In this sermon, the speaker begins by praying for the women in attendance, asking God to bless them and help them grow in their love for Him and others. The speaker then reads from John 15, focusing on the analogy of the vine and the branches. They emphasize the importance of God being the gardener in our lives and how He prunes us to bear more fruit. The speaker also shares a personal story about feeling empty and seeking to be filled by others, but realizing that true fulfillment comes from abiding in Christ.

Lord, bless each woman here in her study. May she take a new truth today home. And may we become women who first love you and then to become women who can love others. Teach us that, Lord. Thank you that they've come out of a difficult weather morning to focus on you and to love you more. So bless our time and encourage us as we're together. Amen. Would you open your Bible to chapter 15 of John. Just soak in these words as I read one through eight and then we'll get started. The vine and the branches. I am the true vine and my father is the gardener. Is God your gardener in your life? I love that. He cuts off every branch in me that, whoa, whoa, whoa. Just a minute, a little saving. Thank you, Lord. Hey, Kirky, can you come here? Yeah, it's the one leg. Help. Thank you so much. It's a good thing I caught that. Let's take the picture off. No, you guys are so sweet. We'll just not, no, no, it's okay. We really could just lean it, just lean it. Okay. Okay, here we go again. All right, thanks for being patient. Okay. Okay, he cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit. Why, every branch that does bear fruit, he prunes. Maybe some of you this morning feel like you've been pruned in your life a few times. I know I have. So he's busy, isn't he, taking care of us so that it will even bear more fruit. You are already clean because the word I have spoken to you remain in me and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself. It must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. I am the vine, you are the branch. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit. Apart from me, you can do nothing. If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers. Such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my word remains in you, ask what you wish and it will be given to you. This is my father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be a disciple, amen. I love that. You are a disciple. Isn't that a great thing that God's called you to be his disciple? Well, Jesus draws us a picture of the vine and he says, I'm the true vine. And this was a huge statement when he says this, ladies, because the Jews are listening. And we're a lot like the Jewish people sometimes. We just can't get this, abiding. We're really good at abounding in God's work. We're good at doing. Cynthia writes this. You know, it's not about doing, it's about being. And Jesus is saying, I am the vine. I'm the true vine. And just to give you a little bit of history, and I have to tell you, I had to really study. I thought this wouldn't be as hard, but it was some learning for me to be here this morning. The vine had actually become the symbol for the nation of Israel. So it was their symbol. It had become a part of the Jewish imagery. You could see it growing on the temples. It grew on the grounds. They would put the vine in temples as artwork. And there was even a Jewish family called the Maccabees. And the Maccabees, you know, I don't think it was like a community. I think it was more like a family and they were a very strong Jewish family. And they led a revolt against the Greeks for putting false idols in the temples. And they won that revolt. And in honor of the Maccabee family, they made a gold coin, the Maccabee coin. And guess what was on that coin? The vine. So the vine showed power and strength. It was the symbol of Israel. And here God says, uh-uh, it's the symbol of me. And he was telling the Jewish people, you cannot be saved because you have Jewish blood. You are saved only by abiding in me, being connected to the branch. These were huge words for those people. And they still, I think, are difficult for our world today to accept. I was telling Mary here in the front that my family, nobody knows Jesus in my family. These are huge words for some of my family members to even understand this. So I think it's good for us to know that. Jesus says it for us today, but then he was really calling the Jewish people to believe in the true vine, not a symbol. That's not what you worship, you worship me. And it's intimate fellowship that Jesus was calling us to and to the Jewish people on that day. So Jesus calls himself the true vine. The Philip translations, I wanna give you a couple other quotes. The Philip translation of the Bible says, you must go on growing in me and I will grow in you. The word