FEY Kickoff 2024

Hey y’all it feels good to be back doesn’t it? I have missed you guys and having youth with you!

Tonight I want to talk to y’all a little bit about this coming year at Fusion Encounter Youth. I want to talk to you about the vision for this year.

If you remember the last time we had youth group before the summer we talked about something very important. Does anyone remember???

We talked about remaining joined to Jesus. Just to recap what that means, in the bible there is are four books about the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, who is God become human. One of these books is named after who we believe to be its’ author and called John. In this book, in chapter 15 Jesus is talking to his followers and he says to them this…

“I am the true vine. My Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch joined to me that does not bear fruit. He trims every branch that does bear fruit. Then it will bear even more fruit. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain joined to me, just as I also remain joined to you. No branch can bear fruit by itself. It must remain joined to the vine. In the same way, you can’t bear fruit unless you remain joined to me” (Jn 15: 1-4 NIrV)

Jesus is painting a picture here with his words. He is telling his followers that 1) He is the vine, 2) God the Father is the gardener, and 3) We are the branches.

And Jesus is calling his followers here to remain joined to him, just like a branch on a tree, so that they will produce fruit. And what Jesus means here by producing fruit is likely a combination of three things.

That we are living in obedience to God’s commands. This is a continual lifestyle of listening to what God says, and saying “yes” to Him.

That we are leading people to having relationships with Jesus.

That we are producing the fruits of the Spirit. In a letter written by another early follower of Jesus, Paul, he talks about the fruit of the Spirit. Listen to what Paul says these fruit are: But the fruit the Holy Spirit produces is love, joy and peace. It is being patient, kind and good. It is being faithful and gentle and having control of oneself (Gal. 5:22-23a NIrV) And if this is what Jesus is talking about here, the fruits of the Spirit are what God produces in us as we remain joined to him.

So what Jesus is saying here is that if we want to have lives filled with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control, if we want to live a lifestyle of trust in and obedience to God, and if we want to lead other people to experience a relationship with God, who loves them dearly and was willing to die in their place, for their sins so that He could have a relationship with them, then we have to remain joined to him, to Jesus.

Here’s how my youth pastor explained this to me when I was in youth. Imagine a phone with a terrible battery, one that dies as soon as you take it off the charger 1) Phone is good when it stays connected to the charger, can do amazing things!!! 2) When phone disconnects from the charger it is an almost useless brick that isn’t good for much. We are the phone with the bad battery, Jesus is the electricity and charger that gives us life. So we need to remain joined to him, to remain plugged in, if we want to live the kind of life I just described.

And here’s how we do that, there are three ways we remain joined to Jesus.

To “remain joined to Jesus” means to have faith in him, to trust that he is God become human, that he died for your sins, and that he rose from the dead three days later!

To “remain joined to Jesus” means to obey God’s commands. We know this because Jesus says in verse 9-10 Jesus says, “Just as the Father has loved me, I have loved you. Now remain in my love. If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love. In the same way, I have obeyed my Father’s commands and remain in his love.” (Jn 15:9-10 NIrV). If bearing fruit is a lifestyle of saying “yes” to God, then remaining joined to Jesus is the day to day, little “yeses” we say to God. Obeying Jesus in day-to-day life is the cause which leads to the effect of an entire way of life known by its obedience to Jesus. So, what does it mean to obey Jesus? Jesus continues in verse 11-13 saying, “I have told you this so that you will have the same joy that I have. I also want your joy to be complete. Here is my command. Love one another, just as I have loved you. No one has greater love than the one who gives their life for their friends.” (Jn 15:11-13 NIrV). So to obey Jesus is to love others the way he loved his earliest followers (the people he is speaking to here) and how he has loved us! Love the Jesus way!

Finally, the third what to remain joined to Jesus is to have an ongoing relationship with God. Not a relationship that only happens on Sunday at church or Wednesday at youth group, but a relationship that is ongoing, day after day, week after week, year after year. If we seek to produce fruit in our lives, to live a lifestyle of saying “yes” to God, to lead others to a relationship with Jesus, or to produce the fruits of the Spirit in our lives, we must have an ongoing relationship with Jesus. We can participate in this relationship by spending time with Jesus in prayer, in reading our Bibles and learning to love God for who He reveals Himself to be in the Bible, by coming to youth group and church, by worshipping God, by spending time alone just being quiet with God and listening for His voice.

And so we have these three ways of abiding in Jesus 1) Belief, 2) Obedience, and 3) Relationship. All three of these are crucial for us to bear fruit and to live the lives God has called us to live, lives that will be the most full lives, sure they will be hard. Following Jesus is not easy, and it may cost us something, it cost the early followers of Jesus to give up their lives, it may cost us to give up hanging out with certain friends, or to give up a sinful habit, and it will definitely cost you to change the way you view life, other people, yourself, and the world around you. Following Jesus will change you into a whole new person, but in all of the best ways. Into a loving and selfless person. Into a person that has a deep relationship with God and bears much fruit, one that bears the fruit of the Spirit, love joy, peace patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control. Isn’t that the life you desire?!?!

So that is what we are planning on focusing on this year. Remaining joined to Jesus. Jn 15.4 “Remain joined to me, just as I also remain joined to you. No branch can bear fruit by itself. It must remain joined to the vine. In the same way, you can’t bear fruit unless you remain joined to me.” (NIrV) is going to be our verse of the year. If you memorize it and recite it to one of the ladies at the canteen you get a free snack (one per customer)!

The series we do for our messages will revolve around helping us to grow in one or more of those areas of remaining joined to Jesus. To help you believe in, obey and trust, and have a relationship with God.

Starting next week we are jumping into the series, “Our Story Pt.2”. Our leaders are going to be telling you about their relationships with Jesus and how he has moved and worked in their lives! I am so excited for this year and hope y’all are too! For now, let’s go to small groups!