Come with us and celebrate God’s transforming love—in our own lives and the lives of Christians around the world!
Scripture
Focal texts
Matthew 21:33-46 (CEB)
33 “Listen to another parable. There was a landowner who planted a vineyard. He put a fence around it, dug a winepress in it, and built a tower. Then he rented it to tenant farmers and took a trip. 34 When it was time for harvest, he sent his servants to the tenant farmers to collect his fruit. 35 But the tenant farmers grabbed his servants. They beat some of them, and some of them they killed. Some of them they stoned to death.
36 “Again he sent other servants, more than the first group. They treated them in the same way. 37 Finally he sent his son to them. ‘They will respect my son,’ he said.
38 “But when the tenant farmers saw the son, they said to each other, ‘This is the heir. Come on, let’s kill him and we’ll have his inheritance.’ 39 They grabbed him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him.
40 “When the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenant farmers?”
41 They said, “He will totally destroy those wicked farmers and rent the vineyard to other tenant farmers who will give him the fruit when it’s ready.”
42 Jesus said to them, “Haven’t you ever read in the scriptures, The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. The Lord has done this, and it’s amazing in our eyes? 43 Therefore, I tell you that God’s kingdom will be taken away from you and will be given to a people who produce its fruit. 44 Whoever falls on this stone will be crushed. And the stone will crush the person it falls on.”
45 Now when the chief priests and the Pharisees heard the parable, they knew Jesus was talking about them. 46 They were trying to arrest him, but they feared the crowds, who thought he was a prophet.
Philippians 3:4b-14 (CEB)
4 … If anyone else has reason to put their confidence in physical advantages, I have even more:
5 I was circumcised on the eighth day.
I am from the people of Israel and the tribe of Benjamin.
I am a Hebrew of the Hebrews.
With respect to observing the Law, I’m a Pharisee.
6 With respect to devotion to the faith, I harassed the church.
With respect to righteousness under the Law, I’m blameless.
7 These things were my assets, but I wrote them off as a loss for the sake of Christ.8 But even beyond that, I consider everything a loss in comparison with the superior value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. I have lost everything for him, but what I lost I think of as sewer trash, so that I might gain Christ 9 and be found in him. In Christ I have a righteousness that is not my own and that does not come from the Law but rather from the faithfulness of Christ. It is the righteousness of God that is based on faith. 10 The righteousness that I have comes from knowing Christ, the power of his resurrection, and the participation in his sufferings. It includes being conformed to his death 11 so that I may perhaps reach the goal of the resurrection of the dead.
12 It’s not that I have already reached this goal or have already been perfected, but I pursue it, so that I may grab hold of it because Christ grabbed hold of me for just this purpose. 13 Brothers and sisters, I myself don’t think I’ve reached it, but I do this one thing: I forget about the things behind me and reach out for the things ahead of me. 14 The goal I pursue is the prize of God’s upward call in Christ Jesus.
Supplemental texts
Isaiah 5:1-7 (CEB)
1 Let me sing for my loved one
a love song for his vineyard.
My loved one had a vineyard on a fertile hillside.
2 He dug it,
cleared away its stones,
planted it with excellent vines,
built a tower inside it,
and dug out a wine vat in it.
He expected it to grow good grapes—
but it grew rotten grapes.
3 So now, you who live in Jerusalem, you people of Judah,
judge between me and my vineyard:
4 What more was there to do for my vineyard
that I haven’t done for it?
When I expected it to grow good grapes,
why did it grow rotten grapes?
5 Now let me tell you what I’m doing to my vineyard.
I’m removing its hedge,
so it will be destroyed.
I’m breaking down its walls,
so it will be trampled.
6 I’ll turn it into a ruin;
it won’t be pruned or hoed,
and thorns and thistles will grow up.
I will command the clouds not to rain on it.
7 The vineyard of the Lord of heavenly forces is the house of Israel,
and the people of Judah are the plantings in which God delighted.
God expected justice, but there was bloodshed;
righteousness, but there was a cry of distress!
Psalm 80:7-15 (CEB)
7 Restore us, God of heavenly forces!
Make your face shine so that we can be saved!
8 You brought a vine out of Egypt.
You drove out the nations and planted it.
9 You cleared the ground for it;
then it planted its roots deep, filling the land.
10 The mountains were covered by its shade;
the mighty cedars were covered by its branches.
11 It sent its branches all the way to the sea;
its shoots went all the way to the Euphrates River.[a]
12 So why have you now torn down its walls
so that all who come along can pluck its fruit,
13 so that any boar from the forest can tear it up,
so that the bugs can feed on it?
14 Please come back, God of heavenly forces!
Look down from heaven and perceive it!
Attend to this vine,
15 this root that you planted with your strong hand,
this son whom you secured as your very own.