growing. The message says, live in me, make your home in me, and I'll make your home in you. That's an invitation to him into our lives. This is the calling today to have a very close walk with Jesus. You know, we can say, oh, I believe in God and I know God and I love God and I serve God, but are you with him? It's an important question for my life and your life. We are called by John 15, abiding, and we'll go through what abiding means, really to become a woman who prays, become a woman who is being with God, not just doing for God. And this is daily, not just now and then. And I'll share a story in my life when God called me more to abiding. So this is our chance to become women who abide. Your book, Becoming a Woman Who Loves, I think the message is, become a woman today who loves Jesus. Then you can become a woman who loves, period, who loves others. You know, I think it follows each other. I almost thought this chapter should be number one, but become a woman who loves Christ first, then you can become a woman who loves others. Cynthia writes in page 29, your very first page, abide means to stay very close, which I found in my dictionary, connected. And the picture of the vine is much like that. We're connected to those branches, to Christ. But I couldn't find this one and I don't know where she got it, to settle in for the long term. And I love that. It feels like, okay, I gotta let God move in with me. It's like the message, moving in, taking residence. And then she has long term. It's not just for the moment. It's not for today or tomorrow, it's forever. So for the long term, and that was a good thought for me. This morning, I've mentioned a few words, and if you're a woman who likes to jot down a few words, here they are. A few words are live, live in Him, remain in Him, grow in Him, and union with Him. Second Corinthians 9, eight says, we are called to abound in every good work for His kingdom. And so this is where I think the being and the doing comes in. We are called to do good work for Him and there is nothing wrong with that. And we need to be doing that. Without some of your women here, setting up this morning, we wouldn't have such a nicer time together. So we are called to abound, but we're also in John 15 called to abide. And that can become a real tension in our walk with Christ. Abiding, abounding. And for me, I'll be truthfully honest, I am much better at abounding and doing than just being. I just, it is just a struggle. And I have to work much harder at abiding than I have to do at abounding. So you probably know your heart. There are great prayer warriors, but they're few. And one of our prayer warriors in our church, she said, I'm just not a very popular woman. I'm just not. She is at Jesus' feet daily. And that takes time away from friendships. And I'm not saying we pull away from people, but prayer warrior people are few, are really few. Today, I brought this picture that almost fell. And I love this picture. It hangs in my home. And just a funny story. I would go to Mardell's, if you've been to Mardell's, buy the picture, wrap it up real careful, use it for a talk and then return it because it was really expensive. And I did that five times. And Mardell's called me and said, you know, we're having a picture sale and we know you love that picture. And we think we wanna help you get it. And they said the price and it was still, you guys, it was way over a hundred. I'm like, I can't do that, but they helped me get it. So I was so thankful that God got me this picture, but why was I drawn to this picture? You know, sometimes we look at a photograph or a picture and I looked at it and thought, don't you just wanna sit down with a friend and a cup of tea or coffee and look out at that and have sweet fellowship together and have a moment. And then I thought, cause this is so me, I love eating out with my friends and being with them. I'm very relational. But then when I started looking at this, I thought what a great picture to think of Christ sitting in one chair and he's waiting for me to sit down and abide in the other chair. And so I hang this in my home. Now this picture does not mean the same for Pastor Mike as it does to me, but I love this picture cause every day I see that and I think, God's waiting to have an intimate moment with me, a reminder, a picture. And so I just brought it today to draw you into the Lord, to call you into maybe more being in abiding in him. The question I have for you today with this study is are you abiding? Are you? That's a good question to ask. Some of us are gonna say, well, somewhat and some are gonna go, no. Are we with him? Are we abiding? We must, the verse of 15 says, we must stay very closely connected to the branch. If we don't, we can become cut off, withered up, dried up, dead and an empty vessel. And I wish it was the season when our trees were