistently deviates from sound doctrine. As per Romans 16:17, we identify these patterns so believers can guard their hearts.
🧐 Overview
Theological Verdict & Summary
Sermon Summary: A practical guide to spiritual fruitfulness that challenges believers to move beyond intellectual knowledge to a lived, habitual connection with Jesus.
Pastoral Analysis: The sermon offers a compelling, accessible message on abiding in Christ, utilizing relatable illustrations and interactive elements to engage the congregation. However, the homiletical approach leans heavily into moralistic and behavioral strategies, such as visualization and self-examination exercises, which risk obscuring the monergistic work of the Holy Spirit. Additionally, the administration of communion lacked the necessary biblical warnings regarding self-examination, presenting a significant liturgical oversight.
Biblical Parallel (Archetype): Pergamum — The sermon exhibits a compromised theological stance by tolerating a homiletical imbalance that leans heavily toward moralism and self-help mechanics. While it maintains a surface-level connection to Christ, it fails to establish firm boundaries against human effort, presenting spiritual fruitfulness as achievable through visualization and behavioral commands rather than relying purely on the Gospel's transformative power.
Big Idea: By abiding in Jesus through receiving His presence and submitting to His pruning, believers bear spiritual fruit that impacts their lives and generations. [00:14:01 ▶️ 📄]
📖 How they Handle Scripture & Jesus
- Primary Text: John 15
- Usage Classification: Thematic
- Text-to-Talk Ratio: Moderate
- Pulpit Decorum: ⚠️ CAUTION - The use of visualization exercises and physical gestures (holding hands out, writing on cards) during a sermon on spiritual abiding may blur the lines between preaching and therapeutic activity, potentially distracting from the proclamation of the Word.
✝️ Christological Focus: Moralistic/Imitative
"While Christ is the center of the metaphor, the application focuses on the believer's actions (abiding, pruning, asking) as the primary drivers of fruitfulness, rather than Christ's finished work and the Spirit's power."
Scripture Saturation: Verses Read: 5 | Referenced: 5 | Alluded: 0
📖 View 1 Passages Read Aloud
-
John 15:1-5
[00:13:11 ▶️ 📄]
"I am the true vine and my father is the vine dresser every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes that it may bear more fruit already you are clean because of the word that i have spoken to you. Abide in me and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit. For apart from me, you could do nothing."
Key References: John 15:4, John 15:7, Matthew 11:28-30, Leviticus 26:9, Psalm 1:3
💧 Liturgy & Sacraments
Fencing the Table (Communion):
- Believers Only Stated: ❌ No (Open Table Risk)
- Warning Against Unworthy Manner: ⚠️ None Detected
- Open Invitation: 🔴 Active Commission (Unbelievers Explicitly Invited)
- Verbatim Warning: "So whatever you grabbed earlier, bread, crackers, juice, grapes, those are going to be your communion elements for today. And as you take them, just as Jesus did with his friends, remember because of his death resurrection you don't have to strive to earn connection with god already have access to him his spirit is with you every day not just in church moments so as you eat the grape remember that jesus died for you and he beat death so that your life could produce fruit we bear fruit not because of how hard we work and how good we are but because god is good and we're connected to him Take it, taste and see that God is good."
🎙️ Sermon Content & Delivery
Word Count: 3,914 words
📌 View 11 Key Topics Addressed
-
Abiding in Christ
[00:18:03 ▶️ 📄]
> The pastor defines 'abide' as staying, remaining, and dwelling in Jesus' love, using the metaphor of sitting on a couch with Jesus to illustrate a state of being rather than doing. -
Receiving from God
[00:21:05 ▶️ 📄]
> The first phase of bearing fruit is receiving; the pastor encourages the congregation to identify what they need (e.g., rest) and ask God for it, emphasizing God's desire to give gifts to those who love Him. -
Pruning
[00:28:42 ▶️ 📄]
> The second phase involves pruning, which the pastor reframes from a painful negative to a productive necessity, using a personal anecdote about shopping to illustrate cutting away good things to focus on what is essential. -
Overcoming Distraction and Shame
[00:15:22 ▶️ 📄]
> The pastor addresses the normalcy of distractions during prayer and the feeling of unworthiness, urging believers to believe God loves them and is for them, not ashamed of them. -
Pruning and Fruitfulness
[00:29:00 ▶️ 📄]
> The pastor uses the metaphor of pruning a vine and shopping at Sam's Club to explain that God removes both unhealthy and healthy things to increase spiritual fruitfulness. -
Trust and Submission
[00:31:14 ▶️ 📄]
> The pastor encourages the congregation to submit to God's pruning, acknowledging that Jesus knows what needs to be cut back for their good. -
Generational Impact
[00:42:16 ▶️ 📄]
> The pastor expands the definition of fruit to include generational impact, using his personal prayer for his daughters' marriages as an example of 'too good to be true' fruit. -
Communion and Remembrance
[00:50:37 ▶️ 📄]
> The pastor transitions to communion, framing the meal as a reminder of God's goodness and the ease of abiding in Him. -
Communion and Remembrance
[00:50:37 ▶️ 📄]
> The pastor connects the physical act of eating bread and wine/juice to remembering Jesus' death and resurrection, emphasizing that believers already have access to God. -
Abiding and Fruitfulness
[00:51:33 ▶️ 📄]
> The pastor explains that spiritual fruit is a result of connection to God rather than human effort, comparing abiding to the simplicity of having a snack. -
Divine Presence in Silence
[00:52:18 ▶️ 📄]
> The pastor shares a personal reflection on experiencing silence in prayer, asserting that God is moving even when He is not felt or sensed.
🖼️ View 6 Illustrations & Stories
-
Sermon Illustration
[00:29:13 ▶️ 📄]
> The pastor shares a personal anecdote about going to Sam's Club to buy only toilet paper but ending up with a cart full of other items (like peanut butter pretzel bites), which he then has to 'prune' or remove, illustrating the concept of cutting away good things to focus on the essential. -
Sermon Illustration
[00:18:47 ▶️ 📄]
> The pastor uses a hypothetical scenario of sitting on a couch with Jesus to help the congregation visualize 'abiding' and creating space to hear God's voice without distraction. -
Sermon Illustration
[00:29:24 ▶️ 📄]
> The pastor shares a personal anecdote about going to Sam's Club to buy only toilet paper but ending up with a cart full of other items like peanut butter pretzels, which he then has to 'prune' (remove) at checkout. He uses this to illustrate how God prunes good things from our lives. -
Sermon Illustration
[00:32:52 ▶️ 📄]
> The pastor imagines a scenario where a Sam's Club worker gives him a 70-inch TV in exchange for removing some items from his cart, illustrating the 'too good to be true' nature of God's pruning. -
Sermon Illustration
[00:45:04 ▶️ 📄]
> The pastor shares a personal story about his prayer life, specifically praying for his three daughters to find godly husbands and stay married, noting that this feels like 'generational fruit' that is too good to be true given his family history of divorce. -
Sermon Illustration
[00:52:18 ▶️ 📄]
> The pastor shares a personal anecdote about his own prayer life, contrasting moments of deep, profound connection with God against many more moments of silence, using this to illustrate that God moves even when He is not felt.
