Dr. McKellar’s Lesson for May 22, 2022

Gospel-Driven Prayer

2 Thessalonians 3:1-5

1. Introduction

• previously: comfort in suffering (1) and composure with reference to Christ’s return (2)
• chapter 3: focus on prayer before addressing an idle minority
• Because God is faithful to transform lives through His gospel, prioritize its advancement in your prayers.

2. Pray Gospel-Driven Prayers 1-2

• that the gospel would run and be honored (Psa. 147:15)
• that deliverance would be provided from those who oppose the gospel (Acts 18:5-17)
• noteworthy absence and noteworthy emphasis

3. Observe the Perspective That Shapes Gospel-Driven Prayers 3-4

• confidence in the character of God: faithful…establish…guard (Psa. 9:10)
• confidence in the capacity of God to conform believers to Christ’s likeness

4. Consider a Specific Gospel-Driven Prayer Wish 5

• directed hearts
• love of God
• steadfastness of Christ

5. So What?

• Remember that “prayer is the power that wields the weapon of the word.” (Piper on Eph. 6:17-18)
• “Intercession is the hardest work in the world-the giving of one’s self, time, strength, energy, and attention to the needs of others in a way that no one but God sees, no one but God will do anything about, and no one but God will ever reward your for.” (E. Elliot in On Asking God Why, p. 130)
• Lord, cause your word to run and be glorified in the Sonburst Class and in all the ministries of FBC Dallas.
• “Brethren, pray, and holy manna will be showered all around.” (“Brethren, We Have Met to Worship,” G. Askins)

Dr. McKellar’s Lesson for May 15, 2022

Loving the Truth

2 Thessalonians 2:1-12

1. Introduction

• previously: ammunition for endurance in 1:1-12
• worthy theology and worshipful doxology
• In a climate of error and instability, believers maintain composure through accurate grasp of truth and profound delight in it.

2. Observe the Objective 1-2a

• to solve a practical, emotional problem
• not shaken or disturbed (Mark 13:7)
• calm and clear

3. Consider the Methodology 2b-3

• truth tailored to the danger of deceit
• tending the garden of your emotions with the tools of biblical truth
• identification of error and decisive warning
• two arguments: apostasy and appearing

4. Process the Information 4-8

• rebellious person whose destiny is destruction
• the enemy of God presently restrained
• destroyed with one “puff”

5. Make the Application 9-12

• Avoid apostasy. (Matt. 24:10-14)
• Love the truth.
• Rest in God’s faithfulness.
• “Though troubles assail, and dangers affright, Though friends should all fail, and foes all unite; Yet one thing secures us, whatever betide, The Scripture assures us, The Lord will provide.” (“The Lord Will Provide,” Newton)

Dr. McKellar’s Lesson for May 8, 2022

Ammunition for Endurance

2 Thessalonians 1:5-12

1. Introduction

• a second letter and three key issues
• issue of ongoing/intensified persecution and the struggle with suffering
• Because God’s promises are true and His judgments are right, persevere in all circumstances until His Son returns.

2. Consider Adversity through the Lens of God’s Sovereignty 5-10

• addressing “this” in verse 5
• suffering in the context of God’s dominion (5b)
• repayment for oppressors and relief for the oppressed (6-7a) (Isa. 66:5-6)
• connection to Christ’s return (7b-8a)
• judgment on those who do not know God and do not obey… (8b-9) (Isa. 66: 15-16)
• contrast: Christ glorified in and marveled at by His saints (10)
• dramatic reversal

3. Cooperate with God’s Qualifying and Completing Sustenance 11-12

• intercessory prayer (11a)
• considered worthy: perseverance and purity (11b)
• completed in every resolve (11c)
• goal: reciprocal glorification rooted in grace (12)
• summary of contrast

4. So What?

• Actively acknowledge God’s activity.
• “By perseverance, the snail reached the ark.” (Spurgeon)
• Anticipate the great “reversal.”
• “Judge not the Lord by feeble sense, but trust Him for His grace; Behind a frowning providence, He hides a smiling face…” (W. Cowper)

Dr. McKellar’s Lesson for May 1, 2022

Not Left to Ourselves

1 Thessalonians 5:23-28

1. Introduction

• 1 Thessalonians: powerful truths to digest
• 5:23-28: purposeful farewell to dissect
• Because the God of peace secures both your present progress and future preservation, fight the fight of faith with confidence.

