Philippians – PaulThompsonBlog

Major Project

Posted on April 23, 2019Leave a comment

At Eastside, we have undertaken a massive project to begin transcribing my preached sermons. I have asked for a team of people to help with this.

It is proving to be quite the task. The task of taking a handwritten outline of sorts that I take into the pulpit, to the preaching of that outline, to the hearing of the sermon, to the printing of that preached sermon.

The early work has begun and it may prove to be a monumental project.

Step one is to load the audio version of the sermon into a software program to get the first printed draft of the transcript.

At first that sounds impressive, and I still think it is. One can, with the click of a button enter a spoken sermon into, what I’ll call, the transcription machine and within a few magical moments it spits out a printed transcript of sorts.

The next step is where the real work begins.

I have a team of people transcribing my sermons from the preaching series in Philippians. They have a very hard job. Have you ever heard me preach?

Wow, not WOW! But more like oh my. I repeat words, phrases, stutter, stammer, and slaughter the English language. About the only thing I don’t do in the spoken word is misspell words (I save that for my blog posts.)

The transcription machine (not really a machine) has a hard time understanding me often, so the kind team of editors have the task of taking what the transcription machine spits out and then putting it all back together for biblical accuracy for the eyes to read.

Here are a few of the interesting things the transcription machine has returned after “listening” to my sermons.

Now it’s in acts chapter 16, verse one that Paul came also to the to the town of Derby and to Listerine and the disciple a disciple was there by the name of Timothy.
Understanding of imperfections, we get infections. We we. Have infections we have things that we hold dear, things that we cherish.

So, you can see, the editing team has a lot of work to do. The transcription machine spits out more gibberish than I do sometimes.

Maybe if the early church had treated all of their infections with Listerine they would have been healthier. However, I don’t think this would stand the test of peer review for sound theology though. I’m thankful to God for the labor behind the editors from my church who endured my preaching through Philippians a few years ago and are now working on putting them into written form.

I’ve been in dialog with a pastor in India for over a year. This friendship has brought about the reason for this kind of work. It is related to his request for my sermons in print form as he is wanting to put these preached sermons into the hands of pastors without formal training but are in places where people want to know about God.

Pray for us as we undertake this task. May God bless the labor of the editors and the preaching of the preachers who will receive these sermons and them in turn preach them to their congregations. For the glory of God.

the Public Reading of Scripture

Posted on June 15, 2017Leave a comment

“…give attention to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation and teaching.” 1 Timothy 4:13

The Power of the Resurrection

Posted on April 4, 2017Leave a comment

What is needed most among the saints of God?

Is it a need to rebrand our church or denomination so that we are more likable by this current generation?
It is a fresh wind of innovation and creativity?
or is it a need to go down the road of the ancient paths of Scripture?

It is critical that while on this ancient path that the church not abandon truths of old. The meaning of the words, terms, and phrases are obviously what must not be lost, but I fear we get closer to losing the richness in what these words, terms, and phrases mean when we abandon them in fear that we may appear out of touch, out of date, or traditional.

As we are on the precipice of the greatest day in the history of the world, the resurrection of our Lord, I’m convinced we need this ancient path in order to articulate the gospel to this current generation. It has always been the means of passing the gospel on from one generation to another. This is the way of Scripture, to use words to communicate to all generations.

My defense is not for the words for the sake of language. My defense is a matter of eternal weight, and needs words to communicate. In general conversation we may not use these rich words, but as ambassadors of Christ’s reconciliation we must communicate the whole gospel.

With that said… here are some of those rich words that I believe are needed as most urgent among gospel proclaimers. Get these words, understand these words, and communicate these truths.

Faith:

Justification:

Atonement:

Imputation:

Sanctification:

Propitiation:

It Is A Safeguard For You

Posted on March 13, 2017Leave a comment

“Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things again is no trouble to me, and it is a safeguard for you.” (Philippians 3:1)

There is a popular thought in the world that hearing the instructions of Scripture are out dated or not needed so much. But the principles of Scripture says otherwise.

The Apostle Paul is clear that it is no trouble for him, and that implies it is not to much for the hearer, to hear this news again.

My sermon from Lord’s Day, March 12, 2017 entitle A Safeguard for You addresses this for the corporate church body, the household and the individual.

Sermon Excerpts:

Full Sermon:

A Gospel Tract Video Project

Posted on February 6, 2017Leave a comment

There is Joy in the Lord

Here is a Gospel sharing opportunity for you. These video Gospel tracts are intended for your use in sharing publicly or privately with friends, co-workers, acquaintances, anyone in general.

The idea is that you might consider sharing one of these video excerpts from a recent sermon with your friends. I’ve included them here for you to view as you decide who you might share.

I have included links to one print version and three video versions:
Long Version: This is the entire sermon from February 5, 2017 from Philippians 2:5-11
Medium Version: This has several excerpts from various places in the sermon (about 15 minutes long)
Short Version: This has just a few portions of the sermon (about 4 minutes)

Instructions and Suggestions:

First:

Pray – The kind of praying I’m talking about is for boldness. We already know that God wants us to share the gospel. For most of us, it is a lack of boldness that keeps us from sharing the gospel. It’s not for lack of want, it’s for lack of boldness. I’m praying for you as you consider this with me.
Read Philippians 2:5-11 and Romans 8. There are other things you may want to read as well, but at least those two because they are the primary text I used in this past Lord’s Day sermon.
Don’t let any public conversion online divert you from you gospel work. If you share one of the following links on a public social network page don’t let someone (sometimes even professing Christians will do this) lure you in to a distracting conversation.
Put it out there and pray for those who the Holy Spirit will draw to the posts.
Do not feel obligated to a discussion where you feel obligated to defend me. That is a distraction from the conversation. Let potshots at the preacher roll off of you.

Printed tract:

Consider printing this post that was published in the Twin Falls Times News this past weekend and give it or mail it to a friend.
After you give it, mail it, email it to them, tell them you would like to talk to them about it some time (face to face is best in my opinion)
Set a time that you may be able to talk about it.
Share that column published in the Twin Falls Times News on your social network sites.
Become as familiar as you can with Philippians 2:5-11 and Romans 8.

Video Tracts:

First, get these videos from my YouTube channel (HERE) and share them directly from there. You could share this blog post, but the intent of this blog post is really to give you opportunity to consider sharing the gospel.
Consider sharing the full sermon (HERE) with those you know really well. Maybe even Christians to encourage each other in the work of Christ on the Cross in your own lives.
Consider sharing the medium length tract (HERE) with friends via email or messaging. Even for some a 15 minute excerpt will not appeal to them or they may consider that too long of an investment in something you’ve shared with them. But you have some who may be ready for a good discussion after a bit more of an investment of their time.
Consider sharing this short tract (HERE) on your social media pages, blog pages, emails, and such. This is a concise collection of a few excerpts from the full sermon. Use this primarily for an opportunity to have more dialog with.

Full Length: 59 minutes

Medium Length: just over 15 minutes

Short Length: 4 minutes

Online Updates

Posted on January 31, 2017Leave a comment

Beloved Eastside,

I greet you today in the grace of God. I want you to know of a few updates on the church website and encourage you to use the new Live Streaming as a way to introduce friends who don’t have a church home to Eastside.

The purpose of the Live Streaming options are not intended to be a substitute for gathering at the meeting house of Eastside. It is intended to allow your participation when unable due to being sick, distance, unable to gather or days when weather makes travel dangerous.

Mid-Week Prayer Gathering: the mid-week prayer gathering is still and always will be password protected. I have moved the location of this online to the church website and off of my personal blog site because I’ve learned how to set up a password protected page.

Here is the location of the video feed for the mid-week prayer: http://esbctwinfalls.com/mid-week-prayer/posts/mid-week-prayer
Password: request password (will change at times)
Please contact Paul via mobile phone that you have logged in to the prayer time. It is important that we know who we are praying with.
Please do not share or post the password with anyone. They are welcome to contact me and I’m happy to give them the password.

Lord’s Day Morning: Every Lord’s Day at 10:30 a.m.
We are now streaming the video on our SermonAudio site. You can still access it at www.esbctwinfalls.com. Again, this is no substitute for gathering in person with the church family, but it has been a blessing to many when they’ve been unable to come. This is not a perfect technology for us yet but it is improving. Feedback when you log in is helpful.

http://esbctwinfalls.com/live-streaming
- consider “sharing” this link with friends who don’t attend a church.
- consider “sharing” this link on your social media sites.
- consider “sharing” archived sermons and/or excerpts on social media sites.

Lord’s Day Evening: Lord’s Day at 6:30 p.m.
Gathering on the Lord’s Day evening is a long term practice of Eastside Baptist. We are among the few in the region who still gather on Sunday evenings. There has been steady growth to the p.m. gathering. This is a good time to invite others to come with you.
We live stream the evening gathering as well. Currently, nine men in the church are doing the teaching/preaching. This past week Mark King started. If you missed this, I highly recommend you take the time to listen (http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?sermonID=130171438154) This coming week, Steve McMullin will do the teaching.

http://esbctwinfalls.com/live-streaming
- Consider “sharing” this link with friends.
- Consider “sharing” this link on your social media sites.
- Consider “sharing” archived sermons and/or excerpts on social media sites.
- Consider inviting neighbors/friends/coworkers to your home on Sunday night to watch the teaching and then use that time for extended discussion.

From Behind the Pulpit: short video to help prepare for the coming Lord’s Day gathering, help with family worship time, prayer, and other things happening at Eastside.

http://www.paulthompsonblog.com/from-behind-the-pulpit/
- Consider “sharing” this link with friends.
- Consider “sharing” this link on your social media sites.

Times News Column: Every 4 to 5 weeks I am the guest columnist in the Twin Falls Pastors’ Column. (disclaimer: I don’t like the title of the column because not everyone who writes for the column are biblically qualified pastors) I have been writing for the Times News for over 6 years now and take advantage of the moment to speak into a topic of the day and always attempt to give clarity of the Gospel. The online version of the column offers people a chance to respond and comment, it is not always real helpful for you to feel the need to defend your pastor from rude comments. I

Consider sharing that column on your social media sites.
Consider using the column for discussion in your home, with friends, coworkers.
Your sharing the column I write communicates to the Times News that people read it. Newspaper is all about circulation.
My column will be published this weekend (Feb. 4)

PaulThompsonBlog.com: My personal blog is a place were I communicate many things online. I write about various things, promote links to things I’m reading, links to sermons at Eastside,

http://www.paulthompsonblog.com/
- Consider visiting from time to time, at least weekly.
- Consider “sharing” posts that are of interest.

SermonAudio: For the past 7 years, all sermons are archived here. There are currently over 330 sermons available from your church. There are thousands of trustworthy sermons from some of several pastors around the world.

http://www.sermonaudio.com/thebridge
- Consider “sharing” sermons with friends
- Consider “sharing” recent or archived sermons on your social media sites.

These are many resources for you and for your use to share with others. Please do.

Introduction to the Letter of Paul to the Philippians

Posted on December 3, 2016Leave a comment

On December 4, 2016 at 10:30 a.m. I will begin the preaching through the letter of Paul to the Philippians.

There are parts of this letter that are familiar to all believers. This is perhaps the most encouraging, uplifting, hope-filled letters the Apostle Paul ever wrote.

I have been looking forward to preaching through this 4 chapter book in the Bible for some time.

I rarely post a full preaching outline of a book but thought it appropriate to do so this time. The risk in doing so is that I may change my mind on how a section of the text should be preached. But maybe it will help knowing the basic preaching plan. I currently have an 18 sermon outline for the full letter. (I may make adjustments as the unfolding of the preaching actually takes place.)

Where there are many themes in the letter and the Apostle speaks of them, I’ll let this statement govern the theme of the whole of the letter.

The reason God is pleased to give suffering and faith to His people is that they might take pleasure in magnifying Christ to those opposed to the Gospel through bold fearlessness of faith and humble grace.

Chapter One
1. Introduction
2. Thanksgivings and Prayers for the Good Work of Grace. (vv. 1-7)
3. Affection and Prayers for all. (vv. 8-11)
4. Don’t Let Suffering Cast You Down. (vv. 12-20)
5. Stand Prepared for Glorifying Christ by Life or Death (vv. 21-26)
6. Zeal and Constancy in Proclaiming the Gospel (vv. 27-30)

Chapter Two
7. Description of a Kind, Humble Spirit and Godly Behavior (vv. 1-4)
8. The Example of Christ (vv. 5-11)
9. Diligence in Salvation and an Example to the World (vv. 12-18)
10. A Great Hope (vv. 19-30)

Chapter Three
11. Cautions Against False Teachers and Putting Aside Former Privileges. (vv. 1-11)
12. Source of desire to be found in Christ; (vv. 1-11)
13. Pressing on Toward Perfection. (vv. 1-11)
14. What Kind of Example to other Believers Are You? (vv. 12-21)

Chapter Four
15. Stand Fast in the Lord (v.1)
16. Directions to some and Directions to All. (vv. 2-9)
17. Contentment in Every Condition of Life (vv. 10-19)
18. Conclusion with Prayer to God the Father.

The breakdown of the outline is primarily influenced by Matthew Henry and the Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary.

From Behind the Pulpit (FBP-001)

Posted on December 1, 2016Leave a comment

This series of blog (vlog) posts are intended to encourage the God fearing
believers who gather at 204 Eastland Drive North in Twin Falls, Idaho.

It is my hope to produce a video post on Thursday or Friday of each week to give special instructions for the coming Lord’s Day. Use this for your own edification, post it on your social media pages, share it with friends, encourage one another in the shared joy of the Lord.

There is Joy in the LORD

Posted on November 18, 2016Leave a comment

To the saints at Eastside Baptist Church, Twin Falls, Idaho:

Dear beloved of God,

As I prepare to preach through the letter written to the church in Philippi by the Apostle Paul (beginning December 4, 2016), I want to let you know that I’ve been praying for you. It has been my prayer that the time we will spend together in this letter will be a blessing.

I will attempt to give historic context to the entire letter of Philippians in application to our lives today on December 4.

I want to encourage you to do some things with me in both the preparation for the preaching and in the season of time while we journey through this letter together. I want to use the letter to the church in Philippi to encourage some disciplines in all of our lives; prayer, Scripture memorization, meditation on that Scripture, and application of that Scripture.

It is not required of anyone to do the things I’m encouraging you to do. It is simply my encouragement to you of the benefit I have received in my own life. Please do not attempt any of these disciplines as an attempt to save yourself. It is not possible.

Pray about them before attempting. If you decide to do any or all of them, commit your ways unto the Lord. To do some of these things you may have to make significant adjustments to your daily routine. You may have to give up some things in order to have the time and energy to do them.

Write the entire letter from Paul to the church in Philippi in your own handwriting.
Moses instructed the LORD’s people to put people before them who would know who their God is. The precept of this discipline is worth consideration. Here’s how Moses instructed the LORD’s people to do this concerning their desire for a king to rule over them. (Deuteronomy 17:18-20; emphasis mine)
1. …he shall write for himself a copy of this law (instruction)…
2. …It shall be with him and he shall read it all the days of his life,
3. …that he may learn to fear the LORDhis God,
4. …by carefully observing all the words of this law (instruction) and these statutes…
Memorize the entire letter or at least portions of the letter.
After Moses died, Joshua instructed the LORD’s people to meditate/recite upon the word of God. (Joshua 1:8; emphasis mine)
1. …This book of the law (instruction) shall not depart from your mouth,
2. …you shall meditate on it day and night,
3. …so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it…
Commit to attending and taking notes from the preaching.
Since the Apostle Paul instructed Timothy to “preach the word…” (2 Timothy 4:2) it goes without saying that there is an important benefit to hearing the preached word. “He who has ears to hear, hear what the Spirit says to the church.” (Revelation 2:7)
If you are unable to attend due to sickness or travel, you can listen to the archived sermons at the church website (www.esbctwinfalls.com).
Sing songs of the faith together and at home.
I’ve included several songs in this booklet (will be available soon) that we will be singing over the days of our time in the letter to the church in Philippi. We will sing at least one of these songs every week in our weekly gathering; in addition to concluding our time together every week with the “Gospel Doxology”. I’ve included them here so that you might sing them at home as well.
Let songs of the faith be the “soundtrack of your home”. (Matt Boswell, Providence Church – Frisco, TX)

Charles Spurgeon said of John Bunyan; “Prick him anywhere; his blood is Bibline, the very essence of the Bible flows from him. He cannot speak without quoting a text, for his very soul is full of the Word of God.” (C. H. Spurgeon, “The Last Words of Christ on the Cross,” in The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit Sermons, Vol. XLV [London: Passmore & Alabaster, 1899], 495.)

May Eastside Baptist be known as a people who, when pricked by the world, bleed the Word of God.

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, (Philippians 4:23)

Paul Thompson

Upcoming Preaching Schedule

Posted on October 5, 20164 Comments

Last Sunday (10/02), I finished the exposition preaching of the Kings. (full sermon series HERE)

Here are some random (useless) statistics from the sermon series:

I began preaching through Kings April 26, 2015.
Total sermons recorded: 51 of 53 (I forgot to hit the record button on two sermons.)
Total of 2,913 minutes of sermon time.
Longest sermon was 82 minutes long (I must have lost track of time.)
Shortest sermon was 37 minutes long (many were very concerned about me, thank you for your concern.)
Average sermon length was 57 minutes long.
My personal favorite phrase was “Saddle up the donkey”. (1 Kings 13:13)

The next step of preaching is always of interest as the conclusion comes about. Here is a look at the next several weeks.

October 9: I will give a overview conclusion to the entirety of the Kings
October 16: A look back at the times of reformation Eastside has been through over the past several years. A reminder to all and information to others of why we integrate all the ages at our systematic gatherings.
October 23: Begin a series of messages (maybe three) on the doctrine of The Fear of God
Mid November: Preaching Through the book of Philippians.

*updated with links

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