Church, will you join me on Wednesday, August 10, 2016, noon, for prayer at the Idaho State Capitol Building? More information HERE.
Prayer Guide HERE.
“America is on the precipice of Anarchy.” Franklin Graham
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Posts Tagged with Idaho
A Bad Government is Better than No Government
“Beloved, I urge you as aliens and strangers to abstain from fleshly lusts which wage war against the soul.
Keep your behavior excellent among the gentiles, so that in the thing in which they slander you as evildoers, they may because of your good deeds, as they observe them, glorify God in the day of visitation.
Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether to a king as the one in authority, or to governors as sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and the praise of those who do right.
For such is the will of God that by doing right you may silence the ignorance of foolish men.
Act as free men, and do not use your freedom as a covering for evil, but use it as bondslaves of God.
Honor all people, love the brotherhood, fear God, honor the king.” (1 Peter 2:11-17)
I’ve been attending Twin Falls City Council meetings over the past 15 years as matters arise that I believe I want to understand better of what is going on or to speak for or against proposed ordinances.
Recently, over the past month, I’ve been attending weekly to see if what is being reported in traditional media and social media is accurate.
If all one was doing was responding accordingly to all media (traditional or social) reports, one would think Evil Kinevel was in town to jump the Snake River.
At every city council meeting the public is given an opportunity to speak about any matter of interest to the city council. Wow, this is an amazing country we live in. Every citizen has an opportunity to address any issue of interest on a weekly basis. WOW.
I’ve been attending Twin Falls City Council meetings the past several weeks primarily to listen. Over the years I have spoken out, for and against, on matters that I think I must speak toward. I’ve learned that I must exercise discipline in the liberty to do so and resist the tendency to abuse my liberty.
I have a personal code of conduct for how I engage in the public square. Here are some suggestions I have and lessons I’ve learned.
- I am responsible to the Lord for every word I say.
- I represent myself, my wife, my church (by the nature of being the pastor), my Lord.
- I am responsible to respect the authority of those I am before.
- My attire will be in respect of honor due to those I’m addressing.
- I go prepared to be a blessing to civil magistrates.
- I go prepared to obey every rule of fair engagement given by those in authority.
- Every word I speak at a public meeting to public officials are subject to public domain and may be interpreted and reported differently than I think I deliver my words.
- I write out my intent of what I intend to say so I am sure to say something of value and avoid looking foolish.
- I expect to be limited by time at all public hearing meetings. (usually 2 – 5 minutes is my experience.)
Five things are sure:
- I pray for my government leaders and appreciate the duty they have to serve all residents, even the residents I disagree with.
- A bad government is better than no government.
- When a right is given to the citizens to speak and address matters of interest, followers of Christ must especially exercise that right with boldness and with respect .
- If I can live in a pluralistic community such as this with peace, I can do the same without fear of a Muslim neighbor so long as my government does not impose religious tests on any of us.
- Where I want my local government to be fully aware of the danger of open immigration I will take up my Gospel duty for every people group in my home town.
In conclusion; to the Gospel plow, sometimes that plowing work takes us through public forum meetings like city council, state legislation, national hearings. When that happens, we must be the same principled, disciplined, duty obeying followers of Christ. When the fever pitch of emotion begins to boil take a deep breath, bless the Lord for His grace, speak boldly, be respectful, honor all people, love the brotherhood, fear God, honor the [government] but don’t put down your gospel plow, don’t waste the day, don’t waste words spoken with unvetted, undisciplined, dishonorable emotions.
Lost in the Conversation
For more than a week the conversation of the local community is about some refugee children who have been charged with sexual assault. At this point, it is an open investigation and we must trust the law enforcement and prosecution process to do its duty.
In the mean time; there are many things lost in the conversation.
- the depravity of humanity is active in the corrupt heart of all citizens. This is not a condition that is owned exclusively by men or women. Obviously it’s not something that U.S. Citizens are immune to.
- any sexual assault acted out on a child is of serious weight in any community. This happens more in our neighborhoods than most know about and is not a new problem just because of the refugee center. Listen, you don’t even have to be an active church goer to be sickened by the sexual perversion.
