Only a Branch

What a great service we had Sunday, as we began our "Happy New You" series. I believe God was glorified, Jesus was lifted up and the Spirit was evident in and through our worship on Sunday. This is not religious jargon from the mind of a pastor - this is an honest description of what I sensed on Sunday. I thank God for the blessings of Sunday and seek His blessings again for the coming day of worship.

To say I am excited about our series for January would be an understatement. I would love to see our building packed; so many could hear the truth that can set them free. Salvation is THE starting point for the "New Life" so many desire. But it is not the ONLY aspect of new life - it is the beginning of an exciting journey.

This Sunday we will learn how to "Give up and Win." Typically you would not think of giving up as a winning strategy - but it is in the Christian life. It is only by "giving up" and surrendering our life to Christ that we are able to truly live the victorious Christian life.

The Lord is preparing my heart to share this life-changing truth with you on Sunday.

I came across the poem "Only a Branch" that speaks to the subject we will learn more about on Sunday. May the words of this poem bless you and serve to prepare you for the truth we will hear on Sunday, January 12.

Only a Branch

“Tis only a little Branch, 

A thing so fragile and weak, 

But that little Branch hath a message true 

To give, could it only speak.

“I’m only a little Branch, 

I live by a life not mine, 

For the sap that flows through my tendrils small 

Is the life-blood of the Vine.

“No power indeed have I 

The fruit of myself to bear, 

But since I’m part of the living Vine, 

Its fruitfulness I share.

“Dost thou ask how I abide? 

How this life I can maintain?— 

I am bound to the Vine by life’s strong band, 

And I only need remain.

“Where first my life was given, 

In the spot where I am set, 

Upborne and upheld as the days go by, 

By the stem which bears me yet.

“I fear not the days to come, 

I dwell not upon the past, 

As moment by moment I draw a life, 

Which for evermore shall last.

“I bask in the sun’s bright beams, 

Which with sweetness fills my fruit, 

Yet I own not the clusters hanging there, 

For they all come from the root.”

A life which is not my own, 

But another’s life in me: 

This, this is the message the Branch would speak, 

A message to thee and me.

Oh, struggle not to “abide,” 

Nor labor to “bring forth fruit,” 

But let Jesus unite thee to Himself, 

As the Vine Branch to the root.

So simple, so deep, so strong 

That union with Him shall be: 

His life shall forever replace thine own, 

And His love shall flow through thee.

For His Spirit’s fruit is love, 

And love shall thy life become, 

And for evermore on His heart of love 

Thy spirit shall have her home.

by: Freda Hanbury

Praying for a "Happy New You" to be a reality in 2014,

Pastor Mike