December 30, 2024 | Be God's Family
The Ancestry Of Jesus
Scripture: Matthew 1:1-17(NIV)
1 This is the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah the son of David, the son of Abraham:
2 Abraham was the father of Isaac,
Isaac the father of Jacob,
Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers,
3 Judah the father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar,
Perez the father of Hezron,
Hezron the father of Ram,
4 Ram the father of Amminadab,
Amminadab the father of Nahshon,
Nahshon the father of Salmon,
5 Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab,
Boaz the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth,
Obed the father of Jesse,
6 and Jesse the father of King David.
David was the father of Solomon, whose mother had been Uriah’s wife,
7 Solomon the father of Rehoboam,
Rehoboam the father of Abijah,
Abijah the father of Asa,
8 Asa the father of Jehoshaphat,
Jehoshaphat the father of Jehoram,
Jehoram the father of Uzziah,
9 Uzziah the father of Jotham,
Jotham the father of Ahaz,
Ahaz the father of Hezekiah,
10 Hezekiah the father of Manasseh,
Manasseh the father of Amon,
Amon the father of Josiah,
11 and Josiah the father of Jeconiah and his brothers at the time of the exile to Babylon.
12 After the exile to Babylon:
Jeconiah was the father of Shealtiel,
Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel,
13 Zerubbabel the father of Abihud,
Abihud the father of Eliakim,
Eliakim the father of Azor,
14 Azor the father of Zadok,
Zadok the father of Akim,
Akim the father of Elihud,
15 Elihud the father of Eleazar,
Eleazar the father of Matthan,
Matthan the father of Jacob,
16 and Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, and Mary was the mother of Jesus who is called the Messiah.
17 Thus there were fourteen generations in all from Abraham to David, fourteen from David to the exile to Babylon, and fourteen from the exile to the Messiah.
Devotional
By: Pastor Mark Ellcessor
This past year, we took a deep dive into the Old Testament. Here, the very first chapter of the Gospel of Matthew ties together the Old and New Testaments. Jesus didn’t just appear out of nowhere. His genealogy is given in detail, and Matthew gives Him three titles: Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham.
Buried inside of this 23andMe report are some skeletons in Christ’s closet.
Abraham lied to the Egyptian king, passing off his wife as his sister.
Jacob got to the top of the heap by deceiving his brother and father.
Judah went to a prostitute for a little tryst, not knowing she was really his daughter-in-law Tamar in disguise.
Rahab actually was a prostitute.
Ruth was a foreigner.
David had an affair with Bathsheba, then had her husband Uriah killed to cover up his failure.
Solomon’s penchant for hundreds of women led to the downfall of Israel as a united nation.
Jehoram, Ahaz, Manasseh, and Amon were all kings of Judah who did more evil than good.
Have you ever wondered if your family heritage disqualifies you for greatness in God’s kingdom? The Bible reminds us, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). That includes everybody on your family tree, all the people in your family pics, everyone staring back at you in your bathroom mirror.
The theme for this year is “Be God’s Family.” We will look at some of the New Testament books written to Christians with a Hebrew heritage. As we do so, we will discover that all of us who have received Jesus have been grafted into the tree of the people of God, the family of God, the children of God.
That includes you.
No perfect people required.
Poem
Reflecting On The Past
Psalm 44
“We have heard it with our ears, O God; our ancestors have told us what you did in their days, in days long ago…It was not by their sword that they won the land, nor did their arm bring them victory; it was your right hand, your arm, and the light of your face, for you loved them.”
Psalm 44:1, 3
When we reflect upon the past
The way You saved Your people
To full accomplish Your will’s task
Through weak and sinful people
It gives us hope to trust You, Lord
Your right hand, arm delivered
The light of Your face shining forth
To birth our Promised Savior
Through glory, trials, Your presence true
This bloodline did continue
Sustained by grace, and grace alone
Your promise forefront view
You led them out, You brought them low
Forgave their every sinning
You shored them up, You brought them through
Their confidence thus winning
We honor now our parents, too
As they through deserts wandered
As heaven’s grace sustained them true
And sought them when they wandered
O, may we join their hymns of trust
Hope’s songs spur on our journey
Acknowledging your ways are just
Upon this pilgrim journey
