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Ray Jones  |
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| Jesus talked a lot about the
grapevine, but he was not talking about the California
Raisins or the latest gossip. Jesus said, "I am the
true vine and you are the branches. Those who live in me,
and I in them, bear much fruit, because apart from me,
you can do nothing." We grow in that vine day by
day.This
is a curious thing. We want to look at things,
particularly ourselves, objectively. The truth is, the
only perspective we need to seek is God’s.
Let’s pray together:Creator
of life, and keeper of the vine, Father, we come to you
for understanding. Generation after generation, we
struggle with insecurity, ineptitude and obstinacy. We
humbly seek connection and desire to know how exactly we
are attached to you. How strong is the attachment? How
secure? You answer our question with one name -- Jesus.
With this answer planted in our hearts, we are absolutely
convinced that nothing, today or tomorrow, high or low,
thinkable or unthinkable, absolutely nothing can get
between us and God’s love because of the way that
Jesus, our Master, has embraced us. What a claim! What a
connection! We want to see Jesus. Amen.Together,
let’s join in worshipping the vine-grower, the vine,
and the Spirit that connects us all. Welcome to the weekend, church. How are you doing? Are you enjoying your weekend? How many of you took the day off today? We are a busy generation, aren’t we. We really are. I have been reading in a book and a couple of magazines that we are a tired generation. In fact, a recent article in Inc. Magazine said that despite all of the time saving devices we have, despite the fax machines, despite the Internet, despite e-mail, despite our cell phones, despite all that, 52% of our generation are saying that they are burning out or have already burned out. We are a tired generation. So what I want us to do is take a stress test. I am going to give you a set of questions. Answer these to yourself and test your stress quotient. Just answer yes or no, and you don’t ask any questions. It’s really simple. Are you ready? Are you always in a hurry -- yes or no? Does your "to do" list have more than you can accomplish in one single day? Does doing nothing drive you up a wall? Is it difficult for you to say "no"? (Some of you are starting to point to people.) Do you feel guilty when you relax? Is it difficult for you to turn your mind off at night? Do you have to get sick in order for you to slow down? (Some of you are starting to nod, yes.) Do you procrastinate in taking a day off? Finally, do you ever take business reading material to bed or to the bathroom with you? Just a real simple test! Now here’s the catch. If you answered "yes" to five or more of those, you probably struggle with workaholism. |
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| Matthew 11:28 28:Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. |
 Into
this panic-driven world, into this culture of endless
to-do lists, of over-booked calendars and planners, Jesus
comes and says this to you and me: "Come to me. All
of you who are worn out and who are worn down and weighed
down by scrambling to meet the demands of others, and I
will bring quietness to your spirit. Serve me, follow me,
because I’m caring and understanding. I will stop
all the clamoring in your souls, for what I ask of you is
really not a burden at all." |
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