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What Is Heaven Like?

Unit 10 / Lesson 6

What Is Heaven Like?

Slides for the Lesson

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Teacher's Prep

  • Games

    • Behind the Cup

      • Get four disposable plastic cups (red Solo cups work great), or two cups per group of ten if the class is large

    • Reverse Charades

      • Visualize beforehand how you will run this game. Reverse Charades is like normal charades, except the roles are reversed. In Reverse Charades, everyone is an actor except for one person, who guesses. The tricky part is telling everyone the secret word while not allowing the guesser to know. This can be done with a whiteboard behind the guesser. The version below will assume there is a whiteboard with the key word that everyone can see, and the person guessing will face away from the whiteboard. 

    • Limbo

  • Main Activity: Mural

    • Supplies:

      • A large roll of paper (like kraft paper), or several pieces of poster board placed side by side

    • Art supplies for drawing on the mural:

      • Felt pens

      • Pencils

      • Stencils

      • Paint

      • Tape

      • Scissors

      • Stickers

    • Tape to attach the mural to the wall temporarily

    • Long tables so they can work more comfortably than on the floor. 

    • A camera to photograph the children with their finished work


    Intro

    SLIDE 1

  • Gathering

    • How was your week?

    SLIDE 2

  • Intro Game: Behind the Cup

    • Instructions

      • We'll start this lesson with a game! It's a really simple game. 

      • We'll have two teams, and each team will have two plastic cups. 

      • Everyone on your team will take turns dropping the cup behind their back. If it lands right side up or upside down, your turn is over and you can pass the cup to someone else on your team. If the cup lands on its side, you need to pick it up and try again.

      • You have two cups so your team can have two people at a time doing the challenge. You win when everyone on your team has finished the challenge.

      • Help each other out by picking up the cup for each other and cheering on your teammates. 

      • Teacher: you may want to do a demonstration for how to drop the cup behind your back. Play two or three rounds of this game depending on time and level of interest.

    • Debrief

      • In this game we played, sometimes it takes a long time to win. Sometimes the cup just keeps landing on the wrong side, and there's nothing you can do about it! You just have to know that eventually if you keep on dropping the cup, it will all work out in the end, and you’ll win for yourself AND for your whole team.

  • Relevance

    • That's what it's like being a Christian sometimes: we just have to know that our story will end well. Our lesson today is about the end of our story.

  • Apostles' Creed

    • Today we are finishing our lessons on the Apostles' Creed! Let's read the parts that we've already talked about in the last few weeks. It says:

    SLIDE 3

    • I believe in God, the Father almighty,

      creator of heaven and earth.

      I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,

      who was conceived by the Holy Spirit

      and born of the virgin Mary.

      He suffered under Pontius Pilate,

      was crucified, died, and was buried;

      he descended to hell.

      The third day he rose again from the dead.

      He ascended to heaven

      and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty.

      From there he will come to judge the living and the dead.

      I believe in the Holy Spirit,

      the holy catholic church,

      the communion of saints,

      the forgiveness of sins,

    SLIDE 4

    • Now let's read the last part that we haven't covered yet.

      • the resurrection of the body,

        and the life everlasting. Amen.

  • Big Question

    SLIDE 5

    • Our lesson today will be about when God will give us a new body and everlasting life, and we will live with Him in heaven.

    • Our big question today is: what is heaven like?

  • Big Idea

    • Our big idea is: heaven is a bit like earth, but way better.

  • Bible Reference

    • To see this big idea, let's read from the very end of the Bible. This is what Jesus’ friend John wrote to help us understand what heaven would be like:

    SLIDE 6

    • Revelation 21:1-2 (CEV)

      • 1 I saw a new heaven and a new earth. The first heaven and the first earth had disappeared, and so had the sea. 2  Then I saw New Jerusalem, the holy city, coming down from God in heaven. It was like a bride dressed in her wedding gown and ready to meet her husband.

    SLIDE 7

    • Revelation 21:23-26 (CEV)

      • 23  And the city did not need the sun or the moon. The glory of God was shining on it, and the Lamb was its light. 24  Nations will walk by the light of that city, and kings will bring their riches there. 25  Its gates are always open during the day, and night never comes. 26 The glorious treasures of nations will be brought into the city.

