Matthew 1 - January 1st, 2024

Good morning.

My name is Nathan, and I'm one of the pastors here at Church of the Grove, and we're so thankful that you're joining us today as we journey through the Gospels together.

We'll be using the acronym BRED for our time today, which stands for Breathe, Read, Encounter, Apply, and Devote.

As we approach the scriptures today, let's remember that we're not called coming to gain more information, but we are wanting to have an encounter with a personal God.

He tells us in his word that we will seek him and will find him when we search for him with all of our heart.

So, as we enter into his presence this morning, believe that he wants to meet you with you where you are today.

While you may listen to this on a commute or while you're doing something around the house, I would strongly encourage you to set aside some time to go and be in a place where you can totally focus on being with the Lord.

I would suggest having a journal and a pen handy so that you can take notes for anything the Lord might be saying to you.

And with that, let's open up the scriptures to today's assigned passage.

Before we begin reading today, let's first begin by breathing.

Let's be silent with Jesus for a few moments.

And let's just pay attention to him.

Make sure you remove as many distractions as you can and just take a minute in this stillness to just be with Jesus.

Focus your whole self on the Lord this morning.

Maybe even open up your hands to him and then take a deep breath in.

And then exhale out.

Maybe take another breath in.

And then exhale out.

Calming your spirit.

And then just ask for the Holy Spirit to come and to be with you and to lead you as you begin to read through the scriptures together.

And as we read through it, let's just slowly think through it and just ask for the Holy Spirit to speak to us and maybe even write down some things that jump out at you.

As we read through this today, our assigned passage is Matthew chapter 1.

Matthew 1 · chapter mention

This is a record of the ancestors of Jesus, the Messiah, a descendant of David and of Abraham.

Abraham was the father of Isaac, Isaac was the father of Jacob.

Jacob was the father of Judah and his brothers.

Judah was the father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar.

Perez was the father of Hezron.

Hezron was the father of Ram.

Ram was the father of Abinadab.

Abinadab was the father of Nashon.

Nashan was the father of Salmon.

Salmon was the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab.

Boaz was the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth.

Obed was the father of Jesse.

Jesse was the father of King David.

David was the father of Solomon, whose mother was Bathsheba, the widow of Uriah.

Solomon was the father of Rehobam.

Rehaboam was the father of Abinjah.

Abijah was the father of Asah.

Asah was the father of Jehoshaphat.

Jehoshaphat was the father of Jehoiram.

Jehoiram was the father of Uzzah.

Uzziah was the father of Jatharim.

Jathrim was the father of Ahaz.

Ahaz was the father of Hezekiah.

Hezekiah was the father of Manasseh.

Manasseh was the father of Amon.

Amon was the father of Josiah.

Josiah was the father of Jehoiakim.

After the Babylonian exile, Jehoiakim was the father of Shetil.

Shetil was the father of Zerubbabel.

Zerubbabel was the father of Ebayud.

Abaiud was the father of Elachim.

Elachim was the father of Azor.

Azor was the father of Zadek.

Zadek was the father of Akim.

Akim was the father of Elud.

Elud was the father of Eleazar.

Eleazar was the father of Mathan.

Mathan was the father of Jacob.

Jacob was the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary.

Mary gave birth to Jesus, who was called the Messiah.

All those listed above include fourteen generations from Abraham to David, fourteen from David to the Babylonian exile, and fourteen from the Babylonian exile to the Messiah.

This is how Jesus the Messiah was born.

His mother Mary was engaged to be married to Joseph, but before the marriage took place, while she was still a virgin, she became pregnant through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Joseph, to whom she was engaged, was a righteous man and did not want to disgrace her publicly.

So he decided to break the engagement quietly.

As he considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream.

Joseph, son of David, the angel said, Do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child within her was conceived by the Holy Spirit, and she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.

All of this occurred to fulfill the Lord's message through his prophet.

Look, the virgin will conceive a child, she will give birth to a son, and they will call him Emmanuel, which means God is with us.

When Joseph woke up, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded, and took Mary as his wife, but he did not have sexual relations with her until her son was born, and Joseph named him Jesus.

This is the word of the Lord.

As we asked before, we're trying to determine what the Holy Spirit may be saying to us through his word.

And so we're now moving into the encounter phase of the morning.

So take a moment and think through what verse or verses that the Holy Spirit might have led you to.

What stands out to you today?

What's something that resonated with your soul?

As you think about that verse, just ask the Lord, what are you trying to tell me?

What are you saying to me, God?

Does this verse or passage make you feel a certain way?

Does something jump out?

Does it stir some emotions within you?

What do you think the Lord is trying to say to you?

If you have a pen or some journal of some kind, maybe even take a moment and write a short reflection of what the Lord might be trying to say to you now.

As the Lord has maybe spoken to you already, now we're turning our focus outward and we're thinking about how we might actually practically live out what God has been saying to us today.

So ask the Holy Spirit now for just wisdom.

Ask, how should you apply this to your life today?

Spend a moment thinking and praying through that.

Just focusing on the Holy Spirit giving you wisdom and guidance.

Again, if you have paper and pen, I would encourage you to write this down.

Take some moments and time just to write a simple prayer of devotion to the Lord.

What do you need to say to him?

What do you need from him this morning?

Just write that down as you devote yourself fully to him today.

Don't rush through what the Lord might be saying and speaking to you this morning.

But I do pray that today, as you go throughout your day, that the Lord would fill you with hope and joy and peace as you commit your day to Him.

Thank you so much for joining me today for our reading.

And please join us again tomorrow for our next reading.