Genealogy of Christ

Matthew 1:1-17; Luke 3:23-38


Thank you for continuing this journey of The Gospel Project^® for Kids. Aren’t you excited that we’ve finally reached the New Testament? Four hundred years of God’s silence separated the last book of the Old Testament—Malachi—and the first book of the New Testament—Matthew. Matthew, the first of the four Gospels, begins with Jesus’ genealogy, like a family tree.


The prophecies concerning Jesus’ birth are numerous, and many of them refer to Jesus’ lineage. Old Testament prophecies tell of the promised Messiah being born from the seed of a woman (Genesis 3:15); from the seeds of Abraham (Genesis 22:18), Isaac (Genesis 21:12), and Jacob (Numbers 24:17); from the tribe of Judah (Micah 5:2); from the line of Jesse (Isaiah 11:1); and from the house of David (Jeremiah 23:5). The prophecies said He would be born of a virgin (Isaiah 7:14) and would be the Son of God (1 Chronicles 17:13-14; Psalm 2:7). Jesus fulfilled all of these prophecies.



In Bible times, Jews took great care to accurately record family genealogies. The family a person belonged to was directly linked to property rights. Matthew 1:1-17 and Luke 3:23-38 both chronicle the genealogy of Jesus. The account in Matthew presents Jesus as the king of the Jews—the legal heir to the throne of David. The account in Luke was written to Greek Christians and focuses on Jesus’ descent from Adam.



Jesus came to earth as a baby in Bethlehem. Jesus had earthly parents, Mary and Joseph, but His true Father is God. Jesus was God the Son when He came to earth, but He also took on the form of a man. Jesus was born to save people from their sins.

Malachi, the Prophet

Malachi 1 - 4



Sunday’s Bible account takes us to the last book of the Old Testament, the Book of Malachi. After living as prisoners in Babylon for many years, God’s people had returned to Judah—the land God promised to them. They had worked hard and had overcome opposition to rebuild the temple and the walls around Jerusalem. Surely God would restore them … finally! But nothing happened. As they waited, they faced drought and economic uncertainty. God’s people probably felt like God had not blessed them at all.



“It is useless to serve God,” they said. “What have we gained by keeping His requirements?” (Mal. 3:14). Did God still care? It wasn’t long until they fell back into the same patterns of sin that led to their exile in the first place: idolatry, covetousness, hypocrisy, arrogance, and abuse of the poor. But God did still love His people. He had been working out His divine plan of redemption, and He never gave up on them. God sent a message to His people through the prophet Malachi.



Malachi spoke to God’s people approximately 100 years after the end of the Babylonian captivity. Malachi’s message from God was a wake-up call. The people’s lack of blessing didn’t mean that God didn’t care: God exposed His people’s sin and made clear that their actions merited a punishment. God’s people needed to repent and turn back to God. “But for you who fear My name,” God said, “the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings” (Mal. 4:2).



Four hundred years of silence followed Malachi’s prophecy; God did not communicate to His people. Malachi was a messenger—a prophet—who told God’s people to repent. Malachi also told about another messenger God would send. This messenger, John the Baptist, would break the silence. John would call people to repent and get them ready for a final Messenger, Jesus Christ. Jesus would bring good news of salvation.

Happy Father's Day

June 15 is Father's Day. Thank you God for being our Father. Thank you to all the Fathers out there who love and provide for their families. HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!

Ezra Read the Law

Nehemiah 8:1-12

Today’s Bible account takes place at a special worship service after the Jews finished rebuilding Jerusalem’s walls. Ezra was a priest in Babylon at the end of the exile. Just as God had been with Nehemiah, He was with Ezra—granting Him favor with the Persian king, who gave him permission to go to Jerusalem.

Ezra had a special purpose for returning to Jerusalem. God’s people had lived in exile for 70 years. They needed to be reminded how to live holy lives before God. As a scribe, Ezra was an expert on the law of Moses. Ezra had “determined in his heart to study the law of the Lord, obey it, and teach its statutes and ordinances in Israel” (Ezra 7:10).

After the walls were rebuilt, everyone gathered together at the Water Gate to hear Ezra read the law. Men, women, and children—anyone who could understand—came to listen. From early morning to midday, Ezra read from the book of the law of Moses. He stood on a platform so everyone could see and hear him. The Levites helped listeners understand the words of the law. When they understood, they wept. The law revealed their sin.

Ezra told the people not to weep, for the joy of the Lord is their strength. Yes, the people had sinned. But God would keep His promise to forgive. God’s Word is powerful. When Ezra read God’s Word, the people changed their ways and loved God more. 

The Bible says that Jesus is “the Word.” Jesus is God who came to live with people on earth. Jesus has the power to change our hearts.

Jerusalem's Walls Rebuilt

Nehemiah 3:1 – 6:16

This week in The Gospel Project^® for Kids, our journey takes us to Jerusalem as Nehemiah led God’s people to finish rebuilding the city walls. City walls and gates were very important in Bible times. Walls were built to be several feet thick to protect a city from its enemies and provide a sense of safety and security. Gates were the center of city life, the meeting place for commercial and social transactions. Without these structures, the surviving remnant of God’s people struggled and was vulnerable to attack.

Nehemiah traveled from Persia to Jerusalem to lead the effort in rebuilding Jerusalem’s walls. Nehemiah’s leadership was effective; in Nehemiah 3 we see all the people working together to rebuild the gates and walls. But it wasn’t long before Nehemiah met opposition. Sanballat and Tobiah were local governors who strongly opposed Nehemiah’s helping the Jews. The two mocked God’s people and tried to discourage them. Sanballat and Tobiah planned a surprise attack against God’s people, but God’s people found out. They kept working—with a trowel in one hand and a sword in the other.

God’s people completed the wall in just 52 days. Note how their enemies reacted: “All the surrounding nations were intimidated and lost their confidence, for they realized that this task had been accomplished by our God” (Neh. 6:16). Nehemiah led the people to rebuild the walls around Jerusalem to protect them from their enemies. Jesus came to protect us from our enemies. He died on the cross and rose from the dead to rescue people from sin and death.