Available small groups:
Please reach out to Pastor Allen Banez for more information or to get connected at (562) 331-7562 or ambanez@gmail.com.
1. What images come to mind when you think of heaven? How has your view of heaven changed over the years?
C.S. Lewis wrote: “I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: ‘I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept His claim to be God.’ That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic—on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg—or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronising nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.” (Mere Christianity)
2. What are your thoughts on the above quote? Sunday's message included several reasons why it would have been impossible for Jesus to fake His life, miracles, message, death, and resurrection. Which of these stood out to you and why?
Read John 14:1-4.
3. Jesus described heaven as a real, physical place. Other parts of Scripture mention features like roads, trees, meals, and physical bodies. Which of these excite you the most and how does it change where you place your hope?
Read Philippians 3:18-21.
4. In this passage, Paul contrasts two kinds of people—those who set their minds on earthly things and those who live as citizens of heaven. Which description do you feel fits you more right now? What are some practical ways we can shift our focus from the temporary to the eternal in our daily lives?
5. How are you investing in the kingdom of God?