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PRAYER FOR THE WEEK
Jesus, help me appreciate my parents driving me places! Amen.

"I am the vine, and my Father is the vine grower," said Jesus. "Just like a branch can't give fruit unless it's attached to the vine, you can't do anything without me. Anyone who doesn't stay close to me will wither away like adead branch. But if you stick with me, you'll be my follower and give fruit."


A lot of parents say they feel like drivers for their kids. If you make plans with a friend, you have play rehearsal or your team practices after school, you need to be dropped off or picked up. Sometimes, your parents probably wish you were old enough to drive already!

Just like you can't get much done without your parents agreeing to drive you, no one can get much done without God. Jesus makes that point in this week's Gospel (John 15:1-8).

People, Jesus says, are like grapevines in a vineyard. A farmer can't just leave them there without watering them or getting rid of weeds; they need to be taken care of so they grow grapes. And if a branch is broken off a plant, it won't keep growing; it dies.

If we break away from God and don't get God's care, Jesus adds, we won't last long, either!

Kids need parents to drive them where they want to go. Plants need farmers to care for the land. People need God.

Jesus says that sticking with God is like being one branch of a grapevine: You're not just connected to God, but also connected to all the other "branches" of people - and followers of God, says Jesus, are the ones who get things done.

Kids whose parents are willing and able to drive them around get things done, too![[In-content Ad]]

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