Winning Ways -- Hillcrest Baptist Church

What Is Heaven Like?
by Tom Goodman
April 17, 2013

A businessman wanted to send a floral arrangement to a colleague who was opening a branch office. The colleague called later in the day to ask him why the attached card read, "Rest in Peace." The businessman apologized for the mix up and quickly called to chastise the florist. The florist gasped, "Oh no! That means somewhere in the cemetery there's a bouquet with a note reading, 'Good luck in your new location!'"

Have you thought much about your new location beyond this life? Outside of faith, some in our world stoically embrace their fate as described by the famous atheist Bertrand Russell:

No fire, no heroism, no intensity of thought and feeling, can preserve an individual life beyond the grave...; all the labours of the ages, all the devotion, all the inspiration, all the noonday brightness of human genius, are destined to extinction in the vast death of the solar system, and the whole temple of man's achievement must inevitably be buried beneath the debris of a universe in ruins.

How cheery.

The Bible teaches something entirely different. Those who are impacted by the saving action of Christ will find personal, conscious experiences beyond this life that will be rich and joyful.

Such as?

That's the question we'll explore this Sunday. In March we distributed a ballot to find out what questions people in our area most wanted to ask God. On Easter we started going through the top six questions. One of the winning questions was, "What Is Heaven Like?"

Mark Twain's Huckleberry Finn didn't think much about Miss Watson's heaven:

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 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 I to be together.

Huck had a problem with heaven because Miss Watson had given him the wrong idea of heaven. But when we replace our mythologies with what the Bible really says about heaven, we can get a lot more excited about it. Come this Sunday @ 10 and find out!

--Tom

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Winning Ways - from Hillcrest Baptist Church, Austin, Texas	Contact Tom Goodman, Pastor
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What Is Heaven Like? by Tom Goodman April 17, 2013 A businessman wanted to send a floral arrangement to a colleague who was opening a branch office. The colleague called later in the day to ask him why the attached card read, "Rest in Peace." The businessman apologized for the mix up and quickly called to chastise the florist. The florist gasped, "Oh no! That means somewhere in the cemetery there's a bouquet with a note reading, 'Good luck in your new location!'" Have you thought much about your new location beyond this life? Outside of faith, some in our world stoically embrace their fate as described by the famous atheist Bertrand Russell: No fire, no heroism, no intensity of thought and feeling, can preserve an individual life beyond the grave...; all the labours of the ages, all the devotion, all the inspiration, all the noonday brightness of human genius, are destined to extinction in the vast death of the solar system, and the whole temple of man's achievement must inevitably be buried beneath the debris of a universe in ruins. How cheery. The Bible teaches something entirely different. Those who are impacted by the saving action of Christ will find personal, conscious experiences beyond this life that will be rich and joyful. Such as? That's the question we'll explore this Sunday. In March we distributed a ballot to find out what questions people in our area most wanted to ask God. On Easter we started going through the top six questions. One of the winning questions was, "What Is Heaven Like?" Mark Twain's Huckleberry Finn didn't think much about Miss Watson's heaven: 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 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 I to be together. Huck had a problem with heaven because Miss Watson had given him the wrong idea of heaven. But when we replace our mythologies with what the Bible really says about heaven, we can get a lot more excited about it. Come this Sunday @ 10 and find out! --Tom Beacon Articles Available Online: The staff newsletters that appear each week in the Beacon are also available on our website. You can find them here. Check out my weblog here. Do you know friends who would appreciate Winning Ways? Just forward this e-mail to them! Have you subscribed to Winning Ways? You can subscribe by clicking here and following the instructions. Your e-mail address will not be sold or given away to anyone, and you can automatically change your subscription or drop it by following the easy steps provided with each e-mail. FRESH NEWS AT HILLCREST UPDATED WEEKLY: www.hillcrestaustin.org LISTEN TO RECENT SERMONS: Click here. MANAGE YOUR SUBSCRIPTIONS TO OUR EMAIL NEWSLETTERS: Click here. If you do not have access to the web, please send a note to newsmaster@hbcaustin.org to tell us of any changes you would like to make.