Life in the Vine

September 7, 2025

Teacher: Pastor Adam Barnett

John 15:1-17 – Remain in Christ, the true Vine, the source of purposeful fruit and true joy, and the means by which the love of God is embodied in the church and declared to the world.

John 15:1-17… 1 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. 3 You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. 4 Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.

5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. 7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.

9 “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. 10 If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. 11 I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. 12 My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command. 15 I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. 16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. 17 This is my command: Love each other.

1 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. - John 15:1

6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; 7 rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross! - Philippians 2:6-8

“With the words, ‘I Am,’ Jesus presents himself as the object of the world’s desires and longing… that he is the ‘true vine’ means that the true life that man seeks and longs for can only be found in association with Jesus.” – R. Bultmann

Remaining in Christ begins with acknowledging and remembering that He – and no other person or thing - is our true source of life and spiritual growth.

“You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you.” – St. Augustine

Leader: Lord Jesus, You are the true vine, and we are the branches.
People: Keep us rooted in You, for apart from You we can do nothing.

Leader: Father, You are the gardener who prunes us with care.
People: Cut away what is fruitless, and shape us for Your glory.

Leader: Spirit of God, nourish us with Your life and power.
People: Teach us to remain, to rest, and to trust in Christ.

Leader: May our joy be found not in striving, but in staying with You.
People: In abiding love, we remain in Christ. Amen.

Here to Worship

August 31, 2025

Teacher: Pastor Leanne Benton

Here to Belong

August 24, 2025

Teacher: Dave Brown & Amy Cenea

Here to Belong

August 17, 2025

Teacher: Adam Barnett

“Where there is no vision, the people perish.” — Proverbs 29:18

Redeemer exists to see Christ exalted in our church, community, and world.

Philippians 2:1–11
Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

1 - Christ Exalted in Our Church

2 - Christ Exalted in Our Community

3 - Christ Exalted in Our World

The God of King David
August 10, 2025
A Life To Learn From
Teacher: Dave Brown

The Lord has sought out a man after his own heart and appointed him ruler of his people.
— 1 Samuel 13:14

Why is David called a man after God’s own heart?

“But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to give as generously as this? Everything comes from you, and we have given you only what comes from your hand. We are foreigners and strangers in your sight, as were all our ancestors. Our days on earth are like a shadow, without hope. Lord our God, all this abundance that we have provided forbuilding you a temple for your Holy Name comes from your hand, and all of it belongs to you. I know, my God, that you test the heart and are pleased with integrity. All these things I have given willingly and with honest intent. And now I have seen with joy how willingly your people who are here have given to you. Lord, the God of our fathers Abraham, Isaac and Israel, keep these desires and thoughts in the hearts of your people forever, and keep their hearts loyal to you. And give my son Solomon the wholehearted devotion to keep your commands, statutes and decrees and to do everything to build the palatial structure for which I have provided.”
— 1 Chronicles 29:14-19

Our choices become our habits, our habits become our character, and our character is our destiny.
— Charles Duhigg

We make our decisions, and then our decisions make us. In the beginning we have a choice, but eventually, we have a character.
— John Mark Comer

Every time you make a choice you are turning the central part of you, the part of you that chooses, into something a little different from what it was before. And taking your life as a whole, with all your innumerable choices, all your life longyou are slowly turning this central thing either into a heavenly creature or into a hellish creature.
— C.S. Lewis

1 HUMILITY
Everything comes from you, and we have given you only what comes from your hand.
— 1 Chronicles 29:14b

Humility is not thinking less of yourself; it is thinking of yourself less.
— Rick Warren

2 INTEGRITY
I know, my God, that you test the heart and are pleased with integrity.
— 1 Chronicles 29:17

Whoever is careless with the truth in small matters cannot be trusted with important matters.
— Albert Einstein

3 LOYALTY
I have seen with joy how willingly your people who are here have given to you… keep these desires and thoughts in the hearts of your people forever, and keep their hearts loyal to you.
— 1 Chronicles 29:17b-18

4 LEGACY
Give my son Solomon the wholehearted devotion to keep your commands, statutes and decrees.
— 1 Chronicles 29:19

The God of King David
July 27, 2025
David's Song of Praise

Teacher: David Nunn

Faith is trusting what you believe enough to act upon it.

Satan rose up against Israel and incited David to take a census of Israel. So David said to Joab and the commanders of the troops, “Go and count the Israelites from Beersheba to Dan. Then report back to me so that I may know how many there are.” 
But Joab replied, “May the Lord multiply his troops a hundred times over. My lord the king, are they not all my lord’s subjects? Why does my lord want to do this? Why should he bring guilt on Israel?” The king’s word, however, overruled Joab; so Joab left and went throughout Israel and then came back to Jerusalem.
1 Chronicles 21:1-4

Again the anger of the Lord burned against Israel, and he incited David against them, saying, “Go and take a census of Israel and Judah.”
2 Samuel 24:1

When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone;
James 1:13

Now this I know: The Lord gives victory to his anointed. He answers him from his heavenly sanctuary with the victorious power of his right hand. Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.
Psalm 20:6-7

But Joab did not include Levi and Benjamin in the numbering, because the king’s command was repulsive to him. This command was also evil in the sight of God; so he punished Israel.
1 Chronicles 21:6

“I have sinned greatly by doing this. Now, I beg you, take away the guilt of your servant. I have done a very foolish thing.”
1 Chronicles 21:8

THREE CHOICES FOR PUNISHMENT
Three years of famine
Three months of being routed by his enemies
Three days of plague in Israel

David said to Gad, “I am in deep distress. Let me fall into the hands of the Lord, for his mercy is very great; but do not let me fall into human hands.”
1 Chronicles 21:13

So the Lord sent a plague on Israel, and seventy thousand men of Israel fell dead.  And God sent an angel to destroy Jerusalem. But as the angel was doing so, the Lord saw it and relented concerning the disaster and said to the angel who was destroying the people, “Enough! Withdraw your hand.”
1 Chronicles 21:14

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.
Proverbs 3:5

JUST TRUST THE LORD!

The God of King David
July 27, 2025
David's Song of Praise

Teacher: Dave Brown

A.C.T.S. OF PRAYER
Adoration
Confession
Thanksgiving
Supplication

WHY PRAY?
Prayer is not a magic formula to crack so that we can get what we want. If that’s our understanding of prayer, we will always be disappointed.

Prayer is about presence before it’s about anything else. Prayer doesn’t begin with outcomes. Prayer is the free choice to be with the Father, to prefer his company.
— Tyler Staton

Prayer is about intimacy and identity.

1 - INTIMACY
David sang to the Lord the words of this song when the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul.
— 2 Samuel 22:1

The Lord said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.” Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper.
— 1 Kings 19:10-12

Maybe God whispers not because he’s evasive but because he’s intimate. Maybe he whispers because it’s the only way to get what he wants most. What was lost in Eden—to walk with you and I in the cool of the day. To know him and discover ourselves fully known in his presence.
— Tyler Staton

God invites us to meet him in the intimacy of the whisper. When we try to fabricate a mountaintop experience to meet with God, all we end up building is a tower of Babel.

2 - GOD’S IDENTITY
The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation. He is my stronghold, my refuge and my savior.
— 2 Samuel 22:2-3a

3 - OUR IDENTITY
You, Lord, are my lamp; the Lord turns my darkness into light. With your help I can advance against a troop; with my God I can scale a wall… It is God who arms me with strength and keeps my way secure. He makes my feet like the feet of the deer; he causes me to stand on the heights. He trains my hands for battle; my arms can bend a bow of bronze. You make your saving help my shield; your help has made me great.
— 2 Samuel 22:29-30; 33-36

Nothing but prayer will ever reveal you to yourself, because only before God can you see and become your true self… Prayer is learning who you are before God and giving him your essence.
— Timothy Keller

4 - PRAYER IS A PRACTICE

Teacher: Adam Barnett

2 Samuel 16:5-8 – As King David approached Bahurim, a man from the same clan as Saul’s family came out from there. His name was Shimei son of Gera, and he cursed as he came out. He pelted David and all the king’s officials with stones, though all the troops and the special guard were on David’s right and left. As he cursed, Shimei said, “Get out, get out, you murderer, you scoundrel! The Lord has repaid you for all the blood you shed in the household of Saul, in whose place you have reigned. The Lord has given the kingdom into the hands of your son Absalom. You have come to ruin because you are a murderer!”

“Few offenses plunge deeper into our flesh than false accusations, particularly when they’re hurled at us when we are vulnerable.” – Charles Swindoll

Can you relate to David in this story… because you’ve been mistreated and falsely accused?

2 Samuel 16:9-12 – Then Abishai son of Zeruiah said to the king, “Why should this dead dog curse my lord the king? Let me go over and cut off his head.” But the king said, “What does this have to do with you, you sons of Zeruiah? If he is cursing because the Lord said to him, ‘Curse David,’ who can ask, ‘Why do you do this?’” David then said to Abishai and all his officials, “My son, my own flesh and blood, is trying to kill me. How much more, then, this Benjamite! Leave him alone; let him curse, for the Lord has told him to. It may be that the Lord will look upon my misery and restore to me his covenant blessing instead of his curse today.”

Can you relate to Abishai… because your instinct in a situation was to retaliate?

2 Samuel 16:13-14 – So David and his men continued along the road while Shimei was going along the hillside opposite him, cursing as he went and throwing stones at him and showering him with dirt. The king and all the people with him arrived at their destination exhausted. And there he refreshed himself.

