Pastor Shaun Marksbury

14  Now they had forgotten to bring bread, and they had only one loaf with them in the boat. 15  And he cautioned them, saying, “Watch out; beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.” The disciples just witnessed a second miraculous feeding (8:1–9), but they apparently sent all the leftovers with the departing crowd.  Despite the contentious greeting from the Pharisees (8:10–13), the ironic lack of bread still seems to be on the disciples’ minds.  Jesus uses hunger as an opportunity to warn them of the dangers of false teaching and philosophies.  He typifies yeast—the agent causing bread to rise—as the image of a pervasive influence of sin.  These are wise lessons for us, as well. We need to beware the leaven of the Pharisees.  He warns against the teaching of the Pharisees (Mt 16:12) as well as their hypocrisy (Lk 6:12).  Well, the leaven of the Pharisees, while perhaps important in the past to the Jewish people, ha...

(Last update, 6/19/17.) This is a short compilation of Scripture verses taken out of context. The point? These examples demonstrate the importance of keeping surrounding passages in mind when reading and interpreting the Bible. Feel free to add your own examples, and I will continue to update this post occasionally. Genesis 4:17 (and v. 14) “Cain knew his wife, and she conceived and bore Enoch…” I heard this one from someone who called me after leaving the service a bit perplexed. A preacher excitedly delivered a message on a Scripture he had not noticed before. Someone had used the fact that Cain’s son was named “Enoch” to present the forgiveness of God to those who repent, a message full of potential. The preacher noted that Enoch walked so closely to God that God simply “raptured” him from the earth (cf. Gen 5:24). He further postulated that Genesis 4:14 was an apology on Cain’s part. However, what the pastor failed to notice was that these are two, different Enochs. T...

It seems that, too often in our application of Scripture, we try to achieve the most " beneficial"  application rather than the most straightforward.  We think about the person involved ("me" or "you," for instance) and try to couch biblical imperatives in softer terminology.  In other words, we like to blunt the hard edges of the Bible so as not to offend our sensibilities. It's not that this methodology is always entirely without cause.  Obviously, we should seek to read Scripture through the lens of love.  To be clear, "For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: You shall love your neighbor as yourself' " (Gal 5:14).  It would be myopic to read a command in Scripture without understanding that the law somehow comes back to me loving others instead of myself. Even so, when a clear command in Scripture seems  unloving or unkind or unfair, my conscience is misinformed.  It doesn't matter what the command feels like .  God command...

Latest update 11/20/17. While wonderful Bible software packages exist, not everyone can afford the sometimes steep price.  Thankfully, the Internet teems with free Bible study tools.  Caution: not all resources are created alike, and our linking these tools should not be understood as an endorsement of all the material appearing on these websites. I've been working on this list for nearly a decade, so let me know if you come across broken links or if you find one you believe should be added. (This list is also on our church website .) ______________________________ Biblical and Theological Studies Whether you are studying to grow or looking for material to help facilitate your small group studies, here are a few sites with prepared material that you can search with ease. Bible.org  Dr. Bill Barrick's Teaching Site  Monergism.com  Sermon Audio Staying in the Word Home Bible Study Ministry  The John MacArthur Sermon Archive Concordances...