Lamoille Valley Grace Brethren Church
April 26, 2026

      • Isaiah 12:5LGCYSTNDRDBBLSB

  • Blessed Be Your Name
  • Because He Lives

      • Deuteronomy 17:1–7LGCYSTNDRDBBLSB

      • 2 Corinthians 9:6–7NASB95

  • Scripture Reading: Romans 1:16-23
    Kid’s Time: Story of Job from Action Bible
    Introduction: Henry Ward Beecher one day saw a little boy standing by an old horse that was lank and lean, and Mr. Beecher asked the little boy, “Can your horse run fast?” “No,” replied the boy, “but he can stand fast.” Well, can you stand fast? Do you have endurance in the Lord?
    Proposition: The true believer will continue to live by faith until Jesus returns.
    Interrogative: What steps should we take to endure in the faith?
    Transitional Statement: There are 2 steps we can take to avoid apostasy and endure in the faith until Jesus returns.

    I. Remember

    A. The Battle of Your Suffering

    Hebrews 10:32 NASB95
    32 But remember the former days, when, after being enlightened, you endured a great conflict of sufferings,
    S. Lewis Johnson — “the lesson of the life of Job is that blessing often comes to us through suffering. Or, as William Cooper put it, “Behind a frowning providence, God hides a smiling face.”

    1. As a Spectacle

    Hebrews 10:33 NASB95
    33 partly by being made a public spectacle through reproaches and tribulations, and partly by becoming sharers with those who were so treated.
    Example: Steven in Acts 7,  Moryom Open Doors US
    Social Isolation: In her village, no one will share a rickshaw with her because of her faith. When she tries to take a ride, people mock her, call her "Christian" as an insult, and kick her out of the vehicle, forcing her to walk two kilometers to school alone.
    Verbal and Physical Abuse: At school, her peers mock and push her. Some classmates throw bricks at her or beat her with sticks while shouting "Christian" as an insult.
    Religious Pressure: When she tries to walk to school with friends, they tell her they will only accompany her if she leaves her faith and returns to Islam.
    Response: Despite the loneliness and physical pain, Moryom continues to attend school and says she prays to Jesus as she walks alone. Open Doors US

    2. As Support

    Hebrews 10:33 NASB95
    33 partly by being made a public spectacle through reproaches and tribulations, and partly by becoming sharers with those who were so treated.
    Global Christian Relief reports:
    Imprisonment of Secret Support Networks: In Iran, those who support Christian converts—who are already viewed as a threat to national security—face the same risk of long prison sentences. Underground church leaders who organize safe houses or provide discipleship materials often face charges like "crimes against national security".
    Dangers to Humanitarian Workers: In Myanmar, the military has detained pastors and church members suspected of supporting or providing refuge to those displaced by civil conflict. Churches suspected of harboring the persecuted are frequently targeted for attack. 

    B. The Reason for Your Suffering

    1. Becuase of Your Kindness

    Hebrews 10:34 NASB95
    34 For you showed sympathy to the prisoners and accepted joyfully the seizure of your property, knowing that you have for yourselves a better possession and a lasting one.
    “No good deed will go unpunished.”
    When we love as Christ loved we may very well suffer but it shows that we belong to Christ.
    S. Lewis Johnson — “The Lord’s sheep, have two marks.” And in John chapter 10 in verse 27, our Lord speaks about those two marks, “My sheep hear My voice and I know them, and they follow me.” The two marks are a mark on the ear; they hear him. When we read the Bible, we hear the voice of God. The other is the mark on the foot. “They follow Me.” “My sheep hear My voice and they follow Me.” The two marks, the mark on the ear, mark on the feet. Those who truly believe in our Lord, usually manifest it in the lives that they live.

    2. Because of your Joy

    Hebrews 10:34 NASB95
    34 For you showed sympathy to the prisoners and accepted joyfully the seizure of your property, knowing that you have for yourselves a better possession and a lasting one.

    II. Be Confident

    A. Because It’s Rewarding

    Hebrews 10:35 NASB95
    35 Therefore, do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward.

    B. Because You Need It

    Hebrews 10:36 NASB95
    36 For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised.
    James 5:11 NASB95
    11 We count those blessed who endured. You have heard of the endurance of Job and have seen the outcome of the Lord’s dealings, that the Lord is full of compassion and is merciful.
    Robert Chapman, a well-known teacher of the word of God among the Christian brethren. He had a young man approach him, a very impatient young man, who asked him to pray for him, that he might learn patience. And he was rather surprised, that Mr. Chapman said, “Well, let us pray.” And he prayed, “Lord, give this young man tribulation.” And after the prayer was over, the young man protested that he did not want tribulation. Mr. Chapman said, “But its tribulation that worketh patience.”
    “The Peril of Drawing Back” by S. Lewis Johnson Copyright © 2008 Believers Chapel, Dallas, Texas. All Rights Reserved.

