Calvary Hot Springs

Exalting Christ Through the Ministry of the Word

Poimen

Morning Prayer, May 25, 2025

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Our God and Savior,

In adoration…

We praise You and bless You, because You are… gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love…

You are… good to all, and [your] mercy is over all that [you have] made.

All your works shall give thanks to you, O Lord, and all your saints shall bless you!

On the glorious splendor of your majesty, and on your wondrous works, [we] will meditate. (Psalm 145:4–21)

We confess…

… that often our minds and hearts are cluttered with the affairs and cares of this life. We ask for your help to turn our hearts toward you, who is the source and sustainer of all life. By your grace, help us to see the world around us in light of who you are, and may we rest in what you are doing.

With thanksgiving…

… we come before you remembering your faithfulness in our shortcomings, your grace in our weakness, your love in our obstinance, and your strength when we’ve lost all hope.

Supplication

Our Nation

On this Memorial weekend, we pray for our nation. We are thankful for the many liberties afforded us, acknowledging that these freedoms were granted and are kept by the sacrifice of countless thousands who gave their lives to defend them. May we, especially your people, be thankful for these sacrifices. 

More so, may we, as your people who are granted the liberty to speak openly about the saving grace of Jesus Christ, do so. May we proclaim the true liberty, freedom from sin’s bondage and deliverance from sin’s consequences.

May we, as your people who are granted the liberty to assemble to worship our God and creator, faithfully do so. Help us not to forsake assembling as your people.

May we, as your people who are granted to live righteously in an unrighteous world, live in the fear of God and not the fear of man.

Physically Sick

We thank you for ******* *******’s successful brain surgery and her quick recovery. We pray the test results this week will show the tumor removed to be benign…

We thank you for **** ****’s beneficial radiation treatments that are shrinking the tumors in his liver… we pray for continued health…

We thank you for ***** *****’s quick recovery from being thrown from his horse carriage… we pray for complete recovery…

We continue to pray for ***** *****, **** *******, and ***** *******, who are being treated for heart failure…

We pray for the numerous others in our congregation who are facing physical ailments. We pray for their healing.

More so, we pray that you will use their physical ailments to crowd them nearer to you, the great physician… that in their physical sickness, they would be strengthened in spirit to trust you and to lean on you.

Partners in the Gospel

We pray for brothers and sisters with whom we partner in the gospel. Today, we remember Pastor Matt Parker and Harrison Bible Church. As they gather this morning, may Christ be exalted in their midst. May they be faithful to provoke one another to good works. Powerfully use Pastor Matt as He proclaims the glory of our God, may your people be blessed, and may the lost be turned to You.

We pray for missionaries to Brazil, Mark & Jess Stucky and their family, who are with us this morning. We pray that their time in the States will be beneficial for the sake of the gospel. Use them to be a blessing to your people, and use your people to be a blessing to them. Grant them physical rest as well as refreshment for their souls. We pray for their church in Brazil, Igreja Ministério Bíblico de Sapiranga, as they gather today. May Christ be magnified, the saints be edified, and the lost be pointed to Jesus.

Thank you for what you are doing in our midst as we gather, and as we live for you throughout the week.

These things we pray for the sake of Jesus Christ,

Amen

A Primer on the Gospel, part 4

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The great provision God made for mankind to be delivered from the bondage of sin and the eternal consequence of God’s wrath is the substitutional work of Jesus Christ in His life, death, and resurrection. But how can we be included in this salvation?

The answer is that you are saved by grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8). 

Like dining with a friend and arguing over who will pay the bill, the difficulty for many is the insistence on paying one’s own way or at least contributing to the cost. The cold, hard fact is mankind is spiritually bankrupt and incapable of contributing anything toward his salvation. One pastor wrote, “You contribute nothing to your salvation except the sin that made it necessary.” Salvation is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works (Ephesians 2:9; John 1:13). This does not mean that good works do not factor into a person’s salvation, but good works flow from salvation and are not its cause. 

Saving faith is a faith whose object is the saving work of Jesus Christ. It looks to Jesus for who He is as revealed in the Scriptures. It learns of the things He accomplished in His life, death, and resurrection for man’s redemption. And it acknowledges and acquiesces that He alone is the hope of salvation.

