The fig tree that hasn’t fruited... yet

Susan Haynes | Luke 13:6-9 

[Jesus] told this parable: 'A man had a fig-tree growing in his vineyard, and he went to look for fruit on it but did not find any. So he said to the man who took care of the vineyard, "For three years now I’ve been coming to look for fruit on this fig-tree and haven’t found any. Cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?" '"Sir," the man replied, "leave it alone for one more year, and I'll dig round it and fertilise it. If it bears fruit next year, fine! If not, then cut it down."'

It sounds like a warning, but it's also an encouragement. The fig tree is given more time and care in order to have the opportunity to bear fruit as was intended for it. Susan points the way for us to be fruitful in bringing glory to God in our lives.

The recording is an edited version of our Sunday service. It is introduced by Ben Green, with a reading by Chris Powell and prayers from Bobbie Frere.

For copyright reasons we can't include the music in the recording. The opening song, "Let our praise be your welcome", was also used in the service held on 31 January 2021 and the closing song, "In Christ alone", was used in the service held on 20 June 2021 (the links are to YouTube videos). Also from YouTube is Dream Small by Josh Wilson.