    C. Because He Is Coming

    Hebrews 10:37 NASB95
    37 For yet in a very little while, He who is coming will come, and will not delay.
    Habakkuk 2:3 NASB95
    3 “For the vision is yet for the appointed time; It hastens toward the goal and it will not fail. Though it tarries, wait for it; For it will certainly come, it will not delay.
    From Habakkuk.
    English Standard Version Introduction

    Habakkuk was probably written about 640–615 B.C., just before the fall of Assyria and the rise of Babylon (Chaldea). God used Assyria to punish Israel (722); now he would use Babylon to punish Assyria and Judah. This prophecy would be fulfilled several decades after Habakkuk, in 586

    III. Have Faith

    Hebrews 10:38 NASB95
    38 But My righteous one shall live by faith; And if he shrinks back, My soul has no pleasure in him.
    Habakkuk 2:4 NASB95
    4 “Behold, as for the proud one, His soul is not right within him; But the righteous will live by his faith.
    “Draws back” — It was used of the furling of sails. also, this word was used of a dog, when the dog tucked its tail under, because of fear, and fled? So we can think of that when we say, “Now, the just shall live by faith; but if anyone draws back,” tucks his tail under because of fear, turns from the Lord, furls his sails in following the Lord Jesus Christ. The text says, “My soul has no pleasure in him.”
    But the righteous will live by faith — Theme of Hebrews.
    Romans also focusses on this verse.
    Romans — The righteous…faith (justification)
    Hebrews — will live by faith (sanctification)
    Hebrews 11:6 NASB95
    6 And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.
    Hebrews 10:39 NASB95
    39 But we are not of those who shrink back to destruction, but of those who have faith to the preserving of the soul.
    To destruction = perdition
    used of Judas:
    John 17:12 NASB95
    12 “While I was with them, I was keeping them in Your name which You have given Me; and I guarded them and not one of them perished but the son of perdition, so that the Scripture would be fulfilled.
    Used of the AntiChrist:
    2 Thessalonians 2:3 NASB95
    3 Let no one in any way deceive you, for it will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction,
    Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible Chapter 10

    Every flower in spring is not a fruit in autumn

    4 soils of Matthew 13. Seed along the path, in the rocky ground, among the thorns, and the good soil.
     Ramata Global Christian Relief
    Ramata, a Christian woman persecuted by her family, was born to a Muslim family in the Ivory Coast where she was taught to study the Quran.
    She writes:
    I came to know Jesus in Burkina Faso (bordering Ivory Coast) when I was 17. I was very sick and no hospital could help me. Then my aunt told me about Jesus and prayed that He would heal me from this sickness.
    One month later, I was healed. A pastor told me that if I accept Jesus, He will forgive all my sins. He said that I would be with Him in heaven because God sent Jesus to make us right with Him. Because I had experienced God’s power and healing, I accepted Christ.
    My father was irate. He insisted that I stop attending church and that my new faith brought shame to our family.
    But when I refused, my family kicked me out of our family home and cursed me. They forced me to enter a small room in a shed on the outskirts of our village. My family taunted me, saying that they would see if I still believed in Jesus after a few days in isolation without food or water.
    They locked the door and left me for dead. “God, give me the courage and strength to remain faithful to You,” I prayed.
    After four long days, my family returned, shocked to see that I had survived. I assured them that it was only by the grace of God that I was still alive.
    Soon, every Christian in our village surrounded the building. I learned that they had asked the village chief to intervene on my behalf and order my release. My family had no choice but to obey.
    I saw that God had been with me, just like He was with Joseph when his brothers threw him into a pit and abandoned him. God was faithful to rescue Joseph and He was faithful to rescue me.
    But when I returned home, my family once again ordered me to leave. An elder of our family cursed me, saying that I would never have a child. But I told him that my God, who kept me alive without food and water for four days, is more powerful than his idols.
    May we have the endurance of Ramata and live by faith for Jesus Christ.

      • Hebrews 10:32LGCYSTNDRDBBLSB

      • Hebrews 10:33LGCYSTNDRDBBLSB

      • Hebrews 10:33LGCYSTNDRDBBLSB

      • Hebrews 10:34LGCYSTNDRDBBLSB

      • Hebrews 10:34LGCYSTNDRDBBLSB

      • Hebrews 10:35LGCYSTNDRDBBLSB

      • Hebrews 10:36LGCYSTNDRDBBLSB

      • James 5:11LGCYSTNDRDBBLSB

      • Hebrews 10:37LGCYSTNDRDBBLSB

      • Habakkuk 2:3LGCYSTNDRDBBLSB

      • Hebrews 10:38LGCYSTNDRDBBLSB

      • Habakkuk 2:4LGCYSTNDRDBBLSB

      • Hebrews 11:6LGCYSTNDRDBBLSB

      • Hebrews 10:39LGCYSTNDRDBBLSB

      • John 17:12LGCYSTNDRDBBLSB

      • 2 Thessalonians 2:3LGCYSTNDRDBBLSB

  • Under The Shadow
  • Build My Life
Lamoille Valley Grace Brethren Church
pastorethan@lvgbc.net
8028883339
http://www.lvgbc.net
26 members