Pastor Keith Cowart

The Saturday evening message was brought by Pastor Keith Cowart from Columbus, Georgia. His message was based on John 15:1-8 and entitled "Bearing Much Fruit. "

Pastor Keith shared about his own journey of faith and call into ministry. He was terrified of speaking in public, but continued to become a minister. When he was finally appointed to a church, he found that he was empowered by the Holy Spirit to preach effectively.

Looking at John 15:

Abiding in the Vine
- He is the source of life
- He produces fruit in us
- He prunes us to make us even more fruitful

Pastor Keith also directed our attention to Exodus 33 and the story of Moses pleading for God to go with him, and further, back to Exodus 3 and the story of Moses' encounter with God at the burning bush. God promised that he would be with Moses.

Moses learned that if God was with him, he would have everything he needed. And that's why years later Moses refused to go forward without God.

When God comes and begins to work in our lives, he may need to remove the "suckers," that is, those things in our lives that rob us of vitality and fruitfulness. This is his pruning.

Apart from God, we can do nothing.