Dr. McKellar’s Lesson for January 14, 2024

The Ark and Your Anchor

Genesis 7:1-8:22

1. Overview: Two Lessons from the Life of Noah

• Respond actively to the revelation you’ve received.
• Relish practically the reality that God remembers you.

2. Reflect on the Scope of the Flood

• logic
• language of text
• literature
• lesson in NT

3. Flood Theology Observations

• Observe the mercy of God.
• Observe the faithfulness of God.
• Observe the patience of God.
• Observe the justice of God.

4. So What?

• Receive the offered deliverance.
• Resolve to join the rescue team.
• connection to Jesus: Hebrews 6:19!
• Because of who God is, you can have hope!
• “There is a hope that burns within my heart, that gives me strength for every passing day; a glimpse of glory now revealed in meagre part, yet drives all doubt away: I stand in Christ, with sins forgiven; and Christ in me, the hope of heaven! My highest calling and my deepest joy, to make His will my home.” (S. Townend, “There Is a Hope”)

Dr. McKellar’s Lesson for January 7, 2024

He Did All That God Commanded Him’

Genesis 6:8-22; Hebrews 11:7

Genesis 6 records the story of Noah in the days preceding the Great Flood. The Lord saved, preserved and used him to make a lasting impact on his generation and the generations that followed.

1. Glean the Key Insights (8-13)

• Noah found grace. He did not earn it.
• How the Lord sees all people: righteous or unrighteous
• Our inconsistency doesn’t invite interest.
• The Lord is neither apathetic nor surprised.

2. Observe the Instructions to Noah (14-21)

• Build the ark for survival and not navigation.
• The size of the ark: sufficient
• The typology of the ark: keeping out and letting in

3. Examine the Obedience of Noah (22 and Heb. 11:7)

• Commitment
• Courage
• Conviction

4. So What?

• When you take the Lord’s word seriously, you can have a lasting impact for His glory.
• Biblical faith includes both a backward and forward look.
• Holiness: the habit of agreeing with God’s judgment, hating what He hates, loving what He loves and measuring everything in this world by the standard of His word. (J. C. Ryle)
• “He who does not believe God will punish sin will not believe that He will pardon it through His atoning blood.” (Spurgeon)
• “His will be done, His Kingdom come, on earth as is above, Who is Himself our daily bread, praise Him the Lord of love…All glory be to Christ our King! All glory be to Christ! His rule and reign we’ll ever sing. All glory be to Christ!” (D. Kensrue, “All Glory Be to Christ”)

Dr. McKellar’s Lesson for December 31, 2023

The First Worship Service and the First Murder

Genesis 4:1-15

1. The First Worship Service: A Rejected Offering and a Warning 1-7

• births of Cain and Abel
• occupations of Cain and Abel
• offerings of Cain and Abel (Heb. 11:4)
• rejection of Cain’s offering and his response
• warning from the LORD (Heb. 4:12)

2. The First Murder: A Homicide and Its Consequences 8-15

• Cain kills Abel (1 John 3:12)
• dialogue with the LORD and pronouncement of curse
• Cain’s protest and the LORD’S mercy in the midst of judgment
• the land of wandering east of Eden (Jude 11)

3. So What?

• Because of your complete ruin, look away from yourself and look to the LORD for help. (Heb. 4:16)
• “The blood of Abel cried for vengeance; that of Christ for remission” (Erasmus) (Heb. 12:24)
• “While Eve is talked into sin, Cain will not have even God talk him out of it, nor will he confess to it, nor yet accept his punishment.” (D. Kidner)
• “Give to our God immortal praise; mercy and truth are all His ways; wonders of grace to God belong, repeat His mercies in your song.” (Watts, “Give to Our God Immortal Praise”)

Dr. McKellar’s Lesson for December 24, 2023

Christmas Message

First Christmas Comprehension

Luke 2:1-15

1. Historical Setting 1-5

• acknowledgement of earthly governmental activity
• from Nazareth to Bethlehem with his betrothed, who was pregnant

2. Holy Birth 6-7

• the time came for Mary to give birth to her firstborn son
• wrapped in cloths and placed in a manger
• an ancient “no vacancy” issue

3. Heavenly Announcement 8-15

• singling out the shepherds
• angelic appearance and shining of glory
• fear acknowledged and addressed with the ultimate birth announcement
• peace for whom?

