Fruit at Fir ane

Welcome: Introduce the theme

Today we will be looking at the seventh “I am” statement from John’s Gospel.

“I am the vine, and you are the branches”

Opening Prayer: Karon

Lord thank you that you are here with us.

Make us aware of your presence as we worship You.

Speak to us that we might know You better.

Fill us again with Your Holy Spirit that we would live for Your glory.

Amen

Song One: Fruits of the spirit

Song Two: Waymaker

Warm up: “Grape tasting” and where the grapes have come from

Does anyone here like Grapes?

Who would like to be a fruit taster this morning?

I have three bowls of grapes here for you to taste and I would like you to tell me which grapes taste the best.

Let’s begin with the green grapes.

Do they taste good?

Now let’s try the red grapes.

Do they taste good?

Now let’s try these other grapes.

Don’t you want to taste these grapes?

Why not?

I don’t blame you…..no-one wants to eat bad fruit do they?

This fruit wouldn’t be a blessing to us, would it?

So, tasters, in your professional opinion, which grapes taste the best?

They are delicious, aren’t they?

This good fruit is a blessing to our bodies.

Thank you for your help…..please sit down.

I wonder if any children know how grapes grow

That’s right; they grow on a grapevine:

The grapevine sends out branches and the grapes, which grow in clusters, hang down from the branches.

The grapevine was a very familiar sight in Jesus’ day.

Jesus used the grapevine to teach us some very important things.

Listen to this Bible reading.

Reading 1: John 15:5-8 ANISE

Link: Jesus is The Vine, and we are the branches.

The first thing to say about the grapevine is that it was originally used as a symbol of

the nation of Israel in the Old Testament.

Israel, like a grapevine, was meant to be fruitful...bearing good fruit to bless others, Israel was meant to show the world around them how good it was to live in relationship with God But Israel failed to do this.

At many points in their history, they chose to turn away from relationship with God to worship idols made from wood and metal instead.

At other times they kept God’s blessings strictly to themselves, refusing to share them.

So Jesus came…..leaving heaven to come to earth two thousand years ago.

Jesus told His followers that He was the true vine (John 15:1).

He was the source of life for people…..everlasting life…. (John 1:4)

and they, His followers were the branches…..

called to bear good fruit to His Father’s glory.

Song: THIS LITTLE LIGHT OF MINE

Link: What is the good fruit that God wants us to bear in our lives?

We have said that Jesus calls us to bear good fruit,

the fruit of living lives that honour Him.

But what exactly does that mean?

What is the good fruit that God wants to see in our lives?

Listen to this:

Reading 2: Galatians 5:22-23 ZAK

In our reading we have just heard about nine different character qualities that St Paul

calls “fruit of the Spirit.”

This lovely fruit grows in our lives when we follow Jesus.

I need 9 people to come and help me now. (Give to each person a “fruit description” to read

out)

Each person here is going to read out a description of a fruit of the Spirit.

You need to guess which fruit they are talking about.

1: I am willing to sacrificially give all that I have and all that I am to you, so that

you are blessed. I am…….?

(Answer: LOVE)

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………...

2: I will not say whatever comes into my head but will be careful what words I

speak to you. When I have a bag of sweets or a packet of biscuits I won’t eat

them all at once but will share them with you. When I am cross with you I

won’t punch you or swear at you. I am…….?

(Answer: SELF-CONTROL)

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………...

3: I know that your feelings are tender, so I won’t be rough when I speak to you. I

won’t push you around or intimidate you but will treat you with respect. I

am.……?

(Answer: GENTLENESS)

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

4: I am happy inside even when I go through difficult times because I know that I

am loved and that Jesus is with me every step of the way. I am.……?

(Answer: JOY)

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………...

5: I am willing to wait for things to happen in God’s perfect time because I trust

Him. I don’t complain and grumble as I wait. I am…….?

(Answer: PATIENCE)

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………...

6: I will keep my promises to you even when it is really hard to do so. I will be a

loyal friend to you even if you get sick or have other problems. I won’t join in

with people who say horrible things about you behind your back, but will stand

up for you. I am…….?

(Answer: FAITHFULNESS)

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………...

7: I will find ways to make your life better. I might help you with a job that needs

doing. I might write you an encouraging letter or comfort you when you are

sad or tell you about the love of Jesus. I am…….?

(Answer: KINDNESS)

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8: I feel calm inside because I know that because of Jesus all of my sins have

been forgiven. I know that I am a loved child of God. Even when difficult

things happen in my life I still have this calm inside me. I am…….?

(Answer: PEACE)

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………...

9: I try to do the things that will please my heavenly Father like serving other

people, visiting the sick and giving some of what I have to those who are poor.

I choose to be honest and not to lie. I keep away from people doing bad

things as I don’t want to join in. I am…….?

(Answer: GOODNESS)

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

I wonder which fruit of the Spirit you need God to grow more fully in your life.

Thank you everyone ….please sit down.

Talk 1: If we are to bear good fruit, we need to stay connected to Jesus

Picture of Grapes and dead branches on screen

God wants to grow good fruit in our lives, because His purpose for our lives is to make us more and more like Jesus (Romans 8:29)

When we think about the fruit of the Spirit, we see all of it in Jesus’ character don’t we? Jesus is love, pure love. He is full of joy, peace, and patience. Jesus is kind, good and faithful.

He is full of gentleness and self-control. If we are to become like Jesus and bear this good fruit of the Spirit, Jesus says that we need to stay connected to Him.

