2009-10-02T09:59:50-05:00 GCI info@gospel.com /feeds/topics/branches/ http://biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John%2015:1-2&version=NIV 2009-10-02T09:59:50-05:00 Jesus is compared to a vine, from which his followers--the "branches"--draw life. God the Father regularly "prunes" the branches to discipline and correct His church, shaping it in the way that He sees fit. http://biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John%2015:5&version=NIV 2009-10-02T09:57:24-05:00 Just as a branch separated from its supporting vine cannot live, let alone produce any fruit, so we are helpless when were not connected to Jesus, the source of our hope and salvation. http://biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John.14.6&version=NIV 2009-07-14T10:49:39-05:00 Who was Jesus? In this passage, he makes it clear who he is and why we need him: it is through Jesus, and Jesus alone, and we can be restored to a relationship with God. This passage makes it clear that salvation is available only through Jesus, and not through any other source or religion.