Dr. McKellar’s Lesson for January 29, 2023

Let Him Come to Me and Drink

John 7:25-39

1. Background

• after the bread of life discourse (6:22-59)
• at the Feast of Tabernacles in Jerusalem

2. Jesus Indicts His Audience 25-31

• a brief crowd analysis
• the issue of identity
• you do not know God
• divided opinions and intensified opposition

3. Jesus Asserts His Authority 32-36

• officers sent to arrest Jesus
• futility of the foes of Jesus
• a clueless response

4. Jesus Extends an Invitation 37-39

• an inclusive and free offer (Ex. 17:1-7, Isa. 55:1-2; 58:11)
• qualification: thirst
• consequence: lasting, overflowing satisfaction

5. So What?

• Because Jesus is who and what you need more than anything, satisfy yourself in Him.
• Rejecting Jesus is rejection of God.
• Is your satisfaction flowing out to others?
• “To this I hold, my hope is only Jesus, all the glory evermore to Him, when the race is complete, still my lips shall repeat, yet not I, but through Christ in me.” (Farren/Thompson/Robinson)

Dr. McKellar’s Lesson for January 22, 2023

I Am the Bread of Life

John 6:25-40

1. Background

• following feeding of 5000 and Jesus walking on water (1-21)
• part of John’s fourth discourse (22-66)
• the crowd gathers-again! (22-24)

2. Perceptive Diagnosis 25-27

• a question left unanswered
• a piercing analysis
• emphasis on enduring food
• the divine seal of approval

3. Persistent Dullness 28-34

• a question answered
• the work of God
• demand for a sign
• corrective response of Jesus
• continued dullness

4. Powerful Declaration 35-40

• I am the bread of life…
• the language of satisfaction
• repetition of “believe”
• emphasis on the will of the Father

5. So What?

• Because Jesus alone saves and satisfies, come to Him and remain in Him.
• “The plain truth is that it is want of heart, not want of evidence, that keeps people back from Christ.” (Ryle)
• “Jesus did not come to be useful but to be precious.” (Piper)
• “He Is So Precious to Me” (Gabriel) and “Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah” (Williams)

Dr. McKellar’s Lesson for January 15, 2023

Hope at the House of Mercy

John 5:1-18

1. A Miracle by the Pool 1-9a

• third recorded miracle
• Jesus in Jerusalem at feast time
• gathered multitude and its perception
• encounter with a sick man: question and command

2. The Opposition of Religious Leaders 9b-13

• charge of Sabbath violation
• response of a healed man
• withdrawal of Jesus

3. The Pastoral Care of Jesus 14-18

• found him in the temple
• connection between sin and affliction
• caution about future consequences
• identification of Jesus as Healer
• response to persecutors and rationale for their pursuit

4. So What?

• Because Jesus is the Master of Mercy, worship Him as your only hope and ultimate healer.
• Rest in the comprehension, compassion and capability of Jesus.
• Remember that the Lord never takes a day off.
• “O Merciful Redeemer Whom yet unseen we love, O Name of might and favor, all other names above! O bringer of salvation who wondrously hath wrought Thyself the revelation of love beyond all thought! We worship Thee and bless Thee! To Thee alone we sing! We praise Thee and confess Thee, our gracious Lord and King!” (“O Merciful Redeemer” Havergal)

Dr. McKellar’s Lesson for January 8, 2023

Jesus, a Samaritan Woman, and Worship

John 4:1-26

1. Jesus Sits at a Well in Sychar 1-6

• from Galilee to Samaria
• weary and by the well at noon

2. Jesus Offers Living Water to a Samaritan Woman 7-15

• comes to draw water
• a request and the resulting conversation

3. Jesus Discloses Himself as the Focus of Worship 16-26

• speaking uncomfortable truth
• a sidetrack to reality
• worship in spirit and truth
• a stunning confirmation

4. So What?

• Because who God is determines how you must worship Him, prioritize His word and prize His Son.
• “Worship is a transitive verb, and the most important thing about it is its direct object.” (Carson)
• Elements of true worship: Word-based, God-centered and Christ-exalting
• “Worthy of Worship” (York/Blankenship)

Dr. McKellar’s Lesson for January 1, 2023

Guest Speaker: Dr. Jim Sibley

Ambassadors in Hostile Territory

1 Peter 1

No lesson outline available.

