📖 Matthew 6:19-23 • Is Valentine's Day harmless romance or pagan deception? This sermon exposes the shocking history of February 14th that most Christians have never heard.

⛪ Preached at Pilgrim Baptist Church • Cookeville, TN • February 15, 2026

Valentine's Day isn't what you've been told. It's not romantic, it's not Christian, and it's not harmless. Americans spent $20 billion this weekend on a rebranded pagan fertility festival called Lupercalia - baptized in goat's blood and dedicated to false gods in ancient Rome.

This message walks through the documented history: pagan priests sacrificing goats and dogs, running through streets slapping women with bloody animal hides for "fertility," young children's names drawn from urns and paired up for fornication, and how Pope Gelasius in 498 AD simply rebranded the same date and celebration as "St. Valentine's Day" to keep crowds coming.

Pastor Fortunato doesn't call you a pagan if you celebrated yesterday. But he does provide historical facts and biblical principles so you can make informed decisions about whether to participate in cultural paganism that's been sold back to the church with a Christian label. This isn't about legalism - it's about loving God first (Matthew 22:37) and teaching children to discern truth from cultural deception.

This culturally controversial message covers:

• Lupercalia: The vile Roman fertility festival behind February 14th

• How pagan priests (Luperci) sacrificed goats for fertility rituals

• The lottery system pairing children for fornication

• Emperor Claudius II banning marriage for soldiers (268 AD)

• Valentine: The Roman Catholic priest who defied the ban

• Why Valentine was executed on February 14th (his skull displayed in Rome)

• Pope Gelasius outlawing Lupercalia, then rebranding it (498 AD)

• Romans 12:9 - Love without dissimulation (no concealment)

• How pagan Rome sold fertility worship back as "romance"

• $20 billion spent on repackaged paganism

• Parenting application: What to do when kids bring home Valentine's crafts

• Matthew 22:37 - Loving God first enables loving others

• Genesis 1:28 - Satan's attack on God's first blessing (be fruitful, multiply)

• 1 Corinthians 15:45 - Two Adams: one brought death, one brought life

• Romans 8:38-39 - Nothing can separate you from God's love (even if you celebrated)

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