Sermons

If there is one thing the people of Jesus’ day were familiar with it was grape vines. Grapes were important in Israel for several reasons: They were a source of fruit in their diet. They were used to produce wine. Wine was used in their meals, it was used as medicine, and it was used in their worship. Grape vines, and the fruit that they produced were a very important part of life in Jesus’ day. So Jesus uses that picture of a grape vine to share with his disciples something even more important. Jesus told his disciples, “‘I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine-grower. He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit he prunes to make it bear more fruit.”