growing, but you know how you cut off a branch and it just dies. And that's what John 15 is talking about. You are not, when you're not with me, you're not gonna become me. You're gonna become an empty, dried up, withered vine or branch. And Jesus makes it very clear that when we're not abiding in him, we can do nothing apart from him. And we know that, ladies, we know that. And I don't know about you, but I don't wanna live my life not being able to do for him or not becoming more like him. Or I don't wanna live a life that's loving the things of the world more than loving the master who made it for me to enjoy. So just a great question today. Are you abiding? Are you spending time with him? Today I have these jars and I brought them to give you an example and I'm kind of afraid to go close to him, but we'll try. The full jar, okay, I hope I don't have like noise. The full jar is the woman who's been abiding. She's been spending time with Christ. She's bearing much fruit. She's full, she's alive. A lot of us will be this jar. It's not a bad place to be, but it's not that. It's kind of a warning time to be with God. I'm feeling less connected to him and emptier. And this is a really dangerous place to be. We see a lot of women in our Bible. The woman at the well was this. The hemorrhaging woman was this. Very empty and broken. Not being able to refresh others. And I became this jar. I wanted to share on the question that Cynthia asked us. Let me just open this book on page 35. Describe at any time in your life when you've tried to bear the fruit without loving, without, excuse me, let me read this again. Describe any time in your life when you have tried to bear the fruit of love without abiding in Christ. So I'm gonna share that with you about me. I became this empty jar. We moved. I left one piece of the interview with Kirkyat. We lived in Wichita for five years being associate pastor first. Then we moved to Denver. And that was a big move. I had from Phoenix to Wichita, leaving Young Life, now to a big church of 2,000 people. Now we're moving to Denver of a church of 40 people. And just, you know, moves are hard. Even though I had lived in Denver 23 years ago, this was a different place by then. So I became very lonely and very empty. And I was gonna be the senior pastor wife. I was gonna be abounding. I was gonna be doing. Like I said, I took every woman out to lunch and had all those things I was doing and developing and meeting people, but I wasn't abiding in Christ. I wasn't letting him fill me up. And pretty soon I became emptier and emptier and emptier. Sat in a church service, walked in the door one Sunday, and there were a lot of needs that day. As pastoral couple, we meet needs. And they were coming to me and many different things. And I had nothing to offer. I couldn't offer him anything. I was so dried up and withered like our branch that we read that I just felt overwhelmed by the request. And I sat in church on the front row with my husband. And I literally had this image of me as a mama bird and the baby's birds were the church in their nest and their mouths were wide open wanting to be fed. And I had no worm to put in those beaks. I had nothing to offer. And I thought, I can't do this another 20 years. I can't do this. That week got an invitation to Colorado Community Church to a prayer summit. And it's really hard for me to go to things that I don't know a soul and just call them up and go, but I knew I better go. I was at a very broken place. Called up Colorado Community, made my appointment. And that day it snowed just like today. Lot, and it was a bad snow. And I was even an hour late walking in their doors. But God maketh Diane Andrews to go to that prayer summit. He maketh me go. When I pulled into the parking lot, I knew they had been going for an hour, but I still walked in. And when I walked in, these women were praying in the spirit and I was a little uncomfortable, but I thought, okay, you know, I'm here. And a woman noticed me and said, we want, thank you for coming. This is $10 for the lunch and take the seat way up front. And I was like, oh my gosh. So I go to the front and sit down and I just, we start, we're praying. And I try to find my place. And about an hour into this, this amazing black woman, Pastor Yvonne McCoy goes, God, there's a pastor wife here and she is bitter. She is bitter. She's empty. She's dry. And I'm going, oh my gosh, I'm not praying. I'm watching this woman pray for me. See God maketh Diane go because there was a blessing at the prayer conference. So I watch her pray and she prays my heart, but then she did something interesting. She took that prayer and she redeemed it. She goes, God, you've anointed her. You've called her. You've blessed her, refill her, encourage her. And man, God said, get up out of your chair. I don't know any of these women to be a room