In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, ... Miss Watson takes a dim view of Huck's fun-loving spirit. According to Huck, "She went on and told me all about the good place. She said all a body would have to do there was go around all day long with a harp and sing, forever and ever. So I didn't think much of it.... I asked her if she reckoned Tom Sawyer would go there, and she said not by a considerable sight. I was glad about that, because I wanted him and me to be together."
Heaven, 7
1. As you begin reading the book, what do you already believe about Heaven?
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2. What do you remember learning about Heaven as you were growing up? Who or what were your sources of information?
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3. "What God made us to desire ... is exactly what he promises to those who follow Jesus Christ: a resurrected life in a resurrected body, with the resurrected Christ on a resurrected Earth" (Heaven, 7). How does this concept of Heaven compare with yours?
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4. Discuss how Heaven has "fallen off our radar screens" as a culture. Why don't we think more about it?
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5. Read John 8:44 and Revelation 13:6 in the NIV. What role does Satan play in keeping us from anticipating Heaven?
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6. Review "Resisting Naturalism's Spell" at the end of chapter 1 (see Heaven, pages 12-13). What is naturalism, and why should we resist it? How can we resist it?
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The writers of Scripture present Heaven in many ways, including as a garden, a city, and a kingdom. Because gardens, cities, and kingdoms are familiar to us, they afford us a bridge to understanding Heaven. However, many people make the mistake of assuming that these are merely analogies with no actual correspondence to the reality of Heaven.... Too often we've been taught that Heaven is a non-physical realm, which cannot have real gardens, cities, kingdoms, buildings, banquets, or bodies. So we fail to take seriously what Scripture tells us about Heaven as a familiar, physical, tangible place. Heaven, 15
1. God has given each of us an imagination and expects us to use it. Why do you think that many Christians shy away from studying Scripture and letting it guide their imagination to visualize what Heaven will be like?
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2. Describe a place you've visited or an experience you've had that helps you envision what some aspect of Heaven will be like.
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3. What does 1 Corinthians 2:9-10 tell us? This passage isn't about Heaven in any direct sense. But even if it can be applied to Heaven, how does its real meaning differ from the way it is typically understood?
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4. In Colossians 3:1-2, what are we commanded to do? How can we do this in our daily lives?
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5. Why is it appropriate-and biblical-to involve all our physical senses when imagining Heaven?
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(Continues...)
Excerpted from HEAVEN STUDY GUIDE by RANDY ALCORN Copyright © 2006 by Eternal Perspective Ministries. Excerpted by permission.
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