Lamoille Valley Grace Brethren Church
August 16, 2026

      • 1 John 4:7NIV2011

  • Forever
  • Blest Be the Tie That Binds

      • Psalm 27:1–14NIV2011

      • 2 Corinthians 9:6–7NASB95

  • All Heaven Declares
  • Scripture Reading: Psalm 27:1-14
    Kid’s Time:
    Proposition: God’s people living under the new covenant are commanded to love each other in various ways.
    Interrogative:
    Transitional Statement:

    1. Love Each Other

    Hebrews 13:1 LSB
    1 Let love of the brothers continue.
    Continue to Exist — Imperative. You already have it as a believer so we are commanded to continue it.
    Love
    John 13:35 NASB95
    35 “By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”
    First priority — Specifically fellow Christian — how do we know they are our brothers? Outwardly, those who have become members and continue to serve and contribute to the church. We can’t see the heart as Jesus does, but we will be able to see the effects.
    Second priority — But, it doesn’t end there. Who is my brother?
    Luke 10:29–37 NASB95
    29 But wishing to justify himself, he said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” 30 Jesus replied and said, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among robbers, and they stripped him and beat him, and went away leaving him half dead. 31 “And by chance a priest was going down on that road, and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. 32 “Likewise a Levite also, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 “But a Samaritan, who was on a journey, came upon him; and when he saw him, he felt compassion, 34 and came to him and bandaged up his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them; and he put him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35 “On the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper and said, ‘Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I return I will repay you.’ 36 “Which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell into the robbers’ hands?” 37 And he said, “The one who showed mercy toward him.” Then Jesus said to him, “Go and do the same.”

    2. Love Strangers

    Hebrews 13:2 LSB
    2 Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by this some have entertained angels without knowing it.
    Romans 12:13 NASB95
    13 contributing to the needs of the saints, practicing hospitality.
    Hospitality — No clean, safe hotels with individually locked rooms back then. Inns at that time were filthy, bug infested, and morally questionable at best.
    Today there are networks like “A Candle in the Window” that provide a place to stay for christian travelers. Interestingly, they have guidelines to follow that include letters of reference and how long you can stay. In the early church, written references were sometimes given right in the scriptures.
    Phoebe
    Romans 16:1 NASB95
    1 I commend to you our sister Phoebe, who is a servant of the church which is at Cenchrea;
    Romans 16:2 NASB95
    2 that you receive her in the Lord in a manner worthy of the saints, and that you help her in whatever matter she may have need of you; for she herself has also been a helper of many, and of myself as well.
    Zenas and Apollos
    Titus 3:13–14 NASB95
    13 Diligently help Zenas the lawyer and Apollos on their way so that nothing is lacking for them. 14 Our people must also learn to engage in good deeds to meet pressing needs, so that they will not be unfruitful.
    Evangelists
    3 John 5–8 NASB95
    5 Beloved, you are acting faithfully in whatever you accomplish for the brethren, and especially when they are strangers; 6 and they have testified to your love before the church. You will do well to send them on their way in a manner worthy of God. 7 For they went out for the sake of the Name, accepting nothing from the Gentiles. 8 Therefore we ought to support such men, so that we may be fellow workers with the truth.
    Important — because some people visit the church, say they are Christians and demand that you put them up in a hotel.
    Entertained Angels — Genesis 18-19. Abraham hosting the Angel of the Lord and the other angels on their way to destroy Sodom. Angel simply means messenger. Whether they are heavenly messengers (in which case you won’t know until we get to heaven) or earthly messengers (who you didn’t know at the time but later turn out to be famously used by God).

    3. Love the Mistreated

    Hebrews 13:3 LSB
    3 Remember the prisoners, as though in prison with them, and those who are mistreated, since you yourselves also are in the body.
    Remember — Not just, “O, remember Peter, what a nice man, too bad he is in prison now.” Remember carries the weight of action on their behalf. These prisoners were in jail for their faith. and it was more common in those days. It would have been dangerous to even identify with them as the authorities might then arrest you as a follower of Jesus. Prisons were dirty, cold, disease ridden. No food service provided, no color TV, internet access, phone calls, or library like today. If the brethren didn’t bring food, clothing, and bedding, the prisoner would surely die.
    Forms of Support today:
    Legal and Financial Aid: Providing funds for defense attorneys and court costs in restricted nations.
    Family Care: Supplying living expenses, food, and educational needs for the spouses and children left behind.
    Spiritual Encouragement: Smuggling or mailing Bibles, devotionals, and letters of solidarity.
    Public Advocacy: Raising awareness through global networks to pressure governments and mobilize prayer
    How are we to treat them? As if it was you in prison. How would you want your brothers and sisters to treat you if you were in that situation. Better yet, as if Jesus was in prison.
    Matthew 25:35–40 NASB95
    35 ‘For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; 36 naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.’ 37 “Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink? 38 ‘And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? 39 ‘When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ 40 “The King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.’

