Calvary Hot Springs

Exalting Christ Through the Ministry of the Word

Journal

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)

November Suggested Book of the Month

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SUGGESTED BOOK OF THE MONTH
The Attributes of God
by A. W. Pink

There are myriads of things we can pursue in our lives. Some things we might look back on as a waste of time and energy, other things we can look back at and see that our pursuit was worthwhile. For the Christian, our pursuit of God will never be wasted time. It is never a futile activity for us to seek to know God more. A.W. Pink in his book, The Attributes of God helps us grow in our knowledge and love of God.
Pink seeks helps us think more deeply about our God and his many and varied attributes. This however is not just an exercise of the mind, but is a spiritual exercise. Pink says in his preface that we need, “more than a theoretical knowledge of God…God is only truly known in the soul as we yield ourselves to him, submit to his authority, and regulate all the details of our lives by his holy precepts and commandments.”

This book is not just theoretical pontification about God, but the attributes the author highlights are rooted in scripture. We know God best as he has revealed himself in his Word, and this little book helps us see God more clearly as he has revealed himself in his Word. Some of the attributes we are helped to think through are, the solitariness of God, the supremacy of God, the power of God, the goodness of God, the wrath of God and the love of God.

Charles Spurgeon once said, “Nothing will so enlarge the intellect, nothing so magnify the whole soul of man, as a devout, earnest, continued, investigation of the great subject of the Deity.” So, grow your mind and your heart and commit to study the greatness of our God.

We found a good price for this book here.

Reviewed by Graham Parker

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…

March Suggested Book of the Month

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SUGGESTED BOOK OF THE MONTH
Lord, Teach Me to Pray
by John MacArthur

This book is “an invitation to intimate prayer” and sidesteps much of the unnecessary mysticism that some writers would ascribe to prayer.

Many Christians across our nation view prayer as simply an option and something that is not really necessary except during times of trouble.

In easy-to-understand English, John MacArthur shows Christians from The Word of God how it is God’s will for all His children to pray and that He wants us all to pray consistently.

The book also covers aspects of prayer including confession, praise, petition, hindrances to prayer and motivation to prayer.

Finally, throughout the book are sample prayers by John Macarthur and Charles Spurgeon.

We found this book Here.

Reviewed by Tom Scheimo

The Biggest Story

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Book Review

by Kevin DeYoung

With vibrant illustrations, and storytelling that will keep the attention of children (and I dare say, adults), The Biggest Story tells, well, the biggest story of the Bible.

Following the theme of the promised Snake Crusher in Genesis, Kevin DeYoung pulls out the over-riding theme of the Bible shown in God’s faithfulness to his promises despite man’s failure to live in obedience to God —over and over again. As he re-tells major stories from the Old and New Testaments, DeYoung points out types of Christ in Adam, in prophets, in priests, in kings and in judges, to name a few. This book is not your average children’s Bible storybook. It is a valuable tool for any one to use to tie together the familiar smaller stories of the Bible into the big picture. That is, mankind fails and sins with alarming consistency, but God is our ever-faithful Savior. And as we see that he kept his promises to his chosen people, we know that we can trust him to keep his promises not yet fulfilled.

Reviewed by Liz Tramp

A Peculiar Glory

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Book Review

A Peculiar Glory, by John Piper

“The glory of God is the ground of faith. It is solid ground.” – John Piper

 

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A Peculiar Glory by John Piper is an argument for the reliability of Scripture. But it is an argument with unusually compelling and powerful evidence – the testimony of Scripture itself and the revealing power of the Holy Spirit to open the eyes of men so that they can see with an undeniable impact the glory of Jesus Christ by means of the Scripture.

The book begins by discussing the existence of the biblical text itself. What books are legitimate for the Old Testament? What about the New Testament? Are the words that we have now actually what the apostles and prophets wrote? Piper argues that the surest way to answer these questions is not through scholarship (although that is valuable) but through the testimony of Scripture itself.

A following section evaluates what Jesus and the Apostles believed and said about the Bible. Scripture indicates that the apostles and prophets and especially Jesus Himself loved and trusted the same books and words that we have today.

The final two chapters are the meat of Piper’s message in this book. His concern is that we too often think that Scripture is reliable because there is such a preponderance of evidence from outside the Bible when in fact the most compelling and foundational reason that we believe the Bible is that God has done something tremendous in believers. Grounded in 2 Corinthians 4, Piper argues that Christians believe the Bible because God has sovereignly opened once-blinded eyes and exposed the “peculiar glory” of Jesus Christ to our hearts. There is no arguing with or explaining away of such an experience and nothing makes the Word of God more delightful than the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

A Peculiar Glory makes the case for the authority of Scripture in a way that is clearly Biblical but often overlooked by Christians. It does so by looking away from man-centered views that appeal to reason and by looking toward a God-centered view that appeals to His sovereign grace. Every true believer has experientially undergone the blindness removing the power of Scripture, but our sinful minds still want to claim credit for our faith. This book is a valuable asset.

Review by Isaac Stanley