Discipleship Essentials*
Sunday, October 31, 2004
My Prayer Today
Heavenly Father, Thanks for a new day of life, and for the opportunity to worship You with brothers and sisters through Your Son, Jesus, on this Lord’s day. I pray that as I turn now to Your word that You will fill me with Your Holy Spirit that I may understand it and apply it to my life. I pray especially that You will keep me deeply connected to Jesus and that all that I say and do in this coming week, will reflect His presence in me. This I pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.
God’s Word Today
John 15:1-11
“1“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2He cuts off every branch that doesn’t produce fruit, and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more. 3You have already been pruned for greater fruitfulness by the message I have given you. 4Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful apart from me.
5“Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing. 6Anyone who parts from me is thrown away like a useless branch and withers. Such branches are gathered into a pile to be burned. 7But if you stay joined to me and my words remain in you, you may ask any request you like, and it will be granted! 8My true disciples produce much fruit. This brings great glory to my Father.
9“I have loved you even as the Father has loved me. Remain in my love. 10When you obey me, you remain in my love, just as I obey my Father and remain in his love. 11I have told you this so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow!
Background on the Text – Who Wrote It? Why Was It Written? Who Was the Audience?
The Gospel of John was written by the apostle of the same name. John and his brother, James were one of two pairs of brothers who called by Jesus as part of the original twelve apostles. John was a fisherman by vocation, before responding to Jesus invitation to “catch people.” John was most likely the youngest of the twelve apostles when he was called by Jesus, and was the only one of the original twelve who died of natural causes. Of course, Judas committed suicide after betraying Jesus, and according to tradition, all of the other original apostles were martyred for their faith in Jesus. John not only wrote the gospel that bears his name, but also three letters bearing his name, and the Book of Revelation, which he received from Jesus, while in exile for his faith on the island of Patmos.
Observation – What Does the Text Say?
(Specifically look at the bold verses, if any, to answer these questions.)
Interpretation – What Does the Text Mean?
Application – How Can I Respond to the Text’s Insights and Teachings?
Each Week’s Check List
After reading and studying this text, reflect on the following discipleship growth points:
Growth Point |
How |
Encouraged and strengthened me by |
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Fallen short areas |
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What will I do with these insights? |
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What did God say to me today? |
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Share insights and growth points |
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Changed/transformed how? |
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Thoughts...The True Vine...
In this week’s Scripture reading, Jesus uses the analogy of a vine and branches to tell us the kind of relationship that we as believers are to have with Him. Jesus tells us that He is the “vine”, and that His Heavenly Father is the “gardener.” Later, in the text He tells us that we are the “branches.” This illustration is rich and full of images for how we are to live in relationship with Jesus. In our Discipleship Essentials focus this week, we are studying about what it means to have a “Quiet Time” with Jesus. The reason Greg Ogden selected John 15:1-11 to coincide with this topic is that it emphasizes the intimate nature of our relationship with Jesus, and the reality that we cannot grow as Christians unless we maintain that relationship daily—actually moment by moment. Today’s focus verses remind us that not all growth is easy or fun as we follow Jesus. In fact, God will find it necessary to “prune” us so that we will grow more quickly, with greater health, and with more abundant “fruit.” Pruning is not fun for us, because it means giving up anything in us that is not productive for God’s kingdom—that means sin, or leisure activities that do not contribute to our growth in becoming like Jesus. While the process may be painful in the short run, the good news is that as we allow God to prune away these areas of our lives, the ultimate result will be greater joy than we can imagine, and our lives will bring others to Jesus as well!