Children’s story
In the Bible verses we read today, we are reminded that God wants our lives to show fruit. But what does that really mean? Are we supposed to swallow watermelon seeds, so that they grow in our stomachs? (No! People who say that might be playing a joke on you!)
If our lives show God’s fruit, it means that we’re taking what we learn from our pastors, parents and teachers, and practicing it in our own lives. A great example of this can be seen in Brian and Noelia Fox’s youth group in Spain.
Brian and Noelia Fox work with Mennonite Mission Network and, for years, they have been telling the youth at their church about God’s love. Their hope is that the youth would bear God’s fruit, or show God’s love to others.
The youth group did this! One Friday night, they gathered together on the street and offered free hugs to whoever wanted one. They also set up a table with a small box on it. On slips of paper, people could write things that they wanted prayer for and place it in the box. After spending a few hours giving free hugs, the youth took their box of prayer requests to their Bible study and prayed for each person who wanted prayer.
“We think that people need a lot of love and someone to listen to them,” said Vanesa Moreno, one of the young adults in the youth group. As the weeks went on, people began to recognize the youth group gathered together on the street, and asked for prayer when they passed by. Some of them began to come to church.
When Brian and Noelia saw this happening, they knew without a doubt that what they taught their youth group was showing fruit.
The youth group was taking what they knew about God’s love and putting it into practice.
Prayer
Dear Jesus, thank you for all of the different ways that you show love to us. Give us the courage to live in ways that share your love with others. Amen.
Sermon starters
Theme: Transformed by God’s love
God’s love has the ability to transform our lives. Below, you’ll find a few individual stories of transformation from areas where Mennonite Mission Network workers live. These stories are intended to be used individually as sermon openings or illustrations. Additional stories can be found on the in the Story section of the website. May you and your congregation be inspired by God’s word and deeds.
Sermon starters from Matthew 21:33-46
Bearing fruit
In Matthew 21:43, Jesus says, “Therefore, I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people that produces the fruits of the kingdom.” As Christians today, do we take seriously God’s call to bear fruit? After 30 years, a dream bears fruit in Benin through congregations in the United States, Beninese leaders, and Benin Bible Institute. Read more about this story.
What fruits are being made visible in our context? How do we recognize the fruits of action and service locally? Regionally? Globally?
Love your neighbor
This important section of Matthew ends with the Great Commandment (22:34-39), the summation of Jesus’ theology and authority for our fruit-filled lives: When the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together, and one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. “Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?” He said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’”
One good resource about “loving your neighbor” that can be found on our website is Missio Dei #1 Understanding Islam: a Christian reflection on the faith of our Muslim neighbors—Who is our Neighbor? by Calvin E. Shenk. Shenk and his wife, Marie served for many years in Jerusalem, with a focus on Jewish-Christian relationships amidst the Muslim world.
Sermon starter from Philippians 3:4b-14
Sacrificial love
Resurrection is usually described in Scripture as the result of an act of divine power, but here Paul describes resurrection as itself a source of power in the lives of believers. Those who are in Christ share his faith, righteousness, and resurrection—but only if prepared to share in “his sufferings.” Being conformed to Christ’s death is an ongoing process of sacrificial love in the life of believers.
This required (and freely given) sacrificial love is shown as the churches of Argentina’s Patagonia Mission Project partner with Mennonite congregations in Illinois. The Missio Dei #9 that features the Patagonia Story highlights the insights of people from both sides of the partnership, and demonstrates how the roles become mutually beneficial.
Worship resources
Call to worship/gathering prayer
Leader: O, God, maker of heaven and earth, of all that is seen and unseen, we come to worship you.
People: We want to know you. We want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection.
All: We gather to press on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly call. Amen.
Prayer for restoration
Leader: Restore us, O, God of hosts. Let your face shine, that we may be saved.
People: You brought a vine out of Egypt; you drove out the nations and planted it. You cleared the ground for it. It took deep root and filled the land. The mountains were covered with its shade, the mighty cedars with its branches; it sent out its branches to the sea and its shoots to the river.
Single voice: Why, then, have you broken down its walls, so that all who pass along the way pluck its fruit? The boar from the forest ravages it, and all that move in the field feed on it.
Leader: Turn again, O, God of hosts; look down from heaven and see. Have regard for this vine, the stock that your right hand planted.
Songs from Voices Together
- No. 2 “Christ Is Our Cornerstone”
- No. 548 “Open, Lord, My Inner Ear”
- No. 126 “Holy God, We Praise Thy Name”
- No. 537 “Lord, You Sometimes Speak”
- No. 113 “O Sing to the Lord”
- No. 428 “Praise with Joy the World’s Creator”
- No. 420 “God of the Bible”
- No. 720 “O God in Heaven”
- No. 412 “My Soul Cries Out”
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