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<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span>Sermons for Easter 5</span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span> </span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span>John 15:1-8 - <strong>"I Am the True Vine" </strong></span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span>Acts 8:26-40 - <strong>"Practicing the Presence"</strong> by Leonard Sweet</span></div>
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<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;"><span><font size="4"><font face="Times New Roman, Times, serif">J</font></font>ohn 15<font size="4"><font face="Times New Roman, Times, serif">,</font></font> the sermon title "I Am the True Vine"</span></div>
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</span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span>It is</span><span>
fascinating to me that in our Protestant religious culture, such a
strong emphases is placed upon literal interpretation. Interestingly,
Jesus so often did not speak literally, but figuratively. He spoke in
allegories and images. He painted word pictures. Instead of literally
coming out and saying what he meant, he so often would tell a story and
let people draw their own conclusion. Indeed, these hidden messages of
Jesus frequently frustrated his disciples. They wished that he would
speak literally and not be quite so subtle. </span></div>
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<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span>This morning we
take a look at one of the "I Am" sayings of Jesus. Jesus said: I am the
true vine. Now, even the most ardent fundamentalist has to agree that
when Jesus spoke these words he was not speaking literally. Obviously,
if we are to understand what Jesus was getting at here, we must look
beyond the surface and do some exploring. We have to go beyond the
actual words and discover Jesus' meaning.</span></div>
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<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span>When Jesus spoke
about vineyards, the people of Judea knew what he was talking about. It
was an industry that had been carefully cultivated throughout the
country for centuries. It was crucial because it was a cash crop as
opposed to grain, which was raised purely for consumption. In early
America the essential crop was corn, but the cash crop was tobacco. It
was, therefore, vital to the economy of the land.</span></div>
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<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span>Quite frankly I
must admit that I know very little about the particulars of the wine
industry. In preparation for this sermon I did some reading in this area
and it was really quite fascinating. The vines are a very rugged crop
in a way and in another sense it is a very delicate fruit and requires
being treated with kid gloves. A young vine is not permitted to bear
fruit for the first three years. It is therefore drastically pruned in
December and January to preserve its energy. The particular branches
that do not bear fruit are cut out to further conserve the energy of the
plant. If this constant cutting back was not done, the result would be a
crop that was not up to its full potential.</span></div>
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<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span>So when Jesus spoke
about vineyards certainly the people could identify with that metaphor,
even as a person in Iowa would know about corn, or in Mississippi about
cotton. It didn't make any difference whether or not you were in that
business. You had grown up around it enough that you would still be
familiar with it.</span></div>
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<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span>But there is
something else that these listeners would most certainly know. A
vineyard was the symbol of the nation. In America we might think of
amber waves of grain, but in Judea they thought of their nation as a
vineyard. It was a kind of national identity. Over and over again in the
Old Testament, Israel is pictured as the vine or the vineyard of God.</span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span> </span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span>Isaiah the prophet
pictured Israel as the vineyard of God. He said: The vineyard of the
Lord of hosts is the house of Israel. In Jeremiah, we read God referring
to his chosen people in this way: I planted you as a choice vine. Hosea
spoke a word of judgment when he said: Israel has become an empty vine.
In the Psalms we read that God compares Israel to a vine that came out
of Egypt. Josephus, the Roman historian, informs us that over the Temple
in Jerusalem was carved an exquisite, gold leaf grapevine. It stood as a
symbol of national unity. Israel itself was, in the eyes of its people,
the true vine, whose roots ran all the way back to Abraham, Isaac and
Jacob.</span></div>
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<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span>In Jesus analogy,
he likened himself to a vine, while the fruit bearing branches here are
the disciples. God the farmer is depicted as the one who cultivates the
vineyard. He waters and tends the soil, so that the vine is properly
nourished. He takes pride in his crop. But this means that he also
prunes the vines and removes the dead wood. The grapes hang on to the
branches. What Jesus is saying is clear. The disciples should receive
their strength from Jesus. He is the true vine. If they break away from
him, they will be like unproductive branches and die and bear no fruit.
