Dr. McKellar’s Lesson for December 20, 2020
Christmas Message
Doctrine for the Holidays
1 John 1:1-4
1. Introduction
• why doctrine matters all the time, but especially at Christmas
• Because of the reality of Jesus Christ, you can enjoy supernatural fellowship and superabundant joy.
2. The reality of Jesus Christ makes saving faith possible
• eternally
• historically
• experientially
3. The reality of Jesus Christ makes fellowship powerful
• amazing
• unifying
• mobilizing
4. The reality of Jesus Christ makes fullness profound
• obedience
• affection
• orientation
5. So What?
• “…And we will never face life alone, now that God has made Himself known, Father and Friend with us to the end, Emmanuel.” (Chapman)
• “Jesus was the only man who had a heavenly Father but no heavenly mother, who had an earthly mother but no earthly father; who was older than His mother and who was as old as His Father.” (Lee)
• “…Veiled in flesh the Godhead see, Hail the incarnate Deity…” (Wesley)
Dr. McKellar’s Lesson for December 13, 2020
Urgent Worship
Luke 2:15-20
1. Introduction
• one of the Lord’s chief aims:
• four expressions of urgent worship
2. The Conversation of Shepherds (15)
• after an announcement and authentication
• repeated and reciprocal
• exhortation based on the information
3. The Determination of Shepherds (16)
• from word to action
• hunger to see and know
4. The Proclamation of Shepherds (17-18, 20)
• message received and relayed
• response to revelation: wonder
• glory and praise based on what is heard and seen
• just as He said
5. The Meditation of Mary (19)
• She kept on “keeping together…”
• preservation and evaluation
• true nourishment through quiet reflection
6. So What?
• Because of the Lord’s revelation of Himself in Christ, respond in urgent worship.
• “One of God’s chief aims in saving sinners is to make them true worshipers.” (MacArthur)
• “Let all mortal flesh keep silence, and with fear and trembling stand. Ponder nothing earthly minded, for with blessing in His hand, Christ our God to earth descendeth, our full homage to demand. King of kings, yet born of Mary, as of old on earth He stood, Lord of lords in human vesture, in the body and the blood. He will give to all the faithful His own self for heavenly food.” (Moultrie, adaptation of 5th century Liturgy of St. James)
Dr. McKellar’s Lesson for December 6, 2020
For the Sake of His People
Luke 2:1-12
The Lord’s providential orchestration of events surrounding Christ’s birth reflects His passionate concern for His people and His glory.
1. Confirmation of the Scope of His Control (1-5)
• Luke’s meticulous record
• a decree and a registration
• providential coordination (Micah 5:2, Prov. 21:1)
• glory and conformity
2. Confirmation through a Seeming Contradiction (6-12)
• what He surely could have done
• what He willed to do: no vacancy (2 Cor. 8:9)
• swaddled in a manger
• hammered on a cross
• an unsettling otherworldliness
3. So What?
• Because God reigns over both the massive and miniscule issues of your life, joyfully rest in His stewardship of your circumstances.
• “Some providences, like Hebrew letters, must be read backwards.” (Flavel)
• “God rules over even motel capacities for the sake of His name and people.” (Piper)
• “Thou didst leave Thy throne and Thy kingly crown, when Thou camest to earth for me; but in Bethlehem’s home was there found no room for Thy holy nativity. O come to my heart, Lord Jesus, there is room in my heart for Thee…” (Elliott)
Dr. McKellar’s Lesson for November 29, 2020
Doing the Humanly Impossible
Luke 1
Luke is the only gospel writer who records the foretelling of the births of John the Baptist and Jesus. By focusing our attention on both the similarities and differences between these events, Luke teaches us important truths about the power of God, the preeminence of Jesus and our response to the One who does the humanly impossible.
