Solomon's glorious Temple must have been a sight to behold. God's church, however, is His Temple now—and each of us living stones in it.

Our service and sacrifice should never be considered a burden, but a joy, declaring the excellency of God, witnessing what God in Christ has done for us.

I Peter 2:9 reveals how precious we are to God, a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, and a living stone fitted to join our spiritual siblings.

An overlooked prophecy in Matthew 3:7-9 refers to the stones placed in the Jordan River by the priests in Joshua's time, inscribed with the law of God.

People may talk a lot about character, but finding a person or a company with integrity is a tall order. Integrity is vital for character growth.

For Passover, Israel was commanded not to go out of their houses. This is also a warning to Christians when we understand the implications of the word 'house'.

The term house can mean structure, family, kingdom, or church of God. The instruction to us personally is to not leave the church or fellowship of faith.

As part of Christ's body or household, we have a responsibility to stay attached to the spiritual organism and to respond to the head.

The Church is a building which has been constructed from the foundation of the world, fashioned incrementally stone by stone, layer by layer, member-by-member.

If we yield to God's manipulation of our lives, we will handle stress constructively, developing a relationship with Him, bearing spiritual fruit.

Christ's sacrifice was not merely substitutionary, but representative, with Christ giving us a pattern for life - mortifying our flesh and putting out sin.

I Peter 2:5 calls Christians 'living stones'; is it possible that the the spiritual Temple will at some point be left with 'not one stone . . . upon another'?

As God's priesthood, we must draw near to God, keep His commandments, and witness to the world that God is God. God is shaping and fashioning His new creation.

In order to have our inner core properly re-adjusted, we must have the state of 'being in Christ.'

The church has Christ as the Chief Cornerstone. As long as there is a church, there will also be at least one living stone upon another.

While the returned Judean exiles prioritized their own houses over building the temple, we should understand that it is always time to work on God's house.

Considerable effort must be expended to find suitable bedrock for use as a foundation. We must build on the proper foundation; our bedrock is Jesus Christ.

The function of the church is like a teacher's college, preparing the firstfruits and providing them with the needed education and character development.