Readings: John 15:1-17
Quotes:
J. C. Ryle from his book Holiness
“A religion which costs nothing is worth nothing… It will never give you peace while you live, nor hope while you die. It will not support you in the day of affliction, nor cheer you in the hour of death. Awake before it is too late.”
Singer/Songwriter Derek Webb – “The Church”
I have come with one purpose
To capture for myself a bride
By my life, she is lovely
By my death, she’s justifiedI have always been her husband
Though many lovers she has known
So with water I will wash her
And by my word aloneSo when you hear the sound of the water
You will know you’re not aloneI have long pursued her
As a harlot and a whore
But she will feast upon me
She will drink and thirst no moreCause I haven’t come for only you
But for my people to pursue
You cannot care for me with no regard for her
If you love me, you will love the church
D. A. Carson from the Pillar Commentary on John
“…The emphasis on going and bearing fruit, [has] suggested to many commentators, probably rightly, that the fruit primarily in view in this verse is the fruit that emerges from mission, from specific ministry to which the disciples have been sent. The fruit in short, is new converts…”