WHAT’S AFTER LIFE JANUARY 5One out of 25 people in America has had a near-death experience. Their heart stopped beating, their brain waves ceased, yet they claim they were more alive than ever. With improved medical resuscitation, more and more verifiable evidence indicates that life doesn’t end with our last breath—it’s just beginning. So, what really happens after death?

Work through the following questions and Scriptures on your own, and get together with your running partner, life group, or friends and family to talk through what you are learning.

1. Have you ever been going through something in your life that led you to explore some idea/concept/solution that you may have never considered prior to that life event or situation?

2. What was it that led you to explore God for the first time?

3. What do you imagine will happen when you die? Have you ever pictured the “afterlife”? If so, what did/do you imagine it to be like?

4. Read Acