Third Saturday of Advent
(Note: Don’t let this passage intimidate you. Be honest with your children about how names are difficult and even boring passages to read. I suggest using a Bible app on your phone, such as Bible Gateway, to read this passage aloud to your family.)
Say Today we are going to do something a little different. The gospel of Matthew opens with a genealogy, which is a birth record, showing people and their children from Abraham to Jesus. There are nearly 50 names listed in these verses! A lot of these names are unusual to us today, but I want you to listen and see if you recognize any from the Bible stories you’ve read.
Read Matthew 1:1-17
Light the two purple candles and the pink candle while the names are read.
Say Whoa, that was a lot of long names, wasn’t it? Sometimes people skip the passages that have lots of names like that one, but the author of Matthew thought it important enough to Jesus’ story to include.
Ask Did you hear any familiar names in there? (Your children may need prompting or even re-reading. Some familiar names might be: Abraham, Issac, Jacob, Rahab, Ruth, King David, Joseph, and Mary.)
Say This passage is important because it traces Jesus back to the line of David. If you remember from our first week of Advent, that was an important Old Testament prophecy to fulfill, “a shoot will grow from the stump of Jesse.”
Ask Did you hear any girl names in the reading?
Say Yes, Matthew included four different women in this genealogy, and all of them were Gentiles, which just means they were not Jewish. God used Jews and Gentiles in his plan. He used men and women. He can use you and me, too.
Pray Lord, thank you for the details you give us in your Word. Use us in your plan. Amen.
Sing Joy to the World