Happy 1st birthday to you, my little nephew.
Great sermon tonight on Ezra 3 - looked at how the rebuilt temple is only a poor copy of the original, which is why those who had seen the original wept while the others rejoiced. The whole rebuilding of the temple is actually an anticlimax of sorts, which is not really fulfilled until Jesus comes as the true temple, sacrificing himself for us, and then, of course, being the object of worship (with the Father) in the new heavens and new earth in Revelation 21. The anticlimax thing made more sense when one realises that Ezra is, essentially, the last book of the Old Testament. Not in the way they are arranged in the Bible, but in historical terms.
Anyway, challenging sermon and it's made me think more about Jesus as an object of worship - who deserves worship - rather than the casual 'matey' Jesus. Also very liberating to see the temple as a person/God, not as a building. I can come into God's presence through Jesus (Immanuel - "God with us") and don't need a special building, ritual or feeling. Just Jesus. Simple, yet profoundly wonderful.
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