Heaven Is a Real Place 1

Next Level

Heaven Is a Real PlaceSmall Group Discussion GuideWhat If I Told You…Week 3

Starting ScripturesHebrews 11:13-16 All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth. People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. If they had been thinking of the country, they had left they would have had opportunity to return. Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.

Philippians 1:21-23 “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.  If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; “

ReflectionAccording to Ecclesiastes 3, God has put eternity in to the heart of every man.

The issue of eternity produces a question within us which we all will ask, “What happens and where will I go when I die?” The answer we cling to determines the course we will choose.

God wants us to be sure of our eternity. In fact, it is for this reason that Jesus left this earth – to go and prepare a place for us – a better place by far. God designed Heaven to be the perfect place for our eternal existence. As believers and followers of Jesus, we must resist the temptation to accept this world as our home, for we know that something greater awaits us. But for those who refuse Him – who refuse His invitation – their remains only an unquenchable torment in a real place called Hell.

For the believer, Heaven is not only our eternal home but our present motivation. It should compel us to live in such a way so that we will not only reach heaven – through faith in Christ alone – but arrive on those “celestial shores” bringing as many souls with us as we could, ready to reap our heavenly reward – to forever live with Christ in the place He prepared for us.

Discussion Questions1 . ICEBREAKER: What is your favorite Christian – or non-Christian – song about

Heaven? Describe why you like it and the first time you heard it.2 . Do you long for Heaven, or does it excite you? What are you looking

forward to in Heaven? (Leaders: This is a time for them to honestly imagine (1 Cor. 2:9, Eph. 3:20). It is ok to give some “runway” for members to be wrong or scripturally inaccurate for now. This is simply a chance for them to express their heart and hopes about the “long tomorrow”.)

3 . All of us have questions about Heaven. Some questions are imaginative, having no evident impact on weightier matters today. Other questions are imperative – requiring a biblically-sound answer which only comes from