John 15:1-8 Dear Partner in Preaching, “As I abide in you.” That’s the line in this week’s Gospel reading that helps me find a way to preach this passage. Without it, much of what Jesus says feels like a threat. You know what I mean? Abide in me or else – be pruned, wither, be thrown into the fire, and die! All voiced as a threat to bully people into staying loyal and faithful. But Jesus doesn’t just say “Abide in me.” Rather, he says, “Abide in me, as I abide in you.” And that changes everything. The other statements about pruning and withering and the rest are not threats of intimidation but rather statements of fact,...