
Be Real Together:
Take a few minutes to catch up, tell stories, and laugh together. Trust and friendship take time to build. If you’re launching a new DNA, one person should tell their story — what do we need to know about you? Next week, have another person in your DNA share their story.
Read Together:
John 15:1-2 (CSB)
1 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 Every branch in me that does not produce fruit he removes, and he prunes every branch that produces fruit so that it will produce more fruit.
Grow Together: Observe and Apply
This week at Reach, we heard from Stephen Marti who encouraged us through this passage that God prunes even things in us that are already bearing fruit, so that they will produce more fruit. In these two verses, Jesus is saying that the good Gardener Father prunes even good things for the sake of greater things.
Left to themselves, grapevines will always prioritize new growth over better grape yield. The result will appear big and green and lush, but the grape harvest will always be underwhelming. Similarly, it’s possible for your life to look outwardly healthy, giving off all the normal indicators that you are getting all the spiritual things right, but to fail to actually produce fruit that matters.
Do you find yourself in a season of pruning or flourishing?
The beauty of the Gospel is that Jesus was already pruned on our behalf. He was pruned on the cross, died, but rose back again to victorious new life to be the vine that we can now abide in that produces the fruit we were always meant to. We tend to think of pain as a problem, Jesus sees pain as pruning. Pruning isn’t retribution for wrongdoing, it’s retraining for right living.
How have you viewed pruning in your life up to this point? What do you think of this idea of pain as pruning not punishment?
Pruning isn’t a one time event. It’s not a crucible that you have to just survive and then everything’s great. Just like grapevines don’t get pruned once, but year after year after year so too, if we are faithful followers of Jesus, we can expect to be pruned over and over again over a lifetime of abiding in Him. If your life bears good fruit, God will prune you to yield ever greater fruit.
Where might God be pruning good things in your life for the sake of greater things?
Pray Together:
Jesus, thank you for being pruned on the cross on our behalf.
Help us by your Holy Spirit to begin to see pain in our lives as pruning rather than punishment.
When we are in the midst of pruning, Father, help us to trust and believe you are the good Gardener.
Let us bear great fruit for your glory and our good.
Amen.