Calvary Hot Springs

Exalting Christ Through the Ministry of the Word

Journal

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

The Remarkable is seen in the Unremarkable

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The Remarkable is seen in the Unremarkable

Thoughts on Luke 2

One of the remarkable features of Christ’s birth is that it is, for the most part, unremarkable. That is not to say that the incarnation was unremarkable, but the circumstances and the people involved most definitely were. It is safe to say that God’s divine providence is more often than not, carried out in the normal, unremarkable experiences of life.

For example, Luke’s account of Jesus’ birth describes the beauty of the incarnation in the midst of the chaos of displaced citizens returning home for governmental registration. God used a common man and a common woman, in a humble setting for an uncommon purpose (Luke 1-7). Or notice that the angel’s announcement of good news was made to common shepherds carrying out their normal duties with regular sheep in a regular field (8-21). Even Simeon and Anna, although noted to be devoted, faithful and reverent, were simple people living their lives in the final season of their lives (22-38).

Of course, this is not a foreign notion in the scheme of biblical revelation. Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord (Genesis 6:8), Abram was called out from among his own to be a people of God (Genesis 11:27-12:3), David was called from tending his sheep to be anoint king, each disciple of Jesus were called from common lives to follow Him and Paul confessed that he was humbled so that God’s strength might be made strong in weakness.

For His own glory, God’s divine providence is more often than not, carried out in the normal, unremarkable experiences of life. As God’s own, the pursuit of the Christian is to glorify Him in the normal, unremarkable experiences of life. The stay at home mom caring for her little ones, day after day, changing diapers, picking up toys, refereeing endless fights can glorify God in the midst of the fray. The working mom, waking early to get her kids going so she can get to the office on time can glorify God in the busyness of life. The laborer in a “dead-end” job can work “as unto the Lord” to add value to what he is doing. The Christian is to show forth the glory of God in every area of life even if it is, in and of itself, unremarkable.

Luke’s Christmas narrative (Luke 2) presents four factors to consider as you live in the normal, unremarkable world around you.

Practice living in the presence of God

There is no indication that Joseph or Mary realized Caesar’s required registration placed them exactly where they needed to be to fulfill Old Testament prophecy, but every circumstance they experienced was brought about by God’s providential hand (Galatians 4:4). The same might be said about the shepherds, Simeon and Anna.

The follower of Christ is to live in the presence of God, under the authority of God, to the glory of God. The theologians call this Coram Deo. It is the understanding that whatever we are doing and wherever we are doing it, we are acting under the gaze of God.

R. C. Sproul explains that…

“Living under divine sovereignty involves more than a reluctant submission to sheer sovereignty that is motivated out of a fear of punishment. It involves recognizing that there is no higher goal than offering honor to God. Our lives are to be living sacrifices, oblations offered in a spirit of adoration and gratitude.”

Determine to align your life with God’s Word

A cursory reading of Luke 2 makes it clear that God’s Word alone took each character from the norm of everyday life to experience the wonder of the incarnation. Read it carefully and notice that, outside of what God chose to reveal, nothing was out of the ordinary.

In a very real way, God’s Word transforms His people into the likeness of Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 3:18) and illumines the eyes of his spirit to know truth (1 John 2:21, 26-27). God’s Word counters the conforming influence of the world and renews the mind of the believer (Romans 2:2). God’s Holy Spirit works exclusively through God’s Word in the life of His people and apart from it, the Christian will fail to walk in the presence of God.

Live with purposeful anticipation

The testimony of Simeon in Luke 2:25-35 bears witness to a life lived in anticipation of what was promised. For Simeon, the promise that he would not see death until he saw the Messiah was a promise that gave him purpose in waking each day. He responded to God’s Spirit in his life and stayed close to the Temple, waiting for the promised fulfillment.

The writer of Hebrews rehearses the hearts of Old Testament saints awaiting God’s promise to them. He writes…

These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city. Hebrews 11:13–16

Rather than settling in to the creature comforts of this transitory world, the New Testament saint lives in anticipation of God’s promised return and victorious reign over all creation. The New Testament saint lives with purpose as he anticipates Christ’s glorious return.

