4-18-21 Sermon Notes “Reconnect Through Prayer”
One day a newspaper reporter went to interview a successful business owner. “How did you do it?” the reporter asked. “How did you make all this money?”
“I’m glad you asked,” the businessman said. “It’s a wonderful story! You see, when my wife and I married, we started out with a roof over our heads, some food in our pantry, and five cents between us. I took that nickel, went down to the grocery store, bought an apple and shined it up. Then I sold it for ten cents.”
“What did you do then?” the reporter asked.
“Well, then I bought two more apples, shined them up, and sold them for twenty cents.” The reporter really started getting into the story now. He was thinking what a great article it was going to make for his newspaper column. “Then what?” the reported asked excitedly.
“Then my father-in-law died and left us $20 million,” the businessman said.
The man was fruitful, not because of his own brilliance…but because he was “connected.” If you and I are to have fruitful lives, it will not be because of our own brilliance. It will be because we are connected to The Vine. Here is the story in John 15…
“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinegrower. 2 He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit he prunes to make it bear more fruit. 3 You have already been cleansed[b] by the word that I have spoken to you. 4 Abide in me as I abide in you. Just 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. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing. 6 Whoever does not abide in me is thrown away like a branch and withers; such branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. 7 If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples. (John 15: 1-8 NRSV)
Prayer is one of the ways we stay connected, and being connected is the only way to a fruitful life. “Apart from me,” Jesus said, “you can do nothing.”
Let’s Re-Connect Sunday!
Pastor Sam