- this is first a sin issue – first and before it being a psychological issue, long before this being a refugee issue, or an Islam issue, this is a sin issue.
- It’s even possible that your sons and daughters are exposed to sexually deviant behavior this summer at any given church camp.
Church, where are you in the conversation? Parents, Hopefully you’re not lost in the weeds of this being the kind of thing that other people’s children do.
Sin did not come to the city gates because of refugees. Press the law enforcement to do her duty, expect the city council to not be naive, but hold your church accountable to preach the word and your pastor to be the pillar and buttress of truth.
Sexual deviancy will not flee because you’ve signed a petition to shut a federally funded agency down (and I support the shutting down of federally funded agencies that don’t allow the citizens the privilege of accountability.) Sexual assault isn’t snuffed out because law enforcement and judicial prosecution exist (and I’m in favor of both.) But do not expect any change in the heart condition of humanity without the faithful proclamation of the gospel by biblically faithful preachers in God glorifying churches filled with forgiven sinners seeking the face of God.
Preacher, to your pulpit! Church, to your duty! Christian, be an ambassador of Christ’s reconciliation. All men, everywhere, repent!
New York vs. North Carolina
If you haven’t read the Governor’s Executive Order from the State of New York regarding the prohibition of state funded or state sponsored travel to North Carolina yet, you should do yourself a favor and read it. You might even gather the family together to read it as an exercise in careful judgment on the importance of words and looking for the agenda pushing this.
This is about a lot of things; but one thing is sure, it is not a civil rights issue.
Just this week the governor of Georgia caved to the financial pressure and vetoed a similar law that North Carolina has. Corporate America put the financial threat of pulling out if Georgia passed a law to protect pastors from being forced to do the will of the growing opinion of the nation.
HERE is the entire executive order Governor Cuomo of New York issued March 28th, 2016.
Preface: I’m in favor of protecting the civil rights and liberties of all citizens of the land, all of us. The state of New York, the city of New York City specifically, has been influencing the nation (and the world for that matter) for a long time. This executive order was not a statement protecting the civil rights of anyone. It was a statement from one governor to all governors to not do what North Carolina is doing.
What has been happening slowly and methodically around the nation has suddenly shifted, abruptly.
The use of public bathrooms will cost private citizens millions (it be more like billions in bathroom renovations and legal cost) of dollars in the coming years. I get that people want to be viewed as normal, but that desire to be viewed as normal is a perversion of the natural order of God’s creation.
This executive order is not the voice of reason. It is more the voice of hate than the tone of North Carolina’s law to give protection of religious freedom. It positions itself as “the voice of reason” for the world to follow suit.
This is not a civil rights issue.
This executive order is a ban on publicly funded travel to North Carolina is in effect immediately and will continue until North Carolina changes or repeals it’s current law. It’s the kind of behavior that forced the hand of Georgia’s governor to veto their law to give clergy a way to not violate their conscience.
Idaho, watch this closely. Bills are introduced every year to change our laws to look more like New York’s and less like ours. Keep your eye on this and begin formulating your words to compassionately respond while you stand your ground.
Church, your duty is to be a pillar and buttress of truth. That doesn’t give us permission to be ugly and foolish in our defense. Our way, our path, our duty is to God. It’s not about forbidding someone from sinning, it’s about obeying God.
I don’t know of anyone who wants to keep other people from using the bathroom while they are away from the privacy of their own home. There is a fair and just concern about who’s using that public bathroom.
Public safety is the duty of the civil government. It is not the duty of civil government to validate your feelings. Governor Cuomo, your executive order was a breach of duty.
As a pastor, I’m bound to Scripture, period. I can’t and won’t stand in the way of anyone who wants to sin; I’ll warn them along the way to not do what they so desperately want to do that is in violation of and against the law of God, but at the end of the discussion I’m bound by duty to perform religious services that are defined by the Holy Bible.
The bible is clear on these matters. This church and this pastor will carefully navigate through the shifting. It will require a firm foundation to survive all before us. Does the bible address gender issues? Yes. Does the bible address marriage issues? Yes.
When the Bible speaks as clearly as it does, we obey regardless of public opinion.
