What is Heaven Like?

What Is Heaven Like?
by Kevin Miller
Text: John 14:2-3, 2 Peter 3:13
Topic: What we think (or don't think) about heaven.
Big Idea: Heaven is all about God, which means it is more wonderful than we can imagine.

Introduction
* Normally we don't think much about the afterlife, but since the terrorist attacks, that's no longer true.
-Illustration: In this illustration, Miller tells of a time he asked his congregation what they thought about heaven, and when the majority replied that they didn't think of it, he tried desperately to convince them that life is uncertain.

When we do think about heaven, we wonder what it's like.
* Many of the ideas people have about heaven are absurd.

Here's what we can definitively say about heaven.
* You'll have a new experience of God.
-Illustration: Miller tells the story of an actress named Vanity, who was beaten by her father as a girl, but later in life found God to be loving, at which point she filled her thoughts with him, rather than with painful memories of her childhood.

• You'll experience a new community.
• You'll experience a new you.

Let me give you two questions to consider.
* Do you know if you're going to heaven?

• Do you hope in heaven?
  - Illustration: Miller recalls the time he and his wife purchased their first new car — everything was shiny and new—but several years later, it was in bad shape and didn't provide the excitement that it had on the first few days; however, heaven lasts forever.

Conclusion
* To focus more on eternal life, ask God: "Increase my desire for heaven."