about this size. And he said, kiss her. So I got up and I kissed her and the whole crowd knew it was me and they all applauded. But see, God broke that. And I haven't been that empty since ladies. I walked in this jar. This was me. I walked out this. I was filled back up. I had abided with my Lord. He refilled me. That's what John 15 and Cynthia are writing about. And I watched this in my church so often. We run around our friends in Bible studies in church, drinking from others' lives because we're so empty. And I was trying to let everybody else fill me and guess what? It doesn't work. You still feel that empty. And so the call today for you is start going to God. I even said it the other day, Kirki. I'm like, why do I call my friend instead of going to God? You know, I still need to work on this. Go to the Lord first, Diane. Ask him before calling my best friend. What should I do? You know, I'm having a problem. I want to learn that even in my life as I stand here today. I'm not a perfect woman in this. I still need to abide more. And so it's just a challenge for you today. And it's another picture. It's as Jesus drew out the vine, this is another image for you. Are you the empty life that needs God to fill it and you're allowing everything else to fill it and it's not quite satisfying? Or maybe you're just partially full and you know, I want to be that. Can others come to you and be refreshed because you're bearing much fruit? Or do you have to go to others? Good question to think about. But God's the one that always fills us. Through R&R, sometimes we kind of wonder about our life. Like, what's going to be my mark? I was a young woman that never went to church my whole life, never had a Bible. Young life, put a Bible in my hand before I was 17. Never a day did I open a Bible till then. And that God would pluck me and make me a pastor. It's just amazing. I'm a miracle. I am a walking miracle of God. And I used to say to myself, I wonder what kind of difference I'm going to make since I've met the Lord so late. And R&R has been birthed, but through that ministry, Psalm 23 has become a real marker in my life. And I want to take us in the first three verses. So if you would turn to Psalm 23 real quick, and I think there's a lot here about being with God. I'm looking for a paper, here it is. David is remembering, as you're turning there, David is remembering a time God had shepherded him. You all know David, he's a great, he becomes a king, but he's a shepherd boy first, he's a shepherd. And he knows the valleys and the pastors well, and he knows Jesus very well. And David remembers by the very first line how God had shepherded him. He says, the Lord is my shepherd. Now think about this. David maybe realizes he's a man who walks in two roles, and so do you, this is you right here as David. See, we're called to abound, and we're called to be shepherd of God's people. Many of you are probably in ministry, you've taught Sunday school class, the list can go on and on. And yet, we're the little lambs under God, aren't we? And that's what David's saying here. The Lord's my shepherd. I shall not want because the Lord is my shepherd. Has the Lord ever shepherded you? Has he, is he your shepherd? And do you allow him to lead you like a shepherd would lead his sheep? A lot of times, the abounding and abiding, we can get caught in the tension of our existence. And I talked about that in the beginning. And David is caught in this, I believe he is. See, we're both called to abound, and we're called to abide. It's a duality of roles and it's a tension in David's existence here and in ours. The Lord's my shepherd. See, we are so busy being shepherds or sheep running past the blessing, and we miss it. He has a blessing for you. And David knew this, and in verse two is our challenge. And in verse three is the encouragement. He says, he makes me lie down in the green pastures. He leads me beside the quiet waters. He restores my soul. He guides me in the path of righteousness. And why? For his namesake. Now, the word make is a very, very challenging word. And by the way, we see this at funerals and we see this on cards, but this is for today, ladies. This is for you today. And God maketh one of you get here in this storm to hear just this one few words on this. He makes me lie down in green pastures. That's a very firm word, make. Make means causes. He might cause you to lie down. And the word force is also listed in our dictionary. He will force me if I need to. Why? Is it because he's a mean God and he doesn't love you? Absolutely not. He's crazy about you. He is so crazy about you. And he's so committed to the call that's on your life that he's gonna make if you lie down, cause you to lie down, or force you if needed. Because there's a blessing he has for you and we're gonna trot right by it cause we're so busy abounding. And I see