Present the reading & Talk together
John 15.1-8 - Two ways to tell the story, followed by ideas for discussion time
Jesus offers an image of himself as a vine to emphasise how we are all connected to him.
Choose from these two ways of telling the story:
Garden sketch
Take a large sheet of paper and a marker pen and ask another leader to read the first paragraph as you draw it: the vine, roots, rain and sun, branches, grapes. Cross out branches to represent pruning and add more fruit. As you read the second paragraph, point to different parts of the drawing for emphasis.
Physical storytelling
Use group mime to act out the story, inviting people to represent the following characters/things: God the gardener, a single vine plant, lots of branches, fruit, Jesus. The children could perform the piece in church.
Stu McLellan, www.stumclellan.co.uk
Let us imagine that God is a gardener, and in God’s garden there is a plant: a vine. The vine is rooted in the soil, and the soil is rich and nutritious, full of God’s goodness. The gardener pours all his love into it, so the vine has plenty of water and food, and everything else it needs to grow well.
There are many branches on the vine. Some have fruit, some do not. God cuts off all the branches that are dry and weak, and have no fruit. Then he looks at the branches that are fruitful and cuts those branches back, so that they will bear even more fruit.
Jesus is like a vine. We are the branches. If the branches stay firmly attached to the root of the plant, they can draw on the goodness in the soil and produce sweet, juicy grapes. If we abide in Jesus and stay as close to him as the branches of the vine, we will grow well. Jesus will give us all the nourishment we need and we will produce wonderful fruit, like love, kindness and helpfulness. Jesus says that if we abide in him, we can ask for whatever we want, and it will be done for us.
Glossary
to abide to stay, remain.
Talk together (
Connect faith with everyday life)
- I wonder why Jesus used a vine as a picture of himself.
- Have you ever seen a vine growing?
- How are we connected to Jesus? How can we stay like that?