When Jesus asked His disciples who they believed Him to be, Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. (Matthew 16:16-17).

Don’t miss Jesus’ last statement. Flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. The Lord grants faith leading to salvation, and He does so through the proclamation of the gospel (Romans 1:16). Faith is not a casual acceptance of the truth, nor is it that which can be conjured up by self-will. 

Faith is the outcome of God’s illuminating work as you look upon Jesus and His wonderful work of redemption (2 Corinthians 4:5-6). So set your eyes upon Jesus, learn of Him in the Scriptures, and pray to the Lord to open your eyes to see and to be saved. The Lord said, You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. Jeremiah 29:13

A Primer on the Gospel, part 3

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“But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved.” (Ephesians 2:4-5).

BUT GOD. These are perhaps two of the most beautiful words in the Bible. The verses that precede this describe the spiritual condition of the human race. It isn’t pretty. Mankind has a serious problem that affects the whole of creation (Romans 8:18-25). The problem is sin. This includes behavior and the human heart’s innate posture toward God, our creator (Romans 8:7; 1:23, 25; 3:18). Sin is always, first and foremost, against God, and it affects us inwardly, outwardly, and above all else, upwardly. Sin bears immediate and eternal consequences we cannot escape… unless God Himself provides a way out. And this brings us to the beautiful words, BUT GOD.  This verse reveals at least three things about God and what He did to remedy our problem.

First, God is “rich in mercy.” “Mercy” is withholding retribution where it is justly deserved. It is the basis of forgiveness to the guilty. Mercy is one of the many attributes of God that make up who He is. He is “rich in mercy,” intent on forgiving His people of their sin against Him and releasing them from all guilt.

Second, God has loved us with great love. This love is not conditioned on our lovability. Rather, “even when we were dead in our trespasses,” He loved us (Cf., Romans 5:6-11). God’s love is volitional. He CHOOSES to love the sinner. Had He not, we would be without hope. Unlike us, God’s love is not driven by His passions but by His divine purpose to have a people for His own sake. 

Finally, God’s love is actively manifested toward His creation. It is manifested toward His people. Grounded in His mercy and driven by His divine purpose to love, God made us alive together with Christ. This is the act of grace that delivers us from the bondage and the penalty of sin. God unites the believer with Jesus Christ in a way that He becomes our substitute before God, and what is true of Christ is a reality for the saint. As our substitute, He was made… to be sin for us, who knew no sin (2 Corinthians 5:21). He bore our sin and took it to the cross to suffer the wrath of God that we justly deserve (Isaiah 53:4-6). God showed mercy to us because His justice was satisfied in Christ. In addition, as He lived on this earth, He was tempted in every respect as we are, yet without sin (Hebrews 4:15-16). The righteousness that He possesses and that He lived while in this world, fulfilling God’s commands, was forensically imputed to our account (Romans 5:12-21). So the Christians standing before God is a standing of righteousness, not his own, but the righteousness of Christ because of His union with Him. If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” (2 Corinthians 5:17).

The final question we’ll answer next week is, “How do I come to be included in this salvation?”

A Primer on the Gospel, part 4

A Primer on the Gospel, part 2

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“Houston, we have a problem!” This famous line from the 1970 Apollo 13 mission can be directly applied to the human race. We have a problem that is simple to understand yet monumental in its effect. We have a God who made us, and it is to Him we are accountable (Hebrews 9:27). He is the holy standard by which we are to live, and His word is our command. The problem is, we don’t like being told what to do. The incessant and prideful pursuit of autonomy flies in the face of submission to a greater authority. Interestingly, the capacity for self-government and dominion was exactly how God created us (Genesis 1:26-31). However, dominion was given as a stewardship to be lived within the parameters of God’s command. When Adam and Eve ate the fruit in the garden, they did so in direct disobedience to God’s command and transgressed against His law. They entered into a rebellious and hostile relationship with their creator that resulted in spiritual, physical, and eternal death (Romans 8:7; 3:23; 6:23). This condition was passed down to every subsequent generation that proceeded from them (Romans 5:12-14; 1 Corinthians 15:21-22).

