There is a change in metaphor in this week’s text for worship – at least somewhat. What is consistent is that we are still living out, or even embodying, the Resurrection. But we have moved away from the specific senses that help us access the risen Christ. In the fifth Sunday of Easter, we move to sustaining what we have seen and touched and heard.

How do we hold on to the Easter experience and live as those who have been resurrected with Christ? This is where John 15 comes in. Abide. That is how we do it. We abide in Christ. And it is the only way to do it. We must stay connected to Christ, connected to the vine.

While worship this week begins with that declaration, it will be most helpful if we give some hints as to how that is done. How do we abide in Christ? How do we stay connected? Here is where we can point beyond the worship hour to some of the other ministries of the church. What other opportunities do we provide to keep people connected? What Bible studies and mission opportunities are available for members of the congregation and the wider community as a whole to stay connected?

Another way of giving people insight in what it means to be connected is through testimony. Who in your congregation could talk in a few minutes about devotional practices or the benefits of service? Who can talk about knowing Christ in their daily lives, not just on mountaintop moments? Mountaintop moments are great and wonderful to hear about during worship. But most of our lives are spent in the valleys. So, how do I abide in Christ as I live and work each day of my routine existence? That’s what folks want and need to know.

A Vineyard Call to Worship

(For John 15:1-8)

God is the True Vine,
And we are the branches.
Connected to God.
Connected to bear fruit!
Connected to God.
Or we wither away.
Connected to God.
Or useless!
We come to worship God, who is the True Vine.
God, teach us how to remain connected so that we might bear good fruit!

Safiyah Fosua, https://www.umcdiscipleship.org/resources/god-is-the-true-vine-21st-century-worship-resources-for-the-fifth-sunday-of.

Prayer of the Church – Easter 5B

Jesus said, 'If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.' Let us now approach him with confidence.

Risen Lord, you came as a sacrifice for our sin. Give us faith to accept this act of love, so that we turn from all human efforts and drink in the atoning righteousness of your death and resurrection.

Lord, in your mercy . . . hear our prayer.

Risen Lord, you are the true vine and we are the branches. By your Spirit, produce the fruit of love, joy, peace, and patience in us for others to taste and enjoy. Keep us from hanging on to love for ourselves. Prune all selfishness from us and fill us with your love.

Lord, in your mercy . . . hear our prayer.

Risen Lord, have mercy on your earth and supply its needs. Where people are hungry, give food. Where people are in distress, comfort them. Where people are in trouble, bring order and peace. And turn the whole world to you in faith, repentance and praise.

Lord, in your mercy . . . hear our prayer.

Lord Jesus Christ, focus our love on people we know with special needs. Heal those who are unwell particularly (insert names) and others in need whom we now name silently in our hearts . . . (brief silence)

Lord, in your mercy . . . hear our prayer.

Thank you, Lord Jesus, for hearing us and caring for us in all our needs. Constantly intercede for us before our heavenly Father, and open our eyes that we may see him through you. We ask all this in your holy name, for you live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

From the Lutheran Church of Australia’s Worship Planning Page (revised slightly). Reposted: https://re-worship.blogspot.com/2012/04/prayers-of-people-john-15-1-8.html.

Woven

Words for centering prayer and reflection about the great “I Am.”
Suitable for use with this passage about the vine and the branches
Begs for a musical setting.

I Am, woven.
Woven through the earth.
Woven through your veins.
Woven through the Son.
The one who bore our pains.

Woven through existence.
In minds, in sweet remembrance.
In future and in an instant.
I Am, never distant

I Am, Peace.
When feelings overwhelm you
And disappointments tell you
That you are less in value.

I Am, Hope.
When all you know is sadness
And talking makes you nervous
And your mind does you a disservice.

I Am, Trust.
I never leave you wanting.
I satisfy your longing
I carry you beyond your limits
Onward to a new existence.

I Am, woven.
Woven through the earth.
Woven through your veins.
Woven through the Son.
The one who bore our pains.

Woven through existence.
In minds, in sweet remembrance.
In future and in an instant.
I Am, never distant

Linda Furtado, Easter Liturgical Resources from Africana Writers, edited by Safiya Fosua, 2020.

Lord, We Would Grow with You

Lord, we would grow with you
New shoots reaching out
Hands stretched upward
Like leaves newly formed
Soaking up your light and warmth
Lord, we would grow with you

Lord, we would grow with you
In sunshine and rain
In darkness and light
In cold days and summer days
From Springtime to Winter
Lord, we would grow with you

Lord, we would grow with you
And bring forth fruit
That is pleasing to you
Fed by your living water
Giving sustenance to others
Lord, we would grow with you

Contemporary Welsh prayer posted on A Place for Prayer. http://revgalprayerpals.blogspot.ca/. Reposted: https://re-worship.blogspot.com/2012/07/prayer-for-growth.html.

Admitting our Failures and Trusting Forgiveness

(based on John 15:1-8)

Jesus said: “I am the vine, you are the branches.” Let us pray.

We thank you, gracious God, for Jesus Christ the true vine, with his roots eternally grounded in you. We rejoice that by grace we have been grafted into him, to be branches on a vine which bears the loveliest of all the fruits of earth. Yet we confess that all is not well with the way we live.

Please forgive us for the occasions when
we have been the ones to introduce disease into the vine,
preferring its contamination to the vigor of health.

Forgive us for neglecting to draw deeply on the sap of Life,
for our tendency to wander instead of growing on the framework you provide,
for being content, and sometimes even proud of, a few sparse or undersized fruits,
for the apathy which lets us to go through some seasons without bearing any fruit.

Have mercy on us. Please do not lose patience or sever us completely from the true vine. Rather heal our diseases, discipline and train our wandering tendrils, prune our unfruitful branches and cut away our diseased ones. May we remain in Christ and he in us, through all the changing seasons of life. Let us delight in bearing the fruits of love which are our true purpose and joy. For your Name’s sake. Amen!

Forgiveness

Jesus said: “If you reside in me, and my words reside in you, ask whatever you will and it shall be done for you.” Friends, we have asked for forgiveness and correction. It has been truly done for us. It is being done for us. And it will be done for us.

Thanks be to God!

Written by Bruce Prewer, and posted on Bruce Prewer’s Homepage. Reposted: https://re-worship.blogspot.com/2012/04/prayer-of-confession-john-15-1-8.html.

Commission and Benediction

(based on John 15:1-8, 1 John 4:7-21)

Go now, and love one another,
because love is from God.
Proclaim God’s salvation to every generation.
Remain in Jesus Christ,
and like branches of a vine, draw your life from him.

And may God the vine grower tend you and make you fruitful;
May Christ Jesus abide in you and give you life;
And may the Holy Spirit cast out all fear and fill you with God’s love.

We go in peace to love and serve the Lord,
. . . In the name of Christ. Amen.

To the One Who Abides in Us

(Based on John 15:1-8)

And now to the One who abides in us, as we abide in Him. To the One who loves us with a tender mercy that keeps us. To the One who prunes us so that we may grow exponentially, to this gracious and loving Savior Jesus Christ through whom all things can be accomplished, and through whom the prayers of all people, in all stations of life are answered: to Him we give thanks and praise, always and forevermore. Amen!

Joseph W. Daniels, The Africana Worship Book for Year B, Discipleship Resources, Valerie Bridgeman Davis, and Safiyah Fosua Eds., 2007, p. 216.