Choose from these two ways of telling the story:

Garden sketch

Take a large sheet of paper and a marker pen and ask another leader to read the first paragraph as you draw it: the vine, roots, rain and sun, branches, grapes. Cross out branches to represent pruning and add more fruit. As you read the second paragraph, point to different parts of the drawing for emphasis.

Physical storytelling

Use group mime to act out the story, inviting people to represent the following characters/things: God the gardener, a single vine plant, lots of branches, fruit, Jesus. The children could perform the piece in church.

[[Feature]] 

Talk together  ( Connect faith with everyday life)

• I wonder why Jesus used a vine as a picture of himself.
• Have you ever seen a vine growing?
• How are we connected to Jesus? How can we stay like that?