🚀 View 10 Calls to Action
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Pastoral Charge
[00:15:44 ▶️ 📄]
> Return focus to God when distracted during the prayer experience. -
Pastoral Charge
[00:18:57 ▶️ 📄]
> Close eyes to facilitate visualization. -
Pastoral Charge
[00:22:21 ▶️ 📄]
> Write the word 'receive' on the provided card. -
Pastoral Charge
[00:22:51 ▶️ 📄]
> Identify and write down specific things needed from Jesus. -
Pastoral Charge
[00:24:02 ▶️ 📄]
> Offer written needs to Jesus in prayer. -
Pastoral Charge
[00:26:44 ▶️ 📄]
> Write down a need to receive from God. -
Pastoral Charge
[00:34:58 ▶️ 📄]
> Write down specific things in their life that need to be removed or pruned. -
Pastoral Charge
[00:45:58 ▶️ 📄]
> Write down a 'too good to be true' generational fruit or impact they believe God could produce through their life. -
Pastoral Charge
[00:51:48 ▶️ 📄]
> Participate in communion by eating the bread and grapes while remembering Jesus' sacrifice and presence. -
Pastoral Charge
[00:51:48 ▶️ 📄]
> Eat the communion elements while actively remembering God's goodness and practicing the habit of turning one's mind toward God regularly.
🧭 Biblical Alignment Dashboard
Overall Verdict: Compromised / Weak
| Category | Status | Reasoning |
|---|---|---|
| Gospel Presentation | ❌ FAIL | The Gospel Engine is compromised. The sermon relies on behavioral commands and visualization exercises to achieve spiritual fruitfulness without explicitly grounding the message in the Holy Spirit's regenerative work or substantive Gospel grace, resulting in a moralistic framework. |
| Soteriology | ⚠️ WEAK | While justification is implied through grace, the presentation of sanctification leans toward synergism, suggesting that fruitfulness is achieved through human effort and visualization rather than the Spirit's work. |
| Bibliology | ✅ PASS | Scripture is referenced appropriately, though the application of Galatians 5:22-23 is used to contrast the Spirit's fruit with human effort, which is theologically sound, even if the sermon's overall application drifts. |
| Hermeneutic | ✅ PASS | The exegesis of John 15 (the Vine and Branches) is generally sound, focusing on the necessity of connection to Christ. |
| Theology Proper | ✅ PASS | The sermon correctly identifies Jesus as the True Vine and God as the Vinedresser, maintaining orthodox Christological and Trinitarian foundations. |
| Sacramentology | ❌ FAIL | The communion service was administered without the necessary biblical warning against partaking in an unworthy manner, failing to instruct the congregation to examine themselves before eating the bread and drinking the cup. |
| Confessional Depth | ❌ SHALLOW | The sermon focuses on practical, experiential applications (visualization, physical gestures) rather than deep doctrinal exposition of the Gospel's power to transform. |
⚙️ The Core Gospel Framework
What is this? This section checks if the sermon contains the essential building blocks of the Gospel. We look for explicit, substantive mentions of God's holy standard, human inability, and Christ's finished work on the cross.
Why it matters for the final verdict: A complete Gospel framework protects a sermon from becoming man-centered. If a preacher gives commands for good behavior but leaves out the grace and atonement of the Gospel, it often results in a 🔴 Critical or 🟠 Major error for Moralism (teaching human self-improvement rather than reliance on Christ). However, if these Gospel elements are missing simply because the pastor is preaching a highly focused, practical message to mature believers (e.g., instructions on biblical marriage), our system applies a "Safe Harbor" pardon, graciously reducing the omission to a 🟡 Minor error.
Why it matters for the final verdict: A complete Gospel framework protects a sermon from becoming man-centered. If a preacher gives commands for good behavior but leaves out the grace and atonement of the Gospel, it often results in a 🔴 Critical or 🟠 Major error for Moralism (teaching human self-improvement rather than reliance on Christ). However, if these Gospel elements are missing simply because the pastor is preaching a highly focused, practical message to mature believers (e.g., instructions on biblical marriage), our system applies a "Safe Harbor" pardon, graciously reducing the omission to a 🟡 Minor error.
❌ The Law And Wrath: Not observed in the sermon.
❌ Total Depravity And Inability: Not observed in the sermon.
❌ Active Obedience Of Christ: Not observed in the sermon.
✅ The Cross And Atonement:
"remember that jesus died for you and he beat death so that your life could produce fruit" [00:51:19 ▶️ 📄]
🛡️ Verified Orthodox Mechanics
✅ Union with Christ is essential for spiritual fruitfulness.
✅ God is the Vinedresser who prunes believers for greater productivity.
✅ Communion is a reminder of Christ's sacrifice and our access to Him.
⚠️ Theological Concerns
🟠 Major Homiletical Imbalance (Moralism)
Root Cause: Moralism
The Belief/Behavior: The message implies that spiritual growth is primarily a result of human effort, such as visualizing abiding or writing down needs, rather than the monergistic work of the Holy Spirit.
Why It's Dangerous: This creates a moralistic framework where believers may feel they must strive to produce fruit through their own willpower, leading to burnout or pride, rather than resting in the Gospel's transformative power.
Biblical Correction: Galatians 5:22-22 "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faithfulness, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law."
🟠 Major Failure to Fence
Root Cause: Liturgical Negligence
""So whatever you grabbed earlier, bread, crackers, juice, grapes, those are going to be your communion elements for today. And as you take them, just as Jesus did with his friends, remember because of his death resurrection you don't have to strive to earn connection with god already have access to him his spirit is with you every day not just in church moments so as you eat the grape remember that jesus died for you and he beat death so that your life could produce fruit we bear fruit not because of how hard we work and how good we are but because god is good and we're connected to him Take it, taste and see that God is good."" [00:50:37 ▶️ 📄]
The Belief/Behavior: The pastor states, 'So whatever you grabbed earlier... those are going to be your communion elements for today... Take it, taste and see that God is good,' without mentioning self-examination or the danger of partaking in an unworthy manner.
Why It's Dangerous: This omission fails to protect the congregation from partaking in judgment due to unconfessed sin or lack of discernment, violating the apostolic instruction in 1 Corinthians 11.
Biblical Correction: 1 Corinthians 11:27-29 "Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup. For he that eateth and drinketh eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, if he discern not the Lord's body."
✅ Commendations
Illustration | Relatable Analogies
The use of the Sam's Club anecdote to illustrate 'pruning' is highly effective and accessible, helping the congregation understand the concept of removing good things for greater spiritual gain.
Application | Practical Engagement
The sermon provides concrete, actionable steps for the congregation to engage with the message, such as writing down specific needs and identifying spiritual fruit, which encourages personal reflection.
Tone | Pastoral Warmth
The pastor shares personal vulnerabilities, such as his need for rest and his prayers for his daughters, creating a sense of authenticity and connection with the congregation.
📜 Full Sermon Transcript (Audit)
Use the 📄 icons next to quotes above to automatically jump to their location in this raw transcript.
[00:00:00] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]
[00:00:00] Learn about God or to hear what other people think about him, but to experience him for yourself.
