Vine And Branches
Children's sermon
... Let the Children Come
Fifty-two Object Lessons For Children In Worship
Object:
Fresh red or purple grapes or stickers
Good morning, boys and girls. While I was living in New Zealand, I was provided a home for the length of my stay that had beautiful gardens around it. I was asked to care for the gardens by the home owner. Beside the garage there was a nice grapevine. Since it was springtime, the fruit was beginning to form on the vine. As I had little experience with growing grapes in the past, I had to be instructed in how to tend the vines. (The locale and the experience may be varied to fit your experience.)
I saw lots of new little shoots along the vine and a couple of long new growth areas. I was surprised to be told that I needed to cut or pull these new pieces of growth off the vine. If that weren't done, the tiny grapes that were forming would be robbed of much of the nutrients they needed to be good full fruit at the time of harvest. It was hard for me to cut off all those little branches which were not going to bear fruit, but while I was doing it, I remembered a story that Jesus told about vines and branches.
He said that He was the true vine and He talked to his disciples about being branches that were supposed to be bearing fruit. What do you suppose Jesus had in mind when He told the disciples that they were to bear fruit? (Response -- Let the children express what it might mean to them.)
The Bible tells us what the fruits of a Christian's life are to be. (Galatians 5:22-23 may be read here.) And these are the kinds of things that God wants to see in us.
Do you know how we are able to produce these good fruits? (Responses -- By being obedient, by reading our Bibles, by learning more about Jesus, and so forth.) Well, in his story about the vine and branches, Jesus said that a branch has to stay firmly attached to the vine in order to bear fruit. I think this means that we have to stay attached to Jesus, to draw our life strength from him so that his life will flow through us and produce the good fruit of God in our lives.
(Prayer: Help us to learn and understand that our nourishment and strength in life come to us through Jesus.)
This piece of good fruit (or fruit sticker) will help you to remember about the vine and branches.
I saw lots of new little shoots along the vine and a couple of long new growth areas. I was surprised to be told that I needed to cut or pull these new pieces of growth off the vine. If that weren't done, the tiny grapes that were forming would be robbed of much of the nutrients they needed to be good full fruit at the time of harvest. It was hard for me to cut off all those little branches which were not going to bear fruit, but while I was doing it, I remembered a story that Jesus told about vines and branches.
He said that He was the true vine and He talked to his disciples about being branches that were supposed to be bearing fruit. What do you suppose Jesus had in mind when He told the disciples that they were to bear fruit? (Response -- Let the children express what it might mean to them.)
The Bible tells us what the fruits of a Christian's life are to be. (Galatians 5:22-23 may be read here.) And these are the kinds of things that God wants to see in us.
Do you know how we are able to produce these good fruits? (Responses -- By being obedient, by reading our Bibles, by learning more about Jesus, and so forth.) Well, in his story about the vine and branches, Jesus said that a branch has to stay firmly attached to the vine in order to bear fruit. I think this means that we have to stay attached to Jesus, to draw our life strength from him so that his life will flow through us and produce the good fruit of God in our lives.
(Prayer: Help us to learn and understand that our nourishment and strength in life come to us through Jesus.)
This piece of good fruit (or fruit sticker) will help you to remember about the vine and branches.
