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As the old saying goes, "A picture is worth a thousand words."
We have recently settled on a mission statement for our church that reads, "Loving God, Loving People." There is a lot packed into those four word. But as significant as the words themselves are, are the pictures, metaphors, or guiding images that form the backdrop for those words, and which shape the way they are understood, spoken and shared.
In the Luke 10, when Jesus talks about what it means to Love God and Love People, the way He provided insight to a person who had given a technically correct answer but still did not fully understand, was not to change the language, but to tell a story that painted a different kind of background picture against which those words were spoken and understood. Once Loving God, Loving People was understood against the backdrop of the story of the Good Samaritan, the meaning and implications of those words expanded in new and profound ways.
Stories, pictures, images and guiding metaphors matter when it comes to hearing and understanding well. That's what this series explores.
The first in this series explores the metaphor that was central to Jesus' final conversation with His disciples on His last night together with them before the crucifixion weekend, and is one that has played a formative role in the development of a model of ministry at the Calimesa Church for almost 15 years. It is the imagery of the Vine and the branches in John 15.
To listen to Pastor Ken's sermon that opens this series, and re-explores this imagery once again, click here. (Due to a technical glitch, our on-line sermons cannot be accessed at the moment - please try again later)
Here are some examples of framing pictures/images. Think about how living out "Loving God, Loving People" might be impacted or shaped depending on which of these became the guiding image or metaphor for your life. Which ones do you feel more drawn to? Why?
John 15:1-17 (TNIV)
1 "I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. 3 You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. 4 Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.
5 "I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. 7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.
9 "As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. 10 If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commands and remain in his love. 11 I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. 12 My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one's life for one's friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command. 15 I no longer call you servants, because servants do not know their master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. 16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. 17 This is my command: Love each other.
Take some time to reflect on the imagery that Jesus uses in John 15 to describe what the Christian life looks like, and the kind of "fruit" it bears.
Additional Reading:
Chuck Miller, The Spiritual Formation of Leaders
An excellent book that expands the concepts of John 15 in the context of developing spiritual leadership
Janet Hagberg & Robet Guelich, The Critical Journey
Another excellent read that uses the imagery of John 15 as a model for faith development
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