Dr. McKellar’s Lesson for December 8, 2019

Rebellion or Reliance?

Numbers 14:5-19

Overview

-rebellion at Kadesh (13:25-14:4)
-a whole lot of grumbling going on…
-rejection of the word, goodness, power/glory of the LORD

1. The Leaders Respond (5-9)

• fell on their faces
• tore their clothes
• expressed utter confidence in the LORD
• two appeals: don’t rebel and don’t fear

2. The Congregation Responds (10)

• stone them with stones
• progression: murmur, mutiny, murder

3. The LORD Intervenes (11-12)

• glory of the LORD
• two piercing questions
• intent to destroy, disown and start over

4. Moses Intercedes (13-19)

• appeal based on the word, goodness, power/glory of the LORD
• an alien, God-centered perspective
• plea for pardon (Ex. 34:6-7)
• breaking the cycle of rebellion

5. So What?

• Knowing that rebellion against the LORD invites ruin, pray for a tender heart that trusts Him and values His glory.
• connection to Christ: Hebrews 3:1-6, 7:25 and 1 John 2:1-2
• “Other refuge have I none, Hangs my helpless soul on Thee; Leave, ah! Leave me not alone, Still support and comfort me. All my trust on Thee is stayed, All my help from Thee I bring; Cover my defenseless head, With the shadow of Thy wing.” (Jesus, Lover of My Soul- C. Wesley)

Dr. McKellar’s Lesson for December 1, 2019

From Here to Dependence

Numbers 9:15-23

Background/Overview of Numbers 1-8

* conclusion of one-year encampment at Sinai
*about to embark on journey through wilderness to promised land
*first and second Passover observances (Ex. 12 and Numbers 9:1)
*new beginnings: Law, priesthood/sacrificial system, tabernacle

1. Foundational Presence of God

• tabernacle: God’s presence with and among His people-constantly
• pillar of cloud by day
• pillar of fire by night

2. Functional Procedure of God’s People

• cloud moves/people move
• cloud stops/people camp

3. Fundamental Principle Communicated

• constant uncertainty of departure, duration and immediate destination
• the principle of dependence
• keeping the charge: adherence to divine command

4. So What?

• Because the Lord demonstrates the historical pattern of going before His people, depend on Him to go before you.
• how this text both encourages and exposes
• “Israel in the wilderness had nothing which we do not possess.” (Maclaren)
• “There is no time lost, while we are waiting on God’s time.” (Henry)
• connection to Christ: Heb. 11:39-40 and John 1:14
• “…by waters still, o’er troubled sea, still ‘tis His hand that leadeth me…” (Bradbury)

Dr. McKellar’s Lesson for November 24, 2019

Thanksgiving Message

A Psalm for Thanksgiving 2019: A Table in the Wilderness

Psalms 78:4-19

1. Setting/Background

• a statement of the Lord’s purpose in giving revelation to His people and a history of deliverance
• intention: “…that all future generations might remember what He had done and be encouraged by the remembrance to hope in Him for the future; and by both memory and hope be impelled in the charge of present duty.” (Maclaren)
• the passage of time which bears all of us onward steadily and silently
• tell the coming generation: deeds, might and wonders (4)
• establishment of testimony and appointment of law (7)
• purpose: set hope, not forget, keep commandments, not be like fathers (8)
• catalog of the history of the Lord with His people:

faithful/faithless contrast (8b-19)

• the question of a thankless and forgetful people

2. Remember the Lord with gratitude

• educating your memory for spiritual purposes
• a biblical perspective on your past
• cultivating the memory of His hand

3. Face the future with hope

• the connection between memory and hope
• looking forward to a fixed future

4. Consecrate the present with consistent obedience

• fitting us for work in the “flying” moment
• grains of sand in an hour glass

5. So What?

• Because the Lord can set a table in the wilderness, remember Him with a thankfulness that fuels future hope and present obedience.
• “…A home within the wilderness, A rest upon the way…” (E. Clephane)
• Christ: the living water and nourishing bread (John 6:35 and 7:38)

Dr. McKellar’s Lesson for November 17, 2019

Final Words: The Armor of God

Ephesians 6:10-24

-Because you are in a war, equip yourself with God’s armor.

