back to the future

opening questions

-if you could travel backward or forward in time, which would you choose and why? (this one is tough for me. Sometimes I wonder if I went back and did things differently, maybe my life would be different now. Maybe certain things would be better. But, I’m also so curious about my future! I would love to see what my life is going to be like 5 or 10 years from now.)

-what are some movies you’ve seen that are about time travel? (meet the robinsons) why do you think people like shows and movies about time travel? (they live vicariously through the characters who get to go back and and fix mistakes in the past to have a happier ending)

story example

How many of you have heard of Vincent van Gogh? He’s in almost every art history book today. You’d probably recognize one of his most famous pieces of art, Starry Night, if you saw it. But did you know that he didn’t become famous until after his death? He died thinking that he and his paintings were complete failures. He suffered from mental health issues for most of his life and eventually became so depressed that he took his own life.

How would van Gogh’s life have been different if he could’ve traveled into the future to see how many people appreciate his work today?

There’s an episode of the show Doctor Who that attempts to answer that. The main character travels through time to visit the depressed artist in his own time and takes Vincent van Gogh on a journey to the future, where his paintings are displayed in a large gallery with thousands of people viewing and enjoying them. Had this actually happened, it probably would’ve changed the way van Gogh saw himself.

what the Bible says

We don’t have the technology to travel to the future, but the Bible gives us something that’s really just as good-a description of what’s in store for the future for every Christ follower.

Have any of you wondered what your future is going to look like? Or have you worried about what it will look like? (I know I have)

This passage we’re going to read tells us exactly what future we will have.

And you might think that that’s too far away to think about. It’s great, but I still want to know about my future on this earth. After college, getting married, etc. Of course we’ll still wonder and worry sometimes. But we should know that in the end, that’s all small picture stuff. The ending this passage talks about is the big picture.

And you might think that that’s too far away to think about. It’s great, but I still want to know about my future on this earth. After college, getting married, etc. Of course we’ll still wonder and worry sometimes. But we should know that in the end, that’s all small picture stuff. The ending this passage talks about is the big picture.

English Standard Version Chapter 21

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. 4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”

5 And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” 6 And he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment. 7 The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son. 8 But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.”

The New American Commentary: Revelation (2) Heavenly Exclusions (21:8)

The first death clearly is the physical death, but the second death is by far the more ominous of the two deaths. As much as the first is dreaded and avoided, the second is a death that is a continual dying for eternity and is by far the more unthinkable.

Think about what this means! A new heaven and a new earth. The holy city, the place of God’s people, us, coming down from heaven like a bride walking down the aisle to her groom. (Idk if y’all have been to many weddings, but I cry at almost every one I go to during the moment the bride is walking down the aisle. It’s such a beautiful, joyous, exciting moment. And that’s what it’s going to be like.)

God is coming to dwell with us, beside us. It can be hard sometimes to focus on God and easy to push him to the back of our minds because He’s not physically here with us, but it’s harder to ignore someone that we’re with all the time right? But God is coming to dwell with us. (there are some debates about what that actually means, whether he will be with us as a physical man, whether his presence will dwell in a tent or tabernacle as it did in the OT, or whether we will audibly hear his voice like many did). No matter how his dwelling with us is accomplished though, our relationships with Him will be perfected; we will be perfectly one with Him. No more struggling to spend time with God, to understand what He wants for you, every second will be spent with Him, and every single moment of our lives will be made clear.

No more crying. No more death. No more mourning or pain. We won’t have any desire to go into the past and change anything because everything ends up perfect. We won’t need to go into the future because we’ll have everything we could ever need.

FOR THOSE WHO ARE IN CHRIST. Verse 8 reminds us what happens to those who haven’t confessed Jesus as their Lord and Savior. They face eternal damnation in hell.

So think about those 2 endings. For believers, a beautiful life with God. For non-believers, eternity separated from God.

And you might think that that’s too far away to think about. It’s great, but I still want to know about my future on this earth. After college, getting married, etc. Of course we’ll still wonder and worry sometimes. But we should know that in the end, that’s all small picture stuff. The ending this passage talks about is the big picture.

discussion questions

Did anything surprise you about this picture of the future for believers or non-believers?

How do people normally think of heaven? How is this scene different? (up in the sky vs God coming to earth to dwell with man)

Should you live any differently after seeing this picture of how the story of God’s people turns out? (we should desperate to reach the lost; stop worrying about the past or the future and focus on living for God in the present)

another example

think about Christmas. When do a lot of people start listening to Christmas music? When do stores start selling Christmas decorations? When do people put up their Christmas trees? (We start celebrating Christmas way before it gets here!)

This is how we as believers can view eternity. We have this exciting future to look forward to, but we don’t have to wait to start celebrating and experiencing it.

Yes, the world is still messed up. Yes, we still aren’t perfect. Yes, we don’t have Jesus with us face to face yet. But, in verse 5 Jesus tells us that he is making all things new, and that’s a promise he’s already begun to keep!

We should start living with the hope and joy of what’s to come right now, and sharing that spirit with others.

activity

-pass out pens and paper

Knowing the big picture of eternity should change the way we act now. Write down 3 things you can change in your life to live celebrating the eternity to come now. (attitude toward past/future, attitude/words/actions towards others-especially non-believers, recognizing that you truly can trust that God wants the best for you)