Dr. McKellar’s Lesson for May 27, 2018
“Dealing with the Unplucked Thorn” 2 Corinthians 12:7-10
Bible Study 05/27/18
This morning we turn our attention to perhaps the most well-known passage in 2 Corinthians. This passage recounts Paul’s thorn-in-the-flesh experience. Throughout 2 Corinthians, and specifically in its last four chapters, Paul defends his apostolic ministry against the charges of the so-called “super-apostles” (see 12:11). These false teachers question his credentials and motivations as an apostle. One subtle insinuation of his opponents is that, if he were really an apostle, then he would have been exempted from the afflictions and sufferings he experienced. However, rather than disassociating himself from his sufferings, Paul embraces them as a means of magnifying the grace and power of God. Because the Lord specializes in displaying His strength against the backdrop of your weakness, you can rejoice in the midst of your unplucked thorn.
I. Context
• Paul’s mindset (11:30)
• let down in a basket (11:33)
• visions/revelations (12:1-7)
II. Recognize the Lord’s Purpose (7)
• so that I would not exalt myself
• thorn in the flesh
• messenger of Satan
• torment/buffet
III. Receive the Lord’s Provision (8-9a)
• repeated request for permanent removal
• final answer: not thorn removal but grace sufficiency
• power “completed” in weakness
IV. Rejoice in the Lord’s Power (9b-10)
• glad boasting
• that power may “tent” in me
• strength in weakness
V. So What?
• Because the Lord specializes in displaying His strength against the backdrop of your weakness, you can rejoice in the midst of your unplucked thorn.
• “If dependence is the objective, then weakness is an advantage.” (A. Begg)
• “We can only know the power that He holds when we truly see how deep our weakness goes. His strength in us begins where ours comes to an end. He hears our humble cry and proves again…” (Salley/Chapman)
• There is no incompatibility between the thorn-room and the throne-room (13:4).
Dr. McKellar’s Lesson for May 20, 2018
“Testifying to What You Love” 2 Corinthians 9:1-15 Bible Study 05/20/18
As we turn to our text this morning, we find Paul encouraging believers in Corinth to participate in a collection for needy saints in Jerusalem. He desires that they participate with glad hearts and generous gifts. A crucial concept to consider as we approach this text is that of stewardship. How we steward God’s resources testifies to what we truly love. Because of God’s inexpressible gift to you in Jesus, steward His resources for His glory.
I. Context
• persecution and famine in Jerusalem (Acts 2:44-45, 11:30)
• indebtedness of Gentiles (Gal. 2:10)
• example of the Macedonians (8:1-5)
• conflict in Corinth
II. Preparation for Giving (1-5)
• encouragement
• inspiration
• accountability
• expectation
III. Perspective on Giving (6-11)
• investment
• intention
• attitude
• ability (Psa. 112:9)
IV. Production of Giving (12-15)
• thanksgiving
• glorification
• supplication
• motivation: the inadequacy of words…
V. So What?
• Because of God’s inexpressible gift to you in Jesus, steward His resources for His glory.
• “Man’s sensitivity to small things, and his insensitivity to the most important things, are surely evidences of a strange disorder.” (Blaise Pascal)
• Remember that stewardship of resources exposes the status of your heart (Matt. 6:21).
• God gives you more than you need so that you can step up and not simply store up.
• Loving Jesus means loving the poor, loving the lost and loving His church.
• “Perverse and foolish oft I strayed, But yet in love He sought me, And on His shoulders gently laid, And home, rejoicing brought me. The King of love my Shepherd is, Whose goodness faileth never, I nothing lack if I am His, And He is mine forever.” (Henry W. Baker)
Dr. McKellar’s Lesson for May 13, 2018
“Compelled by Love” 2 Corinthians 5:11-15 Bible Study 05/13/18
2 Corinthians is Paul’s most personal letter. It includes his apostolic defense in response to so-called “super apostles” who questioned his authority and sought to discredit his motives. As we come to our text this morning, Paul discloses to the reader his heart and motivation. He is driven by an ongoing and future hope that is rooted in the love of Jesus. After a discourse that includes the topics of the believer’s heavenly dwelling and his anticipation of ultimate accountability (5:1-10), Paul lays out the facts concerning the essence and exercise of his apostolic ministry (5:11-6:10). In 5:11-15, we discover what “drives” Paul. The driving force of the believer’s life is the love of Jesus uniquely demonstrated in the cross.
-Why live the Christian life?
-What key principles indicate that the love of Jesus “drives” us?