4. So What?

• Because of the first Christmas, sinners like us can know true liberation that leads to lasting celebration.
• “God of God, Light of Light. Lo, He abhors not the virgin’s womb; very God, begotten not created…” (F. Oakeley, verse 2 of “O Come, All Ye Faithful”)
• “The very mention of the cross should be far removed not only from a Roman citizen’s body, but from his mind, his eyes, his ears.” (Roman orator Cicero in a speech to the Senate a 100 or so years before Paul penned Phil. 2:5-11 under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit)
• “He was poor, that he might make us rich. He was born of a virgin, that we might be born of God. He took our flesh, that he might give us His Spirit. He lay in the manger, that we may lie in paradise. He came down from heaven, that he might bring us to heaven…that the ancient of Days should be born… that he who thunders in the heavens should cry in the cradle…that Christ should be made of a woman, and of that woman which himself made, that the branch should bear the vine, that the mother should be younger than the child she bare, and the child in the womb bigger than the mother; that the human nature should not be God, yet one with God. Behold love that passeth knowledge! Come and worship!” (Thomas Watson, A Body of Divinity)

Dr. McKellar’s Lesson for December 17, 2023

Christmas in Genesis

Genesis 3:1-24

1. Deception 1-5

• crafty serpent (Rev. 12:9)
• casting doubt

2. Violation 6-7

• took and ate
• eyes opened

3. Confrontation 8-13

• God’s questions
• Man’s excuses

4. Salvation 14-19

• consequences (Rom. 8:22)
• cure in the context of the curse (Rom. 16:20, Gal. 3:13, Heb. 2:14)

5. Foundation 20-24

• clothed sinners
• getting back to the garden

6. So What?

• Because the Father placed the curse on Jesus that you deserve, rejoice in and rely on the rebel-seeking God of Christmas.
• “He comes to make His blessings flow, far as the curse is found…” (Watts, “Joy to the World”)
• celebrating Christmas: pondering your predicament and God’s provision for it.
• “So what am I going to do with all these unfixables? All these not-as-they-should-bes, not as they will be one day? I’m going to trust you with all these unfixables until the day when I finally see the way You make masterpieces out of these unfixables.” (Chapman, “Unfixables”)

Dr. McKellar’s Lesson for December 10, 2023

The First Couple and the First Christmas

Genesis 2:5-25; 1 John 1:1-4

1. Formation 2:5-7

• repetition of LORD God
• formed
• breathed
• living creature

2. Environment 2:8-17

• garden provision
• work assignment
• commands and parameters

3. Family 2:18-25

• conspicuous absence and naming implications
• sculpted helper
• Adam’s response
• institution of marriage: leave, cleave, one flesh

4. Foreshadowing 1 John 1:1-4, Luke 2:7-12, Luke 3:33-38

• obedient and humble creatures
• condescending and caring Creator/Redeemer

5. So What?

• Because of the Father’s creative and redemptive work through Jesus, bow before Him in adoring worship.
• “Seek not in courts, nor palaces, nor royal curtains draw; but search the stable, see our God, extended on the straw.” (W. Billings, “Methinks I See a Heavenly Host”)
• Ponder the Son of God who, as the Agent of creation, sculpted Adam and Eve from the dust of the ground and breathed into them the breath of life.
• “I don’t care if you’ve been on the paid staff of hell…” (T. Keller)

Dr. McKellar’s Lesson for December 3, 2023

The Image and the Incarnation

Genesis 1:26-31; John 1:14

Grasping the truth that humans are made in the image of God enables you to gain a biblical understanding of human nature and to marvel at the miracle of the incarnation.

1. Reflect the Person of God

• image/likeness emphasis
• “let us make…”
• the issue of image
• personality, morality, spirituality

2. Understand Your Assignment

• fill
• receive
• rule

3. Reject Sub-Biblical Standards

• devaluation of image
• deification of image
• disregard of image

4. Recognize the Connection between Image and Incarnation

• important distinction: “in His image” and “He is the image…” (Col. 1:15, Heb. 1:3, Rom. 8:29)
• two key applications: dignity and destiny
• “Nothing in fiction is so fantastic as this truth of the incarnation.” (Packer)
• “Man’s Maker was made man, that He, Ruler of the stars, might nurse at His mother’s breast; that the Bread might hunger, the Fountain thirst, the Light sleep, the Way be tired on its journey; that the Truth might be accused of false witness, the Teacher be beaten with whips, the Foundation be suspended on wood; that Strength might grow weak; that the Healer might be wounded; that Life might die.” (Augustine)

Dr. McKellar’s Lesson for November 26, 2023

Guest Speaker: Dr. Jim Sibley

Messiah

The Undercover Messiah

Deuteronomy 18:15-19

I. The Prophet Prophesied: Deuteronomy 18:15–19

a. The Prophet as the Suffering Servant of Isaiah (Isaiah 40–55)
b. The Prophet as the Authoritative Word

