Calvary Hot Springs

Exalting Christ Through the Ministry of the Word

Poimen

Worship Together, April 5

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Calvary Church Family, let us worship the Lord together, although in separate locations. Below are the links you need.

Worship in Music

These are YouTube videos that you can sing as part of your family worship. All the videos either have the lyrics in the video itself or in the description under the video. You are encouraged to gather your family and sing along.

Call to Worship

Matthew 21:9 – Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!

ADORATION AND GLORY OF GOD

Great is Thy Faithfulness: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ErwiBz1QA4o

CONFESSION

All I Have is Christ: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ugGucoYMmKg

GOSPEL ASSURANCE

Grace: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VCr6Vvj3nRo

THANKSGIVING

Glorious Day: https://youtu.be/2ntwGWzdCwc

Worship in Bible Study

Topic: Deuteronomy Survey

Starting promptly at 8:45 in this morning we will gather on Zoom for a morning study. Be prepared to discuss Deuteronomy 6! You will benefit from reading it ahead of time. Please contact Isaac Stanley if you have not received an invite to the study.

Topic: James Study for Ladies

Starting promptly at 2:00 in the afternoon, all ladies are invited.
Please contact Sheri Coleman if you have not received an invite to the study.

Worship in Preaching

Follow this LINK to our YouTube channel and today’s message that will be made available at 10:00 this morning. Have your Bible open to Isaiah 53:1-8. While you’re there, go ahead a subscribe to our channel to keep updated when we post new videos.

WORSHIP IN GIVING

Missionaries are still  being supported and bills are still being to be paid. Here are a few options for giving of your tithes and offerings.

  • Mail a check made to: Calvary Baptist Church, PO Box 957, Hot Springs, SD 57747
  • Call Pastor Matt at (605) 890-1428 or Isaac at (805) 602-2990 to arrange to drop a check by the office.
  • Give online by following this LINK. It will take you to a secure site where you will be able to pay by CC or eCheck.

Thank the Lord for the technology that allows us to continue to minister to one another… albeit from a distance. Even greater for prayer. It allows us to continue to minister to one another… no matter where we are.
Brothers and sisters… pray for one another.

Suggested Book of the Month, April

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Reviewed by Isaac Stanley

We are keeping up our habit of promoting a book of the month.

For April, it is “The Beginner’s Gospel Story Bible” by Jared Kennedy. It is available on Amazon, or (for cheaper) at wtsbooks.com.

This is a great resource for family worship with young children, aged 2-5. Fifty-two chapters cover the highlights of both the Old and New Testaments while keeping Christ at the center from the very beginning. The lessons are short (6 brief pages), feature colorful full-page illustrations, have ways to engage children (i.e. “Can you count [Joseph’s] brothers?”), and include scripture references.This story Bible is strongly doctrinal but has simple writing for children and interactive questions to keep them engaged. Read it over-and-over to your kids, even before they can understand, and they will begin to assimilate the foundational stories and principles of scripture that, by God’s grace, will bear good fruit in your children’s lives.

Worship Together… kind of

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Calvary Church Family, join us tomorrow, March 29 as we worship the Lord together, although in separate locations. Below are the links you might need.

Worship in Music

These are YouTube videos that you can sing as part of your family worship. All the videos either have the lyrics in the video itself or in the description under the video. You are encouraged to gather your family and sing along.

Call to Worship
Psalm 147:1 – Praise the Lord! For it is good to sing praises to our God; for it is pleasant, and a song of praise is fitting.

Adoration and Glory of God
A Mighty Fortress
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gnOLz1u-7T4
Behold Our God
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gqrli3Lkf58

Confession
Cling to Christ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0naB3Nb7boE

Gospel Assurance
Turn Your Eyes
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJDELcuYX3g

Response
‘Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZiEqKpN90W4
Christ Our Hope in Life and Death
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OibIi1rz7mw

Worship in Bible Study

Starting promptly at 8:45 in the morning. We are using the Zoom app to allow for student interaction. If you are using your computer, the link below will open in your web browser. If you are using your phone, you will need to download the app to use it. Come with your Bible turned to Deuteronomy… and be sure to dressed, as you will be on video. 🙂

If you’ve not received the link via email, please contact Isaac or Matt.