[00:00:05] So here's a few things that will help you get the most out of today. A pen, something to write on, and then bread and juice or something for communion at the end. Go ahead and pause this
[00:00:17] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_04]
[00:00:17] video to grab those things and come back when you're ready. I like the path, so that's my prayer for us today. That wherever we are, if we're in a season of where trusting you is easy, and if we're
[00:11:00] in a time where trusting you is hard to even feel like can be realistic. God, will we just take a first step toward you to do away with having all the answers, be able to trust you in every step
[00:11:18] because that's where you are. You want to walk with us. You want to be with us. So we see you a little bit more today. It's in Jesus name we pray. Amen. You can celebrate this opportunity
[00:11:37] we get to get, we get to worship the Lord together as a community. This doesn't happen anywhere else.
[00:11:44] And if you're new here, if this is your first time, I want to say I love that you came today.
[00:11:50] And what I'm getting ready to say, maybe you can tune me out a little bit because while this weekend is a little bit different, there's something that we do every weekend for those of us who call this place home. We trust God with our money so that we can give to the incredible
[00:12:07] things he's doing in this city, in this church, and in the world. And I like to think that if I can test it, I can trust it. And I've put this thing to the test with God month after month
[00:12:21] with my paycheck, with my pocket, in trusting him. And it's been a discipline that's helped me grow in my reliance on God and trusting him. If you want to join me in that, if you feel a little
[00:12:34] nudge in that today you can do that with me at crossoaks.net slash give hey won't you turn to someone around you real quick and give them your credit card number and your password don't do
[00:12:46] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[00:12:46] that just say hey we're a big family and then you can have a seat we're in the new testament in the gospel according to john this is a first-hand biography of jesus by one of his
[00:13:11] closest friends in it john records seven iconic i am statements that jesus made seven metaphors seven self-portraits of the living god i am the true vine and my father is the vine dresser every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away and every branch that does bear fruit
[00:13:33] he prunes that it may bear more fruit already you are clean because of the word that i have spoken to you. Abide in me and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in
[00:13:46] the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit. For apart from me, you could do nothing.
[00:14:01] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]
[00:14:01] Hey, good morning. Good morning. Good morning. Happy Sunday morning. If you're watching online, My name's Greg. If you've never met before, if you're online, I have the privilege of leading all of our physical sites. If you're in this room, you're going to be very confused because you like
[00:14:23] me as long as I talk for three minutes at a time. Any more than three minutes and you're looking at the counter like, is this guy done yet? So today I'm leading the whole thing, baby. Start to finish.
[00:14:34] Start to finish. It's going to be a little different today. It's going to be a little different today. And I think you're going to like it. A lot of times you come into Crossroads and
[00:14:43] it's, I don't know, it's a little more sit and get. And so Justin and Cash and the band, they bring amazing music. And then one of our teachers, you sit and listen for 30, sometimes 40, sometimes 50
[00:14:54] minutes. And then we send you out and maybe you have time to process what God said, maybe you don't. Today's going to be different because today we're going to create space upon space upon space
[00:15:05] between musics, between prayer prompts for you to actually hear the voice of God. Now, if you're new to something like this, to what we call around here a prayer experience, if you're new, I want to give you a couple of rails. The first of which is you've got to know that distractions
[00:15:22] are totally normal. Totally normal. Every single morning, I try to start my day before I do anything else in the Crossroads app, reading scripture, praying, and without fail, I'm reading and then a little notification pops up. Oh, let's see who wrote on my Facebook wall. And before you
[00:15:39] know it, I'm over here. So just when that happens today, not if, but when, just bring yourself back.
[00:15:44] Bring yourself back.
[00:15:44] That's okay.
[00:15:46] And the other thing is maybe more important.
[00:15:49] For this to work today, you have got to believe that God loves you.
[00:15:56] You've got to believe that he loves you.
[00:15:58] You've got to believe that he wants you to be connected to him.
[00:16:04] If right now you're in this space and you're going, I don't know.
[00:16:07] I think God might be a little ashamed of me today.
[00:16:11] I walked in and he might be thinking, how dare they think they can go to church.
[00:16:14] You're probably going to have a blockage. So you've got to know from the start that God is for you. He loves you. He even likes you. And so when you hear his voice today, know that's from him.
[00:16:28] Jesus says it this way. He says, hey, all you who are weary, who are heavy laden. I know some of us had to come in today a little tired, a little weary, a little heavy laden. Jesus says, come to
[00:16:39] me and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you for my yoke is easy and my burden is light.
[00:16:46] He's got something light for you today. You can encounter him in that way. So this series, we're talking about the seven I am statements of Jesus. We've unpacked a little bit. I am the way, the
[00:16:58] truth, and the life. Last week, I am the bread of life. Today, I am the true vine. And so as we go through this vine metaphor of Jesus saying, I'm the true vine, what we're going to be thinking
[00:17:09] about is the process by which a vine bears fruit. Having never read John 15 and maybe only having elementary level understanding of science, we would all probably say that, okay, for something to bear fruit, it's first got to receive some nutrients. It's got to get what it needs from
[00:17:25] the soil, sunlight, water. Then some things need to actually be pruned. They need to be cut back in order to finally bear fruit, to blossom, to flower, to have generational fruit season after season.
[00:17:39] Jesus takes us through this exact same metaphor.
[00:17:44] Look at what he says in John 15, verse four.
[00:17:47] Abide in me and I in you, as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine.
[00:17:57] Neither can you unless you abide in me.
[00:18:03] We call this the abide experience, and for the purposes of today, abide just means to stay, to remain, to stay in his love, to dwell there. For me, I'm someone who loves to do, so I want to,
[00:18:20] okay, what do I have to do to abide? Well, that's the wrong question to ask, because abiding is actually more of a state of being. How can we be in his love? How can we stay there? How can we
[00:18:32] remain. So maybe for purposes of today, you might be wondering what this big couch is. I'm going to sit on this because it's easier for me to imagine that I'm in a state of abiding if I'm sitting.
[00:18:47] And not just sitting, but if I invite someone next to me. Why don't you close your eyes?
[00:18:57] Maybe you're at home already on a couch, but if you're in a room and you're in a movie theater style seat, I want you to take yourself somewhere else. I want you to imagine, I want you to imagine
[00:19:08] that you're on a couch, and if you can, that Jesus is next to you. I want you to imagine him saying, stay with me. Relax. Sit back. I have so much more I want to show you and give you. What if you took
[00:19:37] the time to stay beside Jesus today? What if you were able to have a back and forth conversation?
[00:19:47] What if he even gave yourself permission to listen and not run away, scoot a little closer to him?
[00:19:57] Like I said earlier, he wants to know you and not the church version of you, not the package version of you, the real you.
[00:20:06] The parts you're embarrassed about, the parts you're working on.
[00:20:09] He doesn't need you to be perfect today.
[00:20:14] In fact, maybe he just whispers to you right now, you don't need to be perfect.
[00:20:20] You can be the most real version of yourself right now.
[00:20:27] here's how this is going to work. For the rest of our time, I'm going to be guiding us through a series of prompts and prayers that'll help us spend time in the presence of Jesus. The band's
[00:20:41] going to play some music to help us out. And this time around, you don't need to sing. You don't need to stand. Stay on the couch. For the best you can, use your imagination to be present
[00:20:56] with Jesus. Now, the first part of this exercise is to receive. Receive. I'll tell you, I wish that I had bucket list memories of going to Napa Valley, of going to real vineyards.
[00:21:18] I actually have never been to a real vineyard. The closest I've ever been to a real vineyard is Colerain Township. And the only mountain I was looking at was Mount Rumpke Dump. So I don't really get the vineyard thing, but like I said earlier, I think we can wrap our mind around
[00:21:34] the fact that every vine, in order to bear fruit, first needs to receive. Receive. John 15 verse 7 says this, if you abide in me and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish and it will be done
[00:21:58] for you. Remember, when you hear those words, abide, stay, remain, get back on the couch with Jesus. When he came in, you got a card. I want you to take that out right now. And in the upper
[00:22:21] left-hand corner, our first prompt, I just want you to write the word receive. Receive. Jesus says that he is the true vine. And those of us who are following him, we are branches. Branches that he designed to bear fruit,
[00:22:38] but that we will only bear fruit if we are connected to him.
[00:22:44] And so I just ask you right now, what do you need to receive from Jesus today?
[00:22:51] We're gonna put a laundry list of things on your screen if you need help getting started.
[00:22:59] Maybe it's hard to think about what you would receive.
[00:23:05] You gotta know that God is a good dad and he wants to give gifts to those who love him.
[00:23:14] So for me, I don't even need the list.
[00:23:19] Our family's going on a long scheduled vacation this week and I'm just writing down rest.
[00:23:25] I go on vacation with agendas and I know left to my own will, I will come back exhausted.
[00:23:32] And so I might say, God, I need rest only you can give.
[00:23:51] And as you write down the one, maybe couple few things that you need to receive, maybe try turning to Jesus and offering it to him as a prayer.
[00:24:02] something like, God, I need rest. Would you give it to me while we sing this song over you?
[00:24:44] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]
[00:24:44] Or writing, know what we need to receive. But I have to imagine there's a few of you in here,
[00:26:05] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]
[00:26:05] maybe you're newer, maybe you're in the back. And right now you're going, I don't think I can ask God for anything. Maybe, maybe some of the lyrics to that song of just feeling a sense of
[00:26:18] worthlessness. It's like, like when you owe someone something and you're not good with them and you see them in public and you sort of turn the other way, that Jesus is still on the couch. You haven't
[00:26:29] been able to look at him yet. You need to know he's good and he is for you. He is for you. He already knows all of you and he invites you to ask. He doesn't just invite you to ask, he tells you to.
[00:26:43] He tells you to.
[00:26:44] So I'd say if you still have a blank card, write something down that you need to receive from your dad.
[00:28:25] We've got these sections today we're going to be moving through, but God might not move you to the next one.
[00:28:30] You may be stuck and receive all day, and that's okay.
[00:28:34] But for purposes of our time together, I'm going to move us to the next phase of the process, which is pruning.
[00:28:42] Pruning.
[00:28:43] I don't know if you're anything like me, but I would put that into the negative column of words.
[00:28:48] pruning to cut away it to me it feels like it's a painful thing and so I have to even remember today that no Jesus says that if I want to bear fruit this is a part of the process and it's not
[00:29:00] a painful thing it's a productive thing so I think about pruning maybe I get out of the vineyard for a second because I would imagine that there have been times in my life where I've intentionally
[00:29:13] pruned and I wasn't even aware of it maybe you have too every once in a while Abby will say hey babe, will you run up to Sam's club and get fill in the blank toilet paper? And then she'll, she'll
[00:29:24] say only toilet paper. I wish I had a Costco. We have a Sam's club. So I go and I get the toilet paper and I put it in the cart and they're so big. There's still so much more room in the cart.
[00:29:38] And then I walk by and then something catches my eye. Like the big jumbo peanut butter filled pretzel bites, throw them in, you know, throw a couple other things in and you get to the
[00:29:52] checkout and you realize, oh no, I have so much more than just toilet paper in my cart. And on a good day, what do I do? I prune. I prune some of the choices. I prune. They're good things. They're
[00:30:05] all good things in there. I wouldn't have put them in if they weren't good, but I know some of it's got to go. Let's go back to the vineyard. Every vine that bears fruit has to be pruned. There are
[00:30:19] healthy things that need to be pruned back. And there are unhealthy, dying, dead things that need to be sheer cut off. You know, sometimes 80 to 90% of the vine is cut off. It's so severe that the
[00:30:34] vine often looks dead. And yet this is the process that allows it to bear the most fruit. John 15, too. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit, he takes away. And every branch that does bear
[00:30:52] fruit, he prunes that it may bear more fruit. He takes some away, and even the good ones, he prunes. Important for this morning that we remember, we are not the ones holding the pruning shears. We're not going to prune ourselves today. We're going to remember that Jesus is next
[00:31:14] to us and remember that he sees something in our lives that we cannot he knows what needs to go he knows what needs to be cut back and he knows ultimately he has good things for us
[00:31:29] what if this morning you were able to look at him and say something pretty dangerous to tell him that jesus i i trust you and if there's something in my life that needs cut out
[00:31:51] I submit to your pruning.
[00:31:56] Read that verse again.
[00:31:59] Every branch in me that does not bear fruit, he takes away.
[00:32:04] And every branch that does bear fruit, he prunes that it may bear more fruit.
[00:32:11] This is an exercise in fruitfulness.
[00:32:15] You know, anytime Jesus says something radical like that, it's usually followed with something that feels way too good to be true.
[00:32:23] And so in this part, as he talks about pruning, the afterword isn't that we're bare.
[00:32:29] The afterword is we have more fruit in our lives than we could have possibly imagined because we endured his pruning.
[00:32:37] Let's go back to our shopping club metaphor, your Costco, your Sam's.
[00:32:44] What if not only you had to take some good things out of your cart?
[00:32:47] What if a worker came up to me and said, Greg, we just want to thank you for your loyalty.
[00:32:52] We've got a 70 inch flat screen tv for you today. We would love to put in your car We just need to remove a few things so that it can fit I wouldn't say no. Thank you. I'm really attached to those pretzels
[00:33:04] I'd say bring it on Bring it on that example Sounds way too good to be true because no sam's employee is going to give me a 70 inch tv and you may think right now
[00:33:16] That there is no god who's going to take something out of your life and give you something better, but that's the god that invites you to the table today.
[00:33:26] That's the Jesus on the couch with you.
[00:33:30] So I want you to go back there.
[00:33:32] Go back there right now.
[00:33:34] Jesus is beside you.
[00:33:36] He's still smiling at you.
[00:33:38] He's still excited just to spend this time with you.
[00:33:43] And I'm gonna give you some language for a prayer, for a conversation and just see what comes to mind.
[00:33:50] You can agree with me in this prayer.
[00:33:55] Examine my heart, God.
[00:33:57] What needs to be cut off?
[00:34:00] what needs to be pruned what good things need to be strengthened what needs my attention what needs to be emptied speak to us what was the thing you said you wanted to receive from God
[00:34:33] maybe look look back at what you wrote down and ask yourself the question is there anything that needs to go before I can actually receive this we've got a song that we're gonna sing over you
[00:34:50] And while we do, I want you to listen for what Jesus might be telling you, what he might be pointing at that's not bearing fruit in your life.
[00:34:58] And when you've got it, I want you to write down what needs to be cut off.
[00:35:54] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_04]
[00:35:54] I'm writing.
[00:37:49] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]
[00:37:49] My list isn't full of things that need to be cut off, but things are coming to mind that do need cut back.
[00:37:57] They do need a gentle pruning.
[00:38:00] I'm curious to you.
[00:38:01] Are there good things in your life, but they've maybe outgrown their territory?
[00:38:07] I love my job.
[00:38:09] I love the people I work with.
[00:38:11] And I also know if I really wanna frustrate my family, do email at the dinner table.
[00:38:18] That's gotta be pruned back.
[00:38:23] I'm curious for you, not just the things that need cut off, but what needs to be pruned?
[00:38:31] What needs to be pruned?
[00:38:32] Is your calendar too full?
[00:38:33] are you doing too much try to keep up on too many social media platforms too many relationships what are the good things in your life that may need a gentle pruning i want to do a physical
[00:39:02] exercise i want you to take your hands and put them out close your eyes if it's helpful and those things that you wrote down the things that need cut off and the areas that need pruned i
[00:39:15] want you to hold them. I want you to hold them. Maybe some of us are, our hands are cupped because we were sort of ashamed of this thing that needs to be cut out. Maybe because we tried to cut it
[00:39:31] out before with no luck. And so we're just hiding it. Maybe, maybe it's something so precious to us that we've got a closed grip on it. We're saying, God, I think, I think you want to prune this, but
[00:39:45] I'm having a hard time putting it forward.
[00:39:50] Whatever your posture is, I want you to remember you're not alone as you hold those things, but that Jesus is next to you.
[00:40:00] And when you're ready to look at him with those things, you can say, Jesus, they're yours.
[00:40:08] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]
[00:40:08] you can stay there as long as you need to i'm going to move us to our goal for today our aim
[00:40:57] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]
[00:40:57] from the very beginning the promise of abiding is that we may someday bear fruit bearing fruit is not unique to just John 15 where Jesus talks about being the true vine. It's all through scripture. Leviticus 26 verse 9 says, I will turn to you and make you fruitful and multiply you
[00:41:18] and will confirm my covenant with you. And Psalm chapter 1 verse 3 says, he's like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in season and its leaf does not wither. And all he
[00:41:36] does, he prospers. Remember what Jesus says about producing fruit, that abiding in him is the only way, period. So get back on the couch, get back on the couch and allow him to produce good fruit in
[00:41:56] you. You know, if we make the choice to remain in him by taking time to sit with him, we can bear fruit that not only changes our lives, but it could change generations. It could change
[00:42:16] the kingdom of God and bring it to earth as it is in heaven. The fruit that he has for you to bear may be so much greater than what you're possibly able to imagine for yourself. We're not talking
[00:42:30] about fruit just to be provisioned and to sustain. I'm talking about the fruit that he uniquely designed you and you alone to bear. This can be difficult to actually picture that kind of fruit in the same way that some of us might have had a hard time writing down what we wanted to receive
[00:42:50] from God because we just thought, man, I'm not in a posture to ask anything right now. And we asked them anyway. It might be even more of a stretch for you to believe that your life was designed
[00:43:01] to bear fruit, not just for today or this week, but for generations. That your life could bear fruit that would have an eternal impact. That is what he made you for. And the beautiful thing
[00:43:14] about this room is that we're an orchard, we're a vineyard, but we don't all bear identical fruit.
[00:43:20] Every single one of us, he designed and wired to bear a specific fruit that only you can bring.
[00:43:27] And God, the keeper of the vineyard, this vine dresser, he wants you to bear it. He wants you to bear it. So grab that card, grab that card, and let's ask God if he would show us a word,
[00:43:48] a phrase, maybe even a picture that you can sketch. God, what's the kind of fruit that you made me to bear? What would the fruit of my life look like? What would it sound like? What would
[00:44:06] it feel like? And if a word comes to your mind, I want you to write it down. We're not going to sing immediately. God, give us a picture of the fruit you made us to bear. I'll give you an example
[00:44:51] for me, kind of a personal one. I told you every day I try to start time reading my Bible and praying. I'm really pretty fine at reading my Bible. Prayer part, I tend to get on with my day,
[00:45:04] and so I put something on the home screen of my phone that just has simple prayer requests, and I've been praying the same ones all year. I pray for my wife. I pray for my three daughters,
[00:45:13] And after I pray for my three daughters, I ask, God, would you prepare godly husbands for them?
[00:45:20] And that feels like something that's pretty bold to ask God that they would receive.
[00:45:26] But when I think of generational fruit, I imagine something that feels impossible to me.
[00:45:31] Because I don't come from a family where my parents stayed married.
[00:45:37] There's a lot of divorce.
[00:45:38] And so the generational fruit that feels too good to be true is not just that God would give them godly husbands.
[00:45:44] but they would actually stay married.
[00:45:46] I think that's fruit that he could bear.
[00:45:52] What's something that feels too good to be true that your life could possibly produce?
[00:45:58] And I want you to write that down.
[00:48:06] When I got nothing, it's okay.
[00:48:08] We thought of you.
[00:48:12] And today, maybe all of us, we need an extra word.
[00:48:18] We need Jesus to tell us if we're on the right track.
[00:48:21] And so if you want a little something extra, whether you're watching online or you're in the room you can go to crossroads.net slash verse v-e-r-s-e our team went through and just chose a bunch of scriptures and what that
[00:48:39] landing page is going to do is it's going to give you one randomly and you can just assume it's the one that God wanted you to have and when you get it I'd even be curious if you you look through
[00:48:51] your page and go, God, is there any through line here that you allowed me to ask for that thing or prune that thing and yet this is the verse you get. Maybe it's confirmation from you that you
[00:49:02] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]
[00:49:02] can hear from him and he wants you to bear fruit. As we come out of that song, maybe one of the
[00:50:37] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]
[00:50:37] greatest blessings is simply remembering God's goodness in your own life. That's what abiding produces fruit and peace and perspective. One of the last things that Jesus did with his followers was share a meal together. He took bread and wine and told them, do this to remember me. So whatever
[00:50:58] you grabbed earlier, bread, crackers, juice, grapes, those are going to be your communion elements for today. And as you take them, just as Jesus did with his friends, remember because of his death resurrection you don't have to strive to earn connection with god already have access to him
[00:51:19] his spirit is with you every day not just in church moments so as you eat the grape remember that jesus died for you and he beat death so that your life could produce fruit we bear fruit not
[00:51:33] because of how hard we work and how good we are but because god is good and we're connected to him Take it, taste and see that God is good.
[00:51:48] And as you eat the bread, remember that abiding in him can be as simple as turning your mind towards him as regularly as you having a snack.
[00:51:57] Take it, taste and see that God is good.
[00:52:07] Maybe you feel a little more peace right now or got some clarity, or maybe you don't.
[00:52:13] For me, I've had moments when I've sat with God that are deep and profound.
[00:52:18] And I've honestly had many more moments where it just felt like there was silence.
[00:52:23] In both cases, I found that God is always moving, even and maybe especially when we can't always see or sense or feel him.
[00:52:34] So whatever you've experienced, my hope is that you don't just leave with notes or ideas, but with a deeper awareness that Jesus is with you and that he's inviting you to stay connected with him all throughout your week.
[00:52:47] We'll see you next week as we continue diving deeper into who Jesus says that he is.
[00:52:51] Until then, have an incredible week remaining and abiding in the presence of God.
[00:00:00] Learn about God or to hear what other people think about him, but to experience him for yourself.
