Heaven

What comes to mind when you think of Heaven?

Angel playing a harp on a cloud?

A never ending
church service?...

Something...
boring?

Untitled Slide

“Our belief that Heaven will be boring betrays a heresy - that God is boring. There’s no greater nonsense. Our desire for pleasure and the experience of joy comes directly from God’s hand. He made our taste buds, adrenaline, sex drives, and the nerve endings that convey pleasure to our brains. Likewise, our imaginations and our capacity for joy and exhilaration were made by the very God we accuse of being boring. Are we so arrogant as to imagine that human beings came up with the idea of having fun?” - Randy Alcorn

Are you looking forward to Heaven?

"Heaven wouldn't be Heaven if there was any arena in Heaven that was inferior to conditions on earth. In every realm, in every dimension, Heaven is always better!"
- Dr Paul Enns

"For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better."
- Philippians 1:21-23

"So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, for we walk by faith, not by sight. Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord."
- 2 Corinthians 5:6-8

"If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your[a] life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory."
- Colossians 3:1-4

"... (v 18) Therefore encourage one another with these words."
- 1 Thess 4:13-18

Having a BIBLICAL
view of Heaven should give us hope!

Is Heaven our
default destination...
or is Hell?

The Present Heaven
vs
the Eternal Heaven

Revelation 21-22

Heaven, a Christian's True Home

“If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world.” - C.S. Lewis

Death, a Christian's Transition to Heaven

Where is Heaven?

“Nothing is more often misdiagnosed than our homesickness for Heaven. We think that we want is sex, drugs, alcohol, a new job, a raise, a doctorate, a spouse, a large-screen television, a new car, a cabin in the woods, a condo in Hawaii. What we really want is the person we were made for, Jesus, and the place we were made for, heaven. Nothing less can satisfy us.” - Randy Alcorn

Discussion Questions

• Why is it important to think and talk about Heaven?
• How does Christoplatonic thought contribute to an unhealthy, false, and (frankly) boring view of Heaven?
• What is the Biblical view of Heaven?
• How does thinking of Heaven in terms of "coming home" make you feel?
• How do you view Heaven now?

Sources/Recommended Reading

• Heaven - Randy Alcorn
• Heaven Revealed - Dr Paul Enns