Lord’s Day: February 28, 2016
Sunday morning worship gathering is available here on audio only. (.mp3)
Sunday evening in one continuous, unedited, version.
Sunday evening, John Martinez gave an examination and history of the hymn, “This is My Father’s World”.
Paul Thompson gave biblical definition of “atonement” from Leviticus 16 and Hebrews 9 and 10.
Instruct Certain Men
Next month, Eastside Baptist will host an opportunity to prepare participants to stand firm in the faith that has been passed on to us.
The apostle Paul told Timothy to be equipped and prepared to teach and pass these things on to other trusted men. There is a right way to interpret Scripture. If we fail to do this properly we open ourselves, and the coming generations, to strange doctrines.
Pastor, are there men in your church you want to have access to trusted seminary training? Eastside Baptist Church is pleased to partner with the Utah/Idaho Southern Baptist Convention, the Magic Valley Baptist Association, Mid-America Baptist Theological Seminary and Kirby Woods Baptist Church to provide a three day training at no cost to the participant.
All that is needed is that we know who is coming. Contact Eastside Baptist Church at 208-734-7041
To the Iglesia Bautista Gracia Eterna – Let My People Hear!
An open letter:
to the Lord’s elect at Iglesia Bautista Gracia Eterna, West Valley City, UT,
May the reputation of the kindness of God be known to all by your kindness in recent days for your gift to Eastside Baptist Church in Twin Falls, Idaho.
Eastside Baptist Church decided years ago to build a new meetinghouse for our regular gatherings and to do so debt free. To do this, it has required us to trust the Lord for everything, yes EVERYTHING! After meeting all obligations for city permits to satisfy occupancy requirements we are now working on things not required by code.
A sound system that is adequate for a room of this size has been delayed until the Lord provided the means to do so, debt free.
Iglesia Bautista Gracia Eterna, your gift of a sound board was more than we could have imagined. We are thankful to the Lord for your kindness and self-less action toward us. May the Lord be pleased in your giving and may it please Him to bless you.
Your gift is now in use and finishing touches to the system is underway. May the reputation of the grace of God be echoed throughout the region in every language of the Land.
Thank you,
Paul Thompson and all at Eastside Baptist Church
Sermon Audio Annual Report (tBC021)
It is always an interesting project at the end of the year for me to do a bit of an evaluation of our online sermon archive activity. All sermons, and other recordings, are archived here.
Eastside Baptist has a total of 275 sermons available. Of the sermons available there has been a grand total of 8,559 sermon downloads (2,358 of those were via mobile devices) since 2010.
If you want weekly reminders of when a new sermon or podcast is uploaded you can visit our SermonAudio site, scroll down to the bottom of the page and click on the way you want the reminder sent to you via Twitter, Facebook, or Email.
The top 10 sermons actually downloaded in 2015 (mp3 format).
Top Sermons Downloaded
- Easter Bunny Spoiler – 43 downloads (sermon excerpt)
- Evil in the Sight of the Lord – 30 downloads
- Worship – 25 downloads
- The Horn of the Alter – 22 downloads
- Preparing the House of God – 22 downloads
- They Saw the Wisdom of God and A Bold Innovator of Wickedness – 19 downloads
- The One Who Answers by Fire – 17 downloads
- 1 Corinthians 12:27-13:3 – 14 downloads
- 1 Corinthians 15:12-19, 2015 Palm Sunday, As For Me, and Marvel at What Happened – 13 downloads
- Evidence of a Divided Heart – 10 downloads
The reporting of visits to our Sermon Audio sight is at best a regional accounting and is not an exact report. But the stats are of interest to see where the online visitors come from. The report is broken down into two reports, national and international. This year we had visits to our sermon archives from 47 of the 50 states in the USA and 56 nations.
Here are the top 10 states and the total number of downloaded sermons in 2015.
- Idaho (209)
- Texas (154)
- California (146)
- South Dakota (94)
- Colorado (88)
- Utah and Washington (67)
- Illinois (66)
- Arizona (65)
- Florida (64)
- New Jersey (58)
Top 10 nations (other than the United States) and the total number of downloaded sermons in 2015.
