08/21/2026
“I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing.” - John 15:5
Where we are planted matters because it is our community that God uses to feed us and give us what we need to be fruitful. But sometimes we can feel cut off from the life we once knew. Life comes with transitions from one phase to another. As we are approaching the end of summer and colleges jump into full swing, it is time to make sure we are caring for our individuals who are in the midst of transition. Particularly for everyone starting their first year out of high school. But also for everyone else walking those tough years of increasing independence where we may feel cut off from the vine at times. We don’t want to only care for our college students, we want to make sure we include everyone in those transitional years: anyone enrolling in a trade school, anyone transitioning from school to work, and yes anyone attending college, everywhere from overseas at Oxford to right here at Brightpoint and every option in between. Life is hard at every age, but we want to make sure we are giving some of God’s love to the people from our church community who are making a transition into the adult world. So please send me their addresses (and how they are attached to our church if I don’t know them). And please pray for everyone in those years of growing into full independent adulthood. And also pray that as they grow in their independence, they may remember that there is no such thing as doing things alone because we belong to each other because we are all a part of the same vine.
Pray with me. Holy One, watch over every person who is on the heart of anyone as they read this message. God, you know the deepest intricacies of who we have been and who we are becoming. Give all those in transition strength for the journey. Give them joy through the challenges they face. Fill them with a peace that surpasses understanding. Help us as we care for them, free our minds from remembering them only as they were and help us to encourage them as they bloom into all that you will them to be. We pray this in the name of our Lord and savior Jesus, who is the vine apart from whom we can do nothing. Amen.
Peace, Grace, and Love,
Nate
