I Am The Vine- Youth Group

I Am the true vine

Alright, grab your Bibles and turn with me to John 15:1-11. Let’s pick it up in verse 1

Can i Get like 2 people to read the passage?

John 15:1–11 ESV

“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 it may bear more fruit. Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.

Let’s pray: Father, this text is the heartbeat of the Christian life. Give me clarity and power as I share, and help us not just to hear Your Word, but to live it out. In Jesus’ name, amen.

I Did Something Weird….

“Okay, so I did something weird before youth group tonight. I cut this branch off a tree.

Looks good, right?

Nice leaves. Still green. If I set it here on the table, you’d think it’s alive.

But here’s the problem: it’s already dead. It just doesn’t know it yet.

Question: “What’s the only thing this branch needs to stay alive?

(Connection) (A Life Source).

It’s disconnected from its source of life.

Tomorrow it’ll be droopy. In a week it’ll be brown and crispy. And no matter how hard this branch tries, it will never grow apples, or grapes, or anything , because it’s cut off from the tree.

And you see thats exactly the picture Jesus gives us in John 15

when He says, ‘I am the Vine, you are the branches.’

If you’re cut off from Him, you might look okay for a while, but you’re already dying.

Big Point: There may be a lot of information we go through, but if you remember one thing it is -

life only comes from staying connected to Christ.

That’s exactly the picture Jesus gives in John 15:5. He says:

John 15:5 ESV

I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.

Jesus ultimately here is saying: Life apart from Me is impossible. You might look okay for a while. You might look like you’ve got it together. But if you’re not connected to Me, you’re already withering.

Context: Where Are We in the Story?

So, let’s back up. Where does Jesus say this?

The Upper Room Discourse

If you didn’t know, John 12-20 is actually the span of the last weeks of Jesus life.

In fact John 15 takes place the night before the cross.

Im not sure if you guys knew this, but Chapters 13–17 are what we call The Upper Room Discourse.

Meaning the upper room is where the disciple and Jesus were at the last supper- the upper room of the house

And discourse is basically a fancy word for specific teachings of Jesus.

And so the Jesus is spending His last few hours with His disciples before He’s arrested. Chapters 13-17 John all happened in the span of a few hours.

He’s already washed their feet (John 13). He’s told Peter he will deny Him. He’s promised that The Holy Spirit will come.

That Has all already happened

Then we get to chapter 15 .. Personally here in this chapter I Believe that this is when Jesus and his disciples have already left the upper Room and they are heading to the Garden of Gethsemane, but jesus is still teaching them.

John 14:31 ESV

but I do as the Father has commanded me, so that the world may know that I love the Father. Rise, let us go from here.

I think it is safe to say that they are walking through vineyards to the garden by the time we reach John 15–16.

So picture this: it’s late at night, the disciples are confused, scared, anxious. And Jesus looks at the vineyard and says: “I am the true Vine. If you stay connected to Me, you will live. If you disconnect from Me, you will die.”

This wasn’t just a random gardening story or another one of Jesus hard to understand parabeles.

Jesus was making a serious promise — like a covenant.

Does anyone know what a covenant is?

In the Bible, a covenant is God’s unbreakable contract or commitment with His people.

And so here, Jesus is saying: “If you stay with Me, I’ll give you life. If you walk away, you’ll wither.”

But i want you guys to know that Jesus wasnt just using a random picture of a random vine..

Does anyone know the significance of why Jesus used the Vine?

For a Jewish disciples, this would have been shocking. Because in the Old Testament, the vine represented Israel . God’s chosen people in the Old testament

I have been telling my group every week that every week, every sing one of Jesus I Am statments point back to the Old testament and each point to an area of brokenss and need for us today.

So what about this image of a Vine here??

Isaiah 5:7 ESV

For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah are his pleasant planting; and he looked for justice, but behold, bloodshed; for righteousness, but behold, an outcry!

Jeremiah 2:21 ESV

Yet I planted you a choice vine, wholly of pure seed. How then have you turned degenerate and become a wild vine?

Israel in the Old Testament was God’s vine. But Israel failed. Instead of bearing fruit, they became wild and bitter.

Israel was supposed to bear fruit for God. And They failed.

So when Jesus says, ‘I am the true Vine’, He’s saying: ‘Where Israel failed, I succeed. I’m the real deal. I Am Him… I’m the faithful Son. I’m the only source of life with God.’

Jesus is the ultimate, obedient emodiment of God’s people.

Why do you think Jesus had to replace Israel as the “vine”? What does that tell us about human effort to be righteous?

Well I think it comes down to - We can’t save ourselves by religion, tradition, or “trying harder.”

Israel had the temple, sacrifices, law, prophets — and still failed. We need a better vine. That vine is Jesus.

The Target of the Christian Life

“You know what scares me?

You can work really hard in the Christian life. You can come to youth group, sing the songs, even read your Bible ..

but if you’re aiming at the wrong target, you’ll miss Jesus Himself. And that’s what John 15 is warning us about.”

If your aiming for just the head knoloedge of God, or the religion part of Christianity.. Well You totally miss the point of why Jesus came and what his plan for you is..

Jesus wants you to be comnnected to him, in a relationship.

One of my favorite words in all of the bible comes from this passage abd it is thi word-

abide.

