Tonight we are gathering at Magic Valley Bible Church in Twin Falls, Idaho for our second, in series of four, lectures on biblical topics. If you are unable to join us tonight, consider listening in here.
Articles from June 2014
Bible Lecture Series
Hey residents of the Magic Valley and all of Southern Idaho, join me at Magic Valley Bible Church in Twin Falls on June 29 at 5:30 for our Bible Lecture Series. (204 Main Ave N, Twin Falls, ID 83301) My friend, and faithful preacher of the bible, Bear Morton and I will examine Psalm 1:1-3 together.
Be sure to invite others to come with you.
Here is a flyer you can print to give to your friends or post this photo on your social media outlets. 
COBAJUVE: Jesus is Enough
I’m looking forward to laboring with these brothers at West Valley Baptist Church in the SLC area for the next three days. If you are in the area I would enjoy seeing you. Registration begins at 10am, I speak at 1:15pm on Thursday. Again on Friday and Saturday morning.
85 Reasons I Like Living in Idaho
Here are my top 85 reasons I like living in Idaho
1) Family: I’m thankful to the Lord for my family.
(left to right: Renee, me, Silas, Bianca, Emily, and David)
2) Church: I’m thankful to the Lord for my church family, Eastside Baptist Church.
Eastside Baptist Church is a courageous family of believers striving to keep the Glory of God in front of us, the Lordship of Christ directing our steps, and obeying the Spirit promptly. We gather on Sunday mornings at 9:15am for bible study, 10:30am and 6:30pm for worship; Wednesday nights at 6:30pm for a weekly prayer gathering.
3) Friends: I’m thankful to the Lord for friends like John Martinez.
Hey, write my buddy a short note and tell him hello. Pray for his ongoing ministry with the soldiers of the Idaho National Guard.
4) Raw cow milk from Provider Farms to go on my oatmeal tonight.
Provider Farms delivers fresh farm produce to Twin Falls every Monday morning. You should visit www.providerfarms.com this week and place an order. They make the local delivery at the Eastside Baptist Church parking lot. Take time to come in and say hello while you are here.
5) Adventure awaits me around every corner and there is always a mountain top that needs to be climbed.
We are planning a trip to the top of Mt. Borah again in late August. Contact me about the date and join in on the ‘Borah Shuffle’.
Here are the remaining 80 reasons I like living in Idaho. Beginning July 1, interstate travel in most of Southern Idaho will increase to 80 mph.
SermonAudio Archive
Currently preaching through Eastside Baptist Church in Twin Falls, Idaho. All sermons are currently available online here. Get caught up on the series and join us this coming Lord’s Day, June 29 as we continue the examination of 1 Corinthians.
A Castle or Church
A man’s home is his castle… or so goes the saying. But is this a healthy way for a follower of Christ to think of his home? I’ve been reading biographical sketches of Richard Baxter this week and struck by his labor for the good of Kidderminster, the town he pastored. He regarded worship, biblical instruction, and discipline in the home as essential to the health of society.
This puts a work on the home as more a training ground for the children God places here.
The idea of a castle is more about luxury and easy. The idea of a church is more complex and intentional. Richard Baxter preached to his church to “keep up the government of God in your families; holy families must be the chief preservers of the interest of religion in the world. This puts an importance of raising a family at a whole other level. It is more as much a calling as any calling there is.
“Let your own example teach your children that holiness and heavenliness and blamelessness of tongue and life, which you desire them to learn and practice. The example of parents is most powerful with children, both for good and evil… they will sooner believe your bad lives than your good words.” Richard Baxter
Baxter treated the congregation like a family; a family of families. The good work of gathering a family with other believers was to never be missed except for extreme circumstances.
The good in society that many pine for of old is not found in a moral government; it’s a Christian home, behaving godly, that impacts society as they gather together with others aiming at the same thing, the favor of God.
Hey men, today would be a great day to gather your family together. Read, pray, give instruction and lead your family on a more difficult path than establishing your rule in your castle. Humble yourself in the sight of the Lord while it is still called today and lead with courage, shepherd the flock before you. Then, let only the extreme circumstance keep you from gathering with the family of God this coming Lord’s Day.
Do I Really Agree With God?
This excerpt is from a tract written by Richard Owen Roberts. Lord, I Agree.
