Dr. McKellar’s Lesson for August 4, 2019

“Direct Orders for Difficult Days”   2 Timothy 3:1-17   Bible Study   08/04/19

Respond to the reality of difficult days with a firm commitment to the truth as revealed in Holy Scripture.

I. Understand the reality of difficult times in the last days (3:1-5a)

• an ongoing responsibility
• “seasons of violence”
• identification of “last days”
• people/men: within the church
• a nineteen-point description!

II. Avoid those whose conduct contradicts the truth (3:5b-13)

• the context for “avoid”
• “keep on making yourself turn away”
• “creepers” who target women
• Jannes and Jambres: seduction and rebellion
• folly exposed
• contrast: “you, however…”
• followed: accompany, conform by conviction
• ministerial duties, personal virtues and experiences of suffering

III. Continue on the track of truth (3:14-17)

• “remain” with what you have “learned”
• knowing the “whom” and “how”
• the inspiration of Scripture: God-breathed
• the OT-77% of the Bible and NT (Gal. 1)
• the implementation of Scripture: profitable/sufficient
• teaching, reproof, correction, training…
• the impact of Scripture
• purpose: adequate and enabled

IV. So What?

• Recognize the fact of spiritual warfare
• Aim to develop a discernment based on the objective truth of Scripture
• Commit yourself to continuance and saturate yourself in Scripture
• Affirm the inerrancy, sufficiency and practicality of Scripture.

Dr. McKellar’s Lesson for July 28, 2019

“Stick with the Stuff!”   2 Timothy 2:14-26   Bible Study   07/28/19

Because the Lord’s truth matters, cling to it actively and communicate it accurately.

I. Assess your stewardship of the truth (2:14-19)

• Remind…charging…
• catastrophic impact of false teaching
• the exercise of diligence
• presentation for inspection and approval
• “cutting straight” the Word…
• avoidance of “empty chatter”
• our firm foundation

II. Consider the illustration of vessels (2:20-21)

• objective of usefulness
• vessels of honor and dishonor
• sanctified…useful…ready…

III. Make the timeless application (2:22-26)

• flee and pursue
• avoidance of foolish controversies
• correction with a view to repentance
• more than facts…

Dr. McKellar’s Lesson for July 21, 2019

Guest Speaker: Dr. David Allen

Dean of the School of Preaching at SWBTS

The Call of Young Samuel: Lessons for Today
1 Samuel 3:1-4:1

I. Samuel – The Backstory (3:1)

In answer to the barren Hannah’s prayer, God gives her a son, Samuel. Hannah promised the Lord to give the child back to the Lord “to appear in the Lord’s presence, and to stay there permanently.” When Samuel was about three years old, Hannah presented him to Eli at the Tabernacle in Shiloh where Samuel began his service to the Lord.

II. God’s Call of Young Samuel to the Prophetic Ministry (3:2-14)

God’s unique call to Samuel came deep in the night while he was asleep in the Tabernacle. At first, Samuel did not understand it was God calling him. He mistook the voice of God for the voice of Eli. When Eli instructed Samuel in how to reply to the Lord, Samuel responded to the Lord’s call with the words: “Speak, your servant is listening.”

III. Samuel Deliver’s God’s Word of Judgment to Eli (3:15-18)

Through Samuel, God confirmed his prior prophecy to judge the wicked sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas.

IV. Samuel Becomes a “Confirmed Prophet” to All Israel (3:19-4:1)

Summary statement of Samuel’s growth to maturity, his prophetic standing before all Israel, and the Lord’s regular revelations of his word to Samuel to be delivered to the people.

Dr. McKellar’s Lesson for July 14, 2019

“Marching Orders”   2 Timothy 1:1-14   Bible Study   07/14/19

Because of the matchless worth of the Gospel, stand firm in it and steward it faithfully.

