Is your family anyone important, and what if, after years of searching, it turned out there was no blue blood and no great name in it at all? This sermon begins with the holiday chaos of a family nobody chooses and leads to the genealogy of Jesus in the first chapter of Matthew (Matthew 1), a list of names full of utterly ordinary people and stories nobody tells at the Christmas table. The speaker draws out three simple consequences of God choosing to be born right there: that Jesus understands us from the inside, that the Father is not distant, and that the invitation into a new family knows no borders. Listen if you have ever thought you were too ordinary for God to take an interest in you.
Discussion questions
For your small group or for personal reflection after the sermon.
- According to the sermon, why does Matthew open his Gospel with the words "the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham," and what did those two names tell his first readers about Jesus?
- Jesus' genealogy includes women such as Rahab, a prostitute from Jericho, and the wife of Uriah. What does it tell you about God that Matthew does not hide these difficult stories?
- Abraham had no son and no future, and David was the least of his brothers. According to the sermon, what made their names great, and how does that change the way you think about your own worth?
- The sermon says Jesus does not know our experiences from books but lived them. In what situation do you especially need to remember that He understands what it is like to be you?
- When you find yourself crying out "God, where are you?", what helps you believe that God is involved in your everyday life?
- God's invitation into His new family crosses ethnic, social and economic boundaries. Who around you, including relatives at the holiday table, can you welcome this week the way Jesus welcomes them?