I. Dread displeasing Jesus (11)
• awareness of accountability
• attempting to persuade
• object of approval
II. Disown pleasing self (12-13)
• external credentials or internal condition?
• what it’s not about:
• from disowning practice to dominating principle
III. Discern the compelling love of Jesus (14-15)
• controlled by Christ’s love for us
• grounded in a doctrinal conviction about His cross (death, burial and resurrection)
• living for Jesus: the only thing to “die for”
IV. So What?
• The driving force of the believer’s life is the love of Jesus uniquely demonstrated in the cross.
• Ponder the “bomb” and the “balm.”
• Eagerly embrace the concept of the “fear” of the Lord.
• “Wonderful it is that Jesus cares for me, Coming from His home on high, Into pain and sorrow, poverty and woe, On Calv’ry’s cruel cross for me to die. Oh, what love, that He should die for me! Saving grace thus to supply for me; Oh, what love! Oh, what love! Evermore I’ll sing it-Oh, what love! (W. Runyan, 1943).
Dr. McKellar’s Lesson for May 6, 2018
“How to Keep Your Heart” 2 Corinthians 4:1-18 Bible Study 05/06/18
As we turn our attention to 2 Corinthians 4 this morning, we find Paul dealing with two interconnected issues which shape his Holy Spirit-inspired writing. Those issues are his intense suffering and his attacked apostleship. Rather than throw himself an ancient pity-party, Paul delights himself in the gospel. In the process, he challenges his readers of every age to join him in magnifying the gospel to the glory of God.
I. Acknowledge the illumination of Jesus (1-6)
• Therefore: pointing back to 2 Cor. 3
• declaration (1)
• renunciation (2-4)
• proclamation (5)
• illumination (6)
II. Affirm the manifestation of Jesus (7-15)
• contrast: treasure and clay pots (7)
• four cases of coping (8-9)
• Paul’s Jesus-focused perspective (10-12)
• encouragement from Psa. 116:10 (13-14)
• grace, thanksgiving and glory (15)
III. Anticipate the glorification of Jesus (16-18)
• Paul repeating himself
• external/internal contrast (16)
• temporary/permanent contrast (17)
• seen/unseen contrast (18)
IV. So What?
• Because of the power and permanence of the gospel, you can “keep your heart” in every circumstance.
Dr. McKellar’s Lesson for April 29, 2018
Guest Speaker: David Norman
“The God of All Comfort”
2 Corinthians 1:3–11
I. Rejoice in suffering, for God is your comfort. (v. 3)
II. Comfort those who suffer, as God has comforted. (v. 4–7)
III. Rejoice in suffering, for God is your comfort. (v. 8–11)
How does this change the way I see difficulties in my life?
How does this change the way I view difficulties in the lives of others?
How does this change the way I sing?
Dr. McKellar’s Lesson for April 22, 2018
“A More Excellent Way” 1 Corinthians 13:1-13 Bible Study 04/22/18
This morning we will turn our attention to one of the most popular and well-known texts in Scripture, the “love” chapter. While the concept of love is foundational for theology, identity and experience, we must not divorce this great chapter from its contextual setting. It is “sandwiched” between two chapters (1 Cor. 12 and 1 Cor. 14) which address spiritual gifts and their employment. Seeking to curb the Corinthian tendencies toward self-centeredness and divisiveness, Paul digresses from his discussion of spiritual gifts in order to show his readers, then and now, a more excellent way.
I. Gain a perspective on the futility of loveless activity (1-3)
• structure: if…but have not…
• supernatural speech, prophetic insight, mountain-moving faith, radical generosity, bodily sacrifice
• evaluation: noise and nothingness
II. Get the picture of love in action (4-7)
• motive and action/noun and verb
• structure: 2 affirmations, 8 negations, 4 affirmations
III. Grasp the permanence of love (8-13)
• connect verse 8 with verse 13
• assertion: Love never fails.
• the transient: prophecies, tongues, knowledge
• the perfect and the partial
• two illustrations: child/adult, mirror/face-to-face
• the permanent: faith, hope, love
• the foundational fact of love
IV. So What?
• As a beneficiary of biblical love, you should prize, promote and practice it.
• “Love is the overflow of joy in God that gladly meets the needs of others.” (Piper)
• The gifts result in edification and glorification only when they flow from love’s motivation.
• A love not shaped by the contours of the cross is a cruel concept.