I. Introduction

• date/place: 66-67 from Rome
• author: Paul in his second imprisonment and near the end of his life
• recipient: Timothy the young pastor in Ephesus
• overview: hold on to it (1), teach it (2), abide in it (3) and preach it (4)

II. Paul’s opening remarks 1:1-5

• identification
• greeting
• affection
• affirmation

III. Fan the flame 1:6

• gift of God
• laying on of hands

IV. Remember your resource 1:7

• given by God
• not fear
• power, love and self-control

V. Embrace suffering for the sake of the Gospel 1:8-12a

• therefore…
• don’t be ashamed
• saved and called…
• death abolished and life brought…

VI. Rely on God’s faithfulness 1:12b

• Paul’s settled conviction
• supernatural security

VII. Guard the deposit 1:13-14

• follow “healthy” words
• Spirit-driven stewardship

VIII. So What?

• Assess your source of security
• Evaluate the stewardship of your gift
• Adjust your perspective on suffering
• Treasure the truth

Dr. McKellar’s Lesson for July 7, 2019

“Great Gain in Godliness”   1 Timothy 6:6-8   Bible Study   07/07/19

Context/Background
-instructions regarding widows, elders and slaves (5:1-6:2a)
-the stress on right belief and right behavior (6:2b-3)
-repetition of “craving” (6:4, 10)
-the danger of contentment-less godliness (6:5b)
-Properly-placed contentment positions you to enjoy the Lord’s satisfaction as His subject and invest in eternity as His steward.

1. Affirm the gain of godliness (6)

• godliness: reverence, opportunistic piety
• not what you think…

2. Avoid the danger of misplaced confidence (7)

• If I just had…
• the curse of covetousness

3. Acknowledge Jesus as your treasure (8)

• nourishment and covering
• the key to contentment
• no one and no thing…

So what?
-Assess the location of your contentment.
-Aim to live as a thankful steward.
-Repudiate the putrid perversion of the prosperity gospel.
-“All the way my Savior leads me; What Have I to ask beside? Can I doubt His tender mercy, Who through life has been my guide? Heavenly peace, divinest comfort, Here by faith in Him to dwell! For I know, whate’er befall me, Jesus doeth all things well.” (Frances Crosby)

Dr. McKellar’s Lesson for June 30, 2019

Guest Speaker: Timothy Jeffress

Mr. Jeffress is a retired, 30-year veteran of the Dallas police department and brother of our pastor.

Creating a truth-conforming church environment
1 Timothy 4:1–16

I. Book Theme: Creating a church environment so that false teaching cannot flourish

II. Review Chapters 1-3: Fight, Paul’s testimony, hold to faith/conscience, pray, ordered worship, leaders, personal conduct, doxology

III. 1 Timothy 4:1-5 False Teaching

a. Casualties/Apostasy
b. False Doctrine in other Epistles: “proto-Gnosticism”/proselytizers
c. False Doctrine in 1 Timothy
d. Rebuttal: “Everything created by God is good”
e. Application: 2 Timothy 2:23–26 (ESV)

²³Have nothing to do with foolish, ignorant controversies; you know that they breed quarrels. ²⁴And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, ²⁵correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, ²⁶and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will.

IV. 1 Timothy 4:6-16 Ministry Instruction:

1. V6 Rely on Scripture
2. V7,8 Train for godliness

a. Knowing ABOUT God through His Word
b. KNOWING God through means of grace (word, sacrament, prayer)
c. Expressing consequence to world
(head> heart> hands)

3. V11 Command and teach
4. V12 Set Example
5. V13 Devotion to Scripture
6. V14 Rest Assured
7. V16 Consistency

V. Application: pursue godliness

“In former centuries, the period between the Reformation and our fathers’ time, the tendency of the Protestant Church was very largely to let the conception of religion as a body of truths overshadow everything else. And nowadays, amongst a great many people, the temptation is to take the second story for the main one, and to think that if a man loves, and has the glow at his heart of the conscious reception of God’s love, and has longings and yearnings, and Christian hopes and desires, and passes into the sweetnesses of communion with God, in his solitary moments, and plunges deep into the truths of God’s Word, that is godliness. But the true exhortation to us is—Do not stop with putting in the foundations of a correct creed, nor at the second stage of an emotional religion. Both are needful.”
– Alexander MacLaren ¹

¹ MacLaren, A. (2009). Expositions of Holy Scripture: Philippians 4, Colossians, 1 and 2 Thessalonians, and 1 Timothy (p. 364). Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software.

