-The last thing anyone would want of their church is that it might become a fruitless vine destined for destruction. This was Isaiah's warning to Israel in his day. Jesus warned his fellow Jews of the same danger. Paul warned his young churches of a similar danger. So how do we assess the danger, a danger so real to all of us?Rev. Bryan Findlayson,

- Compare. Luke chapter13, verses 1-9.  or Matthew 21: 33-46  

-"Yahweh's Winery"  Rev. Michael J. Pahls

-Does our vineyard produces "fruit in keeping with repentance"   Better Think Again Kevin and April Powers 

- What about the balance between God’s justice and God’s grace?

- Can there be righteousness without justice and vs vs?

-Whose “vineyard” is it anyways? sermon by Robert J. Elder, Pastor

-- Vineyard=Israel  Stoffregen

   Fruits and vegetables  = justice and righteousness

   Vineyard destroyed = Israel conquered and Jerusalem destroyed

- Israel was supposed to be an example but instead became just like the nations around it.  (idolatry)

-Like Israel, God planted each of us in fertile soil in Jesus Christ. He has watered us with his Word and his Holy Spirit. We should produce the fruits of love and faithfulness, righteousness and justice. Alex Stevenson

-Isaiah 5 is a little like "God singing the Blues."  Reggie Smith

-Interesting word play God looked for mishpat (justice) but discovered instead mishpah (bloodshed); he looked for zedekah (righteousness) but found instead azekah (cries). Again, this is a kind of pun where the change of just one letter creates a very different meaning.  Rev. J. Douglas Paterson  sermon, A song in the key of G'od

-"stink fruit" (wild grapes) source unknown

- We may all have to admit, “I am an unfruitful vine in the Lord’s vineyard"  Lindy

-That’s what Jesus meant when he said, “I am the vine, you are the branches.  If anyone abides in me, and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit.”  John 15

JUSTICE AND RIGHTEOUSNESS

-Religion is what God does before it is anything we do  (unknown)

- Demi religions......loves God , not neighbor.  unknown

 -What does the Lord require of you but to do justice, love mercy and walk humbly….Micah 6:8

-  The heart of religion, lies in its personal pronouns. Martin Luther

-What religion unites, churches divide  American Demographics,  August 1, 2001  

-  Religion did not civilize man; man civilized religion  Pascal

-In any society, the litmus test of its justice or injustice is how it treats its poor and powerless.  John M. Breen

-The delay of justice in injustice.  WILLIAM PENN

• Psalm 80:1-2, 8-19
• Hebrews 11:29—12:2 (2nd of 4 readings from Hebrews) The mighty deeds and sacrifices of faith. "Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also ... run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus ..."
• Luke 12:49-56 "I came to bring fire to the earth ... I have a baptism with which to be baptized ... why do you not know how to interpret the present time?"

-He who trims himself to suit everyone, will soon whittle himself away. Raymond Hull

-If you are not helping start fires here on earth are you complicit in the status quo which, GOD help us, is not what is to be? Wesley White

-People who follow the way of Christ often encounter hostility and rejection, even from those they love.

-When things seem calm, they are not. A change is coming that will divide the world. It is a paradox to be considered. Tim Zukas

-Jesus' teaching creates division within as well. We like part of His message but not all. His fire purges, purifies, judges, enlightens, ignites passion - love - loyalty. Do we warm up to the refiners fire?

- There is nothing more dangerous than love unless it is not loving.  Tess from Touched by an Angel

-If you are to love the flawed world which is all around you, you must first love your flawed self. Robert Clarke

- We have domesticated the Christ so we don't have to make a choice. unknown

- Generation gap! 

- Tough love

-   As Dorothy Day put it, "I really only love God as much as I love the person I love the least."

-Sometimes, unity can be, "Nice evil"  unknown

-Fire is not only a sign of judgment but also a symbol of the Holy Spirit who comes into the world to empower us for ministry and it seems that this may also be why Jesus prays that this fire were already kindled  Rev. Richard J. Fairchild
-Elton Trueblood: "Jesus Christ can be accepted; he can be rejected; he cannot reasonably be ignored."

-Family struggle The Prodigal son's family  Lindy

-In 12-step work we have a saying "the truth might set you free but first it might make you miserable".

-"Safe?" said Mr. Beaver. "Don't you hear what Mrs. Beaver tells you? Who said anything about safe? "Course he isn't safe. But he's good. He's the King, I tell you."  from, CS Lewis, The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe

-I have not been preaching long, but I was a chemical dependency counselor before. I know what it is to sow seeds on rocky ground but we have to have faith that some of those seeds reach fertile ground and will begin to grow. Taken from Desperate Preachers

--illustration   However, he,  (St. Francis of Assisi ) had a dream in which God called him to his service, and he returned to Assisi and began to care for the sick. In 1206, he had a vision in which Christ called him to repair His Church. Francis interpreted this as a command to repair the church of San Damiano, near Assisi. He resolved to become a hermit, and devoted himself to repairing the church. His father, angry and embarrassed by Francis' behavior, imprisoned him and brought him before the bishop as disobedient. Francis abandoned all his rights and possessions, including his clothes. There, he claimed in front of everybody: "I can now say, 'My Father who art in heaven!'" Two years later he felt himself called to preach, and was soon joined by companions. When they numbered eleven he gave them a short Rule and received approval from pope Innocent III for the brotherhood, which Francis called the Friars Minor.   (Jesus sets father against son.) Capuchin Vocation Center

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QUOTES 

CHILDREN

-Children's message: Velveteen rabbit: The rabbit asks the Skin Horse, "What is real?".. the rabbit answers: "When you are loved, really loved, for a long time, then you are real...it's not how you are made,....it's a thing that happens to you...you BECOME. It takes a long time...that's why it doesn't happen to people who break easy, or have sharp edges...by the time you are Real, most of your hair had been loved off, your eyes drop out and your get loose in the joints but it doesn't matter because you are REAL....Margery Williams

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PRAYER PHRASES