Perhaps as you think about that question, your mind jumps straight to the current situation. Dave, you have heard of a thing called COVID-19 right? Now is not the time to talk about being fruitful, being effective, being productive. The country has ground to a halt, and we’re only possibly just getting things going again, whilst about to enter a second lockdown.
Our workplaces have changed. Many more people are working from home. Conversations with co-workers have been hindered. Reaching out with the good news of Jesus has been made more difficult. It’s had an impact.
And as a church, we’ve been impacted, haven’t we? As we see a sea of masked faces, with a camera pointing at the preacher. That’s obvious, right?
That’s the same thought that might have crossed the disciples minds here in John 15.
At this point in John Jesus has been telling his disciples that he is going away. And he’s said it is for their good! And by the time John had written this gospel, Jesus had already gone to his Father. The star of the show had left the scene, and left it all up some ordinary men. How can these men be expected to be fruitful?
The shock of this passage is that now is the time to be fruitful. How so? We can be fruitful right now because of Jesus’ relationship with his Father.
Any questions or comments can be sent to [email protected].
This was preached at Christ Church Hemel on 2nd November 2020.