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December 8, 2019

Matthew 1:1-17

1. Pastor Nate mentioned that one of the themes seen in the gospel of Matthew is that Jesus is the King who has all authority. One way to think about the importance of the statement is to consider if it was neglected…so what happens if you abandon this theme? What happens if a person does not believe Jesus is King or that Jesus has all authority?

2. We then went to Matthew 1:1 to unpack the genealogy of Jesus Christ. We started by hearing that genealogies were used to show royal pedigree as well as to highlight new beginnings. How could understanding the new beginning realized in Jesus shift the focus of Christmas for you this year?

3. We then went through the various titles found in Matthew 1:1 (“Christ”, “son of David”, & “son of Abraham”) to see that Matthew is pointing to the fact that Jesus meets every expectation of Messiah & fulfills the promises of covenants. How does hearing all the connections within these titles (2 Samuel 7:12-16; Isaiah 9:6-7; Genesis 12:1-3) give you greater joy in the person of Jesus?

4. Next, we talked about the 5 women mentioned in the genealogy. What was interesting is that the women were not known for honorable things, they would not have brought dignity to the genealogy! So how does seeing these people included in the genealogy give you true hope in the power of God’s grace? How has having hope in the grace of God shaped the way you live your own life?

5. We ended by hearing the question, “How will you respond to Jesus, the King?” We were then given 3 responses: complete rejection, casually observing, & unconditional following. What are the characteristics of people found in each of these responses? How does one move from casually observing to unconditional following?