How have you seen your table "change" throughout the years? Depending on the season of your life?

God has set the Table of history (His plan) with grace as the guiding principle. What comes to your mind when you think of "grace"?

Take a walk through the genealogy of Jesus by reading through the following passage. (Good luck with the pronunciations!)


Matthew 1:1-17 (NIV)
1 This is the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah the son of David, the son of Abraham
2 Abraham was the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers
3 Judah the father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar, Perez the father of Hezron, Hezron the father of Ram
4 Ram the father of Amminadab, Amminadab the father of Nahshon, Nahshon the father of Salmon
5 Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab, Boaz the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth, Obed the father of Jesse
6 and Jesse the father of King David. David was the father of Solomon, whose mother had been Uriah’s wife
7 Solomon the father of Rehoboam, Rehoboam the father of Abijah, Abijah the father of Asa
8 Asa the father of Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat the father of Jehoram, Jehoram the father of Uzziah
9 Uzziah the father of Jotham, Jotham the father of Ahaz, Ahaz the father of Hezekiah
10 Hezekiah the father of Manasseh, Manasseh the father of Amon, Amon the father of Josiah
11 and Josiah the father of Jeconiah and his brothers at the time of the exile to Babylon.
12 After the exile to Babylon: Jeconiah was the father of Shealtiel, Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel
13 Zerubbabel the father of Abihud, Abihud the father of Eliakim, Eliakim the father of Azor
14 Azor the father of Zadok, Zadok the father of Akim, Akim the father of Elihud
15 Elihud the father of Eleazar, Eleazar the father of Matthan, Matthan the father of Jacob
16 and Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, and Mary was the mother of Jesus who is called the Messiah.
17 Thus there were fourteen generations in all from Abraham to David, fourteen from David to the exile to Babylon, and fourteen from the exile to the Messiah.

Pastor Jonathan highlighted the significance of seeing three sets of fourteen generations, noting how nothing stops God's plan. How is this significant for you personally?

How do you see the Rule of Grace woven throughout the genealogy of Jesus?

Just to review a few...
Abraham had a problem with lying
Jacob cheated his family
Rahab was a prostitute
King David committed adultery and had Uriah killed

And yet, their names are found in this remarkable list. How is this significant for you personally?

Grace brought them (and ALL) to The Table. Reflect on the following scripture.

John 1:16 (NIV)
Out of his fullness we have all received grace in place of grace already given.

Grace isn't just what we say, but what we experience. How do you need to receive God's grace?

To whom or in what situation do you need to share grace?

Reflect on this question: What do you want to be remembered about your table?