Category: Afterlife

03/03/24 Afterlife: What is the Final Judgment?

3/3/2024

OPENING QUESTION

Have you ever been judged in a competition? What was it like?
Have you ever been a judge in a competition? Tell us about it.

We're discussing a sermon series from church called "Afterlife." This last Sunday, Pastor Jim answered the question, "What is the Final Judgment?"

DISCUSSION

Read John 5:24-30.
1. Jesus says that a time is coming "when all who are in their graves will hear his voice and come out—those who have done what is good will rise to live, and those who have done what is evil will rise to be condemned." This is known as the Resurrection of the Dead.
2. Have you heard of this teaching before?
3. Jim said he doesn't really know how that's going to work but thinks of Star Trek and the transporters they use ("Beam me up Scotty!") to disassemble the particles of our bodies and reassemble them again. If Star Trek can do it, God can do it! How do you think it's going to work?
Review the Afterlife chart that Jim made to help visualize it. What are your thoughts about it?
Read Ephesians 2:8-9; John 5:24; and James 2:16-17, 26.
1. On what basis are we judged? Why?
2. What role does "faith" play in the judgment?
3. What role do "actions" play in the judgment?
Read Matthew 25:45-46.
1. What is the punishment and who is it for?
2. What is the reward and who is it for?
3. We often think of a reward as if it's "I do this and get that." For example, "I run the race and get a ribbon" or "I win the game and get the trophy." But the Christian hope is different. It's "I'm chasing after Jesus and my reward is being with Jesus forever!" or "I'm pursuing the kingdom of God on earth and my reward will be living in the kingdom of God forever!"
  Why is this significant to understand?
Do you have any closing thoughts or comments about this series or this message?

PRAYER
Take some time for people to share prayer requests. Then pray. First, thank God for the promise and hope of heaven. Then pray for each other's prayer requests.

02/25/24 Afterlife: What is Hell?

2/25/2024

OPENING QUESTION

What's the biggest scare you've had with fire?
What are some things you've heard people say about hell that might not be true?

We're discussing a sermon series from church called "Afterlife." This last Sunday, Pastor Jim answered the question, "What is Hell?" and concluded with this Bottom Line: One day evil, those who pursue it, and death itself will be put to death.

DISCUSSION

We started with a few misconceptions about hell related to
1. It's the devil's home. (Read 1 Peter 5:8)
2. Hell is where the party will be!
3. "Gehenna" (the word Jesus used that is often translated as "hell" in our modern bibles) was a garbage dump outside the city of Jerusalem.
4. "Most of what we imagine about hell comes directly from the bible." Actually, a lot of what we imagine comes from John Milton's "Paradise Lost" (1600s) which follows Dante's "Inferno" (1300s) which follows the teachings of the Catholic Church about hell and purgatory developed in the 1200s (based on the non-canonical book of 2 Maccabees) and follows the Roman poet Virgil's "Aenid" (20s BC) which follows Plato's "Gorgias" (380 BC) which follows Homer's "Illiad" (700 BC). Very little of what we imagine actually comes from the bible.
Read Matthew 25:41, 46.
1. What are the two most common uses of fire in the Bible?
2. The greek word for "punishment" here is "kolasis" which originally had to do with pruning but then became synonymous with punishing or chastising for the benefit of the one being chastised.
  1. Why is this significant?
  2. Who or what benefits from pruning? Who or what doesn't benefit?
  3. How does this relate to the unrighteous being sent away to "eternal punishment"?
Read Mark 9:42-48.
1. Jesus uses the greek word "gehenna," which is translated as "hell" in many bibles. What did Pastor Jim teach about the origins of "gehenna"?
  Leaders notes:
  1. It's the Valley of Ben Hinnom, where Ahaz and Manasseh sacrificed children to Molech and Baal (2 Chronicles 28:3; 33:6; Jeremiah 32:35).
  2. Where Josiah later destroyed and burned the pagan altars and priests (2 Kings 23:1-25).
  3. Jeremiah prophesied it would be called the "Valley of Slaughter" (Jeremiah 7:29-34; 19:1-15).
  4. Isaiah prophesied about the undying worm and unquenchable fire (Isaiah 66:24) after the day of judgment.
  5. Jesus quotes Isaiah 66 in Mark 9:48.
2. How does this help us understand what Jesus means when he refers to Gehenna?
Read Revelation 20:10, 14.
1. To what event in the Old Testament is the "lake of burning sulfur" a reference?
2. Why is the "lake of fire" referred to as "the second death"?
All of the previously discussed matters take place after the day of judgment.
Now read Luke 16:23-24 and 2 Peter 2:9.
1. What do these passages indicate about the state of the unrighteous prior to the day of judgment?
2. What does the rich man in Luke 16 mean when he says "I am in agony"?
Do you have any closing thoughts or comments about all this?

PRAYER
Take some time for people to share prayer requests. Then pray. First, thank God for the promise and hope of heaven. Then pray for each other's prayer requests.

02/11/24 Afterlife: What is Heaven?

2/12/2024

OPENING QUESTION

What are you most looking forward to about heaven?
Is there any part of it that you're not looking forward to?

We're discussing a sermon series from church called "Afterlife." This last Sunday, Pastor Jim answered the question, "What is Heaven?" and concluded with this Bottom Line: Heaven isn't our ESCAPE FROM earth. Heaven is God's VISION FOR earth.

DISCUSSION

We started with a few misconceptions about heaven related to
1. The pearly gates (Revelation 21:21).
2. Whether we meet St. Peter at the gate to heaven or not (Matthew 16:18–19),
3. Whether people have wings in heaven (no Bible verse).
4. Whether people will float on clouds in heaven. This idea is rooted in the ancient Hebrew understandings of three tiers of the heavens. The first heaven is the sky filled with birds and clouds; the second is the celestial heaven with the stars, moon, and sun; the third heaven is above the first two (from the perspective of the human on the ground) and is the dwelling place of God.
5. Whether people will play harps in heaven. This idea is based on Revelation 15:2 which speaks of a single moment in the unfolding mysteries of Revelation and is not an indication that people in heaven will be playing harps for ever. In fact, Isaiah 65:21-23 indicates that we'll be building houses, planting vineyards, and enjoying the work of our hands but not laboring in vain.
Read Revelation 21:1-8.
1. What are some characteristics of heaven that are described here?
2. At what point in time does this heaven come into existence?
Read Revelation 22:1-5.
1. What is this scene describing?
2. Compare this to the creation of the Garden of Eden in Genesis 2:8f. What's the significance of God restoring the Garden of Eden in the end?
Read Revelation 21:3. Where else in the Bible and in what other ways and places do see God making his dwelling place among humans?
The bottom line is, "Heaven isn't our ESCAPE FROM earth. Heaven is God's VISION FOR earth." In what ways has God been restoring his vision for us throughout biblical history?
Read Revelation 2:7, 11, 17, 26-28; 3:5, 12, 21. What is God's promise to those of us who are faithful followers of Jesus and the furtherance of the Kingdom of God on earth but don't live to see the kingdom completely realized in our lifetime?

PRAYER
Take some time for people to share prayer requests. Then pray. First, thank God for the promise and hope of heaven. Then pray for each other's prayer requests.

03/03/24 Afterlife: What is the Final Judgment?

02/25/24 Afterlife: What is Hell?

02/11/24 Afterlife: What is Heaven?

ABOUT

CATEGORIES