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Abide in Me/I am the True Vine (Isaiah 5:1-7, John 15:1-17)

Peter Elward, October 29, 2017
Part of the Miscellaneous series, preached at a Sunday Evening service

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https://www.bethel-clydach.co.uk/sermons/?show&file_name=2017-10-29-pm.mp3 Download
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Isaiah 5:1–7 (Listen)

5:1   Let me sing for my beloved
    my love song concerning his vineyard:
  My beloved had a vineyard
    on a very fertile hill.
2   He dug it and cleared it of stones,
    and planted it with choice vines;
  he built a watchtower in the midst of it,
    and hewed out a wine vat in it;
  and he looked for it to yield grapes,
    but it yielded wild grapes.
3   And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem
    and men of Judah,
  judge between me and my vineyard.
4   What more was there to do for my vineyard,
    that I have not done in it?
  When I looked for it to yield grapes,
    why did it yield wild grapes?
5   And now I will tell you
    what I will do to my vineyard.
  I will remove its hedge,
    and it shall be devoured;
  I will break down its wall,
    and it shall be trampled down.
6   I will make it a waste;
    it shall not be pruned or hoed,
    and briers and thorns shall grow up;
  I will also command the clouds
    that they rain no rain upon it.
7   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!

(ESV)

John 15:1–17 (Listen)

15:1 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. 2 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. 3 Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. 4 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. 5 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. 6 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. 7 If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. 9 As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. 10 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. 11 These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.

12 “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command you. 15 No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you. 16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you. 17 These things I command you, so that you will love one another.

(ESV)

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Garin Jenkins’s story

“We set our standards, but when you get there, it doesn't fulfil what you think it will.”

It’s strange, we set our standards, but when you actually get there, it doesn’t fulfil what you think it will. When I was a kid I thought, ‘When I get to play for Wales I’ll have a big car and holidays’, and yes they were nice — but they still don’t fill the void… It was always ‘Next week, I’m really going to start going to church regularly’. I didn’t really want to come out and make a stand for God. I kept telling myself that I wasn’t ready yet.
Read more of Garin Jenkins’s story
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We love sharing our faith with others, but we also know from our own experience that many people need time and space to think through the message of the Bible for themselves. So if you want to explore what Christianity offers, we think you'll find Bethel a great place to do that. If you want to just listen, that's fine. If you've got questions, we'll do our best to help. If you've problems that no-one else seems to be able to help with — perhaps a bereavement, family crisis, or spiralling debts — then you'll find Bethel a place where you can not only get emotional and practical support, but spiritual help, too.
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