Seven degrees of separation - everyone on earth is connected by a mere 7 degrees. You know someone who knows someone who knows someone who knows someone who knows someone who knows any random person on earth. Despite the fact that there are billions of people on earth, you are connected - we are community. To use an example my buddy Big John would love: I know my brother who met George Bush Sr who knew Richard Nixon who once hosted Elvis at the White House. 5 degrees of separation between me and Elvis. There is even a game: seven degrees of separation from Kevin Bacon (if it helps, my buddy Dan and I were once at a restaurant with Kevin Bacon, so you're in). The point of the exercise is to show our connectedness. How did the Bible show connectedness? Genealogies...the stuff we skip in the Bible.
I have been preaching through Luke for the last 3 months and am finally coming to the end of chapter 3 - Jesus' genealogy. Wanting to find importance for us, I decided that the whole sermon should just be the genealogy. Basically from Jesus to David, we don't know much about those folks other than the fact that God is faithful and preserves His promises for a savior and a king. But then, we find our way to Perez, son of Judah. Are you kidding me? Judah and Perez?
If you don't know the story, Judah's daughter in law, Tamar, dresses up as a prostitute, convinces her father in law to have relations with her and they have a child, Perez. So Judah, a man apparently given to prostitutes, commits adultery and incest, and he and his "love child" get mentioned in Jesus' genealogy? Why? I know some folks who have done all the family tree work and found out that their relatives were a bunch of vicious slave owners. Usually at that point, they either stop doing the research or skip that generation. Why would Jesus' line include Judah and Perez?
Simply, they are included because God redeems people from their sin. If Jesus' line was full of Godly, perfect people, then there would be no need for Jesus in the first place. Jesus came to die for sin and redeem horrible sinners like Judah and Tamar. It should give us hope that despite our worst efforts, Jesus is gracious and redeems people from their sin.
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I too am a church planter in the north Texas area and any new area of thought is helpful.