By the way, the ladies plan to begin a new study next Sunday afternoon in the book of James.

Worship in Preaching

Here is the link that will be available at 10:00 tomorrow morning. Have your Bible open to Isaiah 52:13-15.

WORSHIP IN GIVING

If you are wondering how you might give of your offerings, here are some options.

Mail a check made out to Calvary Baptist Church to PO Box 957, Hot Springs, SD 57747

Drop a check off at the church office on Monday through Thursday. Be sure to call first at 605-890-1428.

Follow this link to give online. Note that there is a 2.9% transaction charge when using a credit card and a 1% transaction charge when using an e-check (you enter you routing and account #). This IS a secure site.

Thank the Lord for the technology that allows us to continue to minister to one another… albeit from a distance. Even greater for prayer. It allows us to continue to minister to one another… no matter where we are.

Brothers and sisters… pray for one another.

Meeting Online

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Hello Calvary Church Family,

As of 12pm yesterday, we are no longer physically meeting as a corporate body until the medical authorities give the go ahead to gather once again. Although we’ve not yet missed a Sunday gathering, I’m already looking forward to it.

Along with our Sunday morning gatherings, Awana Clubs, Trek and Exploring the Cults are no longer meeting.

I wanted to take a couple of minutes to share with you some of the things our elders and ministry leaders have in the works that we hope will allow us to fellowship and to interact with one another as the body of Christ. We are in uncertain times, therefore we must, as God’s people endeavor all the more to encourage and to edify our brothers and sisters in Christ.

Each Sunday morning we encourage you to join us online for the reading of the Scriptures, for prayer and for the preaching God’s Word. We will not be attempting to recreate online what can be experienced only in a physical gathering. Therefore, we will not be live-streaming worship in music. You’ll receive an invitation to join us via email and/or text.

Both the adult Sunday Studies will be conducted on the Zoom platform, which allows for class participation. The teachers will contact you with the details about how to get connected.

Don’t neglect this opportunity to be together. It is important, it is valuable and it is God ordained that the local church continue steadfastly in the apostle’s doctrine and fellowship and in breaking bread and the prayers (Acts 2:42).

The elders and ministry team leaders will be calling to check on you and to pray with you throughout this time and we trust the Lord will use it for your edification.

I invite you to be intentional in reaching out to your brothers and sisters in Christ to be a blessing. Grab your church directory and begin to pray for one another. Send and email or a text, give a phone call, offer to pray with them or to read the scripture with them. 

King David wrote in Psalm 133, Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity.

Christian unity describes a oneness of spirit, a oneness of purpose, a oneness in hope because of the common bond we have in Christ.

Re: COVID-19, March 21

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This is a brief update regarding COVID-19 and Calvary’s Sunday gatherings. While there are several factors that come into play in our decision making, the primary (although not exclusive) source comes from the South Dakota Department of Health, the Office of Governor Kristi Noem and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Links to the most frequented sources are listed below.

We will, once again, be meeting this Sunday, March 22, for Sunday Studies and morning worship. If you are comfortable doing so, please come and join us. This may be the last time we gather as a congregation for awhile.

If however, you are not feeling well, have traveled, have come into contact with sick people, or are susceptible to Coronavirus please stay at home. Even if you just prefer to stay away from larger gatherings because of the pandemic, stay at home (it’s not a sin to do so).

If you are unable to attend however, I STRONGLY encourage you to take some time, especially on Sunday, to gather with your family for worship. Perhaps you can use technology to do this with another family who is staying home. Don’t miss out on this opportunity. Take some time to read the Scriptures together, to pray, to sing, and to listen to the Word of God preached. You can access the most recent sermons from Calvary HERE.

Whether you gather with us this Sunday or choose to stay away, be encouraged to take the Spirit prompted opportunities to practice one another-ness (Love one another, serve one another, bear one another’s burdens, serve one another, admonish one another, encourage one another, etc.). Make a phone call, send a text, send a card, pray with one another, and whatever creative ways you may come up with to minister to one another. Others need your care, and you need the encouragement that comes from caring.

