343. Abide In Him (Pursuit of God)

We reflect on John 15:4–5 and the call to abide in Jesus as the only way to bear lasting fruit, framed by a retreat where six churches gather to write new worship songs. We ask for prayer, share simple practices for daily abiding, and rest in common grace.

• retreat update from Virginia Beach and six churches participating
• request for prayer for songwriting on the pursuit of God
• reading and reflection on John 15:4–5
• the meaning of “apart from me you can do nothing”
• simple practices for abiding in Scripture, prayer, and song
• dependence on common grace for life and service
• encouragement to bear fruit for the glory of God

We would be grateful for your prayers as we move through this week

John 15:4-5

Transcript

Welcome And Retreat Context

SPEAKER_00 0:06

Welcome to Moments of Worship. I'm Pastor Keith McMahon, Worship Pastor at Bethel Baptist Church in Yorktown, Virginia. Thank you so much for joining me on this podcast episode. On Thursday, January the 29th, we continue our Pursuit of God series.

Doxology Collective And Prayer Request

SPEAKER_00 0:23

As I'm recording this, our Doxology Collective has made it to Virginia Beach. We are at on the ocean front in a hotel, even though it's cold, it's still nice to be at the ocean. We have over six churches participating in this retreat. It's the biggest retreat yet, and we're going to begin tomorrow writing songs together on the pursuit of God. So we would be grateful for your prayers as we move through this week.

Scripture Reading From John 15

SPEAKER_00 0:49

Well our scripture today is John fifteen four and five. The scripture says Abide in me and I in you, as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine. Neither can you unless you abide in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. Thanks be to God for his holy

Abiding In Christ To Bear Fruit

SPEAKER_00 1:19

word. Well as we look at this scripture at the beginning of verse four, abide in me and I in you. Well this is an exhortation here and an image that we see of the branch bearing fruit. So we want to abide in Jesus Christ, just as it says here that the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine. So it is for us. We will not bear fruit unless we are abiding in Jesus Christ. And he says here, Jesus says verse five, I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit. Yes. And then this last clause, for apart from me, you can do nothing. Apart from me, you can do nothing. And now it doesn't say fifty percent, thirty-five percent, ninety per cent, but it says Nada, nothing. Apart from me, you can do nothing. We need Jesus Christ. We need his common grace.

Living Dependence And Daily Practices

SPEAKER_00 2:20

Sometimes on our best days we recognize that, and other days we can feel like we are self-sufficient when all the while it is God's common grace that is giving us breath in our lungs, our eyes to be able to open, our arms to be able to move, our tongue to be able to declare his praise. We need God's grace to serve his church, to live and breathe and have our being. That we would bear much fruit for the glory of God. So, dear friend, as you go throughout today, this Thursday, and the days ahead, may we abide in Jesus Christ through spending time in his word, that the word may wash us as we read in John 15, communing with him in prayer, singing his praises all the

Blessing And Closing

SPEAKER_00 3:04

day long. Well, friend, until tomorrow and forever, may we worship Jesus Christ. Thanks for listening.