This summer I had the opportunity to speak God’s Word from the stage of TCN- the church where my husband works.
Our pastor was on sabbatical for 6 weeks, leaving 6 volunteers the chance to step in and preach on one of the “I AM” statements found in the gospel of John.
After volunteering, I was given “I am the vine” found in John chapter 15.
I loved preparing for this challenge. I spent over three hours in the library reading multiple commentaries on John, looking up key words like “vine,” “abide,” and “fruit.” Escavating the cultural context of this passage, and discovering Jesus’ true intention of these verses, rather then leaning on my own interpretation.
Then it took several drafts to widdle down my discoveries to the key components and making the message tangible to the audience. I was truly blessed by the process and the time I was able to invest in God’s word.
My prayer was that God would reveal to me the meaning of the passage, I asked that I would be emptied of my own bias and pride, so that I could effectively deliver as a humble servant.
If you want to hear the end result, here is the sermon on “I am the vine” from John 15: 1-17
Ethan & Emilie 