Wednesday April 23, 2014

Read: Romans 1:1-3, Matthew 1:1-17 (If you’re game!)

Genealogies can be rather boring and tedious. But even so the Bible is filled with them. Interestingly, the genealogies tell us a lot about God, about mankind and about ourselves.

Word Moment

Never groan when you come to a genealogy. God has put it there to teach you some incredible truth. Ask yourself what God is telling you through this genealogy and get excited by digging for the truth God is conveying to you.

God could have done many things to bring mankind to repentance and faith in His only begotten Son Jesus. He could have opened the heavens to show the world Jesus sitting on the heavenly throne. He could have transported people to the heavenly throne room and given them the task of testifying what they saw to the world. He could have simply created ‘belief’ in each and every single person effectively removing all doubt.

But God chose to humbly enter our world through the lineage of the great King David who was a descendant of Abraham who in turn was a descendant of the first person, Adam. The genealogies we see throughout Scripture are often linked to the promise of God to bring the Saviour into the world. Adam, Abraham and David had the gospel promised to them. Genealogies are often given in impossible situations. Mary for example was found to be with child before she was married. In our day, that’s a common thing but in Mary’s day it was intolerable and was punishable by death!

God also shows us how gracious He really is and how far reaching His grace extends. In the genealogy we see that Ruth is mentioned. This woman was a Moabitess, not a Jew. By Old Testament standards, she should not have a major role in Jewish society. But by God’s grace she is grand mother to the Great King David. Tamar is mentioned who disguised herself as a harlot and offered herself to Judah, her father-in-law to continue the family line. Rahab was a prostitute in Jericho that was sieged and destroyed by Joshua. Rahab welcomed the spies, hid them from the army and was rewarded for her support. She married Salmon (a fishy guy??) and gave birth to Boaz who married Ruth and thus became an ancestor to Jesus.

God in all His wisdom chose to send Jesus through the lineage of David. He chose to humbly enter our world as the Son of Man, knowing that no other way would suffice to make atonement for our sins!

Discussion Questions for families and groups

1. When we come to genealogies at church people often groan and moan. What positives can you think about genealogies?
2. Why do you think God put genealogies into the Bible?
3. What function(s) do genealogies serve? Brainstorm to make the list as long as you can!

Prayer

Use today’s readings to write down prayer points

Adoration:

Confession:

Thanks:

Supplication:

• As many cell groups meet tonight, pray that God would grow these cells in love and compassion for each other. Pray that the time of Worship, Word and Walk would be an edification to all involved and that cells would begin to reach outwards with the gospel.
• Pray that God would bless our MOPS and Playpals ministries. Ask the Lord to use these two ministries to touch many lives with the Gospel and to bring many into His kingdom. Ask your Lord to raise up the support needed for these ministries to thrive.