this every time at our RNR retreats. And this is why this passage I am passionate for and I'm passionate for my life. He maketh me go to that prayer summit for Pastor Yvonne. She's now, I am now in an inner city Bible study in the middle of downtown Denver and these black women are teaching me what prayer is. They crawl into closets. They're amazing. The last time I was there, oh, Vivian, sweet Vivian, she goes, Diane, quit asking for stuff and start asking for God's favor. I was like, okay, that's my word today. I mean, I am learning what prayer and abiding is through these black women, but I would have never met him without that prayer summit. I would have never had Pastor Yvonne pray my broken emptiness without God maketh me getting to that prayer. And there was a blessing. And maybe you have a story as well like that, how God kind of forced you to do something or be someplace. He kind of directed you there to have a moment of blessing. That's what the 23rd Psalm talks about. I have a story of a woman who came to one of our retreats. She walks in, this is the RNR journal, and this is our oldest one, but the women know this is public. So I have permission to read out of this. And we're on our new book. And we're gonna publish these one day of their journeys. But this woman walks in and she goes, hi, I hate retreats. I'm like, okay. She goes, I don't like retreats. I don't do retreats. But my Amanda, my daughter-in-law invited me. And so I'm here with Amanda and I went, great. We're just gonna love on you and we're gonna pray for you and we'll see how this goes. She ended up being the neatest woman and she was there to love all the women. She just was a delightful lady. Well, anyhow, she just doesn't like retreats. And I'm not gonna say her name today, but Amanda invited her and they came together. Well, Saturday morning, we always have a quiet time. We make sure you stop, be still and know that I am God. So all the women are going out at the hideaway to have their quiet time. And she comes to me and says, can I just have a few minutes? I'm like, sure. She goes, well, I got this wing chair. Now I was really drawn to this wing chair that she was telling me about. She goes, I've got this wing chair and a little lamp and a little table and all my Bibles and my favorite books and never sat in it. I'm like, oh, I'd love to sit there. And I watched this woman and I said, you know, you don't seem to be an indoor person. She would bask in the sun and it was a real nice weekend here in the Springs. And she would sit out on the lawn. And I said, you seem out like you're drawn to God outside. I think you, maybe it's not that wing chair because I think that's right. And she said, you know what, Diane? I haven't been with God in over eight years, eight years. I'm like, wow, this is the woman that hates retreats. She was not abiding. She was the empty jar. I have not sat still. Well, here's what she writes at the end of her weekend. I have a vision tonight of him stroking my head. As I sit at his feet, his voice is full of love. He's saying, my child, my child, you have finally come home. And then she writes, praise God. I am finally resting in him. God maketh this woman come through Amanda. Because he had a blessing at this retreat. He was saying, remember the one you first love. You need to abide in me so you can grow in me and then bear much fruit and then be the disciple that I've called you to be. Man, God maketh her come. Another 23rd Psalm story. See, a lot of times we as women go, well, I want the blessings, God. I want you to lead me beside the quiet streams. Oh, restore my soul. Guide me, guide me. And we'll say, yeah, for your namesake. But we've never abided before that comes. And isn't it interesting in the 23rd Psalm, he maketh me lie down as first, then the restoring, then the blessing, then the guiding comes for his namesake. And I think we get that turned around. I had another woman walk into a retreat and it was a prayer retreat and we didn't sell it out because again, prayer is hard. But the women that came to pray, I'll tell you, they even had prayer mats. Some of these girls, they would lay on these mats. And there was a young woman that came and she said, I've come with an agenda. I'm not a big prayer person, but I have some issues in my life and I'm gonna pray this weekend. And I really liked her. So I invited her to speak at our R&R banquet. And she stood up and none of the board and myself knew this. She said, well, R&R, I got a retreat to a prayer, a weekend of prayer. And I came to this retreat to pray over my issues. I had a list of agenda. And she goes, as I sat at the hideaway on the lawn, I asked Jesus into my life for the first time. God may get that woman come over some issues in her life to accept him as her savior. And we just started all weeping. We had no idea. She never told us. But God