One of Satan’s greatest triumphs has been his magnificent success in getting people to believe they can be saved from hell without being saved from their sins and themselves. Multitudes are depending upon Jesus as a fire escape from eternal torment who have no conscious intention of yielding themselves to His Lordship or of walking in daily obedience to Him. They strangely suppose they can have Jesus as their Saviour while rejecting Him as their Lord. They desire to be citizens of His kingdom while rejecting His kingship. They seek to grasp the kingdom of heaven with one hand while the other hand is hanging on to the kingdom of this world. Forgetful of Matthew 6:24 (“No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other; ye cannot serve God and mammon”) they make Gospel out of nonsense and substitute the deception of Satan for the truth of God. Sadly, such persons belong to the kingdom of words rather than the kingdom of power. Reviving believer, Jesus Christ is Lord! This must be believed! This must be yielded to! This must be acted upon! Failure here is failure everywhere! Learning to enter into complete and explicit agreement with God in all things is the most important task the believer faces. Praising God is robbed of meaning if you disagree with Him. True worship only exists where there is harmony be-tween the worshipped and the worshipper. Witness is only Spirit empowered and God glorifying when harmony exists between life and lip. All religious acts are deprived of spiritual significance when unbelief manifests itself in disagreement with God.
Read the full tract HERE
Flip-Flopper
In politics, no one wants to be called a flip-flopper. The use of this kind of language is usually a term to belittle or discredit another person. Usually the term flip-flopper is used on someone who has flopped on a position for political gain, the kind of flopping I’m talking about here is of another kind. It’s the kind of flipping that happens similar to an electronic switch. However, biblically, this is what we are called to be. The term in Scripture is repent. This means a lifetime of repenting.
Some think that to repent means a one time prayer is all that is required for taking the label “Christian”. Surely that right starting point is necessary but Scripture teaches this is as an ongoing practice. Not to be “saved” again, but the effect of the submitting to God once requires endurance to the end.
This kind of ‘flipping’ may be better understood as reformation. A work of re-forming or re-molding. The apostle puts it like this…
With eyes wide open to the mercies of God, I beg you, my brothers, as an act of intelligent worship, to give him your bodies, as a living sacrifice, consecrated to him and acceptable by him. Don’t let the world around you squeeze you into its own [mold], but let God re-[mold] your minds from within, so that you may prove in practice that the plan of God for you is good, meets all his demands and moves towards the goal of true maturity. (Romans 12:1-2; Phillips)
It’s the language of Scripture…
- I once was lost…
- I once was blind…
- I once was disobedient to God…
- I once loved darkness
- I once was…
Like when you flip on a light switch. Every light switch I flip today will be a reminder of the redeeming work of Christ in my life. The light switch can’t turn itself on, it must be turned on by the master of the home. The work of the flip has a reaction. For me, that action is repent. I am a repenter, what about you?
Dear Sis,
Dear Sis,
My post today is directed to you specifically, sister in Christ. I am willing to admit that a reason to disregard my letter may be because I’ve not taken the time to write you sooner. I hope you will take this short moment of your screen time today and consider my concern.
I get the fun of a perfectly timed selfie. There is something spectacular about having instant connection with hundreds and thousands of “friends.” You are the first generation to have this kind of connection.
May I say something to you bluntly? I don’t mean to be rude, I just want to be lovingly blunt.
You have already discovered how to get more comments and “likes”, “hearts”, “thumbs-ups”, or whatever the trending props are for a selfie. Be honest about it, you know how to get more attention. Your sultry look into the bathroom mirror does not display the glory of God. It proves you are in bondage to the applause of others.
Hey sister, when you post that picture of yourself with that low cut, tight fitting blouse, cleavage lifting bra, and climbing hem line on your skirt it doesn’t cause anyone to think of you as a pursuer of the holiness of God. Your photos of yourself in your sports bra and skin tight workout clothes on your way to the gym don’t help anyone to hunger and thirst for righteousness. Your doing this doesn’t prove you are a slave to Christ. It more shows a disregard for His glory.
Don’t get me wrong here, I’m not saying a selfie is wrong (however, after looking the word up I may be changing my mind soon.) Know this, you have some “friends” who do not look at you as a sister. They like to “like” your selfie but they are not communicating anything wholesome or pure. The sexual cravings of a debase and crooked world, broken or completely void of integrity, are looking in on you hoping you will continue to post more provocative and more revealing selfies to satisfy their hunger and thirst for unrighteousness.
I have a strong admiration for the courageous sister in Christ who takes advantage of a picture to show the beauty of God. It’s not very popular and you won’t get the same kind of attention, true. Is the gospel motivating your post today or is it a craving for the applause of men?
There are really so few willing to be this courageous. It takes a lot to put a photo out there and fear that no one will “like” it. I don’t want you to be uninformed on this. I hope you receive this as written from a brother. I think you have the capacity to truly be different from your peers and be a gospel-proclaimer not a selfie-proclaimer.
God doesn’t mean for you to be a jelly-fish. God is calling for heroes today, sis. In Scripture, their footprints (selfies) can be scanned through with joy. Be someone who lives life void of the fear of men or driven by the applause of men, be one who delights in displaying the glory of God.
Your brother,
Paul Thompson