That makes sense, doesn’t it?

On a grapevine, the branch that is connected to the vine bears fruit because it is connected to the source of life, (Show the picture of the vine in Appendix 2)

and so, it will get all the water and the nutrients that it needs.

In due course fruit will appear naturally.

It is the same with us.

When we are connected to Jesus, the source of life, the Holy Spirit will fill our lives and in due course good fruit will appear naturally, without us needing to struggle and strive

However, Jesus also talked about branches that didn’t stay connected to the vine.

He said that these branches would bear no fruit.

That also makes sense, doesn’t it? (Project a picture of a dead branch)

A branch separated from the source of life cannot produce good fruit, no matter how hard it tries to.

On our own, without being connected to Jesus, we cannot be consistently patient and kind, at peace and full of joy.

We need the powerful Holy Spirit within us if we are going to bear good fruit.

So can I encourage you today to stay connected to Jesus,

and you will then bear good fruit that will bring Him glory.

Confession: Confession of where we have produced bad fruit KARON

PLEASE CAN YOU PUT THE FOLLOWING ON SCREEN AT THIS POINT AFTER INTRODUCTION

Father God,

Please forgive us when we have chosen:

to hate instead of loving others,

to grumble instead of giving thanks,

to be irritable instead of showing patience,

to be unkind instead of showing kindness,

to be drawn to bad things instead of doing good,

to be unfaithful instead of being faithful,

to be rough instead of being gentle and

to be greedy and selfish instead of showing self-control.

We turn away from these wrong attitudes and ask that You help us to stay

connected to Jesus.

Please fill us again with Your peace. Amen.

A Prayer of absolution. KARON

May our Lord and God, Jesus Christ, through the grace and mercies of his love for humankind, forgive you all your transgressions. And I, an unworthy priest, by his power given me, forgive and absolve you from all your sins, in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Song: 4 House of the Lord

Link: So how do we stay connected to Jesus? One way is through prayer

We have said that if we are going to bear the good fruit of the Holy Spirit then we need to stay connected to Jesus, so how do we do that?

The answer is very simple. Spend time with Him.

In all of our relationships be it with members of our family, or friends or neighbours, we need to give them time don’t we, so that we can get to know them?

Nowadays there are lots of ways of staying connected with people aren’t there?

We may speak with them face to face, or chat with them on the telephone.

We might send them a message or a text or an email or social media.

One of the gifts that we have been given to be able to stay connected to Jesus is

the gift of Prayer.

Watch this:

Film: “Prayer”

Talk 2: Stay connected through prayer

So can I encourage you to stay connected to Jesus. Spend time with Him.

If you don’t already have a special time when you spend time with Him, think about what would work for you.

And as well as making a special time to give your full attention to Jesus, try and find ways each day to stop for a moment and be aware of His presence with you.

You might put on a worship CD as you make a journey in the car, or, put a reminder on your phone to stop and pray for a few minutes at midday.

You might bring to mind three things that you want to thank God for as you walk to school or to work,

or ask Jesus to clothe you with His love as you get dressed in the morning. The important thing is that you stay connected to Jesus.

And of course, we don’t simply talk to Jesus we also need to listen to what He says as well so that we get to know Him better.

One of the best ways of doing that is through reading our Bibles each day. If you don’t already have a Bible, do go and buy one or download one onto your phone.

It is the most important book that you will ever read in your life!

If you and I stay connected to Jesus, we will bear the good fruit of the Holy Spirit that we have heard about today.

Response: Recommit to staying connected to Jesus (use the rope and the tags)

Some of you here today will already know Jesus well and spend time with Him each day.

Others of you will have known Jesus well in the past but have drifted away from Him.

Others of you will not really know Jesus at all…..and feel completely disconnected from Him.

This rope (Show the rope), which we are going to stretch down the church now (have 2

people holding either end) is to remind us of Jesus, the Vine.

We are going to pass around some pieces of green thread now and I would like you to take one piece each. (Pass around pieces of green thread so that every person has one each)

The piece of thread that you have been given reminds us that Jesus chooses each one of us to know Him and to follow Him…..To be like a branch.

As we sing our next song together, can I encourage you to come and tie your piece

of green thread onto the rope as a way of you saying to Jesus:

I want to know You better…..

I want to be connected to You Jesus….

I want to bear good fruit in my life.

Once you have tied your thread onto the rope, go back to your place.

Song: about staying close to follow Jesus

Prayers: Using responses: KARON

Pray that we, Jesus’ followers will stay connected to Him with the response:

Jesus You are the vine. Help us stay connected to you

Pray for Jesus’ followers who are sick or going through other hard times which we bring before you now.

response:

Jesus You are the vine. Help them stay connected to you.

Praying for people who don’t yet know Jesus with the response:

Jesus You are the vine. Help them to become connected to you.

Lord’s Prayer: KARON

Final song: PEACE LIKE A RIVER

Summary: Summarise the main teaching points of the service.

Jesus said that He is The Vine, in other words our source of life.

Followers of Jesus are like the branches on a vine that are called to bear good

fruit.

The good fruit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,

gentleness and self-control.

If we are going to bear good fruit we need to stay connected to Jesus, for without Him we can do nothing.

We stay connected to Jesus through prayer and Bible reading.

Blessing:

Jesus, You are The Vine, and we are the branches.

Help us to stay connected to you each day.

And the blessing of God Almighty, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit be among

you and remain with you always. Amen.