They then will have to be pruned out.</span></div>
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<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span>What can we make of this analogy in terms of our daily life? What does it mean to be God's vineyard?</span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span> </span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span>1. First, it means we must bear fruit for the Kingdom of God.</span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span>2. Secondly, it means there is such a thing as an unproductive life.</span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span>3. Third, it means we must cultivate a relationship with Jesus Christ.</span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span> </span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span>The rest of this sermon can be obtained by joining <a shape="rect" target="_blank" href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001h3iPixsPx3VZu-T-w-mjmQ-eS3EETicd0QZsv119pOH0vnaGLHA2pKBFmaNqCEoYCFmdKDfIEBiuaAGsTNMENUuVOkPYZXRPk02XDLFB-u132xbRYlo2OY3dThmbbRd9">http://www.sermons.com/signup</a> </span></div>
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<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;"><span> </span><span>Acts 8:26-40<font size="4"><font face="Times New Roman, Times, serif">,</font></font> the sermon titled "Practicing the Presence" by Leonard Sweet <br>
</span></div>
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</span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span>"Practice what you preach." </span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span> </span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span>That old saw is
usually trotted out when some high profile "holier-than-thou" type has
their wings clipped and their reputation riddled with holes. Or a
"sterling" character is revealed to have feet of crumbling clay. </span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span> </span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span>But there is one
big problem with "practice what you preach." It all depends on what it
is you are "preaching." When some convictions are put into action the
results can be catastrophic or cruel, insidious or just plain evil.
Mother Teresa practiced what she preached, but so too did Adolph Hitler.
Osama bin Laden practiced what he preached, as did the Unabomber. </span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span> </span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span>If only the church
"practiced what it preached," we say, then the community of faith that
confesses "Jesus is Lord" would be the #1 purveyor of love and peace in
the world. But once again, we need to consider carefully what is being
"preached" and who is doing the "preaching." When we get wrapped up in
preaching a doctrine or a direction or a divine plan, we end up
practicing things like "spiritual laws" or "strategic plans" or "target
quotas." But is that the kind of gospel mission and message presented in
today's text from Acts?</span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span> </span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span>The power that
"preached" to Philip; the power that "preached" to the Ethiopian eunuch
in today's Act's text: that power was neither scripted nor strategic,
neither planned nor programmed. It was the power of the Holy Spirit. It
was the power of the Spirit of God working through one of Christ's
followers in surprising, remarkable, and unexpected ways. </span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span> </span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span>For the first
generation of Christians the gift of the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of
Christ made present within the human heart, was what made "Christianity"
a living reality. There was no preconceived idea for "church growth,"
no specific guidelines for "mission expansion" or "church planting."
There was only the openness of disciples to the wonder-working power of
the Spirit. </span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span> </span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span>In other words, the
first generation of Jesus' followers did not "practice what they
preached." Instead they "preached what they practiced...</span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span> </span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span>The rest of this sermon can be obtained by joining <a shape="rect" target="_blank" href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001h3iPixsPx3VZu-T-w-mjmQ-eS3EETicd0QZsv119pOH0vnaGLHA2pKBFmaNqCEoYCFmdKDfIEBiuaAGsTNMENUuVOkPYZXRPk02XDLFB-u132xbRYlo2OY3dThmbbRd9">http://www.sermons.com/signup</a> </span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span>___________________________________</span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span> </span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span>The Orchard of Your Life</span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span> </span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span>A grapevine is a
most productive plant. Spreading out its branches, each is intended to
bring forth fruit. No vine grower is foolish enough to invest his time
and effort in cultivating vines merely for the foliage on its branches.
He looks for results. Fruits! As the branches of Christ in the Kingdom
of God, we are expected to produce the fruits of spiritual life. And no,
we're not speaking of spiritual apples, grapes, pears, or peaches this
morning. We're talking of what's going on in the orchard of your life.
What are you producing?<br>
<br>
Saint Paul once enumerated in his
writings what those fruits of the spirit were. He said, "The fruit of
the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness,
faithfulness, gentleness, self-control." How's that for a fruit basket? A
good list for the cultivation of life's orchard. With these fruits in
mind, what's going on in your orchard?<br>
<br>
Charles L. Koester, Mission Accomplished, CSS Publishing Co., Inc. <br>
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