He Is The Vine; We Are The Branches

He Is the Vine; We Are the Branches

Bible Blast: Read John 15:5-8

Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing. John 15:5

When a grape is dried, why is it suddenly a “raisin”? Why wouldn’t it just be a “dried grape”? I may never know the answer to those questions, but I do know about the oldest grapevine in the world. It’s found in England at the Hampton Court Palace garden. The palace isn’t home to royal families anymore, but it’s a great place for tourists to visit. One of the things those visitors can see is a huge grapevine that the groundskeepers believe was first planted in the year 1768! So not only is it more than 230 years old, it’s about 120 feet long! For good reason, people call it the Great Vine. The vine’s keeper harvests roughly 507 to 705 pounds of grapes off of the Great Vine every year. Once, back in 1807, the keepers harvested three times that many!

Our focus verse today tells us that Jesus is the true Great Vine, and we are the branches. Now, I could sit and tell you all the reasons why I think Jesus is like a vine and we are like the branches, but I want to give you a moment to think of some reasons for yourself. So go ahead and take a minute to do that.

Okay. Did you come up with some possible answers?

One possibility that really stands out to me about Jesus being the vine is that he is our source of power, strength, and life. A branch can’t grow unless it’s connected to something. Jesus is our constant power supply.

It’s not like an MP3 player or video game that you plug in until it’s charged up, and then you unplug it until the battery dies again. It’s more like your family’s television set. If it isn’t plugged in to the electrical socket, it’s not going to show your favorite TV shows or movies.

When you live your life for Jesus, you are his. Take the time to stay connected and plugged in to his love and power. If you do, your life will grow a lot of fruit.

Girl Gab: Play a game of Bobbing for Grapes with your mom. Put a handful of grapes in a large, shallow bowl. Fill the bowl about three-quarters full with water. Take turns, and see who can stick her face in the water and pull out the most grapes using just her mouth in one minute! The winner gets a back rub!