Essentially, sin is living outside of God’s created order in rebellion against Him. This affects us in three directions. First, sin affects us inwardly in that it robs us of the fullness of life we were created to enjoy. God has put eternity into man’s heart (Ecclesiastes 3:11). This is why the yearning of our heart, that void we seek to fill, the longing for identity and purpose, will never be satisfied by the temporal things of this world. The thought that “If only I had this,” or “If only I could do that,” or “If only I were” all prove to be empty even if those things come true. Sin robs us of the fullness of life we were created to enjoy. Second, sin affects us outwardly. From the moment Adam and Eve sinned, their relationship with one another changed. Almost immediately, they began blame-shifting for the mess they had gotten into (Genesis 3:3-13). Their first child, Cain, was a murderer who killed his brother (Genesis 4:1-16). Historically, not much has changed. And so, in 2025, wars, murders, and violence are daily occurrences around the world. Living in sin, outside of God’s created order, affects the whole of creation. Conflict in the world is the direct outcome of sin. Third, sin affects us spiritually and eternally. Sin separates us from God, the true source of life. One day, sin will affect our eternal destiny when we stand before Him in judgment.

It is not likely original, but the Pogo comic strip by Walt Kelly states it well, “We Have Met the Enemy and He Is Us.” It is the problem of sin against our creator, and it is universal (Romans 3:23). It is a problem so rooted in our nature that it requires someone outside of ourselves to resolve it. Unless someone intervenes on our behalf, we remain in our sins and are subject to God’s eternal wrath. “Thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift!” (2 Corinthians 9:15)… He has intervened on our behalf.

Last week, we answered, “Who made us, and to whom are we accountable?” This week, we responded to the question, “What is our problem?” Next week, we will explore the question, “What is God’s solution to our problem?”

A Primer on the Gospel, part 3

A Primer on the Gospel, part 1

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“In the beginning, God created…”
These are the first five words that open the Bible. The Bible never attempts to prove God’s existence; rather, it asserts that God has made Himself known to all men “in the things that have been made” and in our conscience (cf. Romans 1:16-25; Psalm 19:1-6). It is the Bible that tells us what God is like. This is important because although the “heavens declare” His glory (Psalm 19), the information gathered from nature is general and somewhat vague. It tells us that God exists, and some about what He is like but it doesn’t tell us how to be saved or to relate to Him. The Bible is God’s self-revelation, and it teaches us how to know Him.
For instance, in the first five words of the Bible, we learn that God existed before “the beginning.” He is eternally pre-existent. Before “the beginning,” God… IS. This is the meaning of God’s self-identification as the great “I Am” (Exodus 3:14). God is eternal in that He transcends the “chronos” of time. Before (and outside of) time, God… IS (Psalm 90:1-4; Psalm 93:102).
The first five words of the Bible also inform us that “God created.” Since He is before “the beginning,” we must necessarily believe that all things created were created out of nothing (cf. John 1:1-3; Colossians 1:16-17). He is the source of all things created. In a world of causes and effects, God is the chief cause of all effects. “All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made (John 1:3).”
God is not merely some idea or ideal, some power or purposeful tendency to which the name of God may be applied. God is a self-existent, self-conscious, personal Being, who is the origin of all things and which transcends the entire creation but is at the same time immanent in every part of it.
Because of this, there are at least three things to consider. First, of His own volition, God created so that His creation might know Him and enjoy the glory and the blessings of who He is (Genesis 1:31). He created for the good of His creation. Second, He transcends all of creation. As the Creator, He stands outside of creation, interacting with it but remaining distinct from it. There is a natural Creator-creature distinction (Psalm 100:3; Acts 14:15; 17:24-25; Isaiah 46:5,9). Third, because He is God the Creator, all creation is subject to His command and will. He has absolute authority over all creation, and as creatures, we are accountable to our Creator (Hebrews 9:27). Man, the creature, is granted limited autonomy within the parameters of His sovereign Creator. Nothing in creation exists independently from its creator, not even mankind.
In the next few posts, we will explore the fundamentals of the gospel, or “good news.” Because it is the “power of God for salvation” (Romans 1:16), there is nothing more important to consider at the first of the year than this. We begin this primer on the gospel by answering the first of four questions, “Who made us, and to whom are we accountable?” The answer is, “God created us, and it is to Him we are accountable.”
In the next post, we will answer the second question, “What is our problem?”