[00:00:05] So here's a few things that will help you get the most out of today. A pen, something to write on, and then bread and juice or something for communion at the end. Go ahead and pause this
[00:00:17] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_04]
[00:00:17] video to grab those things and come back when you're ready. I like the path, so that's my prayer for us today. That wherever we are, if we're in a season of where trusting you is easy, and if we're
[00:11:00] in a time where trusting you is hard to even feel like can be realistic. God, will we just take a first step toward you to do away with having all the answers, be able to trust you in every step
[00:11:18] because that's where you are. You want to walk with us. You want to be with us. So we see you a little bit more today. It's in Jesus name we pray. Amen. You can celebrate this opportunity
[00:11:37] we get to get, we get to worship the Lord together as a community. This doesn't happen anywhere else.
[00:11:44] And if you're new here, if this is your first time, I want to say I love that you came today.
[00:11:50] And what I'm getting ready to say, maybe you can tune me out a little bit because while this weekend is a little bit different, there's something that we do every weekend for those of us who call this place home. We trust God with our money so that we can give to the incredible
[00:12:07] things he's doing in this city, in this church, and in the world. And I like to think that if I can test it, I can trust it. And I've put this thing to the test with God month after month
[00:12:21] with my paycheck, with my pocket, in trusting him. And it's been a discipline that's helped me grow in my reliance on God and trusting him. If you want to join me in that, if you feel a little
[00:12:34] nudge in that today you can do that with me at crossoaks.net slash give hey won't you turn to someone around you real quick and give them your credit card number and your password don't do
[00:12:46] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[00:12:46] that just say hey we're a big family and then you can have a seat we're in the new testament in the gospel according to john this is a first-hand biography of jesus by one of his
[00:13:11] closest friends in it john records seven iconic i am statements that jesus made seven metaphors seven self-portraits of the living god i am the true vine and my father is the vine dresser every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away and every branch that does bear fruit
[00:13:33] he prunes that it may bear more fruit already you are clean because of the word that i have spoken to you. Abide in me and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in
[00:13:46] the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit. For apart from me, you could do nothing.
[00:14:01] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]
[00:14:01] Hey, good morning. Good morning. Good morning. Happy Sunday morning. If you're watching online, My name's Greg. If you've never met before, if you're online, I have the privilege of leading all of our physical sites. If you're in this room, you're going to be very confused because you like
[00:14:23] me as long as I talk for three minutes at a time. Any more than three minutes and you're looking at the counter like, is this guy done yet? So today I'm leading the whole thing, baby. Start to finish.
[00:14:34] Start to finish. It's going to be a little different today. It's going to be a little different today. And I think you're going to like it. A lot of times you come into Crossroads and
[00:14:43] it's, I don't know, it's a little more sit and get. And so Justin and Cash and the band, they bring amazing music. And then one of our teachers, you sit and listen for 30, sometimes 40, sometimes 50
[00:14:54] minutes. And then we send you out and maybe you have time to process what God said, maybe you don't. Today's going to be different because today we're going to create space upon space upon space
[00:15:05] between musics, between prayer prompts for you to actually hear the voice of God. Now, if you're new to something like this, to what we call around here a prayer experience, if you're new, I want to give you a couple of rails. The first of which is you've got to know that distractions
[00:15:22] are totally normal. Totally normal. Every single morning, I try to start my day before I do anything else in the Crossroads app, reading scripture, praying, and without fail, I'm reading and then a little notification pops up. Oh, let's see who wrote on my Facebook wall. And before you
[00:15:39] know it, I'm over here. So just when that happens today, not if, but when, just bring yourself back.
[00:15:44] Bring yourself back.
[00:15:44] That's okay.
[00:15:46] And the other thing is maybe more important.
[00:15:49] For this to work today, you have got to believe that God loves you.
[00:15:56] You've got to believe that he loves you.
[00:15:58] You've got to believe that he wants you to be connected to him.
[00:16:04] If right now you're in this space and you're going, I don't know.
[00:16:07] I think God might be a little ashamed of me today.
[00:16:11] I walked in and he might be thinking, how dare they think they can go to church.
[00:16:14] You're probably going to have a blockage. So you've got to know from the start that God is for you. He loves you. He even likes you. And so when you hear his voice today, know that's from him.
[00:16:28] Jesus says it this way. He says, hey, all you who are weary, who are heavy laden. I know some of us had to come in today a little tired, a little weary, a little heavy laden. Jesus says, come to
[00:16:39] me and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you for my yoke is easy and my burden is light.
[00:16:46] He's got something light for you today. You can encounter him in that way. So this series, we're talking about the seven I am statements of Jesus. We've unpacked a little bit. I am the way, the
[00:16:58] truth, and the life. Last week, I am the bread of life. Today, I am the true vine. And so as we go through this vine metaphor of Jesus saying, I'm the true vine, what we're going to be thinking
[00:17:09] about is the process by which a vine bears fruit. Having never read John 15 and maybe only having elementary level understanding of science, we would all probably say that, okay, for something to bear fruit, it's first got to receive some nutrients. It's got to get what it needs from
[00:17:25] the soil, sunlight, water. Then some things need to actually be pruned. They need to be cut back in order to finally bear fruit, to blossom, to flower, to have generational fruit season after season.
[00:17:39] Jesus takes us through this exact same metaphor.
[00:17:44] Look at what he says in John 15, verse four.
[00:17:47] Abide in me and I in you, as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine.
[00:17:57] Neither can you unless you abide in me.
[00:18:03] We call this the abide experience, and for the purposes of today, abide just means to stay, to remain, to stay in his love, to dwell there. For me, I'm someone who loves to do, so I want to,
[00:18:20] okay, what do I have to do to abide? Well, that's the wrong question to ask, because abiding is actually more of a state of being. How can we be in his love? How can we stay there? How can we
[00:18:32] remain. So maybe for purposes of today, you might be wondering what this big couch is. I'm going to sit on this because it's easier for me to imagine that I'm in a state of abiding if I'm sitting.
[00:18:47] And not just sitting, but if I invite someone next to me. Why don't you close your eyes?
[00:18:57] Maybe you're at home already on a couch, but if you're in a room and you're in a movie theater style seat, I want you to take yourself somewhere else. I want you to imagine, I want you to imagine
[00:19:08] that you're on a couch, and if you can, that Jesus is next to you. I want you to imagine him saying, stay with me. Relax. Sit back. I have so much more I want to show you and give you. What if you took
[00:19:37] the time to stay beside Jesus today? What if you were able to have a back and forth conversation?
[00:19:47] What if he even gave yourself permission to listen and not run away, scoot a little closer to him?
[00:19:57] Like I said earlier, he wants to know you and not the church version of you, not the package version of you, the real you.
[00:20:06] The parts you're embarrassed about, the parts you're working on.
[00:20:09] He doesn't need you to be perfect today.
[00:20:14] In fact, maybe he just whispers to you right now, you don't need to be perfect.
[00:20:20] You can be the most real version of yourself right now.
[00:20:27] here's how this is going to work. For the rest of our time, I'm going to be guiding us through a series of prompts and prayers that'll help us spend time in the presence of Jesus. The band's
[00:20:41] going to play some music to help us out. And this time around, you don't need to sing. You don't need to stand. Stay on the couch. For the best you can, use your imagination to be present
[00:20:56] with Jesus. Now, the first part of this exercise is to receive. Receive. I'll tell you, I wish that I had bucket list memories of going to Napa Valley, of going to real vineyards.
