Ezra 3:11-13 

All the people boomed out hurrahs, praising God as the foundation of The Temple of God was laid. As many were noisily shouting with joy, many of the older priests, Levites, and family heads who had seen the first Temple, when they saw the foundations of this Temple laid, wept loudly for joy. People couldn’t distinguish the shouting from the weeping. The sound of their voices reverberated for miles around. (The Message)

This morning has been a bag of mixed emotions for me. Yesterday my Mother unexpectedly passed away. Reading this passage of scripture and seeing the reaction of God’s people to the Temple has reminded me of how excited my Mother was when I told her we were planting a new Church. She was the first person to pray with us, she was at every planning meeting, and she was the Pastor’s greatest supporter. She was there when the first person showed up at Real Church and spent that first Sunday morning ministering to that young lady’s need. She has always loved Church and counted every Church member as her family. My prayer today is very simply, I pray that we all learn to love the house of God like my Mother did.