Scripture
One generation shall praise Your works to another, and shall declare Your mighty acts. Psalm 145:4
I shall remember the deeds of the LORD; surely I will remember Your wonders of old. Psalm 77:11
Praise and Prayer Requests
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Praise God for the church in Idaho Falls that is now meeting in homes, via numerous on-line platforms, and in drive-in-movie style at two locations.
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Praise God for the opportunities we have to trust God in this time of turmoil and uncertainty and share our peace and hope with those who are alone, fearful or troubled.
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Praise God that He has kept our city, county and surrounding counties relatively free from coronavirus cases. Praise Him for the medical facilities that we have. [During the 1918-1919 influenza pandemic, within two weeks of the first case reported in Idaho, cases were so numerous that they could not be accurately tracked. Globally, 100 million died out of 500 million infected; the mortality rate in one rural community in Idaho was almost 50%.]
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Praise God for all the ways He has worked in the past and is at work now in Idaho Falls and our nation; pray that the body of Christ will be a light that shines in the darkness, reflecting God’s glory and turning many to the way of salvation.
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Please continue praying for Pastor Anthony Manzanares; he has come through several open-heart surgeries and is now doing physical and occupational therapy.
Jesus in Idaho Falls
With nearly all meetings and events cancelled or postponed, today I want to share and ask the following:
1. Most Idaho Falls churches are streaming or posting worship services on their web pages or Facebook pages. We have compiled church web and Facebook pages at https://jesusinidahofalls.com/idaho-falls-religion/.
2. If you want to communicate with the larger body of Christ in Idaho Falls, email the message to Todd or myself and we will include it in our weekly email, or if more urgent, we can send out special emails to our distribution list. Besides announcements, consider sending us prayer requests that we can pass on to the whole body of Christ in Idaho Falls.
3. Or you can post on our JIIF Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/groups/1624759524469554/.
4. With a lot of normal activities curtailed, you may have more time for reflecting on how you have seen God work in the past and how He is at work now. Your reflections will not only encourage yourself and others during this time of uncertainty but could also encourage future generations. This is the heart of what Todd and I want to do – record the many ways that God has been at work in Idaho Falls in order for us to grasp more of the bigger picture of God’s glory in our midst, of His purposes for our city, of the ways He has been doing what He said He would do, so that we can be more effective working together with Him. These stories include, but are not limited to:
a. Transformation — how have you seen the Lord and His Spirit transform your life, bringing about new creation in Christ?
b. Calling — how did the Lord call you to Idaho Falls?
c. Building — how have you seen Jesus building His church in Idaho Falls?
d. Sending — has the Lord given you a specific mission and empowered you to accomplish it?
e. Small groups — how has Jesus been in your midst in small groups, “where two or three gather in my name”?
f. Answers to prayer — how have you seen the Lord answer prayer?
g. Faith — what acts of faith have you seen or done that would encourage the body of Christ? Are there men or women from the past who lived in Idaho Falls that you knew and who are good examples of lives of faith?
h. Unity and reconciliation — How have you seen the Lord bring about unity in His body?
i. Answers to any of the questions in Todd’s email on Friday.
5. Quiz: How many of these questions do you know the answers to? The answers to most are found on pages of the Book tab at https://barnescm2.wixsite.com/jiif. I’ll put all the answers in future emails.
1. What was the first name of the place that eventually became Idaho Falls, a name that signifies the hunger of an unreached people group for the Bible?
2. Where did the first church meet in Idaho Falls? [Hint: this was not a meeting of First Baptist Church.]
3. Who was the woman who wanted to be a missionary to China but instead came to Eagle Rock and started the first school, the library, and raised the funds for the first church building in town?
4. Who was the pastor, born in the Idaho Falls area, who served the Lord here for close to 50 years?
5. What other pastors of Idaho Falls churches served here for more than 30 years?
6. Who was the man who served as editor of the Daily Post in Idaho Falls for two years and then, after seminary, was a missionary in Persia for 22 years? Hint: His son, who had the same name, was a missionary in Afghanistan for 22 years. [Haven’t heard of the Daily Post? In 1931, the Daily Post merged with the Times-Register to become the Post Register.]
7. What churches in Idaho Falls were deliberate plants of other Idaho Falls churches?
8. Who, as a high school student, started going to an Idaho Falls church just to learn about public speaking, keeping a scorecard rating the pastor’s sermon, and later became the pastor of that church? Hint: His father selected the site of what would later become the Idaho National Laboratory and also selected Idaho Falls as the site of the government offices running those facilities.
9. Who served as interim pastor of six different Idaho Falls churches? Hint: He also ran a bookstore, a counseling service [Family Life Enrichment Center], published a Christian periodical, and helped form the Evangelical Ministerial Association in Idaho Falls.
10. In what decade were the most churches planted in Idaho Falls?
11. Of the churches planted in that decade, how many still meet and which is currently the largest?
12. Who are the two men who married sisters and, at different times, pastored the same church in Idaho Falls? Hint: Both men also became missionaries after leaving Idaho Falls.
Jesus in Idaho Falls 