VINE BRANCHES

2010 Tom Sargeant

Plants need water, food and sunlight to grow. They cannot grow by themselves. As plants receive nutrients and grow they have trunks, stalks or vines that are the base of the plant or tree. From the base grows branches that are extensions of the plants or trees. The nutrients that the base of the plant or tree provides are given to the branches. As the base gets nutrients, which are passed to the branches, it naturally grows fruit. If for some reason the branches become separated from the base of the plant or tree it no longer can receive the nutrients it needs to survive and grow fruit. Eventually, it will wither away and die. For only as long as the branches stay connected to the base of the tree or plant will the branch grow fruit. In the Bible, Jesus compared himself to the base of a plant and he compared his followers to branches. IMAGE: plant growing with sunlight and water

IMAGE:

Close-up of grapevine

IMAGE:

grapevine with branches

IMAGE: cross section of branches showing nutrients flowing through them IMAGE: grapevine with branches full of fruit

IMAGE: branches lying on the ground, separated from the vine, dying

IMAGE: fruit.

Grapevine, with branches full of

John 15:4-5 (New International Version)

4

Remain in me, and I will 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 a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.

Because you are not born a Christian, you become a Christian by believing that Jesus died on the cross in your place for your sins, that he rose again on the third day and that he is the Lord of your life because you are glad that Jesus did what he did for you. Having Jesus as Lord of your life means you intend to live exactly how he wants you to live because it honors him and is best for you. Once you receive the free gift of eternal life you become a child of God.

IMAGE: Jesus on the cross, Jesus resurrected. Jesus with Children

John 1:12 (New Living Translation)

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But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God.

VINE BRANCHES
2010 Tom Sargeant
Just like a plant, you eat food to keep your physical body alive. Usually, you eat three meals a day. When Jesus was talking about the grapevine and the branches, He was talking about your relationship with God. He is also talking about how to become a better person or more like God. After all, God is perfect. IMAGE: Child eating breakfast, Child eating lunch, Child eating dinner.

IMAGE: child praying, child reading their Bible. VERSE: Be holy for I am holy, God is love.

1 Peter 1:13-16 (New Living Translation)

A Call to Holy Living
13 So think clearly and exercise self-control. Look forward to the gracious salvation that will come to you when Jesus Christ is revealed to the world. 14 So you must live as Gods obedient children. Dont slip back into your old ways of living to satisfy your own desires. You didnt know any better then. 15 But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God who chose you is holy. 16 For the Scriptures say, You must be holy because I am holy.

1 John 4:8 (New Living Translation)

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But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love.

Becoming a better person is similar to a grapevine with its branches growing a lot of fruit. People who do not believe in Jesus have a limited amount of power/ability to become better people and many times dont care very much about being a better person. They are more concerned with being selfish and getting people to like them. If you are a child of God, you have unlimited power to become the best person you can become and do the most that you possibly can for God, your friends and family. The way you get this power is by having your mind changed to believe the truth of what God says about Himself, you and your life.

IMAGE: person squinting their eyes and grunting, as if trying hard to do something.

VERSE:

IMAGE:

Jesus with a child

Romans 12:1-2 (New Living Translation) Romans 12 A Living Sacrifice to God

1 And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrificethe kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. 2 Dont copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know Gods will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.

VINE BRANCHES
2010 Tom Sargeant
The way that our mind is changed is by getting to know Jesus better. The way we get to know Jesus better is through reading your Bible. In the Bible it says that Jesus IS the Word of God in human flesh. Everything that is in the Bible is what Jesus is all about. IMAGE: child reading their bible and contemplating what they are reading

IMAGE: Jesus superimposed on the Bible.

John 1:14 (New Living Translation)
14 So the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Fathers one and only Son.

Getting to know Jesus better by reading the Bible is similar to feeding your mind with the food that will improve who you are. Jesus called himself the Bread of Life

IMAGE: Jesus superimposed on a loaf of bread. New King James Version (NKJV) John 6:33 33 For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world. John 6:35 35 And Jesus said to them, I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger,

And just like a plant and you need food, you need light. Jesus said I am light of the world. It is this light that lets you see the way you should go in life. Just like you cannot walk around without light, you cannot live your life without knowing how Jesus says is the way you should go as it relates to the decisions you make.

IMAGE: Image of Jesus shedding light on the world. IMAGE: A lighted path

John 12:46 (New Living Translation)

I have come as a light to shine in this dark world, so that all who put their trust in me will no longer remain in the dark.
46

VINE BRANCHES
2010 Tom Sargeant
Just like a plant, you need water to live and you need the water that Jesus provides for your soul. As you grow closer to God, you just naturally become a better person. Jesus called himself, Living Water. When people drink his living water or consume the word of God, they will never thirst for what they need to live their lives, the healthiest way possible. IMAGE: Jesus imposed over a beautiful water fall or water fountain.

John 7:38 (New Living Translation)

Anyone who believes in me may come and drink! For the Scriptures declare, Rivers of living water will flow from his heart.
John 4:14 But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life.
38

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?searc h=John+4:13-15&version=NLT
Once anyone depends on their relationship with Jesus to get the food, light and water they need for their soul, they will naturally live a life that honors God by being a better person, without even trying. Jesus compared the idea of becoming a better person with the fruit that branches grow on a grapevine. IMAGE: IMAGE: Cornucopia of fruit Child doing a good deed

Galatians 5:22-23 (New Living Translation)

22 But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!

IMAGE: What God always wants you to remember is that He loves you and wants you to grow in your relationship with him. He wants to do this because he loves you, and not just so you become a better person. Becoming a better person just naturally happens as you get closer to God and love him more, without even really trying.

Jesus with the children

John 15:9 (New Living Translation)

I have loved you even as the Father has loved me. Remain in my love.
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John 14:23 (New Living Translation)

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Jesus replied, All who love me will do what I say.

VINE BRANCHES
2010 Tom Sargeant

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