Just started a four week sermon series that reflects on John 15, and thought I’d put up a very basic summary of the first message. If you’d like a full copy of any of these sermons (written or dvd), just let me know.
“I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me and I in them, will produce much fruit… I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit- fruit that will last.” -John 15:5,16
God desires eternal life for us (John 3:16), and this eternal life is not just concerning the afterlife, but it is descriptive of the quality of life God desires for us (John 10:10).
“God has created you for eternity. Don’t settle for less.”
50 people over the age of 95 were asked, “What would you do different if you had to do it over again?” Their answers were filled with the valuing of eternity. Their top three answers?
1) Reflect more- Consider what is truly valuable. Enjoy, embrace, enter into the valuable relationships around us every day. Loving God and loving others with passion every day.
2) Risk more- When it’s all said and done, it’s not about success or failure, but about risk. Did you live and go for it? Nothing is more sad than this, “What might have been.”
3) Do more thing that would live on after I am dead- Did I make a difference? Having lived a life of significance is a great, eternal desire in the human heart. The happiest people at the end of their lives are not those who have focused on gaining, but on giving.
Wisdom in a nutshell (a summary of the three answers), “Open your eyes, embrace, and enjoy the eternal, truly valuable experiences that are around you every day; and take risks, especially for things that will live on after you’re gone.”
Tony Campolo, “If you can’t learn from 50 old folks over the age of 95, then you can’t learn from anybody at all.”
Personal Reflection
How much eternal fruit are you savoring daily?
How much eternal fruit are you producing lately?
What are the risks that God may be asking you to take today?
“God has created you for eternity. Don’t settle for less.”
Faith UMC Pastor's Blog 
So glad to see this up, Rev. Ken! Yes – I would really like a copy of the DVD if not too much trouble. My time away was good, but I realized I missed my church so much. I am so thankful you have put this on your blog!
Aloha,
Jane