Sermons Christ Community Church: Daytona Beach, FL

In this message we are returning to John 15, to look again at the vine and the branches, this issue of how real life, and real change can be experienced in the real world.

When we look to Jesus, we do not find the type of “trying harder” faith that is often suggested by well-meaning Christians. Instead, we find him teaching us about a faith that will face our situations. This is the kind of faith that pleases God. In the midst of the chaos of life and at the end of your resources, you are just where God wants you to be. This is the moment of chaotic faith. This is what Charles Spurgeon called “seeking faith.” Chaotic faith is marked by desperation. How does confident faith grow from the moment that we have called Chaotic faith? The faith that emerges from the chaos is ultimately a gift from God.

Starting at verse nine in Colossians 1 we come to a continuation of Paul’s prayer for the Colossian church. It is here that Paul unpacks some remarkable expressions that give us an understanding of the nature of God. In the closing statement he prays “so that you may walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him."

To please Him... That statement would rattle a lot of people’s understanding on the nature of God who is Often seen as consumed with wrath -- continually venting His displeasure with us. If you were to ask people, “Do you feel it is possible to truly please God?” most likely you would be met with some hesitation. But what do we see here? “To please Him” is one of the first expressions that Paul presents that reveals the nature of God. This is critical. If you do not believe that it is possible to live a life upon which God would look and take pleasure in and declare that He is pleased, how likely is it that you will pursue such a life? Your life would be reduced to nothing more than an exercise in futility.

Sometimes when we try to grow or change we just try to get by with an approach to life that places all of our effort and attention on our outward behavior. It's easy to do. But throughout his ministry Jesus taught us differently. He told us that change, which ignores the heart, will never transform our lives.

When it comes to your life there are a lot of things that are important, but what's most essential? In this passage of scripture Jesus is with his disciples on the way to the garden of Gethsemane to pray, and then be arrested and taken to the cross. It is in this setting that we might expect Jesus to stress what is most important. So what does he do? He talks about their relationship to him. He used the image of a vine and its branches in order to illustrate what's most essential for his disciples and for us. In John 15:5 He said: I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.

True Christianity is not a program for self-improvement but a living relationship with Christ in which his life comes into you and changes you. Our core responsibility as Christians is to cultivate the relationship with Christ that will make us fruitful in life.

In this passage of Scripture, John 15, Jesus is using the image of a grapevine to teach us about fruitful spiritual growth. Verse 5 gives us the real heart of the passage when Jesus says, “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing

What does Jesus mean here when he talks about fruit and fruitfulness in life? When the Bible talks about fruit it is talking about deep positive changes in your life. In some places it also suggests the idea of a deep and positive influence on others for Christ. The best way to see this is to look at another passage, Galatians 5:22-23, which says; But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. In the vine and the branches Jesus gives us an image to tell us how those kinds of changes can come about in our lives.

What reasons do we have to trust the bible today? Can we trust the Bible for instruction on important cultural issues? This week our guest in house speaker Saul Seibert addressed these questions and more by stating three points: We can trust the Bible historically, culturally, and personally.

One of the first things you discover when you study what the Bible says about homosexuality is that the Bible doesn't focus much on the idea of inward orientation or sexual preference. Its focus is primarily on what people actually do. It's about homosexual practice not preference. Violence, aggression, depression promiscuity, infidelity, all of these can be experienced as predispositions that pull us away from obedience to God, but none of them exempt us from responsibility for our actions. We should not minimize the struggles of people with persistent homosexual desires and attractions. But God sees everything, and understands all the factors that influence our behaviors. He offers help and hope. The church needs to reflect that.

Often, the challenge of addressing the charge that the Christian faith is oppressive to women is based on the idea that “equality” must be seen as being “identical” – any differences are viewed therefore as evidence of inequality. But the scriptures present a view of equality that is unique among other competing perspectives, and it is that women are both absolutely equal to and uniquely complementary with men.