• “Changed from glory into glory, till in heav’n we find our place, till we cast our crowns before Thee, lost in wonder, love and praise.” (C. Wesley)
• “Love so amazing, so divine, demands my soul, my life, my all.” (Watts)
Dr. McKellar’s Lesson for April 15, 2018
Guest Speaker: Dr. Barry McCarty
“The Model Prayer”
Matthew 6:9-13
(Click on a panel to enlarge.)
Dr. McKellar’s Lesson for April 8, 2018
The Lord’s Supper
“Fencing the Table” 1 Corinthians 11:17-34 Bible Study 04/08/18
This morning we will focus on Paul’s instructions to the church at Corinth regarding the observance of the Lord’s Supper. Sadly, some of the Corinthians, by their attitudes and actions, were guilty of treating the “Lord’s Table” with a careless contempt. Paul’s corrective and prescriptive response to such contempt reminds us that the Lord’s Supper is a precious gift given to the church. Because its proper observance matters to Him, our engaged participation in it is particularly serious. Of our text this morning, Spurgeon wrote: “As paradise of old was guarded by cherubim with a flaming sword which turned every way to keep the way of the tree of life, so stands this simple supper of the Lord-guarded with a flaming sword of which this text is a portion.” Since the Lord’s Supper is a visible testimony of the Lord’s gracious provision for the deliverance of sinners, the Lord protects its observance by prescribing our worthy approach to it.
I. Background/Context
-abuse at Corinth (17-22)
-original intent (23-26)
II. The Lord protects it because it is a proclamation
-dramatization of the gospel
-instituted by Jesus
-indictment of our tendency to forget
-intensely corporate expression
III. The Lord prohibits an unworthy observance
-sobering reality: failure to trust and treasure
-prospect of a “pretender’s” guilt
-failure to appreciate, feel, renounce and trust
IV. The Lord prescribes the principle of examination
-not to see if we are good enough
-setting up court in our own hearts
-the experience of partnership in the benefits
V. The Lord pronounces a sobering warning
-the necessity of discernment
-not a performance but a partaking
-the rescue of grace from the shipwreck of faith
VI. So What?
-Because the Lord’s Table testifies of His gracious provision for your rescue, receive its nourishment with a melted heart and an attitude of awe.
-“A heart of stone that has never been melted-shall it come to remember His precious flesh that was melted in the agonies of Calvary?” (Spurgeon)
-a message from Mephibosheth (2 Sam. 9)
-“How sweet and awesome is the place, with Christ within the doors, while everlasting love displays the choicest of her stores. While all our hearts and all our songs join to admire the feast, each of us cry with thankful tongues, ‘Lord, why was I a guest?'” (Watts)
Dr. McKellar’s Lesson for April 1, 2018
“He Must Reign” 1 Corinthians 15:20-28 Bible Study 04/01/18
1 Corinthians 15 contains what many have termed the “exposition” of the empty tomb. While 15:12-19 addresses the importance of the resurrection with reference to personal salvation and 15:29-34 offers insight regarding the resurrection and the present status of believers, 15:20-28 highlights the central role of the resurrection in connection to the program or reign of God. The resurrection of Jesus Christ from the closed tomb throws open the door of hope for all who will trust Him. Its eternal impact is incomparable. The risen Jesus must reign so that God may be all in all.
I. Pinpoint the public inauguration of His reign
-beginning with His resurrection (John 20:19)
-in another sense always (John 1:1-2, Heb. 1:1-3)
–three new things about His reign
*Son of God and Son of Man
*openly declared to be Messiah (Acts 2:32-36)
*foundation of finished work (John 19:30)
II. Acknowledge the present existence of His reign
-the importance of “until” in verse 25
-reigning now and reigning to win (Matt. 28:18)
-not passive but proactive
III. Affirm the inclusive extent of His reign
-the design: >total
-the dimensions: all
-the evident exception (John 10:30)
-the abolishment of death
IV. Grasp the ultimate intent of His reign
-redeemed people
-defeated enemies
-eternal enthrallment (Phil. 2:11, Rom. 11:36, Rev. 11:15)
V. So What?
– “The resurrection is not an isolated event with limited repercussions. It is rather an integrating and culminating event in God’s sovereign rule over history.” (Sproul)
-Claim the truth of 1 Corinthians 15:55-58.
-“Crown him the Lord of heaven, Enthroned in worlds above; Crown him the king, to whom is given the wondrous name of Love, Crown him with many crowns, as thrones before him fall. Crown him, ye kings, with many crowns, for He is King of all.” (Bridges/Thring)
