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The Highway of Holiness

Consider joining me at Ridgecrest Conference Center in Ashville, North Carolina this fall, October 29-31, 2015, for the “Highway of Holiness” conference.

A highway will be there, a roadway,
And it will be called the Highway of Holiness.
The unclean will not travel on it,
But it will be for him who walks that way,
And fools will not wander on it.
No lion will be there,
Nor will any vicious beast go up on it;
These will not be found there.
But the redeemed will walk there,
And the ransomed of the Lord will return
And come with joyful shouting to Zion,
With everlasting joy upon their heads.
They will find gladness and joy,
And sorrow and sighing will flee away. (Isaiah 35:8-10 NASB, emphasis mine)

Conference Registration: REGISTRATION
Conference Lodging: LODGING 
Full list of speakers: SPEAKERS

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1 Corinthians

Last Sunday I finished the last sermon in a 46-sermon series in the book of 1 Corinthians by reading the entirety of the letter from the Apostle Paul to the church in Corinth.

Here are all 46 sermons from the 1 Corinthians Series. (A few sermons did not make it to the audio version due to technical complications.)

Free Christmas Gift

How would you like to receive a free Christmas gift?

(prepare yourself for major disappointment, this is the lamest gimmick I ever lowered myself to to boost views at theBridge.)

If you haven’t already registered to receive an email every time a new post is published here at theBridge you can do so by giving yourself the Christmas gift that lets you know every time a new blog post is published. That’s right, a Christmas gift in your email box every time. It’s kind of like Christmas all year long. You can even set up a separate folder in you junk-mail folder and the notice is automatically dumped so you don’t even have to become annoyed by the frequency of posts.

All you have to do is click on that cool looking “follow” button down there on the lower right hand corner of the page. Go ahead, give it a try.

Doing so will make it seem easier to ‘un-like’ me on Facebook, Twitter, or Google+. That’s what happens every time I publish a post that deals with marriage, truth, or other serious matters in the church. The facts are not all in yet, but I do believe that my public figure profile page saw more people ‘un-liking’ me than ‘liking’ me in 2014. The good news is, that with a public figure profile I won’t ever know if you ‘un-liked’ me.
hangingchadAll the numbers guys are working really heard right now to get the end of the year numbers ready for us. I’ll have the year-in-review report soon and I’ll unveil all the statistical facts of theBridge traffic. It does actually appear to be a record setting year of views and traffic at theBridge, this is very exciting. So, if you hurry up and subscribe to theBridge, an email will arrive soon with all of the numerical data.

Merry Christmas!

Broadcasting at Sermon Audio

For the past four years Eastside Baptist has been broadcasting sermons online 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. We currently have over 200 sermons available. By the kindness of generous friends of Eastside, we are able to provide this ministry to local shut-ins, those who miss upon occasion due to illness or travel, and anywhere internet access is possible. You can listen directly online, download to a phone, save on a disc, mail to a friend, share on Facebook or Twitter, or email a group of friends.

The 200+ sermons that are currently available from Eastside have been downloaded over 6,400 times (1,406 of those downloads are from mobile devices.)

May the Lord bless the kindness of generous friends. May the Lord bless the preaching of His word. May the nations hear the gospel.

Here is yesterday’s message from Philippians 4.

Access to all archived sermons: www.sermonaudio.com/thebridge

SermonAudioChurch

A Word to Husbands

Of all the instructions in the New Testament about marriage, no where is a wife commanded to “love her husband.” It would be wrong for a wife not to love her husband, but we only find the command verbalized to men. Ephesians 5:25, “Husbands, love your wives…”

For a man to neglect his duty of loving his wife is first a dishonorable act against God. But, not only is it dishonorable to God, it is disruptive to his wife, it causes confusion in the home, and it leaves the Lord’s church anemic, powerless.

I recently read an updated version of William Gouge’s book, Building a Godly Home. In it, William Gouge examined the duties of men and women in the marriage. This powerful exhortation was an influence on my message Sunday night at the Southern Idaho Bible Lecture Series hosted at Eastside Baptist Church.

