This week, pastor Dan will begin a new sermon series, Reclaiming a Fruitful Life. Going into this four-week series, I think it’s important to ask an honest question: What does a fruitful life truly look like? Our culture often defines fruitfulness by productivity, success, or visible results. Scripture offers a deeper, more lasting picture. A fruitful life is one that is rooted in God, shaped by His truth, and producing lasting spiritual fruit – the fruits of the Spirit that form our character and obedience that endures beyond a season.
Jesus makes this connection unmistakably clear in John 15: “Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine” (John 15:4). Fruitfulness is not something we manufacture through our own effort or good intentions. It flows naturally from connection. Daily time in Scripture is one of the primary ways we remain connected to Christ. When we open God’s Word, we are not just reading – we are abiding, allowing His life to flow into ours.
Over time, many of us drift from fruitfulness without even realizing it. We stay busy and well-intentioned, but our spiritual roots grow shallow. Scripture draws us back to the Source. Psalm 1 describes the person who delights in God’s Word as, “a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season.” Notice the imagery: stability, nourishment, patience, and growth. Fruit comes in season, not instantly, and only when roots are consistently drawing from living water.
When we commit to daily Scripture reading, we are choosing cultivation over convenience. We are making space for God to prune what no longer gives life and to strengthen what does. Some passages will encourage us, others will challenge us, and both are essential. Jesus reminds us that the Father, “prunes every branch that bears fruit so that it will be even more fruitful” (John 15:2). God’s Word does this living work in us – shaping our desires, correcting our direction, and forming Christlike character.
Throughout this series, we’ll explore what it means to reclaim areas of our lives where fruitfulness has been lost or diminished – through distraction, discouragement, or spiritual neglect. Daily time in Scripture is not a separate spiritual discipline; it is the soil in which a fruitful life grows. As we return again and again to God’s Word, we place ourselves where growth can happen, trusting that God will bring the increase.
As we step into this season together, my prayer is that we resist the pressure to produce quick results and instead produce deep roots. Let’s commit to remaining in Christ through His Word, believing His promise that “those who abide in me… will bear much fruit” (John 15:5). This is not about doing more – it’s about reconnecting with the Source of Life and allowing God to reclaim what He always intended: a life that bears good fruit, for His glory and for the good of others.