Pruned for a Purpose

Our pursuit of being a people formed into the image of Jesus begins in a life of communion with Him. In John 15, Jesus invites His followers to abide in Him—to live a life where we remain, stay, and dwell in Him. Abiding in Him results in the bearing of fruit. Yet, the bearing of fruit comes through both pruning and cleansing. As the vinedresser, the Father cuts off every branch in us that does not bear fruit.Fruitfulness is the result of pruning and cleansing all that is not of Him in our hearts. Fruitfulness is about our formation to Christlikeness—sharing the same inner essence as Christ Himself. This series is an invitation to Abide, to surrender to the pruning of the vinedresser as we seek to be a people who bear lasting fruit.Matt continues our series looking at reimagining the process of pruning and its role in our life. Pruning is not punishment but the movement of lovingly removing parts of our world, adjusting our values and forming our character so we can be more fruitful and become more like him.