Dr. McKellar’s Lesson for June 23, 2019

“The Mystery of Godliness”   1 Timothy 3:14-16   Bible Study   06/23/19

-Because the church is a supernatural entity with a supreme Head, communicate the truth accurately and cling to it tenaciously.

-Background/Context

* connection to 2:1-3:13
* conception of the church
* confession of the mystery’s greatness
* chiastic structure and cumulative parallelism

1. Jesus: revealed and confirmed

• implied pre-existence
• unfathomable condescension
• acknowledged deity

2. Jesus: attended and extended

• presence of angels
• proclamation to peoples
• near and far

3. Jesus: believed and received

• trusted in the world below
• taken into glory above

-So What?

* “Lord, forbid that we would add to the avalanche of error spoken about Christ in the world.” (Piper)
* Hold fast to Jesus and abhor everything that dishonors Him.
* The truth: digest it, defend it, disseminate it, demonstrate it (Hendriksen)
* Determine to know Jesus better and to enjoy Him more.

Dr. McKellar’s Lesson for June 16, 2019

Guest Speaker: Sherry Forester

CHRISTIAN CONDUCT
1 Timothy 2

I. PRAYER INSTRUCTIONS (v.1-7)

A. Priority of prayer (v.1a)
B. Variety of prayer (v.1b)
C. Objects of prayer (v.1c-2)
D. Reasons for prayer (v.3-4)
E. Basis for prayer (v.5-7)
F. Prayer is good and pleases God.

II. PERSONAL INSTRUCTIONS (v.8-15)

A. Men are to pray. (v.8)
B. Women are to dress modestly and serve others. (v.9-10)
C. Women are to be humble. (v.11-15)
D. Our attitudes and actions matter to God.

Dr. McKellar’s Lesson for June 9, 2019

“But I Received Mercy”   1 Timothy 1:12-20   Bible Study   06/09/19

1. Contextual Considerations

• previously: sound doctrine and surrendered life (1:1-11)
• personal reflection building off of 1:11

2. Main Idea: Recipients of the riches of God’s mercy explode in praise and invest in people.

3. Highlight the principle of mercy (12-15)

• the Lord’s enablement
• the Lord’s assessment
• the Lord’s appointment
• awareness of amazing grace
• affirmation of Christ’s objective
• a testimony that glories in Christ rather than glories in sin

4. Understand the purpose of mercy (16-17)

• display of long-suffering
• pattern of grace
• explosion of doxology

5. Engage in the mission of mercy (18-20)

• commissioning of Timothy
• a war to wage
• a warning to observe
• the soldier/sailor combination

6. So What?

• praise to offer: “Immortal invisible, God only wise, in light inaccessible hid from our eyes, most blessed, most glorious, the Ancient of Days, Almighty, victorious, thy great name we praise.” (W. C. Smith)
• charge to keep: “A charge to keep I have, a God to glorify. A never-dying soul to save, and fit it for the sky.” (C. Wesley)

Dr. McKellar’s Lesson for June 2, 2019

“In Accordance with the Gospel”   1 Timothy 1:1-11   Bible Study   06/02/19

-Because the gospel is the good news of God’s surpassing worth, treasure and transmit it faithfully.

1. Prioritize the presence of God (1-2)

• ground of hope
• grace, mercy and peace

2. Promote stewardship rather than speculation (3-7)

• instruct “certain persons”
• don’t teach different doctrine
• don’t devote yourself to wrong thinking
• remember the goal
• the danger of spiritual arrogance

3. Process the law properly (8-11)

• using the law lawfully
• understand the identity of its target-audience
• 14 examples rooted in the 10 Commandments
• the standard of “hygienic” doctrine
• according to the gospel of the glory of the blessed God

4. So What?

• “How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord, is laid for your rest in His excellent word. What more can He say than to you He has said, to you who for refuge to Jesus have fled?” (R. Keene)
• “Jesus, priceless treasure, source of purest pleasure, truest friend to me…Thine I am, O spotless Lamb, I will suffer naught to hide Thee, ask for naught beside Thee.” (J. Franck)
• Avoid “Jiminy Cricket” theology.
• Get your spiritual meals from divine revelation rather than human speculation.
• Text-driven truth promotes spiritual health!