Who's Naughty or Nice... // Misfits & Embarrassments

Devotional

Day 1: God’s Kingdom Arrives Through a Messy Genealogy

We spend a lot of energy on image management—showing strengths, hiding weaknesses—but Christmas tells a different story. Matthew opens not with a polished scene but with a genealogy that refuses to airbrush the family line: Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, and the woman once married to Uriah. It’s as if God is saying, “I’m not embarrassed to be associated with people like this—and I’m not embarrassed to be associated with you.” If you’ve ever felt like you never should have existed or that your past disqualifies you, hear this: you are seen, valued, and included. This King steps into our real history and our real mess to bring real hope. You are welcomed into His wide circle of grace just as you are, and He’ll lead you into what you can become. [04:28]

Matthew 1:1-6: The account of Jesus the Messiah begins by tracing His line through David and Abraham. Along the way, it names people we might prefer to hide—Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, and the woman who had been Uriah’s wife—showing that God carried His promise through a flawed family tree to bring the King.

Reflection: What part of your story still feels too messy to name, and who is one trusted person or group where you could share a small, honest piece this week?

Day 2: A Promise that Outlasts Failure and Delay

God promised David a name that would endure and a throne established forever, yet centuries passed with no son of David on the throne. David himself failed spectacularly, but God did not cancel His word; His grace and purpose reached farther than David’s worst day. In Jesus, the rightful Son of David, the promise quietly and powerfully arrived. This is good news for anyone who assumes their failures have permanently sidelined them. God keeps His word even when we run out of our own. You can entrust your timeline and your future to the One who finishes what He starts. [09:58]

2 Samuel 7:9,16: Through Nathan, God told David, “I have made your name great among the great ones of the earth. Your house and your kingdom will stand, and your throne will be secured for all time.”

Reflection: Where have you assumed your past failure disqualified you from God’s promise, and what single act of obedient trust could you take today to realign with His faithfulness?

Day 3: Jesus Welcomes the Naughty List—Including Me

Jesus stepped into rooms full of tax collectors and sinners and sat at the center, not the edges. He called Matthew in the middle of his wrongdoing and then ate with Matthew’s friends, refusing to let religious gatekeepers redraw the circle of grace. He is not embarrassed to be associated with you; He draws near to transform you. If you feel on the outside, know that He is already moving toward you with mercy. The question is not whether you’re welcome—the question is whether you’ll rise and follow. [30:02]

Matthew 9:9-13: Jesus saw a tax collector named Matthew and said, “Follow me,” and Matthew got up and followed. While Jesus was at dinner with many tax collectors and other notorious sinners, critics complained; Jesus replied that sick people need a doctor and that God desires mercy more than ritual—He came to call sinners back, not those convinced they’re already right.

Reflection: Who is one person you tend to avoid because of their reputation, and what is one respectful, concrete way you could move toward them with mercy this week?

Day 4: Rest for Weary Souls in a Restless Season

Many carry burdens—guilt, shame, loss, labels, words spoken over us—and the weight can feel unending. Jesus invites the weary to come, learn from Him, and discover a way of life that fits and heals. He doesn’t promise to fix every circumstance overnight, but He does promise rest at the deepest level. As you listen, follow, and practice His way, your soul finds room to breathe, even when life is noisy. This is the heart of Christmas: the King who gives rest, not more pressure. Come as you are; leave with rest for your soul. [36:35]

Matthew 11:28-30: Jesus calls the worn out and overloaded to Himself, offering His gentle way as a well-fitted yoke. As we learn from Him, He gives real rest within—rest that holds steady even when life around us does not.

Reflection: Name the heaviest burden you carry right now; what simple daily rhythm (for example, five quiet minutes with Matthew 11, or a “Jesus, I come” breath prayer) will you practice for the next seven days to bring it to Him?

Day 5: From Image Management to Honest, Hopeful Following

It’s natural to manage how we’re seen on first dates, job interviews, and with neighbors—but life with Jesus invites a different posture. He includes people who “never should have been born” by human standards and turns their stories into conduits of grace. That means you are not an accident, and your past is not the end of the story. The best response is simple and brave: follow Him, learn from Him, and take the next step He places in front of you. As you walk with Him and with a trusted community, you’ll trade pretending for purpose and pressure for peace. [38:41]

Luke 2:10-11: The angel reassured the shepherds not to fear and announced news meant to gladden everyone: in David’s town, a Rescuer has been born—He is the promised Messiah and Lord.

Reflection: If you decided to follow Jesus afresh this week, what is your first concrete step—start reading Matthew, join a community group, confess to someone you trust, or make amends—and when will you do it?

Sermon Summary

We all learn to manage our image—showing strengths, hiding weaknesses—because it feels safer and more efficient. But Matthew refuses to do that with Jesus’ story. Instead of starting with angels and shepherds, he opens with a genealogy and puts the mess on display: Tamar and Judah, Rahab the Canaanite prostitute, Ruth the Moabite whose people trace back to an incestuous beginning, and then even King David at his worst. Matthew isn’t ruining Christmas; he’s including us. He’s building a case that Jesus is the promised King—the Messiah, the Christ—rooted in David’s line as God promised, yet surrounded by people who would never make our “nice list.”

