Resources For "Genealogy of Hope" From Each Harderwyk Preacher
I. New For This Week
Naomi & Ruth - In all of our communities this week we will be focusing some time on the story of Naomi and Ruth. CLICK HERE for an excellent video that summarizes the themes and structure of the book of Ruth by the bibleproject.
My Train Wreck Conversion - CLICK HERE for Rosaria Butterfield sharing the surprising story of her conversion on the ChristianityToday.com website. This was a closing story about "Gospel Hospitality" and how God works through His people to welcome and invite "outsiders" - which is how ALL of us began - into His family.
Celebration Sermon Outline - CLICK HERE for this Sunday's Sermon Outline.
II. From The Commentaries On This Passage
From Craig Keener’s commentary Matthew on Matthew 1:2-17:
“The Gentile mission. Through four interracial marriages Matthew teaches us about missions and racial reconciliation (1:3, 5–6). While Matthew’s most obvious point is the connection of Jesus with Israel’s history, another point would also strike his biblically sensitive readers forcefully. Genealogies need include only men (those in 1 Chron exemplify this pattern), so the unexpected appearance of four women draws attention to them. Had Matthew merely meant to evoke the history of Israel in a general way, one would have expected him to have named the matriarchs of Israel: Sarah, Rebekah, Leah and Rachel. Or to evoke supernatural births as a prelude to Mary’s, he could cite Sarah, Rebekah and Rachel, whose wombs God opened. Instead he names four women whose primary common link is their apparent Gentile ancestry: Tamar of Canaan, Rahab of Jericho, Ruth the Moabite and the ex-wife of Uriah the Hittite.
In a world divided by races and cultures, an interracial marriage can appear scandalous, an act of treachery. The traditional white prejudice in some parts of the United States against black-white intermarriage is rooted in the history of slavery and racism (see Bennett 1966:242–73). Yet a genuinely divinely ordained interracial marriage can testify that Christ is a bond that runs deeper than race. One Tamil-Sinhalese couple in racially torn Sri Lanka declared, “Our marriage crosses the ethnic lines that divide our nation” (Williams 1992:10). By contrast, many North American Christians fail to actively pursue even interracial friendships.
Jewish people regarded genealogies as important to establish the purity of their lineage (as in 1 Esdras 5:39–40), yet it is the mixed nature of Jesus’ lineage that Matthew purposely highlights. When Matthew cites these four women, he is reminding his readers that three ancestors of King David and the mother of King Solomon were Gentiles. Matthew thus declares that the Gentiles were never an afterthought in God’s plan but had been part of his work in history from the beginning. This point fits an emphasis that runs throughout Matthew’s Gospel (for example, 2:1; 3:9; 4:15; 8:11; 28:19), that God is not only for people of our own race or culture; we must cross racial and cultural boundaries to evangelize the whole world, humbly learn from other cultures, and serve with our brothers and sisters there.”
III. Ongoing Resources
1) Spiritual Formation Resources Page - CLICK HERE - This is still a work in progress, but be a part as we look to build
2) Scotty Smith’s Heavenward Daily Prayers - CLICK HERE - to see the daily prayer blog of Scotty Smith. You will see an option to have them delivered to your email inbox each day as well.
3) Simple Lectio Divina Overview - CLICK HERE - for a simple introduction of the spiritual practice of a more personal way of experience the Word through contemplation and reflection.
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