- South Africa (53)
- United Kingdom (52)
- Canada (44)
- Germany (37)
- Australia (35)
- Fiji and Spain (19)
- Philippines (12)
- Singapore (11)
- France and India (8)
- Brazil and China (7)
Other nations of personal interest where someone(s)
downloaded sermons are Italy, Singapore, Afghanistan, Russian Federation, Israel, Qatar, Sri Lanka, Korea Republic, Venezuela,
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Comfort and Joy
This weekend (Saturday, December 19) my column will be posted in the Twin Falls – Times News, Sunday (December 20) is my 29th wedding anniversary and on Christmas Eve (December 24) I’ll gather with my church family and family for special occasions. It really is a most wonderful time of the year.
An early look at Saturday’s column:
Tidings of Comfort and Joy!
Like our own national anthem (there are actually four verses) there are other verses to our beloved Christmas carols.
Most of us would be able to remember the familiar tunes to “Joy to the World”, “Away in a Manger”, “Silent Night”. We would be able to even work our way through that first verse of these seasonal treasures.
But, like our national anthem, if your life depended upon reciting any of the other verses we would not be able to save ourselves.
Play a short Christmas carol game with me right now just for the fun of it. Name the Christmas carol these verses belong to.
- God of God, Light of Light eternal,
lo, he abhors not the virgin’s womb;
Son of the Father, Begotten, not created. 1 - The shepherds at those tidings
rejoiced much in mind,
and left their flocks a-feeding
in tempest, storm, and wind,
and went to Bethlehem straightway,
the blessed babe to find. 2 - For Christ is born of Mary,
and gathered all above,
while mortals sleep, the angels keep
their watch of wondering love.
O morning stars, together
proclaim the holy birth,
and praises sing to God the King,
and peace to all on earth.3
On this coming Lord’s Day, and for the past several weeks the church house has been singing these songs that speak of the coming of the Christ, the Messiah. This coming (advent) was the fulfillment of ancient prophesy of Old Testament prophets of Yahweh.
The birth of the Messiah both indicts and excites. Consider this with me.
There is no need for the promise of a Messiah unless there is a need for freedom. If there is a need for freedom then there is a foregone conclusion that there is enslavement. If there is enslavement then there is a hope that freedom will come.
But how, when, by what means, who will bring this freedom?
The authors of many carols seem to want to take us on an historic journey to that little town of Bethlehem and see this promised Messiah. As if someone who wants to take you by the hand to hastily guide you to a place where they just found a treasure they want to share with you.
This is the kind of comfort and joy any enslaved prisoner wants to here. “Today, your freedom has come!” The redeemer has come! The one who will make all things right, the one who not only can pardon us from our debt of sin, but will then settle the debt with the one we’ve offended.
This need for a Messiah, Jesus the Christ, is of great comfort as the truth is shown we are unable to save ourselves. If we could, there is no need for a Messiah. All of humanity, enslaved to sin, long to hear the tidings of comfort and joy.
This, this is Christ the Lord! There are no greater tidings to reach the ears of men than this.
This first coming of the Christ is of great comfort and joy. Believe, trust this! This first coming (advent) of Christ was to seek and to save, His second coming (advent) will be to judge. If the first is true, the second must be true as well, and it is!
Merry Christmas!
1 O Come All Ye Faithful
2 God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
3 O Little Town of Bethlehem
Antiquated Liquor Laws
The city of Twin Falls has been working on its liquor laws. My opinions on the liquor laws are not the primary focus of this post, but they will help in my expression of why and how to engage in public discussion.
For several weeks notice has been given by city council to attend the public hearing concerning liquor laws in the city at businesses where liquor is consumed on the property. Attending and speaking at the meeting last night has prompted me to jot down some observations and suggest some ideas for consideration to anyone attending and planning to speak in public meetings.
Twin Falls has adjusted liquor laws a few times in the past 8 years to attempt to bring the city into parity with other cities in the state. Obviously, the city law has to be within the bounds of state and federal laws and not permitted to go beyond. Until as recent as 2006, Twin Falls had limitations on liquor (by the drink) sales on Sundays. (By definition, liquor and alcohol are viewed differently by code and law. And these laws are dealing only with establishments that allow drinking liquor on the premises; ie: restaurants and bars.)