Give yourself to holy behavior

Not much is said about Anna except that she was “advanced in years”… and that she had devoted the whole of her life to serving the Lord. After seeing Jesus, she began to give thanks to God and to speak of him to those awaiting Jerusalem’s redemption. The man of the world may see this as a  said, unfulfilled life. And yet, in the scope of eternity, Anna lived a full life with purpose, to be lived without regret. When Martha complained to Jesus that Mary should help in serving, Jesus argued that Mary’s worship of Him was of greater value (Luke 10:41). Jesus said, what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? (Mark 8:36). Life and labor is a part of life in this world and for most, they must be pursued, but it is holiness that sets life and labor on a different plane of eternity.

The glory of God’s divine providence in the life of His people is often carried out in the normal, unremarkable experiences of life. Thanks be to God and glory to His name. Soli Deo Gloria.

In View of the Resurrection, 2

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Isaiah 53:5, 7
But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed… 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.

With graphic detail, the Old Testament Prophet, Isaiah foretold the coming of the promised Messiah, not as a conquering king but rather, a suffering servant. With the upcoming celebration of Christ’s resurrection, we would do well to ponder the Scripture’s revelation of His earthly life and ministry that ended with Him laying His life down as a sacrifice for our sins.

it was the will of the Lord to crush him; he has put him to grief (53:10). The New Testament Apostle, Paul wrote, For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin. Jesus bore our sins on His body as one who was guilty and condemned, bearing God’s wrath that rightfully belong to us. He did this so that in him we might become the righteousness of God (2 Corinthians 5:21).

Notice again the above passage. Christ Jesus was not only pierced, He was pierced FOR OUR TRANSGRESSIONS. He was not merely crushed, He was crushed FOR OUR INIQUITIES. He was not only chastised, He was chastised TO BRING US PEACE. He was not merely wounded, He was wounded THAT WE MIGHT BE HEALED. And He did so willingly, not once opening his mouth to stop the abuse. Christ Jesus willingly and willfully walked through the sufferings that extended from the throne of our just and righteous God, and this He did so we might know God’s mercy and His grace.

The temporary nature of all things in this present world affirms the temporary nature of life itself. The Bible states that all are appointed to die, and after that comes judgment (Hebrews 9:27). That judgment determines ones eternal destiny. The beauty of Christ’s death and resurrection is that He has already borne the wrath of that judgment on our behalf and paid fully for our sin. And the glorious reality of this is that this “payment in full” is realized by faith for all who believe. Thanks be to God for His unspeakable gift.

In View of the Resurrection, 1

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Philippians 2:5–8
Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

With the celebration of Christ’s resurrection in sight, we would be enriched to rehearse particular aspects of His life, ministry, death and resurrection.

The above account, given by the Apostle Paul reminds us that the incarnation, that is, God the Son taking on human flesh, was a voluntary act of His divine will. Leaving the glories of heaven behind, where He is ever worshiped and where sin and its consequences has not penetrated, Jesus voluntarily emptied himself, stepped into time and space and took on the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.

Some describe the account of His crucifixion as “the murder of Jesus.” While that description is perfectly understandable from a horizontal perspective, the truth is, no man took His life from Him, but rather He laid it down willingly (John 10:18). He humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

The significance of this truth is first, it reveals the nature and character of our creator. In His coming, God reveals His goodness and kindness. In His willing sacrifice on the cross He reveals His righteousness, justice, mercy and grace. Second, Christ’s willingness to come into this world reveals man’s nature, position and condition. The inherent sinful nature of mankind puts him in a position of condemnation before God making his condition hopeless and helpless. For mankind to ever be in right standing before God it required a righteous man to act on his behalf in life and in death. Jesus was that righteous man (the infinite God/man) who hung on the cross on our behalf, and He did so willingly.

When we look to the resurrection of Jesus Christ, we must see it as more than just another holiday to celebrate or that time of year we do the “church” thing. When we look to the resurrection, we must see it as it really is, the willing offering of our God to provide the only means through which mankind might be delivered from his hopeless and helpless condition of condemnation and to be forgiven of his sin to be made new. The resurrection declares there is no other way for mankind to stand before God in right standing than through faith in Christ’s willing sacrifice for our sins. Thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift! (2 Corinthians 9:15)

Mutual Encouragement in the Gospel

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This fall we had the opportunity to send a team from Calvary to the Brazil Gospel Fellowship Mission annual field conference. Members from our team spoke during the main sessions, led music during the conference, led a VBS, led classes and activities for the teens and did childcare for the nursery age children. We also had the chance to serve at a local church plant, Igreja Batista Redenção in Florianópolis, Santa Catarina. It is in this church that Jon & Denielle Johnson and James & Christen Taylor serve. Here is a brief video of our time…