Recently, I began blogging on our Sunday sermons to help myself review; today, I’m continuing that by covering our May 10, based on John 15:1-11. We’re currently in a series on Jesus’ “I am” statements in the book of John. These are key statements he uses to reveal his person, work, and relationship to God and they form a core part of the gospel of John.

As before, I won’t summarize the sermon, but will focus on what I take away from it. Here, though, the key statements are John 15:1 and John 15:5:

I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener…

I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.

This is the seventh and final of Jesus’s “I am” statements, which is interesting given that one might think he would close with talking about how he is the resurrection and the life. But apparently this is vital; Jesus is laying out for them – and us – what is needed in order to continue bearing fruit.

A key focus of this sermon was on the Holy Spirit as our helper and advocate, and this is so important that Jesus actually said it was better for them that he leave in order that the Holy Spirit would come and dwell in them, and us. He’s our helper and our advocate. On top of that, he is a seal or a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance.

Eph. 1:13-14 talks about how the Holy Spirit is given as

a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession…

When I read that, for some reason I usually think about the aspect of how the Holy Spirit guarantees to us what our destiny is, but this sermon really highlighted to me how there’s another and more amazing aspect: God wants to guarantee our destiny for himself. In other words, he reserves us for himself – which is there in that phrase “who are God’s possession”. It’s really an amazing thing that he loves us so much that he wants to reserve us to and for himself.

I think a key take-away for me was to be more aware of the fact that the Holy Spirit is in me now, as a Christian, so that I can abide in Christ. He is with me now, and in that I can rejoice and find strength!