Christmas is for Misfits
Classic Family Christmas
Matthew 1:1-17
If you’re a fan of Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, you will remember what was
referred to as the Island of Misfit toys. The Island of misfit toys was where toys that
were not wanted went until someone finally decided they would take them.
Over the years I have found there are a lot of people who feel like misfits around
Christmas time. For whatever reason, people tend to feel left out. They feel unwanted.
They feel like they don’t fit in all the festivities. There are always various reasons why
people feel like misfits. Some people are consumed by their past. Others are consumed
by what is currently happening in their lives. Still some feel like they are never
accepted by those around them. Regardless of the reason, many feel like misfits.
I have some good news for you today! Christmas is all about misfits. If you’re a misfit
or feel like a misfit, then you should be encouraged by this message. Jesus gave all of us
who have ever felt or currently feel like misfits a wonderful gift and we find it in our
passage this morning. (Read Matthew 1:1-17)
Tucked away in the actual family tree of Jesus are some notable misfits. The Bible goes
out of it’s way to point out the different types of misfits that were included in the
family line of Jesus.
A Dysfunctional Family (1:3) Perez and Tamar
The Story of Tamar is found in Genesis 38:1-30; Take time to read the
story of Tamar and then answer the following questions
When you review your family history what incidents make you cringe?
Describe how you would feel if people knew about that incident?
How do you feel the incidents you are embarrassed by, have affected your
life?
How does the inclusion of Tamar’s story in the family history of Jesus help
you come to terms with your own family history?
How does the story of Tamar help you understand that Jesus is sympathetic
to your family history?
A Victim of Addiction and Abuse (Vs. 5) Rahab
The Story of Rahab is found in Joshua 2:1-24; Read the passage and answer
the following questions:
When you hear or think of the word Prostitute – name 3 things that you
associate with that word.
When Rahab is referred to in the New Testament she is referred to as
Rahab the Harlot. The word harlot comes from the root word Porne from
which we get the word Pornography.
Name 3 things that you associate the word pornography with.
One of the things that prostitution and Pornography have in common is the
trap that it sets for those who participate in it. Sin has an addictive nature
to it. Think of a sin that keeps recurring in your life – describe why or why
you don’t feel trapped by that sin.
Another thing that Prostitution and Pornography have in common is the
destructive nature of the sin. Once again think on a recurring sin in your life
– how is that sin destructive in your life?
Hebrews 11:31 describes Rahab as a hero of the faith. In what ways does it
surprise people to find a former prostitute included as a hero of the faith?
Read Joshua 2:8-13, what did Rahab say in Vs. 11 that made a
transformation possible?
Rahab completely surrendered her future and placed it in the hands of the
Lord. In order for you to experience a complete transformation and
experience freedom from a recurring sin in your life, what do you need to do?
Often when we feel trapped by a recurring sin in our life we figure God could
never use us. Rahab became the great great grandmother of King David –
how does it make you feel when you think of the possibilities God has in store
for you if you completely surrender to him?
A Social Outcast (1:5) Ruth
The story of Ruth is found in the book of Ruth. The book of Ruth has 4
chapters and is a tremendous story of sacrificial love.
Ruth was a widow and a foreigner who went to live in a strange land. She was a Moabitess.
The Moabites were descendants of Lot’s eldest daughter through her incestuous relationship with
her own father. The child born of that illicit union was named Moab.
The Moabites worshiped a god whom they called Chemosh, that at times involved human
sacrifices.
Throughout the Old Testament, relations between Israel and Moab ranged from uneasy tension to
outright hostility.
Tragic circumstances reduced her to abject poverty.
She was not only an outcast and an exile, but also bereft of any resources—reduced to a state of
utter destitution from which she could never hope to redeem herself by any means.
In her extremity, she sought the grace of her mother-in-law’s closest kinsman..
Her "Commitment to God" brought her into a covenant relationship with her mother-in-law, and
ultimately remarried to a man in her family and together they became the great grandparents of
King David.
 Do you find yourself feeling like a misfit due to your Social circumstances?
Describe a time in which you have felt like a Social misfit.
 Often those who have experienced divorce, have been widowed, financial setbacks, or those who are not out-going in their personality find themselves
feeling like a social misfit. What can we do to help people in those
situations?
 Why do you think our culture is so hurtful and closed to those in the
situations described in the previous question?
 How does Jesus change the stigma of social status by including Ruth in his
family history?
A Scandalous Past (1:6) Bathsheba
The Story of David and Bathsheba is found in 2 Samuel 11:1-27; Read this
passage and then answer the following questions:
 How do people generally react and try to handle a scandal in their family?
 What generally happens when a family tries to cover up a scandal?
 Have you blown it big time before? Have you made huge mistakes in your life
and made choices that had major consequences? Describe your emotions
following your mistakes.
 What does Jesus exposing the scandal in his family history say to you about
the wisdom of covering sin up?
 In the message I made the statement - Jesus clearly wants you to know this
morning that the most important choice you will make is the next one – not
the last one. What does that statement mean to you in light of mistakes you
have made in the past?
Honestly, we could go through every name mentioned in this family history of Jesus and
find major problems in every person’s life. Most of these people listed in the family line
of Jesus are people that we have never heard of before. Yet, Jesus included the
Scandalous, the Outcast, the Addicted and Abused, the Dysfunctional, and the nobodies
to send us a message this morning.
 No matter who you are or what has happened in your life – you can
experience the grace of God. Describe a time in your life when you
experienced God’s grace rather than judgment?
Jesus didn’t come for those who have it all together, he came into this world for
the misfits. He came to give you purpose in life. You don’t have to be popular, or
worthy in the eyes of the world to be used by God. Man looks on what’s happened or is
happening in your life and either accepts or rejects you on that basis.
But God looks on the heart. I’m glad we see a bunch of misfits and nobodies in the
family tree of Jesus. Because I am a misfit and Jesus came just for me.