-summary of Luke 1: an emerging pattern and invitation to compare/contrast
1. The Power of God
• prediction of births (1:13 and 1:31)
• nature of births (1:7 and 1:35-36)
2. The Preeminence of Jesus
• words of John the Baptist (Matt. 3:11 and John 3:30)
• affirmation of Gabriel (1:32-33)
3. Our Response to the One who does the humanly impossible
• Zechariah: “I can’t be sure.” (1:18-20)
• Mary: “I don’t understand.” (1:34)
• explanation and declaration (1:35-38)
• resulting praise (1:46-55; 67-79)
4. So What?
• Because God excels at doing the humanly impossible, trust His promises.
• “The Son of God became man to enable men to become the sons of God.” (Lewis)
• “And our eyes at last shall see Him, Through His own redeeming love; For that child so dear and gentle, Is our Lord in heaven above, And He leads His children on, To the place where He is gone.” (“Once in Royal David’s City,” Alexander)
Dr. McKellar’s Lesson for November 22, 2020
Thanksgiving Message
The Path to a ‘Good Place’ This Thanksgiving
Psalms 13:1-6
1. Background
• lament psalm for Thanksgiving?
• from desperate intensity to dependent sufficiency
2. Indication of David’s Anguish 1-2
• individual lament
• four-fold use of “How Long…?”
• forgotten, forsaken, sorrowful, subdued
• Num. 6:22-27
3. Direction of David’s Appeal 3-4
• “…O LORD my God…”
• consideration and illumination
• grounded in dependence
4. Consolation of David’s Affirmation 5-6
• affirmation of trust
• anticipation of thanksgiving and praise
• basis of consolation: bountiful dealing
5. So What?
• Because of God’s mercy, trust God and anticipate joy even in your trial.
• “We are to bring our emotions underneath the jurisdiction of God’s character and God’s purpose…God’s care for his children is like the sun: it’s constant. Even though the clouds obscure it, it doesn’t mean the sun isn’t there.” (Begg)
• Connection to Christ: Psalm 22, Isa. 49:15
Dr. McKellar’s Lesson for November 15, 2020
When Kings Fall Silent
Isaiah 52:13-53:12
1. Background
• 4th “Servant” song
• 700 years before Christ’s birth
2. The Servant’s Exaltation and Humiliation 13-15
• action and exaltation of the Servant
• exaltation of the Servant
• contrasting revulsion
• world-wide impact: sprinkled nations and shut mouths
3. The Rejecting Response of Rebel Subjects 1-3
• a question expecting a negative answer
• observed and misunderstood
• despised and rejected
4. The Revelation of the Ransoming Substitute 4-9
• His suffering explained
• the voluntary and undeserving nature of His suffering
• a suffering Substitute for straying sheep
5. The Reality of the Substitute’s Ultimate Triumph 10-12
• the LORD’S pleasure
• a concise exposition of atonement theology
• the LORD’S testimony to His Servant
6. So What?
• Because of the stunning impact of the suffering Substitute’s substitution, bow before Him in worship now!
• NT connections: Mark 10:45, 1 Cor. 15:3, Rom. 15:21
• Man of Sorrows! What a name, for the son of God, who came, ruined sinners to reclaim. Hallelujah! What a Savior! Bearing shame and scoffing rude, in my place condemned He stood; sealed my pardon with His blood. Hallelujah! What a Savior! Guilty, vile, and helpless we; spotless Lamb of God is He; Full atonement! Can it be? Hallelujah! What a Savior! (Bliss)
• Celebrate and share the story of your Substitute!
Dr. McKellar’s Lesson for November 8, 2020
A Greater Deliverance
Isaiah 49:1-13
1. Background
• the identity of the “Servant”: the corporate/individual tension
• the Moses/Christ connection (Deut. 18:15, Ex. 32:7-10)
• “second” Exodus language
2. The Servant’s Declarative Description 1-3
• command to listen (Mark 9:7)
• prepared and named (Gen. 35:10)
• summoned to show “splendor”
3. The Servant’s Focused Fortification 4-6
• antidote for despondency
• resting in the wisdom and power of God
• extension from Israel to the nations
• the deliverance/salvation the world needs
4. The Servant’s Certain Success 7-13
• despised yet exalted (Isa. 52:13-53:12)
• promise of a “second” Exodus
• provision and protection along the way
• comprehensive joy
5. So what?
• Knowing that the Lord comprehensively and compassionately delivers His people through Christ, set your sight on Him when nothing seems to make sense.
• “Despondency arises through listening to ourselves and our self-assessment instead of looking to God and recalling His purposes.” (Motyer)
• Keep looking to Christ, The sure and steady Anchor. (Heb. 6:19-20)
Dr. McKellar’s Lesson for November 1, 2020
He Will Carry You!
Isaiah 46:1-13
1. Background
• fall of Babylon in Isaiah 46-48
• idolatry/collapse connection and the future security of God’s people
2. Carried gods (1-2)
• carried as burdens on weary beasts
• carried with their worshipers into captivity
3. Carrying God (3-4)
• command and commitment
• a striking contrast
• comprehensive coverage: from womb to tomb
4. Made gods: burdens void of saving power (5-7)
• clarifying question
• made by human hands: immobile, inarticulate, incompetent
5. The Making God (8-11)
• confrontational command
• declarative rebuke (47:8-10)
• declaring…saying…calling…
6. The Saving God (12-13)
• provision of righteousness for those far from it
• conformity to the will of God
7. So what?
• Because carried gods lead only to collapse, trust the God who carries you.
• “What we revere, we resemble; either for our ruin or restoration.” (Beale)
• “His love, in time past, forbids me to think He’ll leave me at last in trouble to sink: Each sweet Ebenezer I have in review confirms His good pleasure to help me quite through.” (Newton)
• “When man carries his god, the end is destruction; when the true God carries man, the end is salvation.” (Young)
• connection to Christ: 2 Thess. 3:5
Dr. McKellar’s Lesson for October 25, 2020
Unwearied Help for the Weary
Isaiah 40:27-31
1. Background
• impending Babylonian Captivity (Isa. 39:6)
• worse before it gets better
• comfort, word and greatness of God (40:1-26)
2. A Questioning Despondency (27)
• God’s knowledge
• God’s care
• legal case of pessimistic pilgrims
3. A Theological Reminder (28-29)
• formula repetition
• everlasting
• unwearied
• unfathomable
4. An Experiential Challenge (30-31)
• patient expectancy
• sovereign enablement
• as if people grow wings
5. So What?
• Proper thinking about God enables proper waiting on God.
• “…Understand that love, revealed on the cross, does not exclude but must always include suffering.” (Elliot)
• “Your thoughts of God are too human.” (Luther to Erasmus)
• NT connection: Matt. 11:28-30
• “He bids weary travelers rest in His house.” (Thomas)
Dr. McKellar’s Lesson for October 18, 2020
Holding Fast to the Lord
Isaiah 37:1-38
1. Background considerations
• Assyrian threat to Judah
• Hezekiah: “Yahweh strengthens”
2. Hezekiah responds to a national crisis (1-13)
• taunts of Sennacherib 36:1-22
• responding to arrogance with humility
• acknowledgment of utter helplessness
• prophecy of Isaiah and “remnant” repetition
• Sennacherib takes a parting shot
3. Hezekiah’s prayer for deliverance (14-20)
• “…spread it before the LORD.”
• adoration
• petition
• concern for the glory of God
4. Sennacherib’s fall (21-38)
• contrast between Sennacherib (v.3) and the LORD (v. 5)
• steps sequenced by the LORD
• a hook for the nose and a bit for the mouth
• 185,000 struck down
5. So What?
• Because the LORD always acts in the best interest of those who abandon themselves to Him, keep on holding fast to Him.
• Weave what you know of the LORD’S character into your worship.
• Speak to the LORD and expect to hear from Him.
• “And the widows of Ashur are loud in their wail, and the idols are broke in the temple of Baal; And the might of the Gentile, unsmote by the sword, hath melted like snow in the glance of the Lord.” (Byron)
• “For my life He bled and died, Christ will hold me fast; Justice has been satisfied; He will hold me fast. Raised with Him to endless life, He will hold me fast, ‘till our faith is turned to sight, when He comes at last.’” (Getty)
