Week 28 (7 - 13 July): Keeping Our Temples Clean

Last Saturday, the youth gathered for session led by Brendan and Gabriel. They shared on John 2:13-22, a passage on Jesus cleansing the temple. Jesus enters the temple and sees the Jewish leaders selling animals for sacrifice. When He saw this, He became enraged and drove everyone out of the temple courts. Jesus criticises the leaders, which leads them to question His power. He responds by saying, “Destroy this temple and I will raise it again in three days”, which leaves the Jewish leaders flabbergasted. Through this passage we took away 3 main takeaways:

1.⁠ ⁠True faith does not depend on background, status; instead, it matters where your heart is at

Even though they were the religious leaders, promoted to set an example to the people, their heart did not align with God, so they ended up doing things that displeased God. We can relate this to our daily lives by aligning ourselves with the values taught in the Bible, regardless of our situation. This allows us to connect with God and better reflect what Christianity (or our faith) is all about.

2.⁠ ⁠Worship for God in the temple should be a holy place; not a place to gain personal benefit.

When we worship or pray, is it to praise and glorify God, or is it to get a promotion at work or an A on our assignments? We should be prioritising our Heavenly Father instead of things of the flesh. If you are struggling with something like this, you should try not to only pray about your requests but about your successes as well. We should not be treating God like a magical genie, but like a friend who you can talk to.

3.⁠ ⁠Our body is also like a temple so we have to keep it clean and pure.

When our temples are messy and busy like in the passage, you could find that you cannot fully connect with God because we can’t stay focussed on Him. So for us to truly build a relationship with God, we need to cleanse our hearts. But for that, we need to be ready to let Jesus drive these impurities out of your heart. If you are finding it hard to put God first, try starting to read your Bible for 5-10 minutes everyday to start a relationship with God, and see how it goes!

This story reminds us on the importance of a relationship with God in our daily lives. Having a relationship with God helps us align our hearts with his. However, we must first let Jesus cleanse us to better hear God’s voice. Are you ready to take the first step into building a relationship with God?

With love,

Elijah and Flynn (for the youth!)