Alan Gomes opens his book, 40 Questions about Heaven and Hell, saying, “"I know that many consider it a waste of time to think about the afterlife. After all, the present life has more than enough trouble. This book will not help you to pay off your mortgage, snag that promotion at work, or find the perfect mate. So why bother with it? I am firmly convinced that thinking about death and what comes after it is the single most practical activity we can do. And yes, it affects everything else we do! Popular author Tim Keller put it like this: 'The way you live now is completely controlled by what you believe about the future.’ What you truly believe about the life beyond—or do not believe about it—determines your loves, your motivations, your goals, and how you direct all of your energies in this one. It cannot help but do so."
Our goal this semester is to better understand heaven, hell, death, the afterlife, and the resurrection.
We want to think on passages like 1 Thessalonians 4:1: “But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope,” and 1 Corinthians 15:16–19: “For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.”
Our faith is not futile. As Christians, we can grieve with hope when brothers and sisters in Christ die. And that hope is the hope of the resurrection!
Our Equip Class for Fall 2026 will look like the following:
Week 1 (Aug 23) - An overview of the afterlife
Week 2 (Aug 30) - The intermediate state between physical death and the resurrection of the death
Week 3 (Sept 6) - The final judgment
Sept 13 - Members Meeting (no Equip Class)
Week 4 (Sept 20) - The eternal state for believers
Week 5 (Sept 27) - The eternal state for unbelievers
Classes will be 5:00-6:15 pm, corresponding with other Sunday Night Ministries.
Please sign up below! We look forward to being together as we seek to bear fruit in every good work and increase in the knowledge of the Lord (Col 1:10).