Elements City Church
Living Hope week 6 - What Happens Next?
Join us Sundays this Fall 2022 as we walk through a powerful couple books of the Bible that the Apostle Paul wrote to a church he planted in Thessaloniki. In these works, he inspires a people that are living in uncertainty, to keep living by a dynamic faith in Christ and to persevere with hope, even as they were facing opposition and pressure from a culture that didn't believe or so much care for their beliefs. Followers of Jesus Christ should live with one foot in this world and the other in the world to come. We should be fully engaged with this life AND we should also live with an awareness of eternity. Having this double perspective - gives us wisdom for our 'here and now'. It shapes our priorities, impacts our schedules, influences our dreams and our decisions. It fuels our hearts for the gospel and for people around us to know and experience Jesus.
Locations & Times
Elements City Church
1825 N Alvernon Way, Tucson, AZ 85712, USA
Sunday 5:35 PM
Thanks for being with us...
Whether you're on-site or online, we are praying that tonight will be an encouragement to your soul. May God whisper to you and help you in taking your next steps in a journey with Him. If you're new, we'd love to have you fill out our connection card.
https://connect-card.com/yr4Y0g8VLBSqzKXeubjbFollowers of Jesus Christ should live with one foot in this world and the other in the world to come. We should be fully engaged with this life. But we should also live with an awareness of eternity.
Having that double perspective of this world and the world to come can grow us in living wisely for God…
Having that double perspective of this world and the world to come can grow us in living wisely for God…
There's no place like home.
Jesus said:
“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God[a]; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. -John 14:1-3
Jesus said:
“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God[a]; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. -John 14:1-3
Paul always taught people about the future—that salvation in Jesus carried a promise of eternal life. He told his audiences that the same Jesus Christ who died, arose, and ascended - would one day return. So, If we're around when that happens, what happens and if we die, what happens next?
The reality of death.
We each have a shelf life - we just don’t necessarily know our expiration date…
When we ask what happens when we die, we’re asking two questions: What happens to my soul? What happens to my body?
Several passages make it clear that at death the souls of believers enter heaven. (1 Cor. 15; 2 Corinthians 5:1-8; Phil. 2:21-24) They enter into the presence of Jesus. If you are a believer, you will close your eyes on earth and find yourself in the presence of Christ. The 2nd question, refers to our bodies.That question is the focus of this passage.
We each have a shelf life - we just don’t necessarily know our expiration date…
When we ask what happens when we die, we’re asking two questions: What happens to my soul? What happens to my body?
Several passages make it clear that at death the souls of believers enter heaven. (1 Cor. 15; 2 Corinthians 5:1-8; Phil. 2:21-24) They enter into the presence of Jesus. If you are a believer, you will close your eyes on earth and find yourself in the presence of Christ. The 2nd question, refers to our bodies.That question is the focus of this passage.
Paul wants his readers to know the truth regarding death.
That there is a hope beyond our grief.
Grief will mark our lives and it's good to know how to move along in grief in healthy ways. But there is a HOPE that holds each believer in this world and for the one to come.
That there is a hope beyond our grief.
Grief will mark our lives and it's good to know how to move along in grief in healthy ways. But there is a HOPE that holds each believer in this world and for the one to come.
In the New Testament, the resurrection is both a proof and a promise.
-It is the proof that the Father accepts Jesus’ death for our sins.
-It is also a promise to us that we will be resurrected.
*Jesus’ resurrection is the first of its kind. But it’s not the last…because of his resurrection we will also be resurrected.
The good news of Christianity, what we call the gospel, is this,
“We are more sinful and flawed in ourselves than we ever dared believe, yet at the very same time we are more loved and accepted in Jesus Christ than we ever dared hope” -Dr. Timothy Keller
Friend: Choose Jesus - you want to be with him.
-It is the proof that the Father accepts Jesus’ death for our sins.
-It is also a promise to us that we will be resurrected.
*Jesus’ resurrection is the first of its kind. But it’s not the last…because of his resurrection we will also be resurrected.
The good news of Christianity, what we call the gospel, is this,
“We are more sinful and flawed in ourselves than we ever dared believe, yet at the very same time we are more loved and accepted in Jesus Christ than we ever dared hope” -Dr. Timothy Keller
Friend: Choose Jesus - you want to be with him.
We have a secure future hope beyond death…thanks to Jesus. You want to be WITH Jesus - you do not want to be without him.
C. S. Lewis describes our current experience as only the cover and the title page of the book. Death takes us to the first chapter of the real story. He referred to our current world as the Shadow-lands. Since we live in a world damaged by sin, the world to come IS the greater reality.
C. S. Lewis describes our current experience as only the cover and the title page of the book. Death takes us to the first chapter of the real story. He referred to our current world as the Shadow-lands. Since we live in a world damaged by sin, the world to come IS the greater reality.
The New Testament emphasizes that our secure future should shape and influence our living today...
Jesus said he’s going to prepare a place for us and he will come and take us to be with him…
John 14:1-3
“Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me. 2 There is more than enough room in my Father’s home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? 3 When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am.
WE HAVE HOPE NOW AND HOPE FOREVER…thanks to Jesus.
Eugene Peterson on Resurrection's Difficulty
The do-it-yourself, self-help culture of North America has so thoroughly permeated our imaginations that we don't give much sustained attention to the biggest thing of all: resurrection. And the reason we don't give much attention to it is because the Resurrection is not something we can use or manipulate or control or improve on. It is interesting that the world has had very little success in commercializing Easter, turning it into a commodity, the way it has Christmas. If we can't, as we say, "get a handle on it," and use it, we soon lose interest. But resurrection is not available for our use; it is exclusively God's operation.
Heaven Is a Real Place
Heaven Is a Holy Place
Heaven Is a Safe Place
Heaven will be Multi-Ethnic Place
Heaven will be a Deeply Satisfying Place
Jesus said he’s going to prepare a place for us and he will come and take us to be with him…
John 14:1-3
“Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me. 2 There is more than enough room in my Father’s home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? 3 When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am.
WE HAVE HOPE NOW AND HOPE FOREVER…thanks to Jesus.
Eugene Peterson on Resurrection's Difficulty
The do-it-yourself, self-help culture of North America has so thoroughly permeated our imaginations that we don't give much sustained attention to the biggest thing of all: resurrection. And the reason we don't give much attention to it is because the Resurrection is not something we can use or manipulate or control or improve on. It is interesting that the world has had very little success in commercializing Easter, turning it into a commodity, the way it has Christmas. If we can't, as we say, "get a handle on it," and use it, we soon lose interest. But resurrection is not available for our use; it is exclusively God's operation.
Heaven Is a Real Place
Heaven Is a Holy Place
Heaven Is a Safe Place
Heaven will be Multi-Ethnic Place
Heaven will be a Deeply Satisfying Place
Thanks for partnering with us...
Thank you for enabling us to be the Church in our city! Your gifts help fuel the mission of Elements City Church, as well as our capacity to share His love with as many as we can. You help us bring the HOPE and LIGHT of Jesus to our city! You can give online at the link below or through the Elements app.
http://elementscitychurch.org/giveWhether you joined us on-site or online, thanks for being with us tonight!
Join us next FRIDAY for our Trunk or Treat / Fall Festival from 6-8pm. Invite some families. Then we'll see you next Sunday as we continue our series and worship together at 5pm.
Join us next FRIDAY for our Trunk or Treat / Fall Festival from 6-8pm. Invite some families. Then we'll see you next Sunday as we continue our series and worship together at 5pm.