It’s not a word we use much today. We don’t say, “I’m going to abide at the Tooveys residence .” But in the Greek, the word is μένω (menō) — it means to remain, to stay, to dwell, to make your home in.

So when Jesus says, “Abide in Me,” He’s saying:

“Stay close. Don’t wander. Make your home with Me. Stay connected to Me.”

He’s not talking about a quick prayer before bed or a once-a-week youth group hangout. He’s talking about living in Him — like a branch that stays fully connected to its vine every single moment.

Abiding is Relationship

Abiding isn’t about checking boxes or trying harder — it’s about being in a living, breathing relationship with Jesus.

This idea of “abiding” is really what the Bible calls union with Christ. It means that when you put your faith in Jesus, you are joined to Him, His life becomes your life.

Paul says it this way in Galatians 2:20: “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.”

The moment you trust in Jesus, you’re united to Him in His death and resurrection.

His Spirit lives in you, His strength works through you, and His fruit grows out of you.

Abiding, then, isn’t about hanging on for dear life — it’s about living out the connection you already have through faith.

When you abide, His life flows into you. His love fills you. His character starts showing up in how you treat people, how you handle temptation, how you talk, how you think.

Jesus even says in verse 9,

John 15:9 ESV

As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love.

That’s wild. The same love the Father has for the Son; perfect, eternal, unbreakable; is the love Jesus gives to you.

What happens when we abide?

Fruit and Joy

When we abide, something amazing happens fruit.

The fruit of the spirit become evident.(Galatians 5:22-23)

Not fruit like apples and grapes, but spiritual fruit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control .

That’s what real life looks like when we’re connected to Jesus. But notice, fruit isn’t something we produce by own effort; it’s something that grows naturally when we’re connected to the vine.

And its not the fruits of the spirit, but the fruit, it is one whole fruit, and to neglect one is to miss all of them..

Without Him, We Wither

Jesus is crystal clear:

John 15:6 ESV

If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned.

If we disconnect from Him.. if we start trying to live life on our own strength — we dry up. like this dead plant here…

That’s the scary part of verse 6: branches that don’t abide are gathered and burned.

It’s not meant to scare us into obedience but to wake us up to the reality:

There’s no life outside of Jesus.

And honestly, a lot of people try to fake fruit. They tape apples to a dead branch

They try to look spiritual, act good, show up to youth, or go to church every sunday… but there’s no life inside. But the reality is the fruit on here isnt real, it may look real, but real fruit is Not forced — it grows naturally from connection.

Jesus says, “I don’t want your fake fruit. I want your heart. I want you to abide in Me.”

Wrapping Up the “I AM” Series

Now as we close this whole series on the I AM statements of Jesus, I want you to see something beautiful:

Every single one of these “I AM” statements points back to the Old Testament, and to Jesus revealing that He is truly God.

But I want you to see that

Jesus ties himself to the most loftiness name of God in the bible, and ties each statment to an area of human brokeness.

But before we get to that…

The Thread Through It All

Does anyone know where and what moment God says “I AM” in the Old Testament?

It happens in Exodus 3, when Moses stands before the burning bush. Moses asks, “Who should I say sent me?” And God replies, “I AM WHO I AM.”

That name means that God simply is. He’s constant, faithful, and unchanging. He doesn’t depend on anything or anyone. He’s the One who was, is, and will always be.

And that same God—the one who heard the cries of His people in Egypt, who split the Red Sea, who led them through the wilderness by fire and cloud—that same God is the One Jesus claims to be.

Over time, Israel began to forget the heart behind that name. They saw God’s power but lost sight of His presence. They remembered His commands but missed His compassion. And then, Jesus steps onto the scene and says, “I AM.”

It’s as if He’s saying: The same God who rescued you from Egypt, who walked with you through the desert, who fed you manna from heaven and water from the rock—I’m here. Right in front of you.

And in every “I AM” statement, Jesus steps into our wilderness too.

He meets our hunger and says, “I am the Bread of Life.”

He meets our darkness and says, “I am the Light of the World.”

He meets our confusion and says, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life.”

4. He meets our wandering and says, “I am the Good Shepherd.”

He meets our death and says, “I am the Resurrection and the Life.”

He meets our emptiness and says, “I am the True Vine.”

The same God who guided Israel through the desert now guides us through the wilderness of our own hearts. And He doesn’t just speak from a burning bush anymore—He speaks from a cross. He reveals not only His name, but His love.

In Closing

So as we end this series, here’s the question: Are you abiding in Him—or are you trying to live off a disconnected branch?

Jesus doesn’t want part-time followers. He wants sons and daughters who live, breathe, walk, and grow in Him.

Because at the end of the day, the “I AM” statements aren’t just what Jesus does—they show us who He is. He’s not just like God—He is God. The same God who spoke to Moses from the fire, who led Israel through the wilderness, who promised redemption— He stands before us in Jesus, declaring:

“I AM.”

That means He is everything you need—your life, your light, your hope, your truth, your shepherd, your vine. He is the unchanging, ever-present, rescuing God—now made known in Christ.

So my encouragement to all of you is this: Stay connected to Him. And if you haven’t yet come to know Jesus, I want to encourage you to make that decision—to abide in the Great “I AM.”

Because apart from Him, we can do nothing… But with Him, our joy can complete full.

Let’s pray.