Family...it's beautiful, and frustrating, and glorious, and embarrassing, and diverse -- even Christ's family line carries some characters and heroes. Christy Nockels' song, "Amaryllis," inspired me to explore a few of the people in the lineage of Christ. How appropriate during this time of year when many of us have just made another year of memories with family and friends at Christmas. Whether your family is on the glorious side, or the tragic, or somewhere in between, we see God weave all kinds of people into the lineage of the Savior of the world...so surely there's hope for us! On this episode I discuss: Taking a B.I.T.E. out of Scripture - our Bible Interaction Tool Exercises this week are: Follow cross references Consider the historical context - the article I found on the "silent period" between Micah and Matthew Considering the context of your birth The Old Testament ending on a note of expectation - Micah 4:4-6 Exploring the lineage of Christ - Matthew 1:17 Learning more about "Grandpa" Perez in Genesis 38 King Hezekiah and his good start - 2 Chronicles 29:1-3 The influence Hezekiah had on his nation - 2 Chronicles 30:6-10 A portion of Hezekiah's legacy - 2 Chronicles 31:20-21 The "rest of the story" of Hezekiah's life - Isaiah 36-39 Zerubbabel and his role in the rebuilding of the altar and the temple - Ezra 3-6 Additional Resources Behind the song "Amaryllis" by Christy Nockels - New Release Today Article The Song Story of "Amaryllis" - YouTube Video This Week's Challenge Follow my lead and learn about Judah, Tamar, and Perez in Genesis 38. 2 Chronicles 29-31 tells much of the life of Hezekiah, but Isaiah 36-39 tells the "rest of the story." Zerubabbel, son of Shealtiel, has a major role in the rebuilding of the altar and the temple after the Babylonian deportation, and you can read all about it in chapters 3-6 of Ezra. All of these are in the lineage of Christ. It's an interesting network of people, some with sordid pasts and questionable choices, but woven into the family of Christ nonetheless. Our song says, "Through a fragile people the Light of Life will come." He continues to use fragile people in HIS story today.