This week’s message: “Go and bear fruit” from John 15:1-17 Sadly, the garden has stopped producing vegetables like it did a month ago. The cucumber vines had turned brown and the leaves were gone. Very few tomatoes were left to be picked and most of them were small and covered with bug bites. All the green bean plants had been attacked by the bugs and there may have been a handful of pods to pick. With the realization that the garden season was over, I mowed what was left of the plants down. There are a couple of tomato plants left at one end of the garden, but the rest has been cleared out. Every year it is the same story with the garden. With the arrival of fall, the garden stops producing and the vines all get cut down. In John chapter 15, Jesus uses the imagery of the grape vines to help illustrate a gardening principle for his disciples. He will tell his followers that those who are not producing fruit run the risk of being cut down or out by God. Thankfully, God does not mow us down with his tractor; but he does promise to cast us out of his garden if we do not produce fruit. This is something that can be prevented which is why we have been looking at Dann Spader’s book: 4 Chair Discipling. In this book, Dann talks about how we can become productive Christians when it comes to our mission which is to become disciple-makers. This fifth message in the series will look at Jesus’ command to go and bear fruit. As we look at this passage of scripture from John chapter 15; we will talk about the fact that Jesus is inviting us to become a friend. We become a friend of Jesus by joining in his movement of disciple makers. Where will you be sitting Sunday morning? I hope it is here at Cumberland as we wrap up this great series of messages. This week’s Announcements: This week at Cumberland: Sept. 27th: Joy 4 Jesus @6:30pm B&C Hideout in New Pal. Oct. 3rd: Wednesday night Bible Study @6:30pm Oct. 5th&6th: Mission trip to Camp Allendale Upcoming events: Oct. 11th: Missions Meeting @6:30 in Conference room Oct. 20th: Hayride at Southeastway Park from 5:00 to 8:00pm Oct. 31st: Truth and Treat from 5:30 to 7:30pm. Camp Allendale If you would like to help us build a family cabin for the camp, please sign up today at the Welcome Center. We will meet at the camp on Friday at 9:00am. The plan is return about 5:00pm on Saturday. If you have any questions, please see Mark Mayhew. Hayride The time has come to sign up for our annual Hayride and Bonfire outing at Southeastway Park. A sign-up sheet is located at the Welcome Center. There will be a pitch-in meal, games, fun, campfire, and of course, a hayride through the park. The cost is free, but we do ask you to bring a side dish/dessert and a chair. Invite Your One Now is the time to start preparing for our Invite Your One Event scheduled for Sunday, November 4th here at the church. Let’s begin now praying that God will reveal a name to us of someone that we can invite to the church on this Sunday. Maybe it is a family member, neighbor, co-worker, or classmate. The service that Sunday will focus on introducing people to the church in regards to our mission, vision, and core values. This week’s scripture “I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.” Psalm 4:8 NIV