Dear friends,
This past Sunday I preached at our home church, Littlerock Community Fellowship, and if you are interested, I wanted to invite you to that message (video and audio versions are available below.) The focus was John 15:1-11 – Connected to Christ.
For a long time, God has been nudging me with the need to clarify what is to be at the center of our attention as Christians. This is a point of confusion in America and globally. As Holly and I have been raising our kids into adulthood, we’ve tried to help them wrestle thru what it means to be healthy, productive, God-glorifying Christians. What is the Christian life all about? Many say: Rules, do’s & don’ts, doing right more than wrong. We set ourselves, our kids, and others up for defeat and failure instead of success if we focus on living a certain way, winning more than losing in the Christian battle. “Do my devotions, serve at church, share my faith, avoid lust, anger, greed, coveting, bad language. If I obey God’s rules, He will accept and bless me, but if I break them, judgment is coming my way.” This is how much of the world, including those in churches, understand and communicate Christianity. If we look at Israel in OT we see how living under Law worked for them – they, and we, fail miserably.
In John 15, Jesus explains how to live the Christian life joyfully and victoriously. It’s not about our performance, but it’s all about being connected to Christ: drawing near to him, abiding in him, living our lives with Christ at the center, so we become more like Him and less like us. The natural result of abiding in Christ and Him in us is that we bear fruit, such as love for others and obedience to God, living full of joy, all of which glorifies God. This truth is so freeing and empowering for our kids, for us, for everyone! Abide in Christ and experience His joy filling you as He bears amazing fruit through you.
Main Point – As Christians we are to abide in Christ which will bear God-glorifying fruit through joy-filled lives.
Click the video below, or you can follow the link after to just listen to the audio.
Click below for the sermon audio:
I offer a final appeal from John 15: Brothers and sisters, cling desperately to the Vine: Jesus is our life, our love, our joy. Anything that would separate us from Christ is viewed as a mortal enemy and must be ruthlessly eradicated (sin, flesh, world, forces of evil, distractions, entanglements). Jesus gives our lives meaning and purpose (branch without vine can do nothing.) We are spiritually nourished by Him, and find our complete joy and satisfaction in Christ. Fruit bearing naturally flows from Christ as we keep at the center.
When I focus on Lord and not me and my performance, my successes and failure, there is more joy, better fruit, lasting fruit, less pressure, more freedom, and God is glorified because it is all tied to Christ, not me. This is how we live the victorious Christian life, connected with Christ.