maketh her come over some issues. See, that's how he works. We come to him and we abide in him and he prunes us and cleans us. But then we start bearing fruit and people can see it. Those are the kind of stories we see over and over in the 23rd Psalm, where women walk in that empty jar and they walk out a little fuller and a little closer to God because they've done what John 15 is talking about. And we always do it for his namesake, don't we? And Cynthia ends in that. This morning, I'd like to end with a woman who got it. She got it. She got abiding and she did it well. And the woman, we always see her at Jesus' feet, every single time. And that's Mary. You know the passage of Mary and Martha. I'm not gonna teach that today because we've heard it over and over, but Mary understood it. It's in Luke. Mary opens her heart. Martha opens her home. Now that's not a bad thing. She's the abounder and Mary's the abiding. But Martha opens her home and she wants to cook this amazing meal for the weary traveler. And I would do the same thing for Jesus. I'd want it all, you know? So I don't wanna bash on her today, but Mary opens her heart, not the home. We see Mary at his feet again. She listens to every word that's coming out of this man's mouth. Because in six months, Jesus is crucified. And Mary knows his heart is piercing and Jerusalem is around the corner. It is soon approaching. And nothing is gonna pull that woman from his feet, not even an elaborate meal that Martha's cooking in the kitchen. You see, Mary hears everything coming out of his mouth. Martha is in the kitchen getting frustrated. Why don't I have enough help? They're leaving me out. She's missing the moment. And sometimes we do that in our busy life, like the little sheep running through the blessing. See, God maketh us stop sometime because he wants us to hear a word from our Lord. Fellowship with him is a matter of priority. I'll say it again. Fellowship with Christ is a matter of priority and it's a choice you've gotta make. He doesn't force his way in your life. He never has and he never will. It's our choice. You know, I've heard Kirke say, boy, on this day, I don't answer the phone. That's my morning. And for me, I love to check in once a month at the prayer house. And I have to get away from my home because I start thinking of everything I need to do. So that's me. But I like to check in to a place and just for the morning or the whole day and just be with God. And it isn't a time to do my Bible study. I'm working through this. I'm in Bible study fellowship and we have all these rules and homework and I can get caught up in abidings doing my Bible study. And that's not a bad thing, but abiding is sitting quietly and being still with God, knowing the heart of God. Sometimes our word takes us to that heart, but it's really hard to be quiet in prayer for me. And so that's what I'm training myself in. And the more I do it, the more I love it. I want to be that full jar. So it's a matter of priority and it's a choice. And so maybe for you today, for you sitting here going, how do I abide more? How do I spend more time with him? Man, make it an appointment like you make with your friend on the calendar. Write it on your calendar and not let anything interrupt that time with God. So it's a priority and a choice. The picture of the two chairs, he's waiting for you. He's sitting there patiently wanting to be with you and to have a fellowship with you and a friendship, an intimate moment with him. Boy, he longs for that from each one of us. You know, one day we're gonna be in heaven, aren't we? And boy, since we're gonna be there the rest of that time, why not begin now? Why not walk in the gates more ready than we ever have been, more abiding? Mary ended very well. She just did. And Mary chose what's better. And Jesus said in Luke, it will never be taken away from her. And my friends, if you spend time with the Lord, it will never be taken away from you. Nothing can take that. Nothing can take it away from you. What Jesus said to Mary, he is saying this morning to you, abide in me. Remember, you can do nothing apart from me and it won't be taken away from you. My prayer is that you would finish well in the end, like Mary, that I would finish well. That your life would be a testimony of your heart. That your life would be a testimony of your heart and that your heart would be a heart that only longs for Jesus, like Mary. That's what we want. Do people say, man, you know, she longs for Jesus. It's a heart after his. We were at the National Pastors Convention in San Diego last weekend. And I, oh man, Rick Warren's Saddleback Church would lead us in worship and they were awesome. And I just, I was basking in it. And this man came up to me and he was just sobbing. He goes, I have watched you all this hour and I want to worship like you. And I was like, wow. You