"I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman" (v. 1).

Jesus is dealing with the very heart of Jewish national consciousness, their sense of themselves. Jesus was probably pointing to the golden vine on the door of the Temple as he spoke these words. It was the emblem on their coins when the Jews were an independent nation.

As the eagle is our national symbol, the vine was theirs: "You brought a vine out of Egypt; you did drive out the nations and planted it" (Psalm 80:8); God says, "I had planted you a noble vine, wholly a right seed" (Jeremiah 2:21a).

But their vine was corrupt and decayed: "how then are you turned into the degenerate branches of a foreign vine unto me?" (Jeremiah 2:21b). They had lost their focus on God, and turned it on themselves--on their rituals, traditions, and laws. They were decaying and barren and dying.

The people thought they had a relationship with God because they were related to the nation of Israel. The nation was the vine into which they were planted. But their vine was corrupted and ruined. They were connected to the wrong vine, the wrong source for life.

Jesus is the only "true vine." Unfortunately, we can make the same mistake people made in his day. Most people think that a Christian is someone who is connected to the church, in the same way that a Rotarian is connected to a Rotary Club and goes to its meetings. You are connected to a country club by purchasing a membership there and going to its golf course or restaurant or tennis courts. You are connected to the Dallas Women's Club by gaining membership and attending functions there. You are a Christian if you have joined a church and attend its meetings.

I must tell you that the Church is no more the vine than the nation was. We are just people. My words are not God's words, unless the Spirit uses them in that way in your life. I am as fallen as any of you.

I've watched our garage go down and the Community Life Center go up, and I can tell you that our buildings are made in the same way as any other buildings in the city. Our concrete is not any more sanctified than theirs.

Last week, Brian Newman and I helped prepare the Lord's Supper for our Monday morning prayer meeting, and discovered how they do it. I'd always wondered how they get the grape juice in those tiny little glasses. Turns out they have blue rubber bulbs which they squeeze; it takes in juice, which they can then squeeze out into the cups. As I was squeezing the juice and crushing up the crackers up for the plate, I turned to Brian and said, "Sort of takes the mystique out of it, doesn't it?"

The baptistery is just water. Our musicians and staff and deacons are just people. If you're connected to us, thinking that being a church member makes you a Christian, you've attached to the wrong vine. I cannot forgive a single sin you've committed, or guarantee you a single day in heaven. I'm just as much a decayed vine as ancient Israel. And so is everyone else who's sitting in worship with you this morning.

I once read of a group of churches in serious decline. A missionary in the area said he felt that the people had been converted to Christianity, not to Christ. To religion rather than relationship.

Which is true of your soul today?