I  Am the Vine, You Are the Branches

All good which is going to bear any fruit begins in the Lord, and unless it comes from Him, it is not good.
(see Arcana Coelestia 9259:4)

The Lord is the vine, and we are branches.  We have life from the Lord alone.  Just as the vine brings water and food to the branches of the vine, so the Lord offers us His truth and inspires us with His love.  Just as a branch cut from the vine withers and dies, so we could not exist without the Lord supporting us each and every moment.

As branches, what is our goal?  There are leaves and flowers on the branches of a vine or a tree, but it is the fruit that completes its productive cycle.  As the branches are to bear fruit, so we are to be useful.  It is not enough to talk about truth or have good loves.  We must combine them in the performance of use.

FAMILY WORSHIP:  Abide in Me
Read the Lord’s words in John 15:4-12.
Note: Before worship, you may want to gather a length of vine for an illustration.  Or print out a color picture of a grapevine.

Discussion Ideas:

¨      Verse 4:  What do the words “Abide in Me, and I in you” mean?  How can we abide in the Lord?  Literally, this means to reside or remain in the Lord.  To abide in the Lord—to let the Lord draw near us—we must look to Him, obey His commandments, serve Him by serving others, and acknowledge that He is the only source of all that is good and true.

¨      Verse 5: How does abiding in the Lord make it possible for us to bear fruit?  Look at an actual vine or a picture of a grapevine, and have your children identify which parts are meant by “the vine” and its “branches.”  The vine supports all the branches and gives them life by carrying food and nutrients to them.  And it is the Lord who gives us life and inspires us to bear fruit—to do good things for other people.

¨      Verse 6:  What is the opposite of abiding in the Lord?  It is looking to one’s self as the source of good and truth rather than the Lord and serving others only as a means of serving self.  Cut a vine branch ahead of time so that you can show what happens when a branch is no longer connected to the vine, but starts to dry out and wither.

¨      How many times are the phrases “abide in Me” or “abide in My love” repeated in John 15:4-12?  (Ask the children to count the occurrences as the passage is read aloud.)

¨      Look at verse 10 to see how we can abide in the Lord’s love.  We need to obey the commandments, don’t we?  Obeying the Lord’s commandments and turning away from evil makes us receptive of His love so that we can abide in the Vine.

POSTER:  I Am the Vine Download and print this beautiful poster with words from John 15: 4-5.

PROJECT: I Am the Vine (all ages)
Make a picture of the Lord as the Vine. Children may want to draw a branch for each member of the family while teens and adults may choose to draw a branch that represents their life, showing the fruit it is bringing forth.  (See I Am the Vine project description for further ideas.)

SING: “You Are the Vine” by Lori Odhner

¨      Download sheet music with the lyrics

¨      Download MP3 file of this beautiful song written and performed by Lori S. Odhner

READ:  “The Vine and the Branches” by the Rev. Daniel W. Goodenough

This sermon explains that to produce real good we must be organically united with the Lord Jesus Christ.  The fruits or good works that we, as branches, produce are really brought forth by the Lord working in us.  It is our faith in the Lord united, with a life of love, that produces good works like

fruit from branches.  Good works that are done from ourselves (with no acknowledgment that the Lord is the source of all that is good and true) are not intrinsically good, even if they benefit other people.  The Lord asks that we recognize Him as the Doer of all good and believe that there is no good except from Him.  For we are motivated by loves that come to us from Him, as life from the vine.

PROJECT:  Unless We Acknowledge the Lord
When we acknowledge the Lord as the source of good and truth with us, we can bear good fruit as branches of the Vine.  But what if we know about the Lord, but don’t acknowledge Him?  Then we are like a wild animal, a bird of the night, a sea monster, a tree cut up, or the ruins of a burned city.  Fold a piece of paper in half.  On one half, make a picture of the Lord as the Vine and people as the branches, bearing the fruit of useful activities.  On the other half, show what people are like when they do not acknowledge the Lord.  (To download a handout for this project, click here.)

ACTIVITY:  Being Alerted by the Lord
How are we inspired to do kind things for family, friends, and neighbors?  All good loves come from the Lord, so we know that He is the source of our inspiration.  However, the Lord cherishes our freedom, and we are generally unaware of His influence on our lives.  Nevertheless, we have this beautiful teaching about the Lord alerting us to help others:

“[W]hen people who are perceptive have feelings of compassion, they know that they are being alerted by the Lord to offer help.” (Arcana Coelestia 6737)

¨      For Reflection:  Some people experience a strong feeling that they should call a friend or family member, and then learn that this person needs support.  Are you aware of times when the Lord may have been alerting you to help someone?

¨      For Family Discussion:  That the Lord alerts people to offer help to others is another illustration of how He can help others through us, if we are open to His leading.  Share stories about times when this has happened to you or to someone you know.  Or look for examples in fiction, film, and other sources.

¨      Journal Suggestion:  Write about a time when it seemed that the Lord was alerting you to help someone.

