The Big Story | Matthew - After 400 Years of Silence, the Story Begins Again

Matthew 1:1–17 | ~11 minFour hundred years of silence. No prophets, no word from God — just a promise and a people waiting. Then Matthew opens the New Testament not with a dramatic entrance, but with a list of names. A genealogy. And yet, for anyone who knows the story, those names are anything but ordinary.In this first episode of Part 3, Lisa Scheffler sets the stage for everything we'll explore this week: why Matthew begins here, what three titles in a single verse reveal about Jesus, and why a list of 42 generations is actually one of the boldest declarations in Scripture.Key takeaways:Matthew's genealogy is a theological argument, not just a family tree — organized into three groups of 14 to tell the story of promise, kingdom, and exile leading to ChristThe three titles in Matthew 1:1 — Messiah, Son of David, Son of Abraham — connect Jesus to Israel's deepest hopes all at onceFour unexpected women are tucked into the list: Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, and Bathsheba — and their inclusion is anything but accidentalReflection: The God who kept his promise across 42 generations is at work in your life today — even in the chapters that feel unclear. Where are you waiting on a promise from God right now?Hear the message for this week's devotional on our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@ChristFellowshipMcKinneyGet the written devotional at: https://cfhome.org/EGDIf you are in the North Dallas area and would like to join us for services each week, you can find all the information at https://cfhome.org.