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 10, 2019

Transformed Relationships

Ephesians 6:1-9

-When you submit to the authority of Jesus, you serve others with a view to pleasing Him.

I. Children (1-3)

• obedience
• three grounds for obedience

♦ nature-right-dikaios
♦ law-commandment-Exodus 20:12
♦ gospel-in the Lord

II. Parents (4)

• parental authority presupposed
• focus on restraint in the exercise of authority
• negatively: don’t provoke
• positively: discipline and instruction
• analyze and intercede

III. Slaves (5-8)

• obedience
• Christ-centered instruction and motivation

IV. Masters (9)

• do the same
• avoid threats
• remember your Master

V. Abolition of Slavery

• NT neither condemns nor condones
• slavery in the first century
• internal revolution

VI. So What?

• Concentrate more on your responsibilities than your rights.
• Shared knowledge of Jesus as Lord and Judge is a leveling reality.
• “Our great need is the clear-sightedness to see Jesus Christ and to set Him before us.” (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 27, 2019

Holy Intoxication

Ephesians 5:18-21

-Because your fruitfulness hinges on submission to the Holy Spirit, obey the command to seek His filling continually.

1. Overview

• sealed (1:13), grieved (4:30) and filled
• a person and not an impersonal force
• incentives for right living

♦ judgment (5:5-7)
♦ light (5:8-14)
♦ wisdom (5:15-17)
♦ fullness (5:18-21)

• the issue here: sanctification-the process of conformity to Christ
• “But our duty and God’s grace are nowhere opposed in the matter of sanctification; for the one absolutely supposes the other. We cannot perform our duty without the grace of God; nor does God give His grace for any other purpose than that we may perform our duty.” (John Owen)

2. The Prohibition

• first imperative: don’t get drunk
• method and result

3. The Command

• second imperative: do be filled
• method and result
• the linguistic lesson: plerousthe

♦ imperative mood: authoritative command, obligation and not option
♦ plural number: for the whole Christian community, no secret technique or formula
♦ passive voice: acted on
♦ present tense: keep on…

• “When we speak of the baptism of the Spirit we are referring to a once-for-all gift; when we speak of the fullness of the Spirit we are acknowledging that this gift needs to be continuously and increasingly appropriated.” (John Stott)

4. The Impact

• musical joy
• comprehensive gratitude
• loving submission

5. So What?

• Drink deeply of the things of the Holy Spirit.
• For by one Spirit we are all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit. (1 Corinthians 12:13)

Dr. McKellar’s Lesson for October 20, 2019

Dressing for Spiritual Success

Ephesians 4:17-5:4

I. Review

• 4:1-16: called to unity
• 4:17-5:4: called to purity
• Since God calls us to be a holy people, we must cultivate a lifestyle of purity.

II. Take off the Old Clothes (4:17-19)

• vain
• dark
• alienated
• insensitive
• unrestrained

III. Put on the New Clothes (4: 20-24)

• Christ: learned…heard…taught
• continual mind-renewal
• put off/put on

IV. Seven Concrete Examples (4:25-5:4)

• don’t lie…speak the truth
• don’t sin in your anger…avoid exploitation
• don’t steal…work and give
• don’t use your mouth for evil…use it for good
• don’t grieve the Holy Spirit…be sensitive to Him
• don’t be unkind and bitter…be kind and loving
• don’t joke about sex…give thanks for it

V. So What?

• objective: integration of Christian experience (what we are), Christian theology (what we believe) and Christian ethics (how we behave)
• “Holiness is not a condition into which we drift.” (Stott)
• passive spectator or active participant?

Dr. McKellar’s Lesson for October 13, 2019

Guest Speaker: Dr. Barry McCarty

Professor at SWBTS

Praying with Power

Colossians 4:2-4

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 29, 2019

To Him Who Is Able

Ephesians 3:14-21

Our text this morning contains the second profound prayer of Paul in his letter to the Ephesians. Because of God’s incomparable character and unlimited capacity, you can experience His enablement and empowerment.

1. Introduction (14-16a)

• For this reason… (v. 14, v. 1: parenthetical digression of 3:2-13)
• posture points to intensity
• from exposition to intercession
• concept of family which proceeds from God the Father
• according to His inexhaustible resources

2. The Prayer (16b-19)

• strength: strengthened with power through the Spirit in your inner man so that Christ may be at “home”
• love: rooted (horticultural) and grounded (architectural) in love (depth as opposed to the superficial)
• knowledge: grasp of the surpassing love of Christ (four dimensions) with all the saints
• fullness: filled with all the fullness of God (points to completion)

3. The Doxology (20-21)

• “The highest aspirations are not beyond God’s power to bestow.” (J. Stott)
• able to do, able to do what we ask, able to do what we ask or think, able to do all, more, much more, way much more (according to resurrection power)
• The Giver gets the glory in the church and in Christ in the realm of time and for eternity.
• Amen: so be it!

Dr. McKellar’s Lesson for September 22, 2019

Being Built Together

Ephesians 2:11-22

-The most serious form of alienation is theological.
-Two focal groups: Gentiles and Jews
–When you remember that Christ brings near the far off, you can celebrate your status with the saints.

1. Remember your former status (11-12)

• separated, alienated and estranged
• without hope and without God

2. Reflect on what Christ has done (13-18)

• brought near
• became our peace
• broke down wall
• by abolishing, creating and reconciling
• preaching of peace and provision of access

3. Recognize your present status (19-22)

• God’s kingdom
• God’s family
• God’s temple (Isa. 28:16)

4. So What?

• Remember to remember!
• Refuse to build walls that have been torn down by Christ.
• Recognize that “the ground is level at the foot of the cross.”
• Remember to “pass the peace.”