The most recent discussion has been upon the time that businesses are required to stop serving (selling) liquor by the drink. In Twin Falls, that time is 1:00 am. State law is 2:00 am. In addition to this issue, Twin Falls also has limits on certain days. State law forbids the sale of liquor (by the drink) on Christmas Day. Twin Falls law includes, Thanksgiving Day, Election Day, and Memorial Day.
The city council has been discussing changes to this for several weeks.
Last night it was decided to present both the closing time restrictions and special day restrictions as two different discussions. I think this is a good idea. The city Council will work more on this in the coming weeks. I hope I won’t be the only one publicly speaking against this. But if I am, I’ll be sure to remember these tips on speaking at public meetings…
- Remember, not everyone holds your same values and opinions. When addressing issues that involve the sale and consumption of alcohol you may likely be in the overwhelming minority.
- Respect that those on the other side of an issue are attempting to conduct business within the bounds of the law. They are at that point, “law abiding” fellow citizens.
- Attempt to write your talking points down. At most public hearings you will have a time limit. Usually 2 – 5 minutes; depending on the subject and number of people expected to speak. If you don’t stay on point, your time will be up before you are finished and in danger of saying a lot of words without communicating your point. Don’t be fooled, 2 minutes at a public hearing is a very difficult task.
- Keep your cool, you will most likely not be given a second moment to defend disparaging comments made after your time limit.
- Take a few deep breaths as you walk to the mic to speak. I speak often, and I still have to remind myself to breath.
- If you are in the minority, prepare for strange pokes and unusual comments by the majority that will feel like a dig against you to strengthen their point. This is normal, I think it may even be fair play, within reason.
- Refuse to take opposition personally. It’s very hard. Resist being a thin-skinned person. Thin-skinned people say foolish and irrational things that help make the point for the opposing side. Thin-skinned doesn’t mean emotionless.
- Remember you are speaking at a public meeting. Public meetings are public, your words are free to be recorded and used for or against you. Prepare yourself, you may be quoted in local news outlets without your knowledge. (Times-News) “Paul Thompson, who is pastor at Eastside Baptist Church, testified against both changes, asking how allowing for longer bar hours would make Twin Falls a better place. “Please don’t change the laws that have implications and considerations to public safety or the uniqueness of special holidays,” he said.”
My personal thoughts on the issue:
Is any community a better community because it allows more hours to publicly consume intoxicating substances? Are families in Twin Falls better off because the bar is open on for one more hour. Is work place productivity better because employees have more time at a bar? Are tourist from out of town better served by the city because it allows the sale of intoxicating beverages until 2 am? What do we say about the most unique holiday on our calendar when laws governing it are called antiquated?
Those promoting this change appear to be making the argument from two primary positions:
- financial – I get, and can even respect that a bar is in business to make money, and any business that wants to increase its profit margin will attempt to do so. To the credit of the owners of the liquor licenses, they are attempting to do so “lawfully.” (That does not win my support for their cause, it simply acknowledges that I get it and can respect their law-abiding ways.)
- perception – This one doesn’t work at all for me. These are grown adults arguing for something with the logic of an adolescent.
- “Everyone else is doing it”; just doesn’t work. First of all, everyone else is not doing it. Second, even if many or most are doesn’t mean it’s a good idea.
- “These are antiquated laws”; to call something antiquated may be fair in some cases. But to call something antiquated because it helps you look progressive and modern in the eyes of some is foolish and reckless. Public safety is anything but antiquated. If the discussion is about steam-powered cars verses petroleum-powered cars it may be fair to call one antiquated. If the discussion is about an outhouse verses indoor plumbing and regulations on how the city will handle modern advances, then antiquated is right and new laws and regulations are required. To say that a limit on the sale of liquor-by-the-drink laws on Thanksgiving is an antiquated law is to speak with no regard in respect to the reason for the holiday to begin with. What other holiday in the nation gets a public proclamation from the president to alter normal activity, gather with family and in places of worship? If gathering with my family and altering my normal activity to humble myself before my God is antiquated then color me antiquated.