2 Samuel 19:15, 18b-23 – Then the king returned and went as far as the Jordan. When Shimei son of Gera crossed the Jordan, he fell prostrate before the king and said to him, “May my lord not hold me guilty. Do not remember how your servant did wrong on the day my lord the king left Jerusalem. May the king put it out of his mind. For I your servant know that I have sinned, but today I have come here as the first from the tribes of Joseph to come down and meet my lord the king.” Then Abishai son of Zeruiah said, “Shouldn’t Shimei be put to death for this? He cursed the Lord’s anointed.” David replied, “What does this have to do with you, you sons of Zeruiah? What right do you have to interfere? Should anyone be put to death in Israel today? Don’t I know that today I am king over Israel?” So the king said to Shimei, “You shall not die.” And the king promised him on oath.

Can you relate to Shimei in this story… because you’ve hurt someone and need to make it right?

1 Kings 2:8-9 (paraphrased) – “And remember, you have with you Shimei … who called down bitter curses on me … When he came down to meet me at the Jordan, I swore to him by the Lord: ‘I will not put you to death by the sword.’ But now, do not consider him innocent. You are a man of wisdom; you will know what to do to him. Bring his gray head down to the grave in blood.”

Can you relate to David, because you’re holding on to bitterness for hurt you’ve experienced?

“David at his best, and at his worst, is one of ourselves. David is a man of like passions with ourselves. David held back his bad passions at Saul, and at Shimei, and at Joab, occasion after occasion, until we were almost worshipping David. But, all the time, and all unknown to us, they were there.” – Alexander Whyte

1 - EXPECT FOR PEOPLE TO THROW STONES
Galatians 1:10 – Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.

2 - BE CAREFUL WHO YOU LISTEN TO

3 - FORGIVENESS IS ALWAYS A GOOD CHOICE
Colossians 3:13 – Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.

“When you forgive the person who hurt you deeply and unfairly, you perform a miracle that has no equal.” – Lewis Smedes

Teacher: Dave Brown

THE SIX MOVEMENTS OF REPENTANCE

1 - SIN RECOGNITION
In the Christian life our primary task isn’t to avoid sin, which is impossible anyway, but to recognize sin. The fact is that we’re sinners. But there’s an enormous amount of self-deception in sin. When this is combined with devil-deception, the task of recognition is compounded.
— Eugene Peterson

Sin is the word we use to designate the perverseness of will by which we attempt being our own gods, or making for ourselves other gods. Sin isn’t essentially a moral term, designating items of wrongdoing; it’s a spiritual term, designating our God-avoidance and our god-pretensions.
— Eugene Peterson

2 - CONFESSION

3 - CONTRITION
“My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise.”
— Psalm 51:17

Attrition is being sorry that we were caught.
Contrition requires humility, sincerity, and a desire to change.

4 - FORGIVENESS

5 - CONSEQUENCES
Our sins have unpleasant consequences for us and those around us.

6 - ACTION
The great thing is to prevent his doing anything. As long as he does not convert it into action, it does not matter how much he thinks about this new repentance. Let the little brute wallow in it. Let him write a book about it; that is often an excellent way of sterilizing the seeds which the Enemy plants in a human soul. Let him do anything but act. No amount of piety in his imagination and affections will harm us if we can keep it out of his will.
— C.S. Lewis

“From that time on Jesus began to preach, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.’”
— Matthew 4:17

Repenting of any vice means going in the opposite direction, to practice the virtues most directly opposed to it.
— J.I. Packer

Teacher: Adam Barnett

When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.  - James 1:13-15

One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of the palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing. The woman was very beautiful, and David sent someone to find out about her. The man said, “She is Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite. Then David sent messengers to get her. She came to him, and he slept with her. (Now she was purifying herself from her monthly uncleanness.) Then she went back home.  - 2 Samuel 11:2-4

“Satan does not fill us with hatred of God, but with forgetfulness of God.”  - Dietrich Bonhoeffer

The woman conceived and sent word to David, saying, “I am pregnant.”  - 2 Samuel 11:5

When Uriah’s wife heard that her husband was dead, she mourned for him. After the time of mourning was over, David had her brought to his house, and she became his wife and bore him a son. But the thing David had done displeased the Lord.  – 2 Samuel 11:26-27

1 - Idleness opens the door to temptation.

So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall!  - 1 Corinthians 10:12

2 - Sin should be confessed, not covered up.

If we confess our sins, **he is faithful and just** and will **forgive us our sins** and **purify us** from all unrighteousness.  – 1 John 1:9

Whoever conceals their sins does not prosper, but the one who confesses and renounces them **finds mercy**.  – Proverbs 28:13

Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord.” And you **forgave the guilt of my sin**.  – Psalm 32:5

3 - Invite the accountability of trusted friends.