[Here is an expanded version of the Being Alerted to the Lord activity for printing.]

Charity is an inward affection for doing what is true and performing uses for their own sake.
(see Last Judgment 39:11-12)

PROJECT:  Planted by the Waters
Look at a photo of grapevines in California.  Do you see the black irrigation hose just below the vine?  Grapevines and fruit trees all need water to grow, just as we need truth. 

Illustrate the quotation from Jeremiah 17:7-9: “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord…for he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, which spreads out its roots by the river…”  If you can, go look at some trees that are growing by a river, stream, or pond.  Can you observe any of the roots seeking the water?  When you illustrate this passage from the Word, show the roots spread outward and the tree going upward toward the sun.

ACTIVITY:  Blue Celery and Green Carnations (preschool and up)
Try these simple experiments to make white carnations turn green and celery turn blue.  This illustrates the way the Lord made plants so that they can take in water.  Like the plants, we can drink water.  In the Word, clear water is a symbol for truth.  Unlike plants, we can take in truths and put them to use!

PROJECT:  Garden vs. Desert (for ages 12 and up)
A person is like a garden when charity and faith in the Lord are linked in him.  But if these are not linked, a person resembles a desert (see Last Judgment 39:13).  It takes time for us to grow into beautiful gardens, but this should be our goal. 

Divide a sheet of paper in half and make a picture of a lush garden on one part and a desert on the other.  Optional:  Using post-it notes, write some attitudes that would make a person like a garden and some that would make a person like a desert.  Then give them to a friend or family member and see if they can put them in the right places.

ACTIVITY:  Our Part and the Lord’s Part (teens and up)
If all good is from the Lord, does that mean that we can sit quietly and wait for the Lord to produce uses in our lives?  Or like the gardener in the parable of the fig tree, do we need to “dig around” our good intentions and fertilize them? (Luke 13:6-9).  Producing good fruit requires action from both  the Lord and us. 

¨      Choose one aspect of your life that needs work. 

¨      Cultivate it by searching for the weeds or negative attitudes that are keeping it from growing—that is our part. 

¨      Be receptive to the Lord’s love and wisdom, for grapevines and fig trees need sunshine and water. 

READ:  “Blossoming from the Lord” by the Rev. Frederick Chapin
Here is an excerpt from this sermon about performing acts of charity: “When we perform acts that agree with the Lord’s teachings in the Word, they will contain the infinite power of the Divine. The Lord will guide them and be in them…. The uses we perform from the Lord’s love will contain Divine power to provide comfort to the broken-hearted, direction to the confused, and support for the weak.”

The Fruit of Charity

A life of charity is a life of uses (Arcana Coelestia 997).

ACTIVITY:  Treasure Hunt
Make a treasure hunt for your children to follow, using the place where you keep the Lord’s Word as a starting point.  Use green yarn or string to make a pathway around furniture and into other rooms.  At the other end, have a bowl of grapes.  You might want to discuss how the truths of the Word can lead to good fruit.  The Golden Rule is a very good example for children. 

(Note:  Children might also enjoy making a treasure hunt for their parents to follow.)

ACTIVITY:  Grapes (whole family)
Give your children some grapes to eat.  Ask them to think of products made with grapes (such as grape jelly, grape juice, raisins, jam, fruit salad, etc.)  Then bring out anything you have that is made from grapes. 

ACTIVITY:  Grapes on the Vine (younger children)
Make lots of grapes (actually beads that look like grapes) using Sculpey or Fimo.  You may want to make green, blue, and purple grapes to have a variety.  If these are formed around a straw, it will be easy for children to string them later.  Put all the grapes in box, ready to use.  Whenever your child does a good deed, let him add one grape to a length of green string or cord (knotted at one end).  Each child can be working on their own string of grapes or help make one big string to place by the family worship center.  [Download Fruit of the Vine activities which includes Grapes and Grapes on the Vine.]

ACTIVITY:  Compare the Bramble with a Fruitful Vine
“For a good tree does not bear bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. [E]very tree is known by its own fruit.  For men do not gather figs from thorns, nor do they gather grapes from a bramble bush” (Luke 6:43-44). 

Go on a nature walk to see a prickly vine and compare it with a vine (such as a grape vine) that is without thorns and bears edible fruit.  Or gather samples to show your children later.  Read the quotation above and discuss its meaning.  Why can’t a bad tree or bad person bear good fruit?  Such a person can act in ways that benefit other people, but unless he looks to the Lord it is not genuine or good fruit.  (Note: While there are brambles such as raspberries that give edible fruit, this kind of bramble does not seem to be what is meant here.)

ACTIVITY:  Family Outreach

Talk about something that you can do as a family that will help other people.  Perhaps you could work together to make a meal for a family with a new baby.  Or rake leaves for an elderly neighbor.  You are sure to come up with an idea if you think about your friends and extended family, the people in your neighborhood, your local school, your church, etc.  Afterwards, reflect on the happiness you gave and received through your acts of charity and how both are really from the Lord.