https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Fruitful-Christians.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n\tby Jeffery W. Hamilton<\/p>\n\t
Text John 15:1-8<\/p>\n
<\/p>\nI. We know that Jesus’ words in John 15 concerning the vine and branches are dealing with\nindividual Christians and not denominations.\n A. Jesus is the vine, each one of us are branches off that vine, and God is the\nvinedresser.\n B. But don’t get so caught up in identifying who is being talked about and forget\nwhat is being talked about.\n C. Grapevines can grow on their own, but they don’t do as well as they do when\nmaintained.\n 1. A grapevine allowed to grow wild will produce fruit, but it is a poorer\nquality that one that is regularly pruned.\n 2. Grapes grow on one-year old branches. Older branches will produce more\nshoots for grape-producing branches. The problem is if the vine isn’t\npruned, it will cycle through a year of mostly leaves followed by a year of\ngrapes, but those grapes will be poor because there are too many.\n 3. Pruning keeps the balance between grapes being produced and branches\nfor next year’s crop without either becoming too heavy.\n
D. Simply put, grapes do best when they are severely pruned every year.<\/p>\n
II. God prunes the vine<\/p>\n
A. A branch which doesn’t bear fruit isn’t worth keeping, so it is removed.<\/p>\n
1. Removal in order to teach – I Timothy 1:18-20<\/p>\n
2. Pruned back in hopes of restoring – I Corinthians 5:4-5 <\/p>\n
B. A branch which is bearing is cut back to cause it to bear more fruit.<\/p>\n
1. Trials which produce fruit – James 1:2-4; Romans 5:3-5<\/p>\n 2. Hard times and difficulties are necessary for the health and productivity of\nthe branches.\n a. I’ve repeatedly seen so-so Christians suddenly blossom into\nproductivity when faced with difficulties.\n b. When everything appeared to be going smoothly, they sat back.\nBut a hardship came and they suddenly realized there was no one\nelse to do the work.\n
C. We need fruit worthy of the change in our lives – Matthew 3:8<\/p>\n
III. What fruit is being sought<\/p>\n
A. Bearing fruit is much more than just sitting in the pew on Sundays<\/p>\n
B. Filled with the fruits of righteousness – Philippians 1:9-11<\/p>\n
1. Righteousness gained after trials – Hebrews 12:11<\/p>\n
C. The change in behavior is fruit – Galatians 5:22-23<\/p>\n
1. Ephesians 5:9 – The fruit of the Spirit<\/p>\n
2. II Peter 1:2-8 – Abounding in these things you remain fruitful<\/p>\n
D. Helping the poor saints – Romans 15:26-28<\/p>\n
1. II Corinthians 9:9-10 – the result of our righteousness<\/p>\n
2. Helping support the spreading of the gospel – Philippians 4:16-18<\/p>\n
E. Maintaining good works – Titus 3:14<\/p>\n
1. Such gives glory to God – Matthew 5:16<\/p>\n 2. Done by the teaching of the gospel, constantly producing fruit – Colossians\n1:5-6\n
3. Fruitful in every good work – Colossians 1:9-12<\/p>\n
F. Giving praise to God – Hebrews 13:15<\/p>\n
G. Winning souls to Christ<\/p>\n
1. There is a harvest ready – John 4:35-36<\/p>\n
2. A wise soul is a tree of life to others – Proverbs 11:30<\/p>\n
3. Teaching is a way to produce fruit – Romans 1:13<\/p>\n
IV. Fruitful only by remaining in Christ – John 15:4-6<\/p>\n
A. Only by keeping Christ’s commandments – John 15:10<\/p>\n
B. Sin makes us unfruitful – Ephesians 5:11<\/p>\n
C. Some serving only themselves – Jude 12<\/p>\n
D. Caught up in the cares of this world – Matthew 13:22<\/p>\n
V. Israel lost its position because it became unfruitful – Matthew 21:43<\/p>\n
A. The unfruitful are destroyed – Matthew 3:10; 7:19<\/p>\n
B. We have so many wanting to know what is in it for them<\/p>\n
1. As Christ said, it is more blessed to give than to receive – Acts 20:35<\/p>\n
2. Do you define your religion based on what you get or what you give?<\/p>\n
C. Are you a productive branch in Christ?<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
by Jeffery W. Hamilton Text John 15:1-8 I. We know that Jesus’ words in John 15 concerning the vine and branches are dealing with individual Christians and not denominations. A. Jesus is the vine, each one of us are branches off that vine, and God is the vinedresser. B. But don’t get so caught up in identifying…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[119,32],"tags":[194,500,433,50,238,1288,451,188,55],"class_list":["post-2206","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-audio","category-sermon","tag-benevolence","tag-fruitful","tag-praise","tag-repentance","tag-righteousness","tag-steadfastness","tag-teaching","tag-trials","tag-works"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":62237,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/bearing-fruit\/","url_meta":{"origin":2206,"position":0},"title":"Bearing Fruit","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 18, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"by Doy Moyer Jesus spoke these well-known words to His disciples shortly before going to the cross: \"I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/Grapes-Ripening-on-the-Vine-300x200.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":83636,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/dead-wood-among-the-branches\/","url_meta":{"origin":2206,"position":1},"title":"Dead Wood Among the Branches","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 25, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jack Behle via Sentry Magazine, Vol. 9, No. 11, November 30, 1983 The teacher tenure law in our state protects teachers against being dismissed arbitrarily after teaching in a district for five years. In fact, it is very difficult to fire a tenured teacher, no matter what the reason.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":96516,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/no-one-can-snatch-them\/","url_meta":{"origin":2206,"position":2},"title":"No One Can Snatch Them","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 6, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"by Terry Wane Benton In John 10:28, Jesus points to the safety of staying within range of the Shepherd's voice. \"My sheep hear my voice,\" and this hearing sets the stage for the next claim: \"no one shall be able to snatch them out of My Father's hand.\" The Father's\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":27384,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wasnt-wine-used-during-the-lords-supper\/","url_meta":{"origin":2206,"position":3},"title":"Wasn’t wine used during the Lord’s Supper?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 12, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I was thankful for the short piece on\u00a0Jesus not having long hair\u00a0and not being handsome. I wanted to correct you, though, in your interpretation of the commandment to observe Passover in Luke. It was wine, not grape juice. Nowhere can you find the Greek words written by Luke or\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":12797,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/why-is-grape-juice-a-part-of-the-lords-supper\/","url_meta":{"origin":2206,"position":4},"title":"Why is grape juice a part of the Lord’s Supper?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 22, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I have been trying to find out the why's of 'the fruit of the vine'. I understand and have read about the Passover. I think I understand the meaning of the Lord's Supper in relation to the Passover. I know why the bread is represented to be Jesus' body,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":67286,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/misconceptions-about-the-lords-supper\/","url_meta":{"origin":2206,"position":5},"title":"Misconceptions About the Lord’s Supper","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 2, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"by Osamagbe Lesley Egharevba via Unmasking Sophistry, Vol. 4, No. 2, April-June 2024 One of the acts of worship the New Testament church engaged in was the Lord's Supper. 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