It’s important that men hear this and hear this often. Husbands, love your wives. Be watchful over your household, men. Have a high minded view of your wife, not a worshiping view, an affectionate view. She has a role of submission, give long-suffering affection as one equal in many respects, but in her state of office, subordinate.

A corrupt view of this is for a husband to think of his wife as second in class or inferior in status. It is neither. It is one of duty. A wife has a duty, a husband has a duty, children have a duty. These duties are not about chores, they are more about affection for the other and the duty each has before God. If affection is absent from a husband toward his wife he will likely give his affection to another.

Here are some practical ways husband can show their love to their wives.

  • Husband, you must be kind and thoughtful to your wife. Not effeminate, because you are masculine. Not brutish, because she is feminine.
  • Husband, you must be courteous to your wife. Say thank you and please, often.
  • Husband, you must reject being aloof. Be personal and engaging. look your wife in the eyes when you talk to her.
  • Husband, you must be humble. Not fake and patronizing, genuinely humble.
  • Husband, consider your wife first. She must get your first, best and engaging time.
  • Husband, you must not lord over your wife with unfair demands and strictness.
  • Husband, encourage your wife in good things.
  • Husband, don’t discourage your wife with ingratitude.
  • Husband, instruct your wife in private and exhort her in public.
  • Husband, give helpful instruction to your wife. Don’t shy away from addressing your wife about her clothing and presentation. She may need to hear from you that she is showing too much sensual skin. She may need to know from you that her Facebook profile picture is too sultry and inviting. She may need to be talked to about how she interacts with others in her social practices.
  • Husband, don’t make your wife go to many social events without you. If at all possible help meet her social needs with you present.
  • Husband, treat your wife with respect.

I like to put it this way: No other man gets the chance to win my wife’s heart, no one.

There are more intelligent men than me, but no other man gets a chance to win her heart with his intelligence. There may be funnier men than me, she may laugh with others but no man gets a chance to win my wife with laughter. There are surely more romantic men than me, but no man, in real life or fiction, will overtake my wife with romance. There are kind men all around, but no man wins her heart because he’s more kind than me toward her. There are generous men around her, but no generosity is greater than mine toward her. There are poetic men, but no poet wins her.

Because I’m commanded to love her, I put my best attention toward her in this matter. That means, I’m the most romantic book she’s ever read, I’m more generous toward her than anyone she knows, I strive to cause laughter and joy in conversation and experiences in life, I’m the poet who woes her with roses and violets.

Husbands, provide for your wife. Provide for her spiritually, emotionally, socially, mentally, and physically.

You do this til you die! Now, go love your wife.

Open Letter to Magic Valley Bible Church

Dear Magic Valley Bible Church,

It was a pleasure to join you this past Sunday evening. Your generosity and kindness to welcome Eastside Baptist Church was what I’ve come to expect from those who claim to be followers of the Lord Jesus Christ. I’m thankful to the Lord for our shared kinship and hope we have in the blood of Christ.

It is a pleasure to labor in the city and valley with your pastor. I look forward to your pastors monthly column in the Times News, I know I can encourage others to read it without reservation. I’ve discovered in our friendship that He loves the Lord and longs to faithfully exhort the treasury of God’s word. In all of my conversations with pastor “Bear”, he speaks of his love for you. It’s clear that He has a great interest in his family and longs to see the gospel banner advanced throughout the world. I count it a pleasure to know your pastor as friend.

May the Lord strengthen your gospel work in the city. May the residents of Twin Falls and the Magic Valley always find you a faithful refuge, heralding a trustworthy message. May you endure with joy in the Lord. May the favor of the Lord rest upon your fellowship.

I’m thankful to the Lord for your laboring ministry and I look forward to more times together. I count it a pleasure to know the Lord’s people of Magic Valley Bible Church and their pastor.

Paul Thompson
Eastside Baptist Church

 

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