Pastor Shaun Marksbury

 MacArthur writes, Self-love always has been associated with worldliness, but heretofore it was never taught as a doctrinal tenet in the church, even in its most corrupt periods.   It was universally acknowledged to be the sin it is.   Even most neoorthodox theologians have recognized self-love, or pride, as the root sin of all others.   But psychologists Carl Rogers, Erich Fromm, and many others strongly denounced that God-centered view and boldly claimed that lack of self-love and self-esteem is the root problem of man.   That false and damnable twist has permeated the church to an alarming degree. [1] He continues, “The eighteenth-century preacher Samuel Johnson said, ‘He that overvalues himself will undervalue others.   And he that undervalues others will oppose them.’   Self-love alienates men from God and from each other.   Self-love is the supreme enemy of godliness and of genuine friendship and fellowship.” [2]   [1] ...

This is something that I don't believe I addressed in our Revelation study, so I will here.  In 1 Corinthians 11:26, we read, "For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes."  This is talking about "the Lord's Supper," of course (v. 20), meaning its practice has a terminating point in the future.   Of course, since we are now in Revelation 19, we are considering His return.  In v. 9, we read, "Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb."  This is a celebration of the union we will share with Christ.  To follow the marriage metaphor, the marriage with the Lord is already complete at this point; the supper is a celebration of the new union which has occurred. And, in case you're wondering, yes, the same word for "supper" in Revelation 19:9 appears in 1 Corinthians 11:20.  So, what is the length of the wedding feast?  Wedding feasts in the ancient world involv...

I've probably mentioned this before, but my studies have brought me back around to this topic.  We assume, as present-day Christians, that empathy is an all-encompassing good, wherein we gain and communicate understanding to one who suffers. Yet, what good is that, really ? Joe Rigney, the president-elect of Bethlehem College and Seminary, wrote an article a couple of years ago titled, “ The Enticing Sin of Empathy: How Satan Corrupts Through Compassion .”  He writes it in the form of C. S. Lewis's Screwtape Letters  --- a fictional exchange in which an elder demon (Wormwood) educates his nephew in how to become a better tempter.  This "correspondence" reveals the deception of seeking empathy over a true Christian virtue: compassion. So many voices today tell us to just affirm the feelings of others.  The pastor may not probe.  The Christian counselor may not maintain emotional distance.  No, we must plunge in, with both feet, and simply allow the...

Here are the seven most popular sermons downloaded this year.  It was a year that favored end-times studies, though our most popular always seem to be those dealing with marriage and family.  It is also interesting that the first six entries are only from January and February, with the last item being from April. It's a blessing and a privilege to preach and teach God's Word, and I hope you come to know the Lord and His ways more in  2021. The first two are from January 2020, from our Ephesians series, when we were still at Perkins: 1.  The Loving Headship of Husbands | Ephesians 5:26–33 It's only in Christ that we see precisely the kind of love men should share with their wives. We can divide the lessons in this passage into two parts: Husbands must love as Christ does (vv. 25–30) and wed as Christ does (vv. 31–32), with v. 33 serving to sum everything we've studied concerning marriage. Unfortunately, we won't be able to get through all this passage today, so for p...

Here is the video I mentioned this morning in my sermon.  This arose about a year ago and still hasn't been resolved.  A group called Enemies Within the Church created a mini-documentary covering the events: If you are curious as to some of the recent fallout, here is Jon Harris engaging in an extended roundtable discussion: For more video content, here is the Sword and the Trowel broadcast discussing the situation a year ago, after the news broke: Finally, here is the Conversations that Matter video from earlier this year discussing the same:

At the same time they also learn to be idle, as they go around from house to house; and not merely idle, but also gossips and busybodies, talking about things not proper to mention. As I was working through this passage, this verse made me think about some of what we see with discernment blogs and ministries.  I’m in favor of them in general because they can provide a valuable service to the church.  Yet, not all is good with them. For instance, we sometimes see them dipping into tabloid-like reporting.  They may follow a questionable teacher so closely as to judge personal activities, many of which are insignificant to the evaluation of the individual or ministry in question.  Unless there is some disqualifying sin to discuss (like a husband leaving his wife for his secretary), there’s little reason for extending commentary beyond evaluating public teaching. More to the point, much of what gets posted in the “survivor blog” community is often speculative, tawdry, an...

 As I mentioned in my sermon this morning, the Roman Catholic Church uses this passage as a proof text about a monastic vow of chastity.  Calvin on this vow: “The attempt of the Papists to support, by means of this passage, a vow of perpetual celibacy, is absurd. Granting that it was customary to exact from the widows an engagement in express terms, still they would gain nothing by this admission. First, we must consider the end. The reason why widows formerly promised to remain unmarried, was not that they might lead a holier life than in a state of marriage, but because they could not, at the same time, be devoted to husbands and to the Church; but in Popery, they make a vow of continence, as if it were a virtue acceptable to God on its own account. Secondly, in that age they renounced the liberty of marrying at the time when they ceased to be marriageable; for they must have been, at least, sixty years old, and, by being satisfied with being once married, must have already ...