    4. Love Your Spouse

    Hebrews 13:4 LSB
    4 Marriage is to be held in honor among all, and the marriage bed is to be undefiled, for the sexually immoral and adulterers God will judge.
    Literally— Τίμιος ὁ γάμος ἐν πᾶσιν , honored/the marriage/among all. No verb, it is assumed by the context.
    It could be, marriage is honored among all or marriage is to be held in honor among all.
    The context favors the second meaning.
    Honored — held sacred. To violate this goes against Christ and this new covenant that he has been explaining. There were some philosophies and religious sects that taught celibacy as the only pure way to live.
    The Brethren had a group that held this view early on in our history. It was called the Ephratha cloister. By the early 1750s, Ephrata Cloister was home to nearly 80 celibate Brothers and Sisters who lived in striking Germanic-style log, stone, and half-timbered buildings. Alongside them, nearly 250 family members, known as Householders, resided in nearby homes and farms.
    The celibate members led a life marked by discipline, balancing labor with private prayer. Dressed in white robes, they adhered to sparse diets and limited sleep as part of their spiritual practice. Their work was diverse, including farming, papermaking, carpentry, milling, and textile production—all essential to sustaining the community as they prepared for their anticipated heavenly existence.
    The Society declined after the death of the charismatic Beissel in 1768.  The last celibate member died in 1813 and the next year the remaining Householders incorporated into the German Seventh Day Baptist Church.  Members continued to live and worship in the Cloister buildings until the close of the Church in 1934.
    The author of Hebrews dispels the myth that marriage is not holy and calls marriage sacred. This should be held by all of God’s people.
    Closely tied to honoring marriage is the sexual union of a husband and wife. the sexual act between a wife and a husband is created and celebrated by God. He wrote a whole book about it in the Bible called the Song of Solomon.
    The demeaning of marriage has always been a problem because Satan hates the security, joy, pleasure, and fruitfulness of God designed marriage.
    S. Lewis Johnson — In seventeen twenty-one, think of it, the year seventeen twenty-one, Harvard undergraduates formally debated the question, “Whether it be fornication to lie with one’s sweetheart before marriage.”
    Sexually Immoral — fornication in all of its forms such as homosexuality, bestiality, pornography, and any other perversion of sex outside of marriage.
    Adulterer — a married person having any other sex than with his or her marriage partner.
    Ephesians 5:3 NASB95
    3 But immorality or any impurity or greed must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints;

    5. Love Contentment

    Hebrews 13:5 LSB
    5 Make sure that your way of life is free from the love of money, being content with what you have; for He Himself has said, “I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you,”
    Hebrews 13:6 LSB
    6 so that we confidently say, “The Lord is my helper, I will not be afraid. What will man do to me?”
    Our society preaches the opposite of contentment. It pounds into our heads, “I deserve what I want and more” with almost every add and commercial.
    Loving money is sin against God because it says to God, “You can’t provide for me what I need. My security is in my wealth not in You!” Is it wrong to make a lot of money? No, if that is how God blesses you. I encourage people to make as much money as they can without sinning to do it. God has called some people to be millionaires and billionaires for God’s glory.
    Is it wrong to want money more than God or to put the pursuit of money above the other priorities that God gives us in His word? Yes! If you put the pursuit of money above worship, your wife, your kids, your church family, your physical health, or your spiritual health, then you are out of balance with God’s word.
    John 15:9–12 LSB
    9 “Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love. 10 “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. 11 “These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete. 12 “This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you.

      • Hebrews 13:1NIV2011

      • John 13:35NIV2011

      • Luke 10:29–37NIV2011

      • Hebrews 13:2NIV2011

      • Romans 12:13NIV2011

      • Romans 16:1NIV2011

      • Romans 16:2NIV2011

      • Titus 3:13–14NIV2011

      • 3 John 5–8NIV2011

      • Hebrews 13:3NIV2011

      • Matthew 25:35–40NIV2011

      • Hebrews 13:4NIV2011

      • Ephesians 5:3NIV2011

      • Hebrews 13:5NIV2011

      • Hebrews 13:6NIV2011

      • John 15:9–12NIV2011

  • Jesus Messiah
  • Revelation Song
Lamoille Valley Grace Brethren Church
pastorethan@lvgbc.net
8028883339
http://www.lvgbc.net
26 members