[00:21:18] I actually have never been to a real vineyard. The closest I've ever been to a real vineyard is Colerain Township. And the only mountain I was looking at was Mount Rumpke Dump. So I don't really get the vineyard thing, but like I said earlier, I think we can wrap our mind around
[00:21:34] the fact that every vine, in order to bear fruit, first needs to receive. Receive. John 15 verse 7 says this, if you abide in me and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish and it will be done
[00:21:58] for you. Remember, when you hear those words, abide, stay, remain, get back on the couch with Jesus. When he came in, you got a card. I want you to take that out right now. And in the upper
[00:22:21] left-hand corner, our first prompt, I just want you to write the word receive. Receive. Jesus says that he is the true vine. And those of us who are following him, we are branches. Branches that he designed to bear fruit,
[00:22:38] but that we will only bear fruit if we are connected to him.
[00:22:44] And so I just ask you right now, what do you need to receive from Jesus today?
[00:22:51] We're gonna put a laundry list of things on your screen if you need help getting started.
[00:22:59] Maybe it's hard to think about what you would receive.
[00:23:05] You gotta know that God is a good dad and he wants to give gifts to those who love him.
[00:23:14] So for me, I don't even need the list.
[00:23:19] Our family's going on a long scheduled vacation this week and I'm just writing down rest.
[00:23:25] I go on vacation with agendas and I know left to my own will, I will come back exhausted.
[00:23:32] And so I might say, God, I need rest only you can give.
[00:23:51] And as you write down the one, maybe couple few things that you need to receive, maybe try turning to Jesus and offering it to him as a prayer.
[00:24:02] something like, God, I need rest. Would you give it to me while we sing this song over you?
[00:24:44] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]
[00:24:44] Or writing, know what we need to receive. But I have to imagine there's a few of you in here,
[00:26:05] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]
[00:26:05] maybe you're newer, maybe you're in the back. And right now you're going, I don't think I can ask God for anything. Maybe, maybe some of the lyrics to that song of just feeling a sense of
[00:26:18] worthlessness. It's like, like when you owe someone something and you're not good with them and you see them in public and you sort of turn the other way, that Jesus is still on the couch. You haven't
[00:26:29] been able to look at him yet. You need to know he's good and he is for you. He is for you. He already knows all of you and he invites you to ask. He doesn't just invite you to ask, he tells you to.
[00:26:43] He tells you to.
[00:26:44] So I'd say if you still have a blank card, write something down that you need to receive from your dad.
[00:28:25] We've got these sections today we're going to be moving through, but God might not move you to the next one.
[00:28:30] You may be stuck and receive all day, and that's okay.
[00:28:34] But for purposes of our time together, I'm going to move us to the next phase of the process, which is pruning.
[00:28:42] Pruning.
[00:28:43] I don't know if you're anything like me, but I would put that into the negative column of words.
[00:28:48] pruning to cut away it to me it feels like it's a painful thing and so I have to even remember today that no Jesus says that if I want to bear fruit this is a part of the process and it's not
[00:29:00] a painful thing it's a productive thing so I think about pruning maybe I get out of the vineyard for a second because I would imagine that there have been times in my life where I've intentionally
[00:29:13] pruned and I wasn't even aware of it maybe you have too every once in a while Abby will say hey babe, will you run up to Sam's club and get fill in the blank toilet paper? And then she'll, she'll
[00:29:24] say only toilet paper. I wish I had a Costco. We have a Sam's club. So I go and I get the toilet paper and I put it in the cart and they're so big. There's still so much more room in the cart.
[00:29:38] And then I walk by and then something catches my eye. Like the big jumbo peanut butter filled pretzel bites, throw them in, you know, throw a couple other things in and you get to the
[00:29:52] checkout and you realize, oh no, I have so much more than just toilet paper in my cart. And on a good day, what do I do? I prune. I prune some of the choices. I prune. They're good things. They're
[00:30:05] all good things in there. I wouldn't have put them in if they weren't good, but I know some of it's got to go. Let's go back to the vineyard. Every vine that bears fruit has to be pruned. There are
[00:30:19] healthy things that need to be pruned back. And there are unhealthy, dying, dead things that need to be sheer cut off. You know, sometimes 80 to 90% of the vine is cut off. It's so severe that the
[00:30:34] vine often looks dead. And yet this is the process that allows it to bear the most fruit. John 15, too. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit, he takes away. And every branch that does bear
[00:30:52] fruit, he prunes that it may bear more fruit. He takes some away, and even the good ones, he prunes. Important for this morning that we remember, we are not the ones holding the pruning shears. We're not going to prune ourselves today. We're going to remember that Jesus is next
[00:31:14] to us and remember that he sees something in our lives that we cannot he knows what needs to go he knows what needs to be cut back and he knows ultimately he has good things for us
[00:31:29] what if this morning you were able to look at him and say something pretty dangerous to tell him that jesus i i trust you and if there's something in my life that needs cut out
[00:31:51] I submit to your pruning.
[00:31:56] Read that verse again.
[00:31:59] Every branch in me that does not bear fruit, he takes away.
[00:32:04] And every branch that does bear fruit, he prunes that it may bear more fruit.
[00:32:11] This is an exercise in fruitfulness.
[00:32:15] You know, anytime Jesus says something radical like that, it's usually followed with something that feels way too good to be true.
[00:32:23] And so in this part, as he talks about pruning, the afterword isn't that we're bare.
[00:32:29] The afterword is we have more fruit in our lives than we could have possibly imagined because we endured his pruning.
[00:32:37] Let's go back to our shopping club metaphor, your Costco, your Sam's.
[00:32:44] What if not only you had to take some good things out of your cart?
[00:32:47] What if a worker came up to me and said, Greg, we just want to thank you for your loyalty.
[00:32:52] We've got a 70 inch flat screen tv for you today. We would love to put in your car We just need to remove a few things so that it can fit I wouldn't say no. Thank you. I'm really attached to those pretzels
[00:33:04] I'd say bring it on Bring it on that example Sounds way too good to be true because no sam's employee is going to give me a 70 inch tv and you may think right now
[00:33:16] That there is no god who's going to take something out of your life and give you something better, but that's the god that invites you to the table today.
[00:33:26] That's the Jesus on the couch with you.
[00:33:30] So I want you to go back there.
[00:33:32] Go back there right now.
[00:33:34] Jesus is beside you.
[00:33:36] He's still smiling at you.
[00:33:38] He's still excited just to spend this time with you.
[00:33:43] And I'm gonna give you some language for a prayer, for a conversation and just see what comes to mind.
[00:33:50] You can agree with me in this prayer.
[00:33:55] Examine my heart, God.
[00:33:57] What needs to be cut off?
[00:34:00] what needs to be pruned what good things need to be strengthened what needs my attention what needs to be emptied speak to us what was the thing you said you wanted to receive from God
[00:34:33] maybe look look back at what you wrote down and ask yourself the question is there anything that needs to go before I can actually receive this we've got a song that we're gonna sing over you
[00:34:50] And while we do, I want you to listen for what Jesus might be telling you, what he might be pointing at that's not bearing fruit in your life.
[00:34:58] And when you've got it, I want you to write down what needs to be cut off.
[00:35:54] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_04]
[00:35:54] I'm writing.