I. Introduction/Overview

• reminder of constant opposition and its source
• existence of Satan assumed (Isa. 14:12-17; Ezek. 28:1-10)
• not for satisfaction of curiosity but for mobilization of soldiers

II. The Enemy We Face (10-12)

• needed: thorough knowledge and healthy respect
• not human but demonic: powerful, wicked, cunning
• needed: the power of God

♦ Be empowered…
♦ Put on…

• our objective: to stand

III. The Equipment We Appropriate (13-20)

• Take up…
• Stand…
• six key elements

♦ belt of truth
♦ breastplate of righteousness
♦ footwear of the gospel of peace
♦ shield of faith
♦ helmet of salvation
♦ sword of the Spirit (only offensive weapon)

• “…each piece put on with prayer.”
• Paul’s specific prayer request

IV. The Encouragement We Need (21-24)

• role of Tychicus
• encouragement
• peace, love, faith, grace

V. So What?

• Remember that you can’t wield what you don’t wear.
• Dare to cultivate a “wartime mentality.”
• “Equipping yourself with God’s armor is not a mechanical operation; it is itself an expression of our dependence.” (Stott)

Dr. McKellar’s Lesson for November 3, 2019

The Window of Your Marriage

Ephesians 5:22-33

I. Introduction

• from new standards to new relationships
• priority of the home
• transitional verse: 5:21-“submitting”
• Because God designs marriage to reflect the relationship between Christ and the Church, fulfill your assigned role by the power of the Holy Spirit.

II. Wives (22-24)

• submission does not imply inferiority
• basis of authority
• differing God-appointed roles
• submission: the humble recognition of the divine ordering of society
• two reasons for submission: creation and redemption (1 Tim. 2:11-15; 1 Cor. 11:8)
• creation and redemption-not culture

III. Husbands (25-33)

• authority does not mean tyranny
• scope of authority
• love your wives (agapao)
• two analogies

♦ as Christ loves the church
♦ as husbands love their own bodies (1Pet. 3:7)

• Christ’s bride and body (Gen. 2:24)
• five verbs showing Christ’s care: loved, gave, sanctify, cleansed, present
• biblical marriage: a “window” through which the world may look to observe the way Christ loves the church and the way the church submits to Christ.
• the profound mystery: Christ/church and husband/wife connection

IV. So What?

• “How many of us have realized that we are always to think of the married state in terms of the atonement? Is that our customary way of thinking about marriage? Where do we find what the books have to say about marriage? Under which section? Under ethics. But it does not belong there. We must consider marriage in terms of the doctrine of atonement.” (Jones, Life in the Spirit, p. 148.)
• Am I prepared…?
• Do I love…?

Dr. McKellar’s Lesson for October 6, 2019

Body Language

Ephesians 4:1-16

When Christ’s body is nourished by and conforms to Him, it manifests a maturity which results in unity.

-note the transition from doctrine to duty

1. Unity depends on conformity (1-2)

• a worthy walk: one people, set apart
• five qualities: humility, gentleness, patience, forbearance and love

2. Unity flows out of the unity of God (3-6)

• spare no effort!
• repetition of “one”
• visible appearance and invisible reality

3. Unity receives enrichment through diversity of gifts (7-12)

• from all of us to each of us
• does not always mean uniformity
• saving grace and serving grace
• given by the ascended Christ (Psa. 68:18)
• five lists with at least 20 gifts in the NT
• five gifts here: apostles, prophets, evangelists, shepherds and teachers
• immediate and ultimate purpose

4. Unity requires the maturity of believers (13-16)

• “…conformity to Christ in the context of relationship to the corporate body.” (Stott)
• three senses of unity
• doctrinal instability marks the immature
• the balance of truth and love
• the emphasis upon the Head

5. So What?

• Though with a scornful wonder men see her sore oppressed, by schisms rent asunder, by heresies distressed, yet saints their watch are keeping, their cry goes up, “How long?” And soon the night of weeping shall be the morn of song. (S. Stone)
• perspective on love: the overflow of joy in God that gladly meets the needs of others (Piper)
• Seeking the path of least resistance is what makes rivers crooked.
• “If I have more truth on my lips than grace in my heart, I damage the body.” (J. MacGorman)

Dr. McKellar’s Lesson for September 15, 2019

Gripped by Grace

Ephesians 2:1-10

-The undeserved character of what God has done for you in Christ should compel you to be a living testimony of His grace.

