The Notes

This coming Wednesday night, May 27, 2026, is the week of Memorial Day and the perfect time for a message on Fighting Battles.  We all have a battle we are facing, or one is on the way.  How do you face it?  In fear or in faith?  Join us for in-person worship and some mid-week encouragement for the soul at 6:00 p.m. as we share how to fight battles in life with faith.

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This past Wednesday night,  May 20, 2026, was week 5 - the conclusion - of our message series on the "I AM" statements of Jesus.  These are the 7 "I AM" statements recorded in the Gospel of John.  This week, we focused on the last statement from John 15:  “I am the true vine" (John 15:1).  

Recall that Jesus is talking with the disciples after the Last Supper.  These are some of His final words to them.  This is what He said: 

"I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener.  He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. . . .   

Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.  “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing."  (John 15:1-5).

There are 5 nuggets of truth we can learn from Jesus' words.

1 - Jesus says He is the "true vine."  This is meaningful to His 12 Jewish disciples because Scripture had referred to Israel as the vine; but that vine that wasn’t true. 

Psalm 80:8-9 says – “You transplanted a vine from Egypt; you drove out the nations and planted it.  You cleared the ground for it, and it took root and filled the land.”  And Isaiah 5:7 – “The vineyard of the Lord Almighty is the nation of Israel,

and the people of Judah are the vines he delighted in.  And he looked for justice, but saw bloodshed; for righteousness, but heard cries of distress.”  Isaiah 5 is not a pretty picture.  It shows that because the people of Israel didn’t respect God, He removed His protection and blessing.   They would go into exile.  So historically, scriptures shows us that God prepared the vineyard, but found bad fruit, and not good grapes, on the vine.  Now look again at what Jesus said, "I am the true vine."  While God’s people were lacking as a vineyard, Jesus was true.  Jesus perfectly obeyed the Father;  He did not disappoint God like other vines.  His life produced fruit!   Jesus was the fulfillment and embodiment of what Israel was meant to be—a fruitful, life-giving presence in the world.

2 - “My Father” is the gardener.  This statement once again aligns Jesus with God.  Jesus is directly saying to the disciples, I am the Son of God.  It's as if He were saying to the disciples, I am about to go away and you may begin to have many questions and doubts.  But do not doubt this - I am the one and only Son of God.  Have no doubt that I am the promised Messiah.  I’m the one the prophets spoke about, and I am the one who has been walking with you and teaching you about the Father.

3 – God is the Gardener, the keeper of the vineyard.  A Gardener is a keeper and caretaker of the vineyard.  He’s responsible for tending the vine; ensuring that the vine is healthy so it can be productive.  This concept is given in Isaiah 27:2-3 where God is depicted as the one who watches over His vineyard.  It says: “Sing about a fruitful vineyard.  I, the LORD, am its keeper; I water it continually. I guard it night and day so no one can disturb it.”

The Keeper’s task is pruning, watering, & protecting the vine from pests and disease.  He nurtures it, giving it His attention and care.

That imagery shows God’s role to us.  He is actively involved in our lives, preparing the place for us to bloom and be fruitful.  He nourishes us watches over us, day and night.

4 – This also tells of God’s sovereignty.   The Keeper is ensuring the branches remain fruitful.  Look at what Jesus said again, “He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.”  Now the Greek word for “cuts off” means “To raise, lift up, take away, remove.”  God does this in order.  He first lifts us up, supports and encourages us.  He is patient.  But there is a limit to God's patience with the branches, and us.

In Luke 13, Jesus told this parable: “A man had a fig tree growing in his vineyard, and he went to look for fruit on it but did not find any.  So he said to the man who took care of the vineyard, ‘For three years now I’ve been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and haven’t found any. Cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?’   “‘Sir,’ the man replied, ‘leave it alone for one more year, and I’ll dig around it and fertilize it.  If it bears fruit next year, fine! If not, then cut it down.’ (vs. 6-9).  This is a warning that we have only so much time to get our hearts aligned with God.  “People look at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”  (1 Sam. 16:7).

But there is also good news here.  Are you still here?  Still alive?  That means you are bearing fruit and have more fruit to bear.  Or, of course, it could mean God is being patient with you.  That is for each of us to decide as to how we are living. 

5 - Jesus gives us a contrast - Fruitless branches vs Fruitful branches.  Fruitless means the branches are superficially connected; there is an absence of a life changed by Jesus Christ.  It's like this, some people call themselves Christians, but it’s in name only, not in deeds.   Think of team players who wear a jersey, but sit on the bench and never play.  Or soldiers who pledge allegiance, but won’t pick up a weapon.  Maybe a firefighter who wears the uniform, but never holds a hose.   The question is, are you sitting in the boat, but never rowing?  That means you are sitting still, not going anywhere.

On the other hand, fruitful branches are genuine believers—they don’t just know Jesus, but call Him Lord & Savior.  They follow His footsteps; they are moving and developing.  The true heart of a person is shown in how they live, actions speak louder than words.  Do our lives bear the fruit of a person committed to Jesus?  And what is the fruit?  Galatians 5:22-23 says - "The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,  gentleness and self-control."  Those are the qualities our lives should show because we would be reflecting the nature of our Heavenly Father, our Gardener.  

6 – God, the Gardner, knows how to prune branches.  Here is the hard truth - pruning isn’t pleasant.  It may involve loss.   God cuts off what isn’t needed, what holds us back from growth and productivity.  We usually cling to those things.  We don’t want to let go.  We too often become like Lot’s wife … looking back at what we're losing instead of looking forward to what we are gaining.  Truth is - God lovingly prunes so we can flourish and bloom even more.  If you needed it, you would still have it.  The best mindset to live in joy and peace is to know that your Gardener is setting you up for success; He is removing the things that will keep you from being the best version of you.

7 – Beware of Disconnect.  Being a Christian is not a one time event; it is a journey and an ongoing commitment.  The problem is, our human nature loves freedom.  We want to fly free.  Be self sufficient.  But Jesus says we must remain in Him; we must abide with Him.  We were created to be dependent on God, not independent.  So we have to stay connected to Him.  Verse 4 says, "Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.  And then Jesus echoes that point again in verse 5 - “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing."  

Many people struggle in life - not because they aren’t good hearted, but because they’re trying to bear fruit on their own.  They are trying to do everything on their own.  Even our plans to do something good can backfire if we are doing it without God, disconnected from His vine and purpose.  We may be trying to serve in an area where we are not equipped; we may be doing a job that was never ours to do; we may be doing a good deed at the wrong time.  There are many reasons for the struggle, but they all point back to this truth - we won't bear fruit if we are not connected to the vine of Jesus. 

Let's close with this thought - the vine supplies continuous, unseen nourishment to its branches.   Jesus will supply all you need if you will stay connected to Him.  Jesus is the true vine for us, giving us life.  We won't survive without Him.  And we can’t do anything without Him.  Stay close to the vine, and remember John 15:8 - "This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.”