Jesus was a master storyteller! He often taught in parables to get His point across in a memorable way. This study focuses on one parable He taught to the crowd of Jews. They thought if they followed the Law, they would end up with God after death.
Today, there are many different ways culture thinks about heaven, hell and what happens after we die. Here Jesus shows us what He thinks...
OPEN: How do you envision heaven? What do you think it will it be like?
READ Luke 16:19-31
1. Describe these two men, the rich man and Lazarus.
2. Describe the two different eternal fates of these two men. What is each place like?
3. Why do you think the rich man did not end up where Lazarus was? Look back at verses Luke 16:14-15.
4. What does this parable tell us about the afterlife?
5. What does it tell us about how to live our lives now while we are alive?
6. Pastor Tim told us about other theories of the afterlife I have added 2 more. See list below. Why are these attractive theories? Why are they incorrect?
a. Universalism - everyone goes to heaven. A good God would not send people to hell.
b. Purgatory - some people have to pay for their sins before they get to go to heaven. See Luke 23:43
c. Reincarnation - people come back to life again and again until they approach perfection and then they go to heaven. See Hebrews 9:27-28
d. Annihilation - there is no afterlife. We return to dust when we die and that's the end.
e. Good people go to heaven. Most people who try their best go to heaven. Only the really evil people go to hell. See Matthew 19:17, Romans 3:23
7. How do we get to heaven? See John 3:14-17, 5:24, 6:47, Acts 2:37-39
8. How can we be sure Jesus is telling us the truth, that He knows what He is talking about?
9. Does this parable encourage you to live your life any differently than you do now? To believe anything differently? How so? What is preventing you from doing that?
No comments:
Post a Comment