Announcements/Important Dates:
There will be NO midweek or Wednesday night activities next week for Spring Break
Summer Camp: July 21-25. This will be at Heart of Texas Baptist Camp (the same place we went to last summer). I will get the cost & details to y’all soon!
Abide Weekend: This is a youth conference-style event we will be putting on at our church. I will be including more information regarding this later. The dates are April 25-26
Senior Sunday: This is a Sunday where we honor our seniors. This will be on May 4th.
Senior BSM Road Trip: We take the seniors on a Saturday before they graduate to visit the BSM within driving distance to help them get plugged in during this next stage of life. This will be April 19.
Sunday School: We are walking through the Passion Week (Jesus’ last week on Earth). I do not have a way to share this curriculum on Substack, but I will have hard copies at the church, and they will be on the shelves outside the church’s atrium on the bridge! We start Sunday school at 9:45 AM on Sunday mornings and have classes for both your students as well as for YOU as parents as well!
Enjoy this week’s substack over Week 8 of the “I Am Statements.”
Summary for March 12th—— I Am the True Vine (John 15:1-17)
This week closes our series on the I Am statements. Jesus tells His disciples that He is the true vine and His Father is the vinedresser. Jesus explains that one goal for His disciples is to “remain” or Abide in Him as the vine. Jesus explains that with Him, we will “bear much fruit,” and apart from Him, we will be able to do “nothing.” Jesus explains that through an active relationship with Him, we (through the Holy Spirit) are guided to live for Him, and through this guidance, our lives will show the outcome or the “fruit” of a godly life. (See Galatians 5:22-23 for some fruit examples)
This imagery of vines and plants is a good visual for our teenagers. This idea is that a single branch apart from the vine withers. What gives the branch life and the ability to grow and produce fruit is being connected to the main vine. This is because the main vine is connected to the root system, and without the roots, the individual branches cannot have the nutrients to grow. Without Jesus and without being connected to Him, we aren’t going to see “fruit” or the evidence of faith in our lives. If we do, it won’t be long-lasting. For example, if I were to trim a branch off of my Bonsai tree and leave it on the table, the leaves on that Bonsai branch would eventually wither and ultimately die. It would be silly of me to expect them to thrive or grow apart from the main tree itself. The same is true for our spiritual life.
While we touch on our spiritual life, this is not divorced from all aspects of who we are. We will touch on this idea that since God is Love… when we are “connected” to Him to this source of love, then we should, in turn, be some of the most loving people. Jesus mentions in this passage how love and obedience go hand in hand—this idea of growing in love through obedience to God. Jesus commands us to love one another as He has loved us. This means that as Christians, the love that God has shared with us should permeate our beings to the point of overflowing into other aspects of our lives. When we Abide in Christ, we love others because He first loved us. How does this love look? This love is altruistic, selfless, not self-seeking; it does not boast and is not proud; it keeps no record of wrongs (look at 1 Corinthians 13:4-13 for more). This love that Jesus has given us is LIFE CHANGING!!
Phrases that could cause some confusion:
Fruit: This does not refer to actual fruit, but to be “fruitful” or to “bear fruit” means that your life shows very plainly and clearly that you are a Christian and follow Jesus.
Vinedresser: This is someone who maintains the vines of a plant.
Prunes: Pruning is to trim away parts of a plant so that its growth may not be hindered, but rather, the things that hold it back are taken away. This has obvious spiritual connotations.
Discussion Questions for parents and students:
Again, this section gives you some ideas to talk with your students about this week's passage! Use one question, use them all, use none of them, and chat with them differently. However, don’t miss this chance to connect with your students this week about how God is moving in their lives!
Question 1: Read John 15:5-8. What does it mean to remain or Abide in Christ?
Answer 1: Abiding is a moment-by-moment decision; it is a day-by-day task to choose Jesus consistently and to be with Him. The NIV translates this to “remain,” but it is the same concept. By abiding in Jesus, we allow His words to transform our lives and change us from the inside out. We do this by meditating on His word (praying through it, talking with Him, having a relationship)
Question 2: Read John 15:12-16. Disciples were seen as servants of their teachers; here, Jesus calls His disciples His friends. How are we friends with Jesus?
Answer 2: Let them talk it out and walk through this idea. We need to let them know that while we can be friends of God (crazy concept), reverence and respect for God also exist within this friendship because of His holiness. How do these things reconcile with one another? Being friends yet reverent with God. The cool thing is that friends desire to grow close to one another and to know one another. Relate this to their friends in their lives right now! That’s a FRIEND!!