As children and adolescents, there is a natural progression to life: you go from one grade to the next and you follow what the rest of the world prescribes as the rational next steps. But at some point, adults come to a place of choice — choosing what's next in their life's plan of growth. It can be overwhelming and scary, especially when you thought you knew where you were going, only to have plans change or fall through. Join us as we live through our own existential crises and place our confidence in Jesus, the True Vine: the master gardener who will help us grow to be who He's called us to be.
Bible passages referenced this episode:
- "Jesus, the True Vine" - John 15:1-8
- "Abraham tested" - Genesis 22:1-19
Thoughts to ponder from this episode:
- "There's no manual. Everyone's path will look so different, but how will I know that I'm on the right path?" — In this era of social media, Instagram highlights and putting our best foot forward, we can sometimes feel like we see other people moving ahead while we're staying still or even falling behind. How does this apply to your life right now? Do you find yourself constantly putting your "best foot forward" out of fear of not being good enough?
- "Every branch of mine that bears no fruit, He takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit" (John 15:2) — In this passage from John's Gospel, Jesus compares Himself to the True Vine. Our lives are marked with different branches, some of which bear a lot of fruit, and some do not. What are the branches in our lives that don't fruit that we cling to? Are we allowing God, the Vinedresser, to remove those branches from us?
- "Do you trust God enough to give up your Isaac? Do you trust that He has nothing but the best for you in store?" — Abraham, who waited years upon years for a son, was called by God to sacrifice him. But God saw Abraham's faith and blessed him abundantly. Do we believe that this is not just an old story? That God can do great things with our sacrifice?
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Our theme music is "Yellow" by Scott Buckley. Learn more at scottbuckley.com.au.