If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. Colossians 3:1–2

South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem

South Dakota Department of Health

Resources for Large Community Events & Mass Gatherings by the CDC

Mitigation Strategies for Communities by the CDC

Re: COVID-19

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The unfolding information regarding COVID-19 (Corona Virus) and the actions being taken, both at the federal and state level may eventually lead to the canceling of church services, even those like Calvary, that are fewer in number. At this time however, Calvary Baptist Church will proceed with our normal Sunday services. With Christian love-for-neighbor, we want to proceed with the following recommendations and decisions:

  1. We recommend that if you are not feeling well, you will voluntarily stay at home and rest.
  2. We recommend that if you are elderly, high-risk for Coronavirus, have traveled, or have had contact with sick people, consider staying home. Taking precautions due to an extraordinary event like this is not a violation of the biblical command for believers to gather together (Hebrews 10:25).

An audio recording of the sermon (as well as past sermons) will be available on the website (https://calvaryhs.org).

We request that if you decide to stay home, please let an elder or deacon know so that we can show better care to you during this time.

  1. We recommend, as have been broadly advertised, that you wash your hands regularly and to take advantage of the hand sanitizer at the back table.
  2. You may decide to keep your children with you during the main service, so be assured that they are more than welcome to join us! Restlessness, being fidgety, being a little noisy and even being a little disruptive is just a part of family worship, and for this we thank the Lord. For the sake of others however, please keep in mind that screaming children, like new years resolutions, should be carried out immediately.
  3. We decided that we will not be serving coffee or hot drinks. The coffee station is a common place of touch, as people pump the canisters and grab for the delicious goodies.
  4. We decided to cancel our AWANA clubs for Wednesday, March 18.
  5. We recommend that you join and watch our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/CalvaryHotSprings/ for the latest updates.
  6. Pray for God’s merciful preservation of lives and trust Him!

If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact us. Let’s do what we can to love one another, love our neighbors and make much of Christ during this time, for the glory of God!

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing. 1 Thessalonians 5:16–17

February Suggested Book of the Month

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The following book review was provided by Angie Stanley. You can find more of Angie’s reviews and writings at In the Meantime.

Assured, by Greg Gilbert

Struggling with doubts about one’s salvation is quite commonplace among believers. Indeed, if we are honest, I think many of us would agree that we have asked ourselves the question: “Am I truly saved?” 

As a teenager, I had several conversations with my mom about my assurance of salvation. While I don’t remember all the details of those often-late-night conversations, I do remember my mom pointing me back to Scripture and reminding me of what God says. Even now as an adult, there are still occasional moments of doubt.  

Assured: Discover Grace, Let Go of Guilt, and Rest in Your Salvation by Greg Gilbert is a helpful little discussion about how to deal with these moments of doubt. Its goal is to drive us back to Scripture and remind us of what our salvation truly rests on.

Four Sources of Assurance

The majority of the book centers around a discussion of four sources for our assurance: the Gospel of Jesus Christ, God’s promises, the Holy Spirit, and the fruits of obedience in our lives. It is important to note that these sources of assurance fit into different categories concerning how they function. Concerning the gospel and God’s promises, Gilbert categorizes them as driving sources of assurance, the Holy Spirit is a supernatural source of assurance, and the fruits of obedience are a confirming source of assurance. I found this categorization to be a very helpful evaluation.

The chapter covering the gospel of Christ and how that guarantees our assurance of salvation is perhaps the most powerful chapter of the book. Gilbert discusses passages of Scripture such as Hebrews 10:19-22 and Romans 5:1-2, 6-8 to address what exactly Christ’s death on the cross accomplished for us. 
In the same chapter, Gilbert also addresses the question of faith–what if our faith isn’t strong enough or the right kind of faith? This particular question is the very question that has nagged at my heart over the years. I found Gilbert’s practical response to these questions to be helpful in reminding me that my salvation does not depend on what I have done but on what Christ has done! 

If you don’t read anything else in the book, read at least the first two chapters! 

Considerations to keep in mind

After covering these difference sources for our assurance in the first part of the book, the last three chapters discuss some specific considerations to keep in mind: mistakes we make in evaluating our good works, a besetting sin that continues to plague us, and some of the “trees” of the forest that we tend to focus on when we should instead be focusing on the magnificent view of the “forest” of God’s promises and the gospel. 