know, but I want someone to say that about my prayer life as well. You know, I want to be known as the woman in the church that does go to the Lord. And you know what? I'm not at that place yet. There's other women that they go to and that's okay. But I want a heart that only longs for Jesus. And Cynthia ends with this. And so does Psalm 23 in that third verse. And that we bring glory to God through our hearts. He would take great delight in your life. How do we accomplish that? How do we bring glory to God? God is glorified when we love him much and we abide in him. Then we will bear the fruit that will show ourselves to be the true disciples. See, it comes in that sequence. We gotta abide in him first. Then we can love others and others will see the full life that we have and can come take a drink from our soul and be refreshed because we're bearing fruit. Then that is how we glorify God. Not by us, but by us being with him. The greatest glory of the Christian life is to bring God the glory, isn't it? Do you want to bring God the glory today and the rest of your life? You are Jesus with skin on. You're Jesus with skin on. You may be the only Jesus with skin on that the world may see. And if you're not abiding in him, you're not gonna quit, quite quit, look like him. They said when Moses came off the top of the mountain, his face was just glowing because he had been with God. Are you glowing? Are you showing the image of Jesus? You are Jesus with skin on and God wants to use you mightily in the lives of the people around you. That's what's gonna bring the glory to God, is abiding in him. When I went through your book, I thought, oh, I could talk about pruning and that. And really the Lord said to me, inspire them to be with me and I will take care of the rest. That's not your job. Inspire them to love me more, Diane. So then the rest will follow. So that's the word today. I have a question for you. Do you wanna become a woman who loves? Do you wanna become a woman who abides? Would you stand with me with this commitment? You are dear ladies, thank you for having me. I'd like to ask all of us to do this tonight and it's not a hard thing. This is not a hard thing. But Kirky, every one of us are gonna do this tonight. Before you go to bed, in your warm, comfy bed and your pillow that you love so much, would you kneel at your bed tonight? And if it's not a good place to kneel there, find a corner. And if you can't kneel because of our bodies or knees, I understand, but every one of us, I want us to pray tonight. I want us to abide, including myself. Would you ask the Lord tonight, very quietly, one question. God, how can I abide more in you? How can I love you deeper with all my heart? And listen and let Kirky know what's going on for the others in here that love you so much and hold each other accountable. Then do it, act on it. Just don't hear it, but start being that. Being the Mary that chose to do it better. It will never be taken away from you. And I believe God is gonna say something great to you tonight. Let's pray. Father, thank you for this morning. Thank you for the message of the true vine. We're a little bit like the Jewish people, Lord, that sometimes I don't even get it, but I so badly want to be joined with you. But I know that is a choice I must make and we must make here this morning. Help us to become women who love you with a passion, with a strong hold of our heart to you. Help us to depend on you more than others or things or people of this world. God, if there's a woman here today that feels like the empty jar, would you just fill her up and encourage her heart today that it's okay, that you forgive and you help us move on. And God, for some of us who are just partially full, would you just keep filling us up so we can be that full life bearing fruit to love so many. God, thank you for dying for us, calling us to you. Thank you for the image of the vine and the branch. And apart from you, we are nothing and can be nothing. May we grasp that this morning. Thank you for making somebody come here this morning to hear your word in the 23rd Psalm. Thank you for making me go to a prayer summit to hear a word from a woman's life that has touched me beyond words that I can ever imagine. God, we love you so much and wanna serve you and abound in you, but God, we need to abide in you so much more. Now, God, we just wanna come and adore you and love you and praise you because you alone are worthy. Would you sing this with me, three lines. ♪ O come let us adore him, O come let us adore him, O come let us adore him, Christ the Lord. For he alone is worthy, for he alone is worthy, for he alone is worthy. Christ the Lord, we'll give him all the glory, we'll give him all the glory, we'll give him all the glory. Christ the Lord, we'll give him all the glory, we'll give him all the glory, we'll give him all the glory.