2. Emphasize the Source 23a

• now Himself…
• the God of peace

3. Understand the Substance 23b

• present progress in holiness: sanctify entirely
• future preservation in holiness: complete…blameless…at His coming

4. Exult in the Security 24

• He doesn’t withdraw the call!
• He will do it!

5. Four Parting Points 25-28

• reciprocity in prayer
• intimacy of fellowship
• intensity toward the word
• exclusivity of grace

6. So What?

• Cultivate the “habit” of holiness.
• “If this be the provision of the way, what is that of the country?” (J. Janeway)
• “All the Way My Savior Leads Me” (F. Crosby)

Dr. McKellar’s Lesson for April 24, 2022

Stay Ready!

1 Thessalonians 5:1-11

1. Introduction

• comparison/contrast of 4:13-18 (coming of the Lord/day of the Lord)
• a common conclusion to note
• Because Scripture certifies the certain return of Christ, stay ready in light of the destruction and deliverance it will bring.

2. Revisiting the Manner of Christ’s Return 1-3

• full awareness of readers and the implication of imminence
• like a thief in the night (Matt. 24:43, Luke 12:39)
• what people might say (Jer. 6:14)
• metaphor of suddenness

3. Reminding Readers of Their Identity 4-5

• children of light/day
• contrast between light/darkness and day/night

4. Reinforcing the Need for Readiness 6-8

• commands: let us not sleep, let us keep awake, let us be sober
• observation of human behavior
• since we belong to the day… (Isa. 59:17)

5. Recognizing the Presence of Motivation 9-10

• diametrically opposed destinies of two groups
• hope of deliverance rooted in Christ’s death

6. Receiving Two Concluding Commands 11

• encourage and edify

7. So What?

• Reflect regularly on the imminence of Christ’s return
• Resolve to be found faithful-and ready!
• “One Day” (J. Wilbur Chapman)

Dr. McKellar’s Lesson for April 17, 2022

Easter Message

Now What?

1 Peter 1:13-21

1. Introduction

• born again to a living hope… 1:3-9
• salvation, prophets and angels 1:10-12
• connection with “Therefore” 1:13
• Because Christ is the ransoming and resurrected Lord, hope continually in His future grace and conform increasingly to His faithful character.

2. Hope Completely 13-14

• hope fully in future grace…
• preparing your minds for action
• being sober-minded
• not being conformed

3. Conform Comprehensively 15-16

• be holy…
• as He who called you is holy
• since it is written (Lev. 11:44)

4. Reverence Continually 17-21

• conduct yourselves with fear…
• if you call on Him as Father
• knowing that you were ransomed
• foreknown, revealed and raised

5. So What?

• Does the anchor of your hope dangle out of heaven?
• For what or for whom are you set apart?
• “…All to Him I owe…”
• “Awake, sad heart, whom sorrow ever drowns; Take up thine eyes, which feed on earth; Unfold thy forehead, gathered into frowns; Thy Saviour comes, and with Him mirth…” (Herbert)

Dr. McKellar’s Lesson for April 10, 2022

Easter Message

The Kind of King He Is

Matthew 21:1-11

1. Introduction

• beginning of Passover week
• Matthew’s theme: Kingship of Jesus
• focus: who Jesus is and what He came to do

