Grace and peace to you from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The Word of the Lord which engages us this morning comes from our Gospel lesson (John 15: 1-8). Jesus said "I am the true vine and you are the branches." When Jesus spoke about vineyards, the rural people of Judea knew what he was talking about, much like the rural people of Kansas know about wheat. It was an industry that had been carefully cultivated throughout the country for centuries. Vineyards were crucial to their economy because it was their cash crop as opposed to grain, which was raised purely for food. Apparently, grapevines are a very rugged crop in a way and in another sense they are a very delicate fruit and requires being treated with kid gloves. Young vines are not permitted to bear fruit for the first three years. They are drastically pruned in December and January to preserve their energy. The particular branches that do not bear fruit are cut out to further conserve the energy of the plant. If this constant cutting back was not done, the result would be a crop that was not up to its full potential. In Jesus analogy, he likened himself to a vine, while the fruit bearing branches here are the disciples. God the farmer cultivates the vineyard. He waters and tends the soil, so that the vine is properly nourished. He takes pride in his crop. But this means that he also prunes the vines and removes the dead wood. The grapes hang on to the branches. What Jesus is saying is clear. The disciples should receive their strength from Jesus. He is the true vine. If they break away from him, they will be like unproductive branches and die and bear no fruit. They then will have to be pruned out. (previous two paragraphs adapted from esermons.com)

What does it mean to be God's vineyard? � First and foremost it means we the branches survive, grow and produce only because of the vine. If you want to belong to the people of God, you belong to Jesus. He said to his disciples "You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me and I will remain in you." We are connected and clean and spiritually alive only because Jesus gave his life on the cross for us branches, to ransom us from death and sin. Only through His forgiving power do we come to life before God and grow in Him. Only through His Word and Sacraments do we remain connected to Him. A native from a remote mountain village visited a large modern city for the first time. He could not bring much home with him, and he had little money. But he was amazed at the electric lights which he saw everywhere. So he bought a sack full of electric lights bulbs and sockets with switches so he could turn them off and on. Arriving home he hung the light bulbs in front of his home and on his and his neighbor's trees. Everyone watched him with curiosity and asked him what he was doing, but he just smiled and said, "Just wait until dark--you'll see." When night came he turned on the switches, but nothing happened. No one had told him about electricity. He did not know the light bulbs were useless unless connected to the source of their power.

Jesus said, "Apart from me you can do nothing." There are many people who do not know that the way they are living their lives is useless. They've got the education; they've got the job; they made the family; and bought the home but when the sun sets and night comes and they reach for the switch for the meaning of life nothing happens. They do not know that there is a source, which makes all these things light up! (Adapted from Donald Deffner, Seasonal Illustrations, Resource, p. 115.) ����������������

But we who have heard Jesus' words, we who have his words remaining in us know that he is the only source of our strength and life. Ultimately every second of our day is not our own, but a gift from God. Every ounce of strength we have to live our lives and do our jobs and keep up with our schoolwork and love our families comes from God and God alone. In our technological, affluent society it's easy to forget that. An old proverb with an unknown author goes like this: "Man, despite his artistic pretensions, his sophistication, and many accomplishments, owes the fact of his existence to a six-inch layer of topsoil and the fact that it rains."

We who know the Lord have been made a part of this vine, the body of Jesus, there is still a pruning process that goes on. Before preparing for this sermon I really had no idea how extensively vinedressers prune grapevines. In pruning a vine, two principles are generally observed: first, ALL dead wood must be ruthlessly removed; and second, the live wood must be cut back drastically. Dead wood harbors insects and disease that can cause the vine to rot and become unproductive and unsightly. Live wood, "sucker shoots" must be trimmed back in order to prevent such heavy growth that the life of the vine goes into the wood and leaves rather than into fruit. (adapted from Merrill C. Tenney, John: The Gospel of Belief, Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1948, pp. 227-28.)

"George" had a grapevine in his backyard but knew nothing about how to tend it. He had done nothing with it for 5 years and it had produced almost no grapes. He learned that one of his neighbors knew about grapevines so he asked him to come over & prune it back rightly. When George returned, he expected to see a vine with a fresh haircut, but still similar in appearance to what he had left. Instead only three skinny primary branches remained and these the neighbor draped over a wire. He had removed nearly all the leaves and the vine looked naked. But yet, within weeks, new growth began and the vine produced the most abundant crop George had ever seen. As the farmer wields the pruning knife on his vines, so God cuts dead wood out from among His saints, and often cuts back the living wood so far that His method seems hurtful. Nevertheless, from those who have suffered the most there often comes the greatest fruitfulness. And the energy to grow and thrive comes not from within us, but from the vine. "If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you." (John 15: 7). Notice that this promise to ask for whatever is not without a qualifier. When we remain in his Word our requests will change to match his will.

I assume that some of you tire of my constant reminders for you to be in Bible study, both personal and group Bible study. A few of you have noted that I don't preach a lot about financial giving, but I do preach a lot about hearing and learning God's Word. I preach a lot about God's Word because God's Word emphasizes its own importance. Some people use the excuse "Well I don't read the Bible because I have a hard time understanding what I'm reading." The Ethiopian Eunuch was reading God's Word out loud to himself from Isaiah. Isaiah is perhaps one of the harder books of the Bible to understand, and the eunuch didn't even understand what he was reading. But yet God provided Philip to him to explain and share the life-changing story of Jesus with him. In the same way God has provided me and other teachers here to you so that the life-changing, growth producing vine of Jesus here at Immanuel can spread and produce more branches and more fruit, that is more changed lives through us all. ��

John Warr, an 18th-century apprentice shoemaker, was determined to be a faithful witness for Christ, to produce fruit for his Lord. But John was not particularly articulate. No one ever thought he'd contribute much fruit for Jesus, John would never be a renowned evangelist. Another apprentice by the name of William was hired in their shop, and John repeatedly talked to him about spiritual things, but the new worker didn't want to be bothered. Then one day William was caught exchanging a counterfeit shilling for a good one. In his guilt and humiliation he asked John for help and prayer. Through the faithful witness of John Warr, that man put his faith in Christ and developed into a committed disciple. The young apprentice was William Carey, who later became a remarkably fruitful missionary to India. Carey's life and ministry had a tremendous influence on the cause of worldwide gospel outreach in modern times. Jesus said in John 15:8, "By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit." This could be discouraging to Christians who don't think they are gifted to preach, sing, teach, or go to the mission field. They might see themselves as stuck in a situation that makes fruitful service impossible. If that's how you feel, then take courage from the example of John Warr. His impact on a co-worker brought glory to God and untold blessing to multitudes of people around the world. (modified from Our Daily Bread, June 7, 1996). Know that God has prepared in advance good works for you to do (Ephesians 2: 10), fruit which your branch can produce because it is connected to the vine.

And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, will keep your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4: 7)