Before We Get Started: Session 2 Recap (5 mins.) !!!!!! What To Expect (2 mins.) Have someone in your group READ this section:!

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1 Session Three

2 SE SSI ON 3 : HEAVEN IS F OR REAL Before We Get Started: Session 2 Recap (5 mins.) Please READ and DISCUSS: Last week s session discussed the reality of Hell and who Hell is made for. During last week s session, everyone was asked to share the name of one person that they could demonstrate God s love towards. (You can refer to the previous session if you forgot what you shared.) Share your experience as you demonstrated why God is worth following as your Savior. What To Expect (2 mins.) Have someone in your group READ this section: Streets of gold. Family members who have passed away. A place with no sickness or pain. These are the things that we tend to focus on when we think about our eternal home: Heaven. But Heaven is more than these things. It s beyond our own imagination. Session Three of this series discusses what the Bible says we can expect from Heaven. First, Heaven will be amazing, not just because of what we see there, but because we finally get to spend time with Jesus and be in the full presence of God. Second, we ll be able to look back at our lives and feel a sense of awareness for the sacrifice God paid for our sins. Third, we ll get to celebrate God s love forever. Icebreaker (5 mins.) As your group prepares to view this session s video content, briefly share your response to the following question: What are you most looking forward to about heaven? 26

3 The distance all around will be 18,000 cubits. And the name of the city from that time on will be: the Lord is there. Ezekiel 48:35 (NIV) Heaven will be awesome not because of is, but is When we get to heaven 1. We will be amazed. 2. We will be. 3. We will. Video Notes (17 mins.) Answers: 1 What / There / Who / There, 2 Aware, 3 Celebrate. 27

4 Discussion Questions (20 mins.) At this time, if your group desires, please break into smaller groups of 2-4 for the discussion question section. Have a great discussion Heaven will be amazing. It will be beyond our dreams and imagination, and that s a good thing. We get to be surprised with things we never would have imagined. Read the scripture below: Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. John 14:1-3 (NIV) How does this verse encourage you to follow Christ, even when it may be difficult? Like children who don t realize how much something costs, we sometimes don t understand how much our sins cost Jesus. And when we are in heaven, we ll fully understand and appreciate His sacrifice. Share a time when you had to sacrifice for the good of someone else. Heaven will be a place of celebration, not just with our friends and family, but with all Followers of Christ. Read the scripture below: After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. Revelation 7:9-10 (NIV) How do you feel knowing that you ll spend eternity with others who may have been different from you on Earth, but love and worship God with all their hearts? 28

5 What Will You Do? (5 mins.) Sometimes we re not aware of the presence of Jesus because we re distracted by the things of this world. It can feel like finances, family, and work can dominate our lives and there is no room for anything else. Remember, when Jesus is at the center, everything is better. Write down and share one area in you life that you want Jesus to be at the center. During the week, find time to pray and take action to really make Jesus a priority in that area of your life. Be prepared to share with your group next week on how that area of your life is changing. I want Jesus to be the center of my. Going Deeper (If your group chooses to go deeper) Self-Feeding or Devotions are an excellent way to both record and process what God has spoken to us. It re-patterns the way we think and transforms the spirit of the mind. It s also a useful tool to use at a later time to reflect on what you have learned. Take a few minutes to share ONE thing you learned this past week while reading your daily devotions. Pray (2 mins.) Take a few minutes to close your time together with prayer and to pray for each other s prayer requests. Sample Prayer: Heavenly Father, Heaven is going to be amazing. Thank you for our eternal home where we can celebrate Your love for us. But until we re taken away from this life, remind us of the price Jesus paid for our sins and that this life is only temporary. Help us to put You at the center of areas of our lives that we may be struggling with. Watch over all of us throughout the week as we grow closer to You through Your Word and Your Spirit. In Jesus Name. Amen. 29

6 WEEK #3 - DAILY DEVOTIONS: DAY 1 S (Scripture) Don t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me. There is more than enough room in my Father s home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am. John 14:1-3 (NLT) O (Observation) A (Application) P (Prayer) 30

7 WEEK #3 - DAILY DEVOTIONS: DAY 2 S (Scripture) But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. Matthew 5:44-45 (ESV) O (Observation) A (Application) P (Prayer) 31

8 WEEK #3 - DAILY DEVOTIONS: DAY 3 S (Scripture) After this I saw a vast crowd, too great to count, from every nation and tribe and people and language, standing in front of the throne and before the Lamb. They were clothed in white robes and held palm branches in their hands. And they were shouting with a great roar, Salvation comes from our God who sits on the throne and from the Lamb Revelation 7:9-10 (NLT) O (Observation) A (Application) P (Prayer) 32

9 WEEK #3 - DAILY DEVOTIONS: DAY 4 S (Scripture) For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood - to be received by faith. Romans 3:23-25a (NIV) O (Observation) A (Application) P (Prayer) 33

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