A Primer on the Gospel, part 2

The Suffering Servant of the Lord

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Jesus, the Suffering Servant of the Lord, is displayed in Isaiah 52 and 53. He is called the Suffering Servant of the Lord because in obedience to the Father, He emptied Himself of His divine prerogatives, took the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. Being in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross (Philippians 2:5-8). He did this because the Father decreed that from the rebels of His creation, He would gather a people for His own sake.

Isaiah 52 describes Jesus’ final form, having been beaten beyond human recognition. He suffered at the hands of the very creature He came to save (13-15).
 

Man’s Inability

The first three verses of chapter 53 describe man’s inability to perceive the things of God apart from the revelation of God’s Spirit. Jesus was rejected because man looks on the outward appearance (1 Samuel 16:7), and Jesus had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him (2). He was not what they were expecting out of a Messiah.
Later in the chapter,
The following verses vividly describe the substitutionary death of Jesus for our salvation He has…

  • Borne our griefs
  • Carried our sorrows
  • Pierced for our transgressions
  • Crushed for our iniquities
  • Upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace
  • With his wounds we are healed

The Contrast

A contrast is conveyed in the middle verses of the chapter… All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way… and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.
Contrasted with…
He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth.
He offered Himself as a substitute in our place, receiving upon Himself what we rightfully deserve.

The Transaction

The chapter closes with a sobering statement… Yet it was the will of the YHWH to crush him… he has put him to grief… when his soul makes an offering for guilt…
Although the cross took place in time and space where, as a man, He suffered at the hands of men, Christ’s death was ultimately a spiritual transaction.
…he will see his offspring…
Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied…
By his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities.
He bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors.

As we ponder God’s great work portrayed in this passage it is equally important to consider that God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8).

Liturgies for Christmas

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by Zach Boltjes

Liturgy For the Opening of Christmas Presents

As Christmas Day has dawned, we all, family and friends, gather once more to open the gifts that we have given to one another. We know that the wrapping paper, latest trinkets, toys, and tools are not the reason why we celebrate this day. We do not give these gifts out of a desire to get something back. We certainly do not give gifts because it is something that we have always done. For mindless tradition is a pointless endeavor. 

We use Christmas gifts and the Christmas tree as simple symbols to remind us of Jesus Christ, born in Bethlehem. We sit now and give these gifts to one another because God the Father gave His Son as the greatest gift on Christmas day. We give these gifts to one another, wrapped in bright paper, because God the Father wrapped His best Christmas gift in swaddling clothes. We now give things that cost us because the wise men who visited Jesus as a child gave Him something costly. We give out of dutiful love towards another, for it was Christ who became a baby to die for our sins out of dutiful love towards us. 

We set up the Christmas tree because, unlike other trees, it never loses its color or leaves and never fades away. In the same way Christ is life and gives eternal life. We hang lights on the tree and around our house because Christ is the light of the world that shines in our hearts and melts away the darkness of sin that once held us captive. 

So now as we open these gifts, whether they be the latest gadget, a well knit sweater, or a random object that you never had any desire for, we do it out of thankfulness towards the Lord Jesus Christ for giving Himself as a gift to us. We celebrate with these simple, material gifts in our hands because Jesus became a man in a material world, and we look forward to a time when we will look upon the face and sit around the table of the baby who grew to be the God-man who died for our sins.

Liturgy for The Person Preparing The Christmas Feast

Another year of Christmas baking, cooking, recipes, oven pre-heats, and dirty mixing bowls.

As comes the anticipation of Christmas dinner, so come the anxieties. Will the turkey be dry? Will everybody get here when the food is hot? Will I be able to make food just like my mom used to make? Or will my mom be making comments about how the food isn’t like how she used to make it? 

As guests and family cross the threshold of the house with expectations, they step into my expectations of what this feast should be like. Though my expectations for myself are high, it will not be my expectations, met or unmet, that will reign this Christmas. I will set my mind on the greatest host, The Lord who, as the Prophet Isaiah said, “And in this mountain shall the Lord of hosts make unto all people a feast of fat things, even a feast of fined wines, and of fat things full of marrow, of wines fined and purified.” (Isaiah 25:6). It is the Lord who will be King at this table and not my insecurities or expectations. 

