CHAPTER 10

This Temporary Tomb

  1.   Everyone has a different relationship with the reality of death. Some have come to terms with it and are at peace. Others are afraid of it. Some don’t think about it at all. Currently, what is your relationship with death? When you were growing up, how was death addressed? What did people say about it? How was it explained to you?

  2.   Has someone close to you passed away? What was that experience like? How did it affect your view of death?

  3.   There are all kinds of beliefs about what happens after we die. Some believe in reincarnation; others believe we disappear into nothingness. But the Christian faith has a unique take on death. Read Luke 23:40–43.

       •   What does this conversation teach us about what happens after we die?

       •   What is the paradise Jesus referred to?

  4.   Max says paradise is not the end of our journeys after death. What happens next? (See 1 Thessalonians 4:16.)

  5.   John 5 talks about our resurrection: “I tell you the truth, the time is coming and is already here when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will have life. . . . Then they will come out of their graves” (vv. 25, 29 NCV).

       •   What images do those verses conjure up for you?

       •   Now read 1 Corinthians 15:42–44.

  6.   Max points out that our bodies will be completely whole after they are resurrected. Imagine what that would look like for you. What physical limitations do you have today? What would it be like to live without those limitations?

  7.   Beyond our bodies being whole, the earth will be whole as well. Revelation 22:3 says, “No longer will there be any curse.” Read Genesis 3:16–19.

       •   What curses did God put on the earth and on humanity?

       •   What would this world look like without any curse?

  8.   Even though Scripture is clear about what happens to us after we die and how the best is yet to come for all who believe, why do we still fear death? Why do we still try everything we can to avoid it?

  9.   Second Corinthians 4:18 says, “We set our eyes not on what we see but on what we cannot see. What we see will last only a short time, but what we cannot see will last forever” (NCV).

       •   Max talks about the Greek verb Paul uses in “set our eyes.” What is that word, and what does it mean?

       •   How could you set your eyes on what you cannot see?

       •   How could this eternal perspective encourage you regarding whatever you are struggling with right now?

10.   No matter what season of life you are in, spend a moment thinking about your final days. How do you hope to feel about death once it is close? What needs to change now in your mindset or in your heart to prepare you for that time?

11.   The promise in this chapter is that because of Christ, “death has been swallowed up in victory” (1 Cor. 15:54). Consider Jesus’ death and resurrection. How can these events give you hope not only for future glory but for today?