    SLIDE 8

    • Revelation 22:1-5 (CEV)

      • The angel showed me a river that was crystal clear, and its waters gave life. The river came from the throne where God and the Lamb were seated. 2  Then it flowed down the middle of the city's main street. On each side of the river are trees that grow a different kind of fruit each month of the year. The fruit gives life, and the leaves are used as medicine to heal the nations. 3  God's curse will no longer be on the people of that city. He and the Lamb will be seated there on their thrones, and its people will worship God 4  and will see him face to face. God's name will be written on the foreheads of the people. 5  Never again will night appear, and no one who lives there will ever need a lamp or the sun. The Lord God will be their light, and they will rule forever.


    Point 1

  • Our first point is, heaven is a bit like earth

    SLIDE 9

  • Game: Reverse Charades

    • Instructions

      • We'll start this point with a game of Reverse Charades! For those who haven't played Reverse Charades before, it's an acting game. I'll write something on the whiteboard, and everyone will have to act it out. One person won't know and that person will have to guess what everyone else is trying to act out.

      • Now we need a volunteer to guess. This person will face away from the whiteboard so you can’t see the answer. Everyone else will be acting, and you'll have to guess what they’re trying to act out.

      • Teacher: For children who can't yet read, you'll want to assist them (draw a picture beside the word, or whisper the word to them)

      • Suggested words

        • Easier words

        • oval

        • water

        • orange

        • whale

        • crayon

        • broom

        • fork

        • branch

        • ship

        • candle

        • rocket

        • bus

        • jail

        • skateboard

        • Harder words

        • branch

        • ship

        • candle

        • rocket

        • bus

        • jail

        • skateboard

    • Debrief

      • We played this game because it's about understanding the big idea without seeing the real thing.

      • In this game, our hands and our bodies can stand for something else. So, whoever is guessing needs to use their imaginations to understand the big idea. That's what it's like when we read our Bible passage. Let's read some of those verses again:

  • Bible Reference

    SLIDE 10

    • Revelation 21:1-2 (CEV)

      • 1 I saw a new heaven and a new earth. The first heaven and the first earth had disappeared, and so had the sea. 2  Then I saw New Jerusalem, the holy city, coming down from God in heaven. It was like a bride dressed in her wedding gown and ready to meet her husband.

  • Explanation

    • All these words are found in the last book of the Bible, and this book kind of feels like a game of charades.

    SLIDE 11

    • The things we read stand for other things. For example, in verse 2, it says there was a city that came down from God, and it was like a bride dressed in her wedding gown.

    • But we have to understand that heaven doesn't look like a woman in a white dress. That would be silly. But the point is, heaven is really beautiful. Just as people look forward to getting married, we can look forward to seeing heaven. 

    SLIDE 12

    • Revelation 21:23-26 (CEV)

      • 23  And the city did not need the sun or the moon. The glory of God was shining on it, and the Lamb was its light. 24  Nations will walk by the light of that city, and kings will bring their riches there. 25  Its gates are always open during the day, and night never comes. 26 The glorious treasures of nations will be brought into the city.

    • Then our passage tells us that the city didn't need the sun or moon, because the glory of God was shining on it, and the Lamb was its light.

    SLIDE 13

    • It helps to know the Lamb is another name for Jesus. But it doesn't mean Jesus is like a light bulb. That would be silly! But, think about what a light bulb does. A light bulb helps us to see things, so that we know what is all around us. So, Jesus helps us to know things and to really understand the world around us.

    SLIDE 14

    • Let's unpack one more picture. It says: the glorious treasures of nations will be brought into the city. This doesn't mean people will bring money or gold into heaven. That would be silly. But it means, the best of everything you've ever seen will be in heaven. If you've ever seen anything really wonderful on earth, you'll see it in heaven again.

  • Application

    • It really helps to know these things about heaven. Some people are afraid of dying, and some people are afraid of losing everything they love. Our Bible passage teaches us...

    SLIDE 15

    • there's nothing to be afraid of if you know Jesus. All the best things on earth are in heaven, and we have a lot to look forward to.

    SLIDE 16

  • Discussion Question

    • Let's pause for a discussion question:


    Point 2

  • Our second point is, heaven is way better than earth

    SLIDE 17

  • Game: Limbo

    • Instructions

      • We'll start our point with a game of Limbo! It's a really simple game. We'll have two people holding a stick, and we'll all take turns walking under the stick.

      • The tricky part is, the stick will keep getting lower so you'll need to walk lower.

      • The way to walk lower is to bend your knees and lean back.

