The Final Four: Death, Judgment, Heaven and Hell

When it comes to thinking about death, we have two options. One small minority has a morbid obsession with death. The finality of the grave seems to overshadow their lives and any time spent happy feels out of place.

The greater majority simply deny death completely. They choose never to think about it. When pressed this group may appear brave, but it is false bravery. It is the bravery of the 16-year-old boy driving his car 100 MPH because he does not really believe he can ever die. We should not confuse reckless foolishness with bravery.

This second option has had two terrible consequences. First, we live terribly superficial lives, investing our time, money and effort into things that have no reality. Second, when death does come near, when the test results come back, when the phone rings in the middle of the night, we are caught wholly unprepared. In those situations, we cling to platitudes like “time heals all wounds” and pretend to be brave. All the while we feel the emotional devastation of an unprepared for funeral.  

Christians have a better option. We can make peace with death and the afterlife. We can face the certainty of death and mourn its consequences. We actually have a resource that allows us to study the after-life, so we can learn from the holy scriptures what to expect and how to prepare.  Then when death comes, we will be ready. We will be ready to mourn, but not like those with no hope. We will mourn with confidence that the grave has no victory.

Join us for the next four weeks as we take the journey every church must travel. We will study death, the judgment, heaven and hell. We will answer our questions, feel our fears, and emerge more ready to enjoy life than ever.