The Making of a Messiah

Who is Jesus to you? What informs and shapes your view of Jesus and his work? We are all the product of our origins. Our ancestors, families, cultures, and historical backgrounds all influence who we are, how we see the world, what we do with our lives, and how we relate to the people around us. If we can accept that Jesus was also fully human, then the same must be true for him.

This means that, if we want to know Jesus better and follow his way more closely, we need to know what shaped who he was.

That's why I am excited to introduce you to The Making of a Messiah In the ancient world, women weren't usually considered in ancestral records. But in Matthew's Gospel, the genealogy of Jesus includes five hidden women with important stories.

Clearly, the writer believed that these women had something important to tell us about Jesus as Messiah.

The Making of a Messiah combines the stories of the five 'hidden' women in Matthew's genealogy (and one additional woman from Luke) with the Lectionary readings for Year B to dive deep into the forces that shaped who Jesus was. Together, these six women lead us on a journey, through Advent and Christmas, to encounter Jesus in a new way and to understand both who he was and what his life means for us today.

The Making of a Messiah is both a guide for worship and a manual for following the way of Jesus intentionally and practically. It is both an inspiring journey to prepare for Christmas and a deep exploration of the meaning of Jesus' incarnation and life. And, as the focus of your Advent and Christmas worship, The Making of a Messiah sets the course for the entire year ahead.