One of the genealogy websites gave free access to the 1921 Census this week, and I have enjoyed adding more information to my family trees.

Sometimes the discoveries are sad, including deaths in the Somme and Gallipoli. Others are joyful, such as the marriage of Isabella Fowle and John Lidderdale in 1845, whose romance was recently dramatised by the BBC in Miss Austen.

The New Testament starts with the genealogy of Jesus, tracing Joseph’s ancestry back to King David and Abraham. Joseph was not a royal prince, but a humble carpenter (not to be confused with a ‘carpet fitter’), who travelled with Mary to Bethlehem where Jesus was born.

Jesus himself was sometimes called the ‘Son of David’, and, as the Messiah, he fulfilled all the prophesies about him in the Old Testament.

Mary’s response to the Angel Gabriel’s message was “From now on all generations will call me blessed, for the Mighty One has done great things for me – holy is his name. His mercy extends to those who fear him, from generation to generation.”. Mary was a young woman, soon to become a mother, who knew God’s faithfulness.

In his letter to the Ephesians, Paul makes it clear that God’s promises apply to everyone, not simply the Jews. He also writes, “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.”.