Listen online or download the sermon audio file to your computer or mobile device and listen to the sermon when it's convenient for you.
Jesus exposes how easily sincere sorrow can still be self-centered, revealing that the disciples were more concerned with their loss than with His glory. Never-the-less, His departure still worked to their advantage because of the coming of the Spirit, who can convict the world in such a way that leads to salvation.
Jesus warns his disciples about persecution not to frighten them, but to keep them from falling away when they experience the pain of life in a hostile world. He wants all who face persecution on account of Him to remember that He is not surprised by this development, but rather that He is over it all.
In a world that is opposed Jesus and His followers, the Holy Spirit has been sent to bear witness about Jesus. He testifies to the world through believers, making the church an active participant in sharing the truth about Christ with the world.
In this text, Jesus prepares His disciples to endure a hostile world by equipping them with the knowledge that they will be treated the same way He was treated. To help them navigate the world’s hatred, He reminds them just how foolish it is to reject Jesus’ clear self-revelation.
Abiding in Christ expresses itself in sacrificial love for other believers, a love modeled by Jesus’ own death. As we meditate on our privileged position, we are moved to humbly praise Christ and gladly follow his example.
Jesus expounds on the command to abide in Him by telling us to remain in His love—a love which He initiates and which is experienced through ongoing obedience. As believers endure in dependence on Christ, we learn that the path of obedience is a path that leads to the fulness of joy.
There are many blessings that flow from abiding in Jesus. In this text, Jesus graciously shows some unexpected blessings that flow from a life that is abiding in the Vine: our prayers are answered and the Father is glorified.
Jesus teaches that fruit in the Christian life flows only from ongoing dependence on Him, not mere proximity to His teaching or association with His people. John 15:3–6 confronts us with both the gracious foundation Christ provides and the sobering reality that failure to abide reveals the absence of true life.
John 15:1-2 begins Jesus’ illustration of the vine, the vinedresser, and the branches. Jesus begins the illustration by showing how the Father tends the branches either by removal or by pruning.
Quicklinks:
Contact Us
Log into Realm
Give
12520 SE 240th St, Kent, WA 98031
Connect with us