[00:37:49] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]
[00:37:49] My list isn't full of things that need to be cut off, but things are coming to mind that do need cut back.
[00:37:57] They do need a gentle pruning.
[00:38:00] I'm curious to you.
[00:38:01] Are there good things in your life, but they've maybe outgrown their territory?
[00:38:07] I love my job.
[00:38:09] I love the people I work with.
[00:38:11] And I also know if I really wanna frustrate my family, do email at the dinner table.
[00:38:18] That's gotta be pruned back.
[00:38:23] I'm curious for you, not just the things that need cut off, but what needs to be pruned?
[00:38:31] What needs to be pruned?
[00:38:32] Is your calendar too full?
[00:38:33] are you doing too much try to keep up on too many social media platforms too many relationships what are the good things in your life that may need a gentle pruning i want to do a physical
[00:39:02] exercise i want you to take your hands and put them out close your eyes if it's helpful and those things that you wrote down the things that need cut off and the areas that need pruned i
[00:39:15] want you to hold them. I want you to hold them. Maybe some of us are, our hands are cupped because we were sort of ashamed of this thing that needs to be cut out. Maybe because we tried to cut it
[00:39:31] out before with no luck. And so we're just hiding it. Maybe, maybe it's something so precious to us that we've got a closed grip on it. We're saying, God, I think, I think you want to prune this, but
[00:39:45] I'm having a hard time putting it forward.
[00:39:50] Whatever your posture is, I want you to remember you're not alone as you hold those things, but that Jesus is next to you.
[00:40:00] And when you're ready to look at him with those things, you can say, Jesus, they're yours.
[00:40:08] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]
[00:40:08] you can stay there as long as you need to i'm going to move us to our goal for today our aim
[00:40:57] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]
[00:40:57] from the very beginning the promise of abiding is that we may someday bear fruit bearing fruit is not unique to just John 15 where Jesus talks about being the true vine. It's all through scripture. Leviticus 26 verse 9 says, I will turn to you and make you fruitful and multiply you
[00:41:18] and will confirm my covenant with you. And Psalm chapter 1 verse 3 says, he's like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in season and its leaf does not wither. And all he
[00:41:36] does, he prospers. Remember what Jesus says about producing fruit, that abiding in him is the only way, period. So get back on the couch, get back on the couch and allow him to produce good fruit in
[00:41:56] you. You know, if we make the choice to remain in him by taking time to sit with him, we can bear fruit that not only changes our lives, but it could change generations. It could change
[00:42:16] the kingdom of God and bring it to earth as it is in heaven. The fruit that he has for you to bear may be so much greater than what you're possibly able to imagine for yourself. We're not talking
[00:42:30] about fruit just to be provisioned and to sustain. I'm talking about the fruit that he uniquely designed you and you alone to bear. This can be difficult to actually picture that kind of fruit in the same way that some of us might have had a hard time writing down what we wanted to receive
[00:42:50] from God because we just thought, man, I'm not in a posture to ask anything right now. And we asked them anyway. It might be even more of a stretch for you to believe that your life was designed
[00:43:01] to bear fruit, not just for today or this week, but for generations. That your life could bear fruit that would have an eternal impact. That is what he made you for. And the beautiful thing
[00:43:14] about this room is that we're an orchard, we're a vineyard, but we don't all bear identical fruit.
[00:43:20] Every single one of us, he designed and wired to bear a specific fruit that only you can bring.
[00:43:27] And God, the keeper of the vineyard, this vine dresser, he wants you to bear it. He wants you to bear it. So grab that card, grab that card, and let's ask God if he would show us a word,
[00:43:48] a phrase, maybe even a picture that you can sketch. God, what's the kind of fruit that you made me to bear? What would the fruit of my life look like? What would it sound like? What would
[00:44:06] it feel like? And if a word comes to your mind, I want you to write it down. We're not going to sing immediately. God, give us a picture of the fruit you made us to bear. I'll give you an example
[00:44:51] for me, kind of a personal one. I told you every day I try to start time reading my Bible and praying. I'm really pretty fine at reading my Bible. Prayer part, I tend to get on with my day,
[00:45:04] and so I put something on the home screen of my phone that just has simple prayer requests, and I've been praying the same ones all year. I pray for my wife. I pray for my three daughters,
[00:45:13] And after I pray for my three daughters, I ask, God, would you prepare godly husbands for them?
[00:45:20] And that feels like something that's pretty bold to ask God that they would receive.
[00:45:26] But when I think of generational fruit, I imagine something that feels impossible to me.
[00:45:31] Because I don't come from a family where my parents stayed married.
[00:45:37] There's a lot of divorce.
[00:45:38] And so the generational fruit that feels too good to be true is not just that God would give them godly husbands.
[00:45:44] but they would actually stay married.
[00:45:46] I think that's fruit that he could bear.
[00:45:52] What's something that feels too good to be true that your life could possibly produce?
[00:45:58] And I want you to write that down.
[00:48:06] When I got nothing, it's okay.
[00:48:08] We thought of you.
[00:48:12] And today, maybe all of us, we need an extra word.
[00:48:18] We need Jesus to tell us if we're on the right track.
[00:48:21] And so if you want a little something extra, whether you're watching online or you're in the room you can go to crossroads.net slash verse v-e-r-s-e our team went through and just chose a bunch of scriptures and what that
[00:48:39] landing page is going to do is it's going to give you one randomly and you can just assume it's the one that God wanted you to have and when you get it I'd even be curious if you you look through
[00:48:51] your page and go, God, is there any through line here that you allowed me to ask for that thing or prune that thing and yet this is the verse you get. Maybe it's confirmation from you that you
[00:49:02] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]
[00:49:02] can hear from him and he wants you to bear fruit. As we come out of that song, maybe one of the
[00:50:37] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]
[00:50:37] greatest blessings is simply remembering God's goodness in your own life. That's what abiding produces fruit and peace and perspective. One of the last things that Jesus did with his followers was share a meal together. He took bread and wine and told them, do this to remember me. So whatever
[00:50:58] you grabbed earlier, bread, crackers, juice, grapes, those are going to be your communion elements for today. And as you take them, just as Jesus did with his friends, remember because of his death resurrection you don't have to strive to earn connection with god already have access to him
[00:51:19] his spirit is with you every day not just in church moments so as you eat the grape remember that jesus died for you and he beat death so that your life could produce fruit we bear fruit not
[00:51:33] because of how hard we work and how good we are but because god is good and we're connected to him Take it, taste and see that God is good.
[00:51:48] And as you eat the bread, remember that abiding in him can be as simple as turning your mind towards him as regularly as you having a snack.
[00:51:57] Take it, taste and see that God is good.
[00:52:07] Maybe you feel a little more peace right now or got some clarity, or maybe you don't.
[00:52:13] For me, I've had moments when I've sat with God that are deep and profound.
[00:52:18] And I've honestly had many more moments where it just felt like there was silence.
[00:52:23] In both cases, I found that God is always moving, even and maybe especially when we can't always see or sense or feel him.
[00:52:34] So whatever you've experienced, my hope is that you don't just leave with notes or ideas, but with a deeper awareness that Jesus is with you and that he's inviting you to stay connected with him all throughout your week.
[00:52:47] We'll see you next week as we continue diving deeper into who Jesus says that he is.
[00:52:51] Until then, have an incredible week remaining and abiding in the presence of God.