1. Grasp the depiction of your condition without Christ (1-3)

• dead in trespasses and sins
• enslaved by the world, the devil and the flesh
• condemned as children of wrath

2. Grasp the design of God’s rescue through Christ (4-7)

• the mighty adversative
• the main verb (5)
• marked by mercy
• meant to demonstrate

3. Grasp the description of God’s creation in Christ (8-10)

• saved by grace through faith
• recipients of God’s gift
• workmanship created in Christ Jesus (identity)
• for good works (activity) (Eph. 4:1)

4. So What?

• “What do you and I boast about? What subject of conversation most arouses us and fills our hearts? Do we consider knowing God to be the greatest treasure in the world, and by far our greatest privilege? If not, we are but pygmies in the world of the Spirit…We have sold our Christian birthright for a mess of pottage and our true Christian experience will be superficial, inadequate and tragically out of focus.” (S. Ferguson)
• “Nothing sets a man so outside the devil’s reach as humility.” (J. Edwards)
• “We are saved by grace. We grow by grace. We get home by grace.” (J. MacGorman)

Dr. McKellar’s Lesson for September 8, 2019

Eyes Wide Open!

Ephesians 1:15-23

-The more you are able to see your privileges, the more you will be able to live in light of them.
-transition from benediction to intercession
-noting the connection between prayer and praise
-assessing your appetite

1. Overview of the prayer (15-18a)

• prompted by report of their faith in Christ and love toward saints
• focused on knowledge that flows from experience and understanding
• impossible apart from revelation and illumination
• “heart” references the entire inward self

2. Elements of the prayer (18b-23)

• the hope of God’s call
• the glory of God’s inheritance
• the greatness of God’s power
• amplification: exaltation and authorization of Christ (Psalm 110:1)

3. So What?

• Assess the matters of your mind’s attention and your heart’s affection.
• Consider the content of your prayers for others and for yourself.
• Determine to be a doctrinally-informed and doctrinally-enabled believer.
• sinking sand or solid rock?

Dr. McKellar’s Lesson for September 1, 2019

To the Praise of His Glory

Ephesians 1:3-14

I. Introduction to Ephesians

• prison letter (Eph., Phil., Col., Phile.)
• theme: the church as the body and bride of Christ
• chapters 1-3: doctrine
• chapters 4-6: duty
• intercession, affirmation, evangelism
• theological treatise
• 1:1-2: apostle, saints, in Christ, grace/peace

II. Hymn of Praise 1:3-14

• Because God is the source of every blessing you enjoy, your life should be a living doxology!

A. Structure

1. doxology in one long Greek sentence
2. hymn with three verses and a repeated refrain
3. trinitarian: Father, Son, Holy Spirit

B. God the Father (3-6)

1. blessed- eulogeo
2. union with Christ
3. doctrine of election: chosen, predestined
4. concept of adoption

C. God the Son (7-12)

1. redemption
2. forgiveness of trespasses according to grace
3. mystery
4. fullness of time
5. inheritance

D. God the Holy Spirit (13-14)

1. sealed
2. pledge

III. So What?

• Resist the lure of the entitlement mentality.
• Remember that good theology always leads to doxology.
• Saturate yourself with the reality of the surpassing worth of God.

Dr. McKellar’s Lesson for August 25, 2019

“Soul Surgery”   Titus 3:3-7   Bible Study   08/25/19

-With powerful theological precision, Paul communicates the doctrinal basis of good works by magnifying the transforming triumph of grace.
–The Lord’s methodology in saving you should be your motivational foundation for serving Him.

I. Reflect on the past with purpose

• don’t resent/do remember
• seven marks: foolish, disobedient, deceived, enslaved, malice, envy, hateful

II. Reflect on the present with gratitude

• but…
• seven marks in one sentence: kindness, love for man, save, regeneration, renewal, justified, heirs

III. So What?

• “The Bible’s message, however, is that the gospel is just as necessary for the Christian as for the unbeliever. We are to base the ‘duty’ of discipleship on the gospel, resulting in the practice of a Christ-based acceptance with God and a Spirit-energized approach to the pursuit of holiness. The so-called duty of discipleship then becomes a joy and a delight even though it requires vigorous effort. So learn to ‘preach the gospel to yourself’ every day, and in the joy and strength of knowing your sins are forgiven and sin’s dominion is broken, press on to become holy as He is holy.” (Jerry Bridges)