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Vine and Branch

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John 15:1-8 September 6, 2026 • Mount Pleasant UMC My career as a viticulturist was short-lived. I bet you didn’t know I had such a career! Maybe you don’t even know what a viticulturist is, so let me explain. Professor Google tells me that a viticulturist is someone who focuses on growing and studying grapes, mainly for the purpose of making wine. Their primary job, the professor goes on, is to check the vine health and the soil, to make sure water is provided and to choose the best day to pick the fruit. So, basically, according to the good professor, as a viticulturist I was a failure across the board. When we moved into the parsonage in Portage, the previous pastor told me she had just planted a grapevine in the backyard. Obviously, she hadn’t planned to move but the Bishop had other ideas, and so she blessed me with a grapevine. And I was kind of excited. I had never had a grapevine. So I began to have visions of making grape juice for communion at the church. I was told it wo...
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Vine and Branch (Study Guide)

“Vine and Branch” Sermon Study Guide for September 6, 2026 Downloadable Version Scripture: John 15:1-8 Viticulture… 1. Spirituality “spiritual but not religious” today’s favorite: worship of ______________ 2. A Long Final Walk Kidron Valley near the Temple cutting off branches that ___________________ pruning branches that _____________________ staying connected to ______________________ friends if… 3. Producing Fruit Galatians 5:22-23 Questions to Discuss or Ponder: From what you know of ancient Israel’s history, why would a grapevine be a good symbol for that nation? Why do we tend to react negatively to the word “spirituality”? What things (or people) do you find being worshipped in our world today? How is worshipping those things (or people) dangerous to our soul? What does the image of pruning say to you? Can you recall a time when you felt like you were being pruned? Share as you feel comfortable. When you think of someone “abiding,” what comes to mind? Where do y...
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Take Off the Grave Clothes

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John 11:38-44 August 23, 2026 • Mount Pleasant UMC It’s the shortest verse in the Bible, just two words (or three in Greek), and so it’s the one we always went to when our Sunday School teacher asked us if we had memorized any Bible verses. Whoever spoke up first got to lay claim to John 11:35: “Jesus wept.” And, you know, we’d be so proud of ourselves, that we’d actually memorized a verse. But I doubt that any of us really knew what that verse meant or why it was significant that Jesus did, in fact, weep. It’s a well-known and well-told story that we just read the very end of this morning. In fact, as John’s Gospel tells the story of Jesus, this story is really a turning point. It’s the moment when the religious leaders make up their minds that Jesus has to die. No other alternative. And the irony is that they decide to kill Jesus at the very moment when he restores life. This morning we’re continuing our look at seven signposts that point toward how God intended the world to be...
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Take Off the Grave Clothes (Study Guide)

“Take Off the Grave Clothes” Sermon Study Guide for August 23, 2026 Downloadable Version Scripture: John 11:38-44 1. Lazarus Was Dead two sisters… “if you had been here…” “Jesus wept” - Romans 12:15; Hebrews 12:2 four days… 2. The Glory of God Psalm 19 John 1:14 - the word made flesh Isaiah 53:2 3. Beauty a. A ____________________________ 1 Corinthians 15:20, 56; John 10:10 b. Add to the _____________________ Questions to Discuss or Ponder: Why do you think “Jesus wept”? What would cause the heart of God to break? How are the reactions of Mary and Martha different and yet similar? How do you typically react to the loss of someone close to you? Why did Jesus wait so long to come to Lazarus’ home? What most communicates the glory of God to you in your own life? How have you experienced the “weight” of God’s glory? Why, do you think, Jesus prays in the way he does outside of Lazarus’ tomb? How does the raising of Lazarus help the people there see the glory of God? In...
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