2. Purposeful Arrangements of Jesus 1-7

• near Jerusalem: Bethphage and Mount of Olives
• disciples dispatched for donkey requisition
• declaration of kingship: riding on a donkey
• scriptural fulfillment of Zech. 9:9: riding on a cloaked colt

3. Positive Response of the Crowd 8-9

• spreading garments and waving branches
• shouting of Scripture: fulfillment of Psa. 118:25-26
• crowd composition and expectations

4. Agitated Response in the City 10-11

• Who is this?
• superficiality, ignorance, opposition, submission

5. So What?

• Because Jesus is who Scripture says He is, worship Him now as Savior, Treasure and King.
• Submit to the kind of King Jesus declares Himself to be.
• Grasp the contrast between His first coming and second coming (Matt. 21 and Rev. 19)
• “Rejoice, the Lord is King” (C. Wesley)

Dr. McKellar’s Lesson for April 3, 2022

Partners in Progress

1 Thessalonians 4:9-12

1. Introduction

• from the negative to the positive
• no place for coasting/complacency
• Because the goal is to glorify God, progress in your love for insiders and outsiders.

2. Inside the Church: View Sanctification as a Community Project 9-10

• commendation: family language
• continuation: taught by God (Isa. 54:13)
• cooperation: among yourselves and across the region
• culmination: mutual support network

3. Outside the Church: Aim to Attract the Attention of the Unsaved 11-12

• living quietly: our ambition
• minding our business: not meddlesome
• working with our hands: not parasites
• the long nose and lazy hands connection
• incentive not excuse

4. So What?

• Treasure the “team” concept.
• Stop expecting non-Christians to act like Christians.
• Stop excusing the sub-biblical behavior of Christians.
• Aim for a “winsome” witness.
• “Teach me, my God and King, in all things Thee to see, and what I do in anything, to do it as for Thee. To scorn the senses’ sway, while still to Thee I tend; in all I do be Thou the Way, in all be Thou the End.” (G. Herbert)

Dr. McKellar’s Lesson for March 27, 2022

For Now We Live

1 Thessalonians 3:6-10

1. Introduction

• Paul’s reflection on Timothy’s positive report
• Knowing the life-giving nature of the gospel, resolve to pour your life into others for the glory of God.

2. Discern the Nature of the Good News 6

• continuing endurance: confidence and conduct
• continuing affection: receptivity and reciprocity

3. Delight in the Development of Others 7-8

• in the midst of costly investment
• the instrument of their faith
• encouragement and enablement from their endurance
• in the Lord

4. Direct Prayer and Thanksgiving to the Source of Life 9-10

• overwhelmed with gratitude
• praying with constancy and intensity
• reunion and reinforcement

5. So What?

• “Remember always the presence of God. Rejoice always in the will of God. Direct all to the glory of God.” (H. Scougal)
• Recognize that a culture of religious spectators and consumers contradicts the biblical concept of Christian life in the context of the church.
• “Take my life and let it be consecrated, Lord, to Thee…” (F. Havergal)

Dr. McKellar’s Lesson for March 20, 2022

Guest Speaker: Dr. Jim Sibley

Mordecai’s Cross and the Message of Purim

Esther

1. Introduction

2. The Story of Esther

3. Purim

4. Divine Reversals

• The Structure of Esther
• The Ring of Haman
• The Cross of Mordecai

If we could see beyond today as God can see,
If all the clouds should roll away,
The shadows flee;
O’er present griefs we would not fret,
Each sorrow we would soon forget,
For many joys are waiting yet
For you and me.

If we could see, if we could know, we often say,
But God in love a veil doth throw
Across our way;
We cannot see what lies before,
And so we cling to Him the more,
He leads us till this life is o’er;
Trust and obey.

A. W. Pink, “God is working out His eternal purpose, not only in spite of human and satanic opposition, but by means of them.”

David Livingstone, “I am immortal until the will of God for me is accomplished.”

Daniel Webster, “Faith puts God between us and our circumstances.”