Who might benefit from this book?I believe several different groups of people will find Assured to be helpful: 

  1. Maybe you’re constantly wondering if you are indeed a Christian. Assured will help you evaluate why you might be having these nagging doubts. 
  2. Perhaps you’re confident and resting in your salvation. Assured will renew your awe and wonder at the extent of what Christ has done to guarantee your salvation until the day you are face to face with Christ Himself!
  3. Perhaps you’re in a ministry where you teach, mentor, or even counsel other believers. I believe Assured could prove to be a helpful resource to have on hand as you serve other believers. 

Assured is a powerful little book that will lift your eyes to the Savior and cause you to rejoice in the marvelous gift of salvation that He has given us! 

January Suggested Book of the Month

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All of Grace, by C. H. Spurgeon

C. H. Spurgeon’s subtitle for this book conveys its intended purpose: “An earnest word for those who are seeking salvation by the Lord Jesus Christ.” It was originally published in 1894, by Charles Haddon Spurgeon and republished in 2010 as one of the Moody Classics from Moody Publishers.

Mr. Spurgeon used little subtlety expressing his desire for his readers. He states in the opening chapter, “He who spoke and wrote this message will be greatly disappointed if it does not lead many to the Lord Jesus. It is sent forth in childlike dependence upon the power of God the Holy Spirt, to use it in the conversion of millions, if He so pleases.” One would assume this same approach permeated his life, ministry and preaching as well. It would be a mistake to believe this volume beneficial to the unregenerate alone. Its subject matter explores the glories of the gospel that will refresh the soul of every believer, no matter how long He has been in Christ. It is a must read for every Christian, and then to be read again through the course of life.

The first five chapters unfold the wonders of God’s provision for mankind to be justified by faith. To the reader who recognizes his vacant soul, Spurgeon begins, “This book does not come to make a demand upon you, but to bring you something. We are not going to talk about law and duty and punishment, but about love and goodness and forgiveness and mercy and eternal life.” He explains, “He [God] makes those just who are unjust, forgives those who deserve no favor. Did you think that salvation was for the good and that God’s grace was for the pure and holy who are free from sin?… all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags, and, therefore, the Lord Jesus did not come into the world to look after goodness and righteousness with him, but to bestow them upon persons who have none of them.” From personal experience he states, “I came to understand that salvation was possible through vicarious sacrifice, and that provision had been made in the first constitution and arrangement of things for such a substitution.” “The Law of God was more vindicated by the death of Christ than it would have been had all transgressors been sent to hell.”

Beginning in chapter seven, the author addresses the whole of Christian living. He addresses the believer’s deliverance from sinning and the implications of living by grace through faith. Throughout, Mr. Spurgeon points the reader away from self to the person and work of our Savior, Jesus Christ. “Our life is found in ‘looking unto Jesus’ (Hebrews 12:2), not in looking to our own faith. By faith all things become possible to us, yet the power is not in the faith but in the God upon whom faith relies.” In these chapters, Spurgeon takes precious opportunity to explain the function of faith in the believer’s life explaining that “it enables a man both to live and to die without fear; it prepares both for action and for suffering. Hence, the Lord selects it as a most convenient medium for conveying grace to us and thereby securing us for glory.”

Finally, in the closing chapters, Spurgeon addresses the perseverance of the saints, assuring the believer that God’s work in justifying the saint by faith establishes the foundation upon which the Christian rests for his eternal destiny. “If you are indeed a believer,” he writes, “you are one with Jesus, and therefore you are secure… Christ and the believing sinner are in the same boat; unless Jesus sinks, the believer will never drown.”

C. H. Spurgeon’s book, “All of Grace,” is a wonderful document that shows the beauty and glory of God’s gospel in Christ Jesus. Every person seeking salvation and every person already redeemed should read it on a regular basis for the encouragement and assurance attained only through the rehearsal of the gospel.

The best retail price we found for “All of Grace,” by C. H. Spurgeon (Moody Publishers) is from Christian Book Distributers for $6.99. However, it is FREELY available in various forms from multiple online resources. Here are a few you might consider: Monergism.com, Christian Classics Ethereal Library and YouTube. You may also pick up a copy for purchase from our book shelf at Calvary.