      • You can't touch the floor with your hands. If you touch the floor with your hands, or fall, you're out, and you can stand to the side and cheer on your friends to see how low they can go.

      • Teacher: try to do a demonstration with two volunteers to the side holding the stick.

      • Let's all form a line, and we’ll give it a try!

      • Teacher: Volunteers should hold the stick in cupped hands so that it will fall easily if touched. Also, you may want to play music during the game

    • Debrief

      • In this game we played, all of us eventually fell. The only question was: when would we fall?

      • Life is like that too: things go wrong all the time. Things break, people disappoint us, and people even die. It happens eventually, and the only question is, when will it happen?

      • But, can you imagine a better world, where things don't break, no one disappoints you, and nobody has to die? That's what heaven is like.

  • Bible Reference

    • Let's read the last part of our Bible passage again:

    SLIDE 18

    • Revelation 22:1-5 (CEV)

      • 1 The angel showed me a river that was crystal clear, and its waters gave life. The river came from the throne where God and the Lamb were seated. 2  Then it flowed down the middle of the city's main street. On each side of the river are trees that grow a different kind of fruit each month of the year. The fruit gives life, and the leaves are used as medicine to heal the nations. 3  God's curse will no longer be on the people of that city. He and the Lamb will be seated there on their thrones, and its people will worship God 4  and will see him face to face. God's name will be written on the foreheads of the people. 5  Never again will night appear, and no one who lives there will ever need a lamp or the sun. The Lord God will be their light, and they will rule forever.

  • Explanation

    • These verses tell us that heaven is a beautiful place where we get to eat and drink and live forever. Everything is clean, and nothing is broken. And it says, God's curse is not there.

    • These verses remind us of the beginning of the Bible, when God made a wonderful garden called the Garden of Eden. God put people in the garden so they could work there and they could enjoy a great life and live forever with Him. But, when Adam and Eve sinned, they had to leave the garden, and God cursed the ground so that it would make thorns, so that it would be painful for Adam and Eve to do their work.

    • But at the end of the Bible we find out we're going back to the garden of Eden! The tree of life is there, and now there's a city all around it for all of us to enjoy!

    SLIDE 19

    • There's no longer any curse. All the things that make life painful are gone, we get to see God face to face, and we will rule with Him forever.

  • Application

    • Now you might be wondering, if heaven is so great, why does God keep us on earth? There’s actually a good reason! It’s because there are things you can do on earth that you can’t do in heaven.

    • Only on earth can you help people to start a relationship with Jesus. When you get to heaven, everyone already knows Jesus!

    SLIDE 20

    • But when you're on earth, you can help people to trust Jesus and they can live forever. 

    • Besides that, only on earth can we be brave and strong when things are broken and difficult. We don’t have to be so brave and strong in heaven, because everything is perfect over there.

    SLIDE 21

    • When we are brave and strong even when life is hard, that's when we become more like Jesus, and that makes God very happy.

    SLIDE 22

    • We need to do our best for Jesus while we are on earth, and someday we will go home to heaven and we’ll see that we actually made heaven a better place.

  • Discussion Question

    SLIDE 23

    • Now let's review with a question:

      • Why would God keep you on earth, instead of letting you go straight to heaven?


    Conclusion

    SLIDE 24

  • Let’s wrap up our lesson by going over the big ideas again.

  • Our big question today was: what is heaven like?

  • Our big idea is: heaven is a bit like earth, but it's way better. Because of that, we don't have to be afraid of dying, because all the best things on earth are in heaven.

  • But before we get there, we can make heaven a better place by helping people know Jesus and by being like Jesus.


    Main Activity: Mural

    SLIDE 25

  • Today we are making a mural, which is like a super big drawing. The neat thing about a mural is that we can all draw together!

  • We will be using our imaginations to draw what heaven will be like. You could draw some of the things that our Bible passage talked about, like a river, a tree, some fruit, the throne of God and a city. You can also use your imagination to draw your favorite things, and the best of anything you have ever seen. We can expect these things will be in heaven unless God has an even better idea.

  • Instructions for the teacher:

    • Set up a line or two of long rectangular tables so that children can sit at the tables and work on the mural. If your room is small, you may want to have two long tables, and split your mural into two parts.

    • Distribute art supplies.

    • If you have young children, an adult might be able to help them by penciling in shapes or block letters on the mural, so that they can color within the lines.

    • When it’s almost time to go, tape the mural to the wall, and have everyone take a picture with it.

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