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I am the vine, you are the branches

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Bible verse : John 15:5 (NIV)

"I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him,
he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.

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What kind of relationship did Jesus say he has with us who believe in him?
Jesus spoke to us through several examples.

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In John 10:11, he said:
“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.”
Jesus became our good shepherd and said that our relationship is one of love,
even to the point of giving up his life for us, the sheep.
Jesus and we are like a shepherd and a sheep.

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In John 15:5, he spoke about another relationship.
“I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”
In this passage, the relationship between Jesus and us is described as the vine and the branches.

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This is the story of the vineyard that Jesus told. There was a diligent farmer who took care of his vineyard beautifully. The farmer planted some good vine seedlings in his vineyard. He took care of the tree so that it could grow well.

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After some time, grapes began to grow on the vine branches.
The branches that were attached to the vine well and absorbed the tree's nutrients were full of delicious grape fruits.

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But although they were on the same tree, some branches produced poor grapes. Also, some branches did not bear grape fruit at all.
These branches could not bear good fruit because they were not properly attached to the vine and could not absorb nutrients properly.

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The farmer cut off all the branches that did not bear grape fruit properly.
If left as is, these branches would prevent healthy branches from absorbing nutrients.
The branches that the farmer cut off were no longer useful.

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The farmer neatly trimmed the surrounding area so that the branches bearing abundant fruit could bear more grapes. The farmer took care of the branches that were well attached to the vine so that they could absorb more nutrients.

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After Jesus told this story, he personally explained the story.
He said that the farmer working in the vineyard refers to God.
He also explained that the vine is Jesus himself, and the branches that are attached to the vine and bear fruit are the people who follow Jesus.

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After Jesus finished explaining the story, he said something important to his disciples. “Remain in me. Then I too will remain in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit on its own unless it remains attached to the vine, neither can you unless you remain in me.”

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He said that if a person does not abide in Jesus and lives apart from Jesus according to his own will, it will be as if a branch that did not bear fruit was cut off.
That person will not bear good fruit. He also said that the branches cut off from the vine would become useless and be thrown into the fire, just as they are burned.

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Jesus told us how to become branches that stick well to Jesus, the vine. It is said that just as Jesus kept the commandments of God and did them, if we do the same, we will abide in God. So what are the commandments we must keep?

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Here is a new commandment given by Jesus. Please read it out loud together.
“This is my commandment: “Love one another just as I have loved you.”
The new commandment given by Jesus is to keep the command to love our friends as Jesus loves us.

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While on this earth, Jesus showed us what true love is. He said that practicing the commandment of love that Jesus did is to abide in Jesus like a branch clings to a vine. He showed evidence that Jesus loved us sinners by dying on the cross.

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We who have received the great love of Jesus must deeply realize and be thankful for the love Jesus has shown for us. A friend who practices the new commandment given by Jesus is a person who abides in Jesus.
That friend will become a branch attached to Jesus, the true vine, and bear much good fruit.

(This is the sample conclusion provided by CTM. Please feel free to change the conclusion to best suit the listeners of your sermon.)