For Kids · 4 min with a grown-up
The people are finally home. Now it is time to begin the most important building project of all.
Today's Story
The people were home at last. And the very first thing they wanted to do was worship God together.
So they came to Jerusalem, all of them, and gathered in one big crowd. They built an altar first — a special stone table for worship — right where the old one used to be. And they began to thank God again, just like in the old days.
Then they got to work on the temple itself, God's house. Builders and helpers carried stones and wood. Slowly, carefully, they laid the very first layer — the foundation that everything else would rest on.
When that foundation was finished, what a day it was! The trumpets blew. The singers sang. Everyone shouted as loud as they could, “He is good! His love for us never, ever stops!”
Some of the older people, the ones with gray hair, remembered the beautiful temple from long ago, before it was broken. They cried happy and sad tears all at once. The young people shouted for joy.
The crying and the shouting got all mixed together into one huge, happy sound — so loud you could hear it far, far away.
A Big Word
Memory Verse
Talk About It
- What is something that makes you want to shout and cheer with joy?
- The people sang, “God is good, and His love never stops.” What is one way God has been good to your family?
- Some people cried and some shouted, all at the same time. Have you ever felt happy and a little sad at once? When?