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 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’s sovereignty gives us comfort in the chaos of our days.
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”)
Dr. McKellar’s Lesson for November 20, 2022
Thanksgiving Message
For His Steadfast Love Endures Forever
Psalms 136:1-26
1. Introduction
• liturgical, antiphonal, communal setting, last Psalm of the Great Hallel Collection, purpose of repetition
2. Call to Praise 1-3
• good (Psa. 34:8)
• supreme
• sovereign
3. Cause for Praise 4-25
• creation (4-9, Prov. 3:19)
• redemption (10-16)
• conquest/inheritance (17-22)
• protection (23-25)
4. Call to Praise 26
• supremacy of character (Psa. 23:6)
• superintendence over creation
• sovereignty in redemption
• connection to Christ: celebrating a greater deliverance (Heb. 2:14-15, Rev. 4:11 and 5:9-14)
5. So What?
• Because the Lord displays enduring love in all He does, praise Him now and forever.
• Lasting love means hope for others and hope for you.
• “If Jehovah’s mercy endureth forever, our praise should endure forever; if His goodness never ceases, our thanksgiving should never be silent.” (Spurgeon)
• “Though He giveth or He taketh, God His children ne’er forsaketh; His the loving purpose solely to preserve them pure and holy.” (C. Sandell, “Children of the Heavenly Father”)
• “…Redeeming love has been my theme, And shall be till I die…” (W. Cowper, “There Is a Fountain”)
Dr. McKellar’s Lesson for November 13, 2022
Dr. McKellar is not teaching this Sunday.
Associate Pastor Ben Lovvorn will be delivering a special message instead to a combined meeting of our class with several other classes.
There has been no information about broadcasting the meeting on Zoom or other media and will not likely be broadcast.
Dr. McKellar’s Lesson for November 6, 2022
Homecoming
Hosea 14:1-9
1. Prospect of Return 1-3
• Israel: turning the wrong way habitually
• request for forgiveness (6:6; Psa. 51:15-17)
• renunciation of false security
• recognition of the Lord’s faithfulness
2. Possibility of Restoration 4-8
• reminder of incurable waywardness
• portraits of reconciliation: freshness, stability and vigor
• appeal based on the Lord’s incomparable character
• constancy and fruitfulness (Gen. 41:52)
3. Principle of Continuation 9
• contrast between the upright and transgressors
• application for every reader
• connection to Christ: Luke 15, 1 John 1:9, 2:1-2
4. So What?
• Because the Lord is constant and compassionate, sinners like us can come home again.
• “…I need to repent of my repentance…” (Valley of Vision)
• Learn to “say farewell to futile hopes and false beliefs.” (D. Kidner)
• Hymns with a “Hosea” theme: “Great is Thy Faithfulness” (Chisholm) and “Softly and Tenderly” (Thompson)
Dr. McKellar’s Lesson for October 30, 2022
The Time Is Now
Hosea 10:1-15
1. Introduction
• case study of prosperity’s potential for catastrophe
• irony: abundant crops and total collapse
2. Fruitful but Fruitless Nation 1-2
• vine imagery (John 15:1-11)
• increased fruit/increased altars and improved country/improved pillars
• corrupt hearts and a determination to dismantle
3. Arrogant and Apathetic Disenchantment 3-6
• pictured in the political and religious systems of Israel
• shrugging off a prior demand
• reaping a culture of mistrust and betrayal
• trembling for a calf (1 Kings 13:26-33)
• the shaming of Israel’s glory
4. Definite and Devastating Reckoning 7-10
• dissolution, destruction and desolation
• talking to mountains and hills (Lk. 23:30, Rev. 6:15-17)
• application of the Gibeah episode (Judges 19-20)
• certainty of specific discipline
5. Changed Scenery and Contrasting Harvests 11-15
• from submissive servant to yoked slave
• gracious invitation and glimmer of hope
• affirmation of the law of the harvest (Gal. 6:7-9)
• connection to Christ: Matt. 11:28-30, 2 Cor. 5:21
6. So What?
• Because the Lord’s judgments are sure, now is the time to tremble before Him and trust His righteousness.
• “My Faith Has Found a Resting Place” (E. Hewitt)
