Idaho – Page 8 – PaulThompsonBlog

Equip: for the Church on Mission

Posted on October 7, 2016Leave a comment

I just wanted to remind of of an opportunity next week for seminary level training through the book of Ephesians with Dr. Frank Jones of Kirby Woods Baptist Church and Mid-America Baptist Theological Seminary hosted at Eastside Baptist Church in Twin Falls, Idaho on October 13-15.

This is open to all pastors, Sunday School teachers, men, women, boys and girls (anyone). The attached flyer has some additional details. There is no cost for anyone attending. Please consider joining us.

It would be helpful if you would communicate with us if you plan to come to be sure we have plenty of food.
Contact Eastside Baptist at 208-734-7041

October 13 – 5:30pm meal provided (free) teaching begins at 6pm
October 14 – 5:30pm meal provided (free) teaching begins at 6pm
October 15 – 8:45am breakfast items (free) teaching begins at 9am

equip-eastside

Open Letter to the Twin Falls Police Department

Posted on August 15, 2016Leave a comment

Dear Twin Falls Police Department,

I don’t know many of you by name but I see you all throughout my home town. You are appreciated.

It’s hard to not get tangled up in the weeds of all the national buzz about our city and the unfortunate way some have spoken to you and about you.

I’m always thankful to be at a city council meeting when you are being introduced, awarded a promotion, or being recognized for your duty to the citizens.

Where I don’t speak for anyone but myself; I want you to know that we are thankful to God for you.

My gratitude is for the department you represent and the duty you serve. It must require of you something that few are willing to take on. Thank you for your display of bravery that makes my general journey through life a safe and pleasant place to live. You choose to take on dangerous situations, confusing situations, complex relationships and you make way into some of the most sinful conditions any could imagine.

As a pastor I have worked with many in our community that have had encounters with you; thank you for being so compassionate, kind and tender to women and children and victims of abuse. Thank you for choosing to answer the dispatch call to walk into the middle of complex, messy situations and still be there and try to do the right thing.

So many of you operate under extreme pressure with professionalism, restraint, and show respect to those who do not always return the favor is a credit to the department as a whole. And that you do this not knowing that your life may be in danger is yet more than a credit, it is a mercy you give to every citizen.

I want you to know that I pray for you and I pray for your families. I pray for your safety, for wisdom, for courage.

Thank you for your care for all in the community, without prejudice.

With respect,

Paul Thompson
Pastor at Eastside Baptist Church, Twin Falls, Idaho

What Does It Take To Be Happy?

Posted on July 21, 2016Leave a comment

On a regular basis for the past several years I have been given the opportunity to be part of writing a column, with others, in the Twin Falls Times News newspaper.

Every Saturday in the religion section of the paper a local ‘pastor’ pens the words for the “Pastor’s Corner”.

I’m thankful to do so, but from time to time need to give a disclaimer that I am not in biblical agreement with all whom I share in this privilege with.

For example; by writing under the same column title I respect that the paper serves a wide scope of readers who, by the kind of rebuttal email and comments I get, obviously don’t agree with me and take exception with me on many issue. To an informed reader, he is able to spot the difference quickly.

I have never been disappointed with the column writing of Bear Morton, pastor at Magic Valley Bible Church.

Last week’s column by Elizabeth Greene, on the other hand, I am in complete disagreement with the premise and conclusion of the author who is neither a pastor of a New Testament church or a Christian as defined by the Bible. Nor am I in spiritual or biblical agreement with Kathleen McKevitt who writes under the column title of Pastor’s Corner. And I’m not offended if they were to speak of our differences either.

Here is an early look at my contribution to the Pastor’s Column to be published on Saturday, July 23 in the Times News.

What Does It Take To Be Happy?

Have you ever read the entire Bible? It seems like a daunting task when you consider the font size, thin pages, total page count, and the complexity of the language. Obviously the reason for reading it will have much to do with the value one gets from reading it.

When one begins reading it, it becomes clear from Old Testament through the New Testament that God is not interested in being a little part of your life, a clichéd slogan on a t-shirt, a piece of jewelry you wear or a fashionable tattoo. He wants to be your whole life. His requirements for this are rooted in the reality that He has the authority to demand this because of who He is.

Think of it with me from the flow of the Sermon on the Mount, recorded by Matthew in chapters five through seven.
There is a progression from the poor in spirit to those persecuted for the sake of righteousness with talk of those who mourn, are meek, hunger and thirst for righteousness, merciful, pure in heart, peacemakers in between.

All of these instructions are delivered for the benefit of believers to know that the pursuit of happiness is not like unbelievers. Followers of Christ are not doomed to “eat their own dung and drink their own urine” (2 Kings 18:27) they are satisfied with Christ and His deposit of righteousness into their lives.

Jesus informs us that it is best for us to see that sin does not deliver happiness like we think it does. Sin does not bless the nation. Sin does not help the economy. Sin does not strengthen the family. Sin weakens the church.

Sin has a rotting effect.

Anyone promoting sin as an acceptable way of life is not interested in strengthening your family. Anyone encouraging you to change the law of the land to encourage a sinful lifestyle is not interested in encouraging a strong economy. Anyone leading others to adopt sin as normal is no pastor, and any church that leaves that ‘pastor’ in the pulpit is no church.

To be spiritually bankrupt before a holy God will cause one of two responses.

To be told that we are spiritually bankrupt, unable to do anything good, will lead a person to either repent of sin and cry out to God for salvation or grow proud and stiff necked and continue taking others down this same path.

Reader, beware; there are some in our day, in our city, in our churches, deceiving many with the promise of happiness by embracing your sinful nature or following other gods. Not everyone with the title of pastor, bishop, elder, imam is looking out for your spiritual interest. They may come with soothing words that are attractive because they promote sin as natural and even God approved. They are lying to you. They are deceiving you. They are destroying your family. They are causing a burden to the economy. They are doing so with the greatest form of pride and arrogance by using the name of Jesus to advance unbiblical agendas.

If you are indeed a follower of Christ, if you are truly a Christian as defined by the Bible then you can’t help but want to be different. You can’t come to God and want to stay like you once were.

There is good news; there are real churches with biblical preaching across the city of Twin Falls and throughout the Magic Valley.
Let me encourage you to do a few things as you prepare to gather with others on this coming Lord’s Day.

Listen closely to the preaching.
Listen closely to the reading.
Listen closely to the praying.
Listen closely to the music.
Stay steadfast at the place you are if it is true with the Holy Bible.
Walk away from the false doctrines that promote salvation through any means but faith in Jesus the Christ, the only begotten son of God, repent of your sin.
Walk away from any mosque, ward, temple, fellowship, hall, church house gathering that does not call out sin or is actively promoting the embracement of sin.
Walk away from any spiritual leader who is preaching happiness outside of following Christ Jesus as described in the Holy Bible or any perversion thereof.

You can do what is right in your own eyes or you can repent today and do what is right in Yahweh’s eyes.
I plead with you to repent!

Boise Prayer Gathering (August 10)

Posted on July 20, 2016Leave a comment

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

More information here:

A Bad Government is Better than No Government

Posted on July 13, 2016Leave a comment

“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

Posted on June 23, 2016Leave a comment

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

Posted on April 1, 2016Leave a comment

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

Posted on February 29, 2016Leave a comment

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

Posted on February 18, 2016Leave a comment

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!

Posted on January 5, 2016Leave a comment

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

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