Dr. McKellar’s Lesson for December 25, 2022

No class today.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Dr. McKellar’s Lesson for December 18, 2022

Christmas Message

Home for Christmas

Matthew 1:1-17

1. Overview of Matthew’s Genealogy

• book of “genesis” and significance of its names
• flowing forward from Abraham to Jesus
• structure: 42 generations in 3 groups of 14 generations each
• Jesus as rightful heir to the throne

2. Note the Emphasis on the Identity of Jesus

• Christ
• son of David (2 Sam. 7:12-16)
• son of Abraham (Gen. 12:1-3)

3. Note the Specific Inclusion of Five Women

• Tamar (Gen. 38:1-30)
• Rahab (Josh. 2:1)
• Ruth (Gen. 19:30-38, Deut. 23:3)
• wife of Uriah (2 Sam. 11)
• Mary (Matt. 1:18-25)

4. “Plug In” the Applications This Christmas

• Remember that everything we celebrate at Christmas hinges on who Jesus is.
• See the genealogy as the receipt that proves the reliability of God’s promises.
• Recognize God’s capacity to overcome the effects of sin and shame as He works out His purpose.
• Because of God’s mercy and grace in Jesus, you can come home for Christmas.
• “Child in the manger, Infant of Mary, Outcast and Stranger, Lord of all, Child who inherits all our transgressions, All our demerits on Him fall. Once the most holy Child of salvation gently and lowly lived below; now as our glorious mighty Redeemer, see Him victorious o’er each foe.” (“Child in the Manger,” Mary Macdonald)

Dr. McKellar’s Lesson for December 11, 2022

Guest Speaker: Sherry Forester

The God of Holiness and Hope

Isaiah 5-6

The Situation (Isaiah 5)

v.1, 2, 7 Isaiah’s love song about Israel

v.8-22 God’s woes

v.8 Materialism, greed
v.11 Drunkenness, pleasure seeking
v.18 Defiant sinfulness
v.20 Moral perversion
v.21 Arrogant conceit
v.23 Corrupt leaders

God sees all sin.

v.24-26 God warns of judgment

God warns of judgment so people will repent.

The Sovereign (Isaiah 6:1-4)

v.1-4 God is sovereign, alive, authoritative, omnipresent, holy, omnipotent

God is forever on heaven’s throne and fully in control.

(1 Chronicles 29:11-12)

The Servant (Isaiah 6:5-13)

v.5-7 Isaiah’s conversion

v.8 Isaiah’s call and commitment

v.9-12 Isaiah’s commission

v.13 Isaiah’s comfort

God’s love gives hope for our world.

So what?

The God whose presence filled and shook the temple still rules the universe.

God is fully in control, and we can trust Him.

“O God our help in ages past, our hope for years to come…” (Isaac Watts)

Dr. McKellar’s Lesson for December 4, 2022

Christmas Message

For Who He Is

John 1:1-18

This morning we will focus on the prologue of John’s gospel. As you anticipate Christmas, let the truths of this text encourage you to see Jesus for who He really is. When you understand who Jesus really is, you value Him above everyone and everything.

1. See Him as the Word

• Before He became flesh, John called Him the Word.
• for communication with the Father
• divine communication to us
• God expressing Himself

2. See Him as the Word Existing Eternally

• with God
• was God
• second person of the Trinity

3. See Him as the Agent of Creation

• underscores that He is God
• indicts the world’s guilty blindness
• origin and explanation

4. See Him as the Light and the Life

• the life you need because you are dead
• the light you need because you are blind

5. See Him as the Exclusive Savior and King

• incarnation: word…flesh…dwelt
• “The Almighty appeared on earth as a helpless human baby, needing to be fed and changed and taught to talk like any other child. The more you think about it, the more staggering it gets. Nothing in fiction is so fantastic as this truth of the Incarnation” (Packer)
• glory of the only begotten…full of grace and truth
• Jesus Christ: leading out

6. So What?

• “…we will never face life alone, now that God has made Himself known, Father and Friend, with us to the end, Immanuel.” (S.C. Chapman)
• Repudiate the reduction of Jesus to a product of history since John plainly asserts that history is the product of His sovereign action.
• “In Jesus Christ we discover an admirable conjunction of diverse excellencies.” (J. Edwards)
• “Our God, heaven cannot hold Him, nor earth sustain; heaven and earth shall flee away, when He comes to reign.” (C. Rosetti)

Dr. McKellar’s Lesson for November 27, 2022

Who Is a God like You?

Micah 7:1-20

1. Introduction

• Micah: message of judgment, forgiveness and hope, final section (6:1-7:20)

2. Survey of a Broken Culture 1-6

• barren representation
• broken relationships

3. Response of a Bold and Broken Heart 7-13

• expression of confidence
• acknowledgment of guilt
• anticipation of vindication

4. Request for Specific Intervention 14-17

• a Good Shepherd (Isa. 40:11)
• a Second Exodus (Ex. 12)

5. Sole Basis of Hope 18-20

• why no one is like God
• His pardon, delight and compassion
• connection to Christ: Mic. 5:2-5, Jn. 10:11-18, Heb. 13:20-21

6. So What?

• Because the Lord exceeds every comparison, relinquish attachment to sin and anxiety about circumstances.
• “God is without equal in His pastoral care.” (Boice)
• “The better we know the character of God, the more we can trust Him for the future.” (Wiersbe)
• “…Mercy there was great and grace was free; Pardon there was multiplied to me…” (Newell, “At Calvary”)