The old promise God gave David seemed broken for centuries, and then Jesus appears. Even David’s darkest chapter—taking another man’s wife, arranging a death, and fathering Solomon—didn’t cancel God’s purpose. That doesn’t minimize sin or its fallout; it magnifies grace that is sturdier than our failures. If you’ve ever felt like you never should have existed, Ruth stands in the family tree of Jesus to say otherwise. Matthew’s point lands tenderly: God is not embarrassed by you. You are seen and valued.

And Jesus doesn’t keep his distance. He sits right in the middle of “naughty list” people—in Matthew’s house, surrounded by sinners and tax collectors—while the religious stand off in a wider circle, asking why he’d associate with them. That’s the surprise of Christmas: God stepped into the mess we made to do something for us, in us, and even in spite of us. So the question is simple: If Matthew is right and Jesus is King, how do we respond? The invitation is personal and present: Come to me, all who are weary and burdened. Learn from me. Follow me. I’ll give you rest—for your soul, the part of you that can’t be stabilized by circumstances. That’s very good news of great joy for all people—those who look “nice,” those who know they’re “naughty,” and all of us who swing between the two.

Key Takeaways

1. Stop hiding; let grace tell truth. When we curate our image, we protect ourselves but also block the very healing we need. Matthew opens with a genealogy that refuses to airbrush the story, because truth is the doorway through which grace walks in. Bringing our whole story into the light isn’t unsafe with Jesus; it’s where restoration begins. [03:49]
2. God fulfills promises through failures. David’s abuse of power should have ended his story, yet God carried the promise through Solomon, born of that brokenness. This is not divine approval of sin—it’s a revelation of mercy that outlasts collapse. When you think your failure has disqualified you, remember that God writes redemption into chapters we would have torn out. [23:01]
3. You are not a mistake. Ruth’s lineage begins in a story most would erase, yet she is named in the line of the King. Matthew wants the unmissable truth to land on our hearts: God is not embarrassed to be associated with you. Your origin, wounds, or labels don’t get the last word on your worth; Jesus does. [17:07]
4. Jesus stands in the messy middle. He sits among sinners while the self-assured keep their distance, showing us where God loves to be found. If we only live on the safe edges, we will miss the heart of Christ and the people he loves. Go where he goes—into rooms that need presence, not pretense. [29:39]
5. Rest is found by following. Jesus does not offer a technique but an apprenticeship: come, learn, and walk with me. Rest for the soul is a byproduct of alignment with the King—receiving his way with guilt, shame, relationships, and purpose. If you’re weary, obedience isn’t punishment; it’s the path home. [34:49]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[00:12] - The pull of image management
[02:32] - Why community needs timing and trust
[03:28] - Matthew starts with the messy genealogy
[05:09] - Proving Jesus as the promised King
[07:39] - Nathan’s promise and a no‑box God
[09:58] - A throne promised to last forever
[12:42] - Rahab, Ruth, and outsider grace
[14:17] - Moabite origins and our worth
[18:02] - King David’s darkest chapter
[22:22] - Uriah’s death and a broken crown
[26:18] - You’re included in the Christmas story
[27:55] - God’s promise runs through misfits
[29:39] - Jesus with the “naughty list”
[34:49] - Come to me: the invitation to rest
[36:00] - Rest for your souls

Bible Study Guide

Bible reading
- Matthew 1:1–17
- Matthew 11:28–30
- 2 Samuel 7:12–16

Observation questions (3–4)

Read Matthew 1:1–17. Which names or patterns stand out in the genealogy, and what do the included women (Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, Bathsheba) force the reader to notice about Jesus’ origins?
Read 2 Samuel 7:12–16. What promise is given to David, and what immediate tensions appear between that promise and the later history of David’s family? ([09:25])
Read Matthew 11:28–30. What images or words in this passage describe the kind of help Jesus offers to “the weary and burdened”? ([34:49])
Look back at the genealogy again: where does the text draw attention to scandal, outsider status, or moral failure? How does noticing those details change the tone of the opening of the Gospel? ([04:28])

Interpretation questions (3–4)

Matthew intentionally names morally complicated and non‑Israelite ancestors in the Messiah’s lineage. What is the theological point of placing these particular stories in the opening of the Gospel, and how does that reframe common expectations about who belongs in God’s story? ([04:28])
Nathan’s promise establishes an eternal throne for David’s line (2 Sam 7). How should one understand God’s faithfulness to that promise in light of David’s moral failure and its consequences? ([23:01])
The invitation “Come to me… learn from me… follow me” presents discipleship as apprenticeship rather than a one‑time fix. What does calling people to “learn” and “follow” imply about the ongoing shape of spiritual restoration and rest? ([34:49])
Jesus deliberately sat in the messy middle among sinners while religious people stayed on the outside. How does that posture shape priorities for mission, church life, and who the community is to welcome? ([29:39])

Application questions (4–7)

