This weekend, we come to the final “I am” statement of Jesus in the book of John. Jesus states that he is the true vine. This is imagery that would have resonated with his listeners, but the implications here are so much greater than we might initially see. The only way for us to bear spiritual fruit is to be connected to our source, Jesus Christ. The title of this weekend’s message is “SUFFICIENT: TRUE VINE.”
In our series on the Sermon on the Mount we come now to the second beatitude -"Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted." This is probably one of the most needed messages today. It's about grief and sorrow, something all of us face in this life.
Where does sorrow come from? It comes from loss.Throughout life we have losses, some big and some small. In fact, life is a series of losses. The real question is "What do we do with our losses?" If we handle them God's way, the result is comfort. If we look for superficial ways, it will not work. God has the right answer to our sorrow. By the way, I love Luke's rendition of this beatitude - "Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh."