Anticipating the Church of the Future
Bicentennial Sunday
October 26, 2025
John 15:1-17 (read by CTS President, Victor Aloyo)
I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine-grower. He removes every branch in me
that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit he prunes to make it bear more fruit.
You have already been cleansed by the word that I have spoken to you.
Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself
unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me.
I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing. Whoever does not abide in me is thrown away
like a branch and withers; such branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned.
If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask for whatever you wish,
and it will be done for you.
My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples.
As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love.
If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love,
just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love.
I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you,
and that your joy may be complete.
‘This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.
No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.
You are my friends if you do what I command you. I do not call you servants any longer,
because the servant does not know what the master is doing; but I have called you friends,
because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Father.
You did not choose me but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit,
fruit that will last, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask him in my name.
I am giving you these commands so that you may love one another.
The Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.
Any mention of the future of the Church must include the acknowledgment of AI,
artificial intelligence, and the advent of the hyper-technological age.
As many of you have heard me say many times, about every 500 years or so,
the church makes a significant turn. The last turn was at the Protestant reformation
in the 1600’s. The whole world changed and the Church changed along with it,
with the age of thee enlightenment and the invention of the printing press.
And the whole world is changing today.
Ever since the invention of the Internet and cell phones, the world has been changing rapidly.
And with the advent of AI, that change is accelerating.
Should we be afraid or concerned, in general? Perhaps.
Should we be afraid or concerned for the Church? Perhaps.
But we and the Church have adapted to change before.
Change is inevitable. What matters is how we respond and adapt.
Who among us would have guessed 10 years ago that most of our meetings
and many of our Bible studies would be online, on Zoom, from our homes or offices?
When we took our worship services online, just five years ago in 2020,
we did not imagine that five years later, still a full 40% of our weekly worship attendees
would still worshiping with us online.
By the way, welcome again to our YouTube participants – we are glad you are here, whatever
day of the week it is, from whatever state of the country or nation in the world you reside!
We have friends and alumni of this congregation who will be able to celebrate this bicentennial
with us, from home, even though they are unable, or much less able, to be with us in person.
And we will have friends and alumni with us today from all over the country,
and even the world! Oh, the wonder of modern technology!
Some change can be good!
Another claim that you have heard me say is that:
Even though we have no idea what the future may look like, we know who holds the future.
Remember the promise of Jesus: “I will be with you always, even to the end of the age. “
Over the past year, I took an online course in contemplative spirituality.
As a part of the curriculum, we were encouraged to choose a “spirit word” during a six day retreat back in the summer 2024. The word that came to me was “abide.”
I can think of no more important goal for me or for our session or for our pastors and staff
and congregation than to abide in Jesus Christ, the True Vine.
To abide is to remain with, to reside with, to dwell with, to live daily with.
I am the true Vine, Jesus says. My Father is the vine-grower.
If you abide in me, you may bear much fruit, but apart from me, you can do nothing.
What will it mean for the Church to abide in Jesus Christ
in an ever-changing, hyper-technological, AI world?
For the Church throughout every age in the past and throughout every age to come,
to abide will always mean to spend time with God, to worship God,
to adore God, to sing God’s praises.
To abide will always mean to attend to God’s Word, or to allow God’s Word to attend to us.
To abide in Christ will always mean that we will follow Jesus Christ in Christian service.
We will seek to do what Christ did, which was to proclaim good news to the poor,
release to those held captive, sight to those who have been blinded,
and freedom to those who have been oppressed.
And in order to facilitate the worship, the Bible study, and the service,
in whatever forms they take, technologically or otherwise,
to abide will also always mean to gather in Christian fellowship, to love one another,
to encourage and uphold one another, to be present for one another, in good times and bad.
Our dear Ukrainian student, Danya Kulyk, talks with his mom every single day, face to face,
on WhatsApp, on his phone.
He’s at Rabun Gap Nacoochee School in North Georgia;
she and the rest of the family are in Izmail, on the western side of Ukraine.
Danya and his mom talk, face to face, every day through the wonders of modern technology. Because of this, Danya is closer to his mother thousands of miles away than many other
17 year olds who live in the same house, in physical proximity, with their mothers.
To abide in Christ will always mean that Christians will gather together, will enjoy fellowship,
in whatever format that takes.
As we anticipate the future of the Church, we can be assured that:
Our worship will ground us
Our Bible study will guide our steps
Our service will put words of faith into life-transforming action
And our fellowship will strengthen our inner being and deepen our connections
I am excited about the future of the Church of Jesus Christ.
This church and many others have been pruned, no doubt, over the past generation or so,
but I am nevertheless very excited about our future.
We have born good fruit, fruit that will last,
and we are experiencing signs that yet more fruit will come.
May we abide with Jesus Christ, the True Vine, every step of the way,
and may God, the Vine Grower, continue to abide with us, throughout all our days.
Amen, and amen.
Rev. Dr. Todd Speed
Decatur Presbyterian Church
Decatur, Georgia