Image management is natural, but it can block healing. Where are you currently curating a “best” version of yourself instead of sharing a real need? What is one safe, specific next step to bring that part of your story into a trusted circle this week? ([00:12])
Many people carry a story or label they think disqualifies them. Name one failure or label that feels like it disqualifies you. How does the claim “God is not embarrassed by you” change one concrete decision you will make this week about how you live or relate to others? ([17:07])
Identify a relationship, workplace, or neighborhood where you avoid the messy middle. What is one concrete way you will choose presence (show up, listen, serve, confess) instead of pretense in that place in the next seven days? ([29:39])
The invitation to “come” is practical: rest, learn, follow. What specific practice will you take this week to respond—example: a quiet 10‑minute prayer bringing a particular burden, a short confession to a trusted friend, or a Sabbath rest plan—and when will you do it? ([34:49])
The genealogy shows God fulfilling promises through broken people. Name a past failure you fear still limits you. How might God be writing redemption into that chapter, and what is one step you can take to cooperate with that redemption (seek forgiveness, repair a relationship, join an accountability group)? ([23:01])
Community groups are places where timing and trust allow messy honesty. What one change will your group try at the next meeting to make it safer for honest stories (shorter icebreaker, a confidentiality agreement, a question prompt that invites vulnerability)? ([02:32])

(Use the Bible readings above before the discussion. Spend time listening to the passages and allow silence between answers so people can reflect.)

Sermon Clips

Don't put God in a box. You can't put God inside of this box and say, this is where the presence of God is because, you know, that's what, that's essentially what David was trying to do. He was trying to build this temple so that it would represent the presence of God. But Nathan's like, hold on. If you put God in a box, if you put him in the temple over there, what's going to happen is you're going to, you're going to view God as he's over there. [00:08:21] (21 seconds) #GodBeyondBoxes

He goes on, your house and your kingdom will endure forever. Your throne will be established forever, which is an interesting prophecy to make because as time passed, as time began to pass, eventually we find ourselves in the nation of Israel, eventually there is no ancestor of David on the throne. The prophecy was that his throne and his kingdom would last forever, but there's no ancestor of David on the throne, which should cause the people of Israel to pause and go, hmm, something seems off here. [00:10:00] (35 seconds) #EternalPromise

``Have you ever felt, or have you ever been told, like, has somebody communicated to you verbally or non-verbally that the world would be better if you just hadn't been born? Have you ever been told that you were a mistake? Have you ever been, have you ever felt, even if nobody's told you this, have you ever just felt like the world would be better off without me? My family would be better off without me. If you've ever felt that, you should know that one of the important lessons of Christmas, at least according to Matthew, is that God is not embarrassed by you. You have value. [00:16:58] (34 seconds) #YouAreValued

Matthew's like, listen, God was so committed. He was so committed to his ultimate agenda, his ultimate agenda of sending his son into the world for you and for me, so that we could be forgiven of our sin, so that he could go to that cross for you and for me. He was so committed to that ultimate agenda that he kept his promise to Abraham, the dishonest. He kept that promise through people like Tamar, the desperate deceiver. Through Judah, the brother trading slave trader. Through Rahab, the Canaanite prostitute. He kept his promise through Ruth, the Moabite descendant of incest. He kept his promise through David, the murderous polygamous adulterer. [00:27:38] (49 seconds) #GraceForTheImperfect

Meanwhile, the religious people, they're sitting on, they got a much wider circle. They're outside the house making a bigger circle while Jesus is right in the middle of all the naughty list. He was not afraid to be associated with anybody and everybody. And it's like Matthew wants us to know that from the very beginning. It's like he wants to make it very clear that you and that I am included in God's circle of grace and mercy and love. [00:29:58] (28 seconds) #IncludedInGrace

He says, come to me, all you who are weary and burdened. Those of you that are burdened by sin, those of you that are burdened by guilt, those of you that are burdened by shame, those of you that are burdened by your past. Come to me, all of you who are burdened by loss, loss of a loved one. Come to me, all of you who are burdened by your labels that people have given you. Come to me, all you who are burdened by people's words, by the actions of other people. Come to me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I'll give you rest. [00:35:05] (35 seconds) #ComeAndRest

Your souls, that's the part that's on the inside of us. Regardless of what is happening around you, regardless of what's happening in your marriage, regardless of what's happening in your home, regardless of what's happening at work, regardless of what's happening in your neighborhood, regardless of what's happening in any arena of your life, you will find rest for your souls. [00:36:14] (20 seconds) #RestForYourSoul

The simple fact that you and I can be such bad news is what makes the coming of the Messiah very, very good news of great joy for all people, as the angel said. And all literally means all people. And I think, as we've discovered throughout this series, that Matthew's naughty list proves that. The list that he gave us proves that is good news of great joy for all people, for everyone who's naughty or nice. [00:36:50] (46 seconds) #GoodNewsForAll

Ask a question about this sermon

Chatbot

Why did God uphold David’s promise after adultery?

Why include outsiders and scandal in Messiah’s lineage?

How do weary sinners find rest in Christ?