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Sunday, May 06, 2018

sermon, "Pruning or Cutting...?", by Pastor Ruth Foss, Stetson Memorial United Methodist Church, Patten, ME, April 29, 2018



April 29, 2018
Stetson Memorial UMC
John 15:1-8 The Voice
Psalm 23 MSG
Merriam Webster Dictionary

“Pruning or Cutting…?”

The Lord be with you…
And also with you…
Let us pray…
Pray that the words spoken are not my own but God’s Words…

A reading from the gospel of according to John chapter 15, verses 1-8. Listen to and for a Word from God to His resurrected people…

To prune:
©to cut off branches from a tree, bush, or plant, especially so that it will grow better in the future:
(She spent the afternoon pruning roses.)
©to reduce something by removing things that are not necessary:
(I felt his essay needed a little pruning.)

Good Morning…
I don’t know about you, but I am so glad it seems that Spring has finally sprung here in Northern Maine. The grass is all nice and green. My Iris’ are growing. The robins are back. I think I have even seen buds on my lilac trees…but that could be just wishful thinking…

I was looking at the rose bushes the other day and I have so much hope for them. They usually are very beautiful, and I hope this year is the same. Now I know some of you are gardeners and so I have a question. When are you supposed to prune them? In the spring or fall? And why should I prune them? I am sort of on the fence about all this pruning stuff… I want them to grow nice and so I want to do it just at the right time. Give time to answer…

(To prune: ©to cut off branches from a tree, bush, or plant, especially so that it will grow better in the future. ©to reduce something by removing things that are not necessary)

We are continuing our journey with the lectionary this week. (The lectionary is a book or list of liturgical readings for a particular Sunday of the church year. Many churches follow the lectionary. Essentially, you can go to one church and visit another and still be on the same scripture readings for that Sunday.) As I said last week, Jesus used metaphors, parables, when He spoke. It would change each time He was talking to a different group of people. Jesus really wanted the people to understand about the Kingdom of God an all that it holds or humanity. Jesus wanted the people to understand how to treat each other and what would please God.

In the scripture from John this morning, we hear anther metaphor about vines and branches. Also, we hear about pruning. So, I have a couple of questions for you this morning. Why is it important to stay in the vine? Give time to answer. Now about this pruning thing, is it hard or easy when it come to God pruning our lives? Give time to answer. 

So, abiding in the vine…abiding in Jesus. It is most important because we need to be nourished. We need to bear fruit for God so that we can go out into the world with the fruit and share the fruit with others, so they can be grafted into the vine. Now I believe…don’t quote me on this…that when you graft a branch into a tree there is a cut made on the tree and the new limb is fashioned in the incision spot. I am sure that the two saps mingle together. So…I am going out on a limb here…the blood of Jesus is the “sap” that mingles in us and we become more like the tree we are grafted into because of the comingling. We need to remain in the vine so that we bare fruit of that vine. If we don’t stay grafted…rooted…into the vine we will just shrivel up and die…like anything that is grafted… You have been cut from the world and grafted into the eternal. You can’t live in the eternal and still be in the world… The fruit is the proof of where you are living…

Now pruning…who here enjoys it when God prunes us…show of hands. Example…we are going and going, doing all this good stuff for God and all of the sudden He wants to prune away something that we love…or even worse…something we have always done. Now, to grow we must prune away the stuff we have always done…ways we have always done things… Ouch, that hurts. But at this point we have a choice. We can keep bearing a little fruit or we can grow and bear more fruit for the Kingdom of God. I have seen churches actually close because they refused to be pruned by God…

(To prune: ©to cut off branches from a tree, bush, or plant, especially so that it will grow better in the future. ©to reduce something by removing things that are not necessary)

Church, we, as Christ followers, those called to bear much fruit for the Kingdom, it is spring. In being such, does God have out the pruning shears, needing to do some necessary maintenance in our lives?  In our personal and corporate lives as the church, are here things that are not necessary and if we let them be pruned we will grow more excellent fruit? In spring all things are made new. Perhaps if we allow the Master Gardener to clip away those things that hinder our growth we will have a bumper crop in our lives. Maybe, just maybe, if we draw closer to the Vine we will become grafted in even stronger so that nothing can shake us from the Vine. Maybe we need to be pruned because as we head towards Pentecost (not long from now…only a few weeks) God is going to do a more excellent thing in our lives, both personal and as a church body . Just a thought…

Amen…








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May 5, 2018


May 5, 2018
do we need to be pruned
May 4, 2018
grafted into the vine
May 4, 2018
blood is within the vine
May 4, 2018
there is blood in the vine
May 3, 2018
nourished from the vine
merged May 4, 2018
abiding in Jesus – 2 – v2
May 3, 2018
drawing nourishment
May 3, 2018
abiding in Jesus – 2 – v1
May 3, 2018
removing that which is excess
May 3, 2018
cutting off branches
edited May 2, 2018
cut away the branches – v2
May 2, 2018
cut away the branches
April 29, 2018
Fifth Sunday of Easter
Psalm 22:25-31
Psalm 23
John 15:1-8
and sermon: “Pruning or Cutting…?”
video
text

by Pastor Ruth Foss
sermon blog
8AM Live
meditation blog
“God’s Whisper” blog                             
Children’s Message
by Pastor Ruth Foss
Stetson Memorial United Methodist Church
Patten, ME
April 29, 2018

All of my poems, photographs, and videos are copyrighted by Raymond A. Foss, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, and 2018. All rights are reserved. Contact me at Ray Foss (raymondafoss@gmail.com) for usage. See all 46,920 of my poems at www.raymondafoss.blogspot.com Poetry Where You Live.

Christ, Faith, God, Spirit, love, grace, prayer, faith, Pastor Ruth Foss, Stetson Memorial United Methodist Church, poem, Psalm 22, Psalm 23, John 15, vine, abide, branches, fruit, cutting, pruning, sermon,

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