THE INTERWEAVING NATURE OF VINES
September 21 Saturday 2007

I arrived at HTB two Sunday's ago on "Vision Sunday". Nicky Gumbel gave a wonderful sermon, with brilliant illustrations and relevant passages from the Bible. One in particular stood out to me. "I am The Vine; you are the branches. Whoever lives in Me and I in him will bear much fruit." - John 15:5. It caught my attention because it's the verse that my church in Hong Kong derives its name from: The Vine Christian Fellowship.

Even though the sermon focused predominently on vision, it touched on the issue of spiritual maturity (hence the verse) and it really helped settle my mind in a way that confirmed my being in the UK. I was also pleased to discover shortly after, that the room I'll be using for an office is called, "The Vine Room". I was feeling particularly home-sick at the time, and as unlikely as it sounds, it lifted my spirit immeasurably.

And then last Sunday I was invited to Hillsong Church London, by my friend Shaun Sinniah who is one of the youth pastors there. The worship was incredible, as was the super-warm welcome and general running of the church. But what really blew me away was the message. Gary Smith preached part of his sermon from John 15: "I am The Vine; you are the branches, etc..." and went on to talk about developing spiritual maturity. How awesome is that? Any doubts I've had about my being here are now completely gone, and I'm looking forward expectantly, to what God has in store.