A Visit to John MacArthur's Church

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bookslover

Puritan Board Doctor
A little over a week ago, John MacArthur turned 82. So, I thought it might be a good idea to visit his church to see him preach "live" one last time. My late wife and I visited his church occasionally over the years in the 1980s and 1990s, so it had been awhile since I'd last seen him in person, so to speak.

Currently, his church (Grace Community Church of the Valley, in Sun Valley, California) has one morning service, at 10:30, because of the COVID pandemic. He announced this morning that, probably starting on the first Sunday in August, the church will be returning to two AM services. From where I sat (way in the back), I saw three people wearing masks. There may have been more, but those are the only three I saw in the very packed sanctuary.

MacArthur may be 82, but he preached for a full 52 minutes on 1 Thessalonians 1, a very good sermon on the marks of a true church. He speaks a little more slowly than he used to, but his sermon was clear and well-organized, and his main points (he is still the king of alliteration) stood out well. The congregation was quiet and attentive. Remarkably, for a group that size, not one cellphone went off.

The congregation stood for the reading of the Scriptures (MacArthur read all of 1 Thessalonians 1-2, from the new Legacy Standard Bible translation), which I don't remember his church doing before. There was also a benediction at the end of the service, which I also don't remember from the past.

There was a choir of about 85 voices, and an orchestra of about 20 or so musicians. Stephen Sturz, who has been the organist there for many years, was also present and doing his thing. The service began at 10:30, and MacArthur began preaching at 11:20 (there was a fair amount of congregational singing). The service was over by about 12:20 or so.

No, MacArthur may not be fully Reformed, so that we don't agree with him about everything, but he is still, for my money, one of the most gifted preachers of the modern era. I've been listening to him off and on since 1980, the year I got saved. MacArthur was 41 in 1980, so I've been listening to him for literally half his lifetime.

I was edified by his sermon, and enjoyed cruising through the bookstore (natch!), which is still one of the more serious Christian bookstores around - of the few that still exist. Ain't no fluff in that store. It has a large theology section, a large section of the Puritan Paperbacks, etc.

One of the staff pastors took the evening service (I was not there). As far as I know, MacArthur does not take the evening service anymore.

I suppose he will continue to pastor the church as long as his health permits and as long as he feels the Lord wants him there. I don't think he'll be retiring any time soon, but who knows?
 
I listen to RefNet (Ligonier's Reformation Network on internet radio) during my workdays and enjoy Dr. MacArthur's sermons very much. While I think his eschatology is "messy" at best, his messages are challenging and edifying.
 
I occasionally listen to one of his sermons and I admire his boldness in the pulpit.
Agreed. In our day of equivocation in evangelicalism, MacArthur states clearly and acts decisively upon what he believes the Bible teaches, regardless how it aligns with our culture.
 
Thanks for the post, the Lord has used MacArthur's teachings in my life quite a lot this year. He has definitely stirred my hunger for the word.
 
Thanks for the post, the Lord has used MacArthur's teachings in my life quite a lot this year. He has definitely stirred my hunger for the word.
As a relatively young Christian in the early 1980's, I was loaned a set of cassette tapes by a former Free-Will Baptist missionary of an American pastor who had preached a conference in Brazil. The series was entitled "The Glory of God," and it was the first time I had heard of the Westminster Shorter Catechism and its first question and answer. I had never heard such theocentric teaching, and it made my soul glad and longing for more. Of course, the preacher's name was John MacArthur.

I would listen to MacArthur on the radio every chance I got and ordered many of his tapes and books. Initially I was annoyed at his preaching on election and enjoyed his preaching on eschatology. A couple of decades later, I reversed the annoyance and enjoyment!

But I've always appreciated his commitment to the Lord, the Scriptures, and the church, and I've appreciated his courage.
 
As far as I know, MacArthur does not take the evening service anymore.
I haven't followed them closely for a few years. But the last I knew, he still preaches in the evenings a handful of times per year, and I think they still do the Q&A periodically, which is in the evening. He typically takes off a couple of months in the summer, so you may have caught him on one of his last Sundays for a good while.
 
I haven't followed them closely for a few years. But the last I knew, he still preaches in the evenings a handful of times per year, and I think they still do the Q&A periodically, which is in the evening. He typically takes off a couple of months in the summer, so you may have caught him on one of his last Sundays for a good while.

That's right. I hadn't thought of his summer break. Thanks for the reminder.
 
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