II. His Encounter with the Woman of Samaria: John 4

a. An Understanding of the Samaritans’ Identity
b. An Understanding of Jesus’ Identity: John 4:19

1. The Discussion Regarding Water: John 4:10
2. Supernatural Knowledge: John 4:16–18

c. The Unanticipated Result

1. In the Village: John 4:39, 41–42
2. In the Nation: Ezekiel 37:15–22; Acts 8

III. The Feeding of the Five Thousand: John 6

a. The Miraculous Provision of Bread: John 6:8–13
b. The Identity of Jesus Revealed: John 6:14

IV. The Transfiguration: Matthew 17

a. The Correspondence of Time: Exod 24:16; Matt 17:1
b. The Correspondence of Companions: Exod 24:1; Matt 17:1
c. The Correspondence of the Clouds: Exod 19:9; Matt 17:5
d. The Correspondence of the Countenance: Exod 34:29; Matt 17:2

A. M. Ramsey writes, “Moses went up into the Mount . . . and when he came down to the people the skin of his face shone. Here, in contrast is the new and greater Moses, whose face shines not with a reflected glory but with the unborrowed glory as of the sun’s own rays.”

e. The Conversation on the Mount

1. The Exodus of Jesus
2. “Listen to Him”!

Dale Allison says, “It is natural to see in [Matthew] 17:1–9 the greater than Moses theme; for, at the last, Moses and Elijah disappear, and the reader is left with the command to ‘hear him,’ that is, the one Son of God, Jesus.”

The Prophet Still Speaks, “Listen to Him”!

Dr. McKellar’s Lesson for November 19, 2023

Thanksgiving Message

A Psalm for Thanksgiving 2023

Psalms 115:1-18

1. Introduction

• context of burden/difficulty and the “summary statement” of verse 1
• Because the LORD alone is your protector and provider, praise Him now and forever.

2. The Substance of the Taunt of the Nations 2

• based on perceived abandonment and absence

3. The Scorching Deconstruction of Idolatry 3-8

• where our God is and what He does
• contrasted with idols and the principle: becoming what we worship

4. The Summons to Trust the LORD for Protection 9-11

• He is their help and shield in antiphonal praise

5. The Summons to Trust the LORD for Provision 12-15

• reflection on the LORD’S memory
• repetition and recognition of blessing

6. The Summons to Praise the LORD Perpetually 16-18

• do it now while you’re alive and anticipate doing it forever

7. So What?

• Make the connection to Christ: recalling a greater victory.
• Mind the mindfulness of the LORD.
• LORD, put this psalm on my lips and in my life this week.
• “Lord, I believe Thou hast prepared, unworthy though I be, for me a blood-bought free reward, a golden harp for me. ‘Tis strung and tuned for endless years and formed by power divine, to sound in God the Father’s ears no other name but Thine.”

Dr. McKellar’s Lesson for November 12, 2023

When Christ, the Mighty Maker, Died…

Mark 15:33-39

1. Context

• emphasis on sovereignty and scriptural fulfillment (10:45) and the connection between 1:1 and 15:39

2. Cover of Darkness 33

• darkness during the day (Dt. 28:29, Amos 8:9)
• darkness/Passover connection (Ex. 10:21-23, 1 Cor. 5:7)

3. Cry of Desolation 34

• connection to Psalm 22:1 and significance of the address of Jesus

4. Continued Derision 35-36

• misunderstood words and connection to Psalm 69:21

5. Cry of Completion 37

• significance of a loud cry and John 19:30: “It is finished!” (1 Pet. 2:24, 2 Cor. 5:21, Gal. 3:13)

6. Curtain Torn 38

• a supernatural separation (Ex. 26:31-35) and indicator of access (Heb. 6:19-20)

7. Convinced Centurion 39

• commentary consistent with Mark
• conviction and not skepticism (14:61)

8. So What?

• Assured of the Father’s plan and the fulfillment of Scripture in the death of Jesus, marvel at the sovereignty and sensitivity of the “great exchange.”
• Recognize the Father’s reconciling and retaining work at the cross.
• “Well might the sun in darkness hide and shut His glories in, when Christ, the mighty Maker, died for man, the creature’s sin…” (Watts, “Alas, and Did My Savior Bleed”)
• Acknowledge accurate theology: “…Till on that cross where Jesus died, the wrath of God was satisfied…” (Townend/Getty, “In Christ Alone”)