As the book of Exodus opens, the Israelites find themselves in a predicament in Egypt. Once seen as a blessing by the Egyptian people and Pharoah, they are now feared as a blight, because their small group of immigrants has mushroomed into a nation which outnumbers the Egyptians themselves. As a result, a new Pharoah makes a ruling that all male babies born to Hebrew women should be drowned in the Nile. But Pharoah did not know that the two midwives who oversaw those childbirths had other ideas!

As we start a new series about Moses and the role he played in God's plan to deliver the Israelites from slavery in Egypt, we look at a bit of history. How did the Jewish people end up in Egypt in the first place? What did the Egyptians think of them from the beginning? And what promises did God make to their forefathers about bringing the Jewish people back to the Promised Land someday? During this series, we will learn some new things about Moses as we follow him from his tenuous birth, to the burning bush, across the parted sea, and o the top of Mt. Sinai.

Jesus made a couple of bold statements to His disciples as He was talking to them about Him being "I AM the Vine." He said, "If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given to you." Was that a promise? A guarantee? He also said, " This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples." In practice, that requires us to be able to "point and prove" in our lives. Perhaps the most incredible thing Jesus said, though, was "I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete." How could Jesus have been "joyful" in that moment, just a few hours before He would be arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane? Have you ever thought of Jesus as a man of joy, when we so often refer to Him, instead, as a "man of sorrows, acquainted with grief?"

Jesus said that the "branches" which do not abide in Him will "wither" and be "thrown into the fire and burned." That's a lot of symbolism right there! What is His message to us as Christians? Does it mean that we might somehow be in danger of losing our salvation and heaven in the bargain? Or, is Jesus saying something completely different? We can find a companion passage in 1 Corinthians which might help us answer that question!

When Jesus said to His disciples, "I AM the Vine," He also spoke of "branches" and "fruit bearing." We know that Jesus is the Vine, and we are the branches as believers. But what is this "fruit?" How are we supposed to "bear fruit" in a way that is pleasing in Jesus' sight? If this is an important part of our life with the Lord, then we should probably know what this is all about!

When Jesus said, "I AM the Vine," He explained to His followers that they would be "pruned" and "taken away" as "branches" of that Vine. But maybe a better interpretation is that they would be "cleansed" and "lifted up." How does that change our understanding of what Jesus was teaching? What does it mean for us as believers today?

What was Jesus doing when He proclaimed, "I AM the Vine?" What relevance did the "Vine" have to Him? What did it symbolize? During this passage, Jesus said that "branches" of the Vine must be "pruned" or "taken away." If those "branches" refer to believers, how does this apply to our relationship with the Lord?"

As the Last Supper was coming to an end, Jesus' disciples were confused and upset. He tried encouraging them by telling them that they knew where He was going and they knew the way. But Peter and Thomas disagreed. Peter said that they did not know where Jesus is going, and Thomas said they did not know the way. Jesus' response was, "I AM the Way, the Truth and the Life." Did that make them feel any better?