So as the Lord prepares a table of fat things out of love for His people I will now prepare a table full of tasty things for those whom He has given to me. Whether it’s a recipe of my own or one I found online, I will prepare this feast with joy because The King of life became a baby so that He could one day give to me and others the greatest feast. Whether everyone can walk into a clean kitchen with carols playing in the background or dishes in the sink and flour on the counter, I will ponder the joys of the Christmas story in my heart as Mary pondered the wise men’s gifts and their worship of her son. 

So now may the feast of Christmas begin. May the flavors remind us that the grace of God is full and sweet. May we feast with joy because joy has come to the world as a baby in a manger. I will herald with mirth that “Dinner is ready” because the herald angels have sung that the King is born. 

Liturgy For Christmas Eve (Responsive Reading) Leader

On the Eve of the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ we are reminded of the darkness that once was, before He came into the world. The Prophets had been silent for 400 years. The people of God had gone their own way. The great dragon ruled as he so desired–ruled in darkness and sin. 

Responders 

Lo, the night was long
Lo, has the light of God departed from earth?
Lo, the dragon rules, tears asunder, and destroys 

Leader 

Take courage ye people of God. For as the Apostle Paul spoke, when the fulness of time had come our great God executed His plan of redemption that had long been prophesied. Look ye saints of God, at dawn of the morrow the long night shall be over. For Immanuel is born. All the prophecies came to fruition in the arms of Mary and Joseph. The light of the World entered at night and shone as the light of life. Never again shall we fear the night. 

Responders 

Praise the Lord who established the right time to end the long night, Praise the Father who sent the light into the darkness
Praise the Son who was born to die for our sins 

Leader 

Though the terrible dragon raged, he could not devour the babe. Though the night was dark, it was lit by the host of heaven. Though there was no room for Mary and Joseph, the baby was still born. Though all hope seemed lost, every promise of God found its fullness in the baby of Bethlehem. We now thank you Father for the gift of Christmas. The long night is over. Winter’s cold is melted away. The curse no longer binds to the heart. For Christ is born in Bethlehem. 

All 

Praise the Lord, the long night is over,
Praise the Lord, Christ is born, let us celebrate Him and his birth as we wake on the morrow, Amen. 

Meet Laurent & Amanda Felizardo

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putting names to faces…

Laurent, Amanda and their son Sammy moved to the Black Hills from Maryland in July of 2020. God’s grace provided for Laurent to continue his employment, working remotely from South Dakota. Amanda keeps herself busy managing the World Fossil Finder Museum here in Hot Springs (owned by her mother and stepfather, Frank & Debby Garcia)… and caring for the new farm animals they keep acquiring.

Laurent & Amanda Felizardo and Sammy

Laurent grew up in a Catholic home, but by the time he graduated from college, he became a full blown atheist. He joined the U. S. Navy with a disdain for christianity and openly mocked those who believed in a real God. But through the faithful testimony of a commanding officer, Laurent began to question what he so adamantly resisted, the existence of God. One night, he recalls crying out to God that if He was real, He would show Himself. God moved upon Laurent that night in such a way that he immediately sought a church to learn how He might know this God. By God’s providence, he learned about his sin and the need for the blood of Jesus Christ to cleanse him and to redeem him for God. Laurent gives thanks that God has made a way for man to know him and that by faith, he has been saved from the penalty of sin.

Amanda pursued a relationship with the Lord at a young age. Although she did not understand the gravity of her sin, she placed her faith in Christ Jesus for eternal life. Amanda spent her childhood and young adult life learning and growing in church. After leaving home however, Amanda pursued a life serving her own self, leading her into sin and forsaking what she knew to be true. But God, who is rich in mercy brought Amanda to the end of herself, and by the convicting work of God’s Spirit through His Word she was brought to repentance. Learning and seeing what true salvation is and what it looks like, Amanda now sees that our Father’s hand was upon upon her all along. God’s faithfulness continues to work in her life as she grows in His Word and walks in His ways.

Laurent and Amanda will be introduced to the church and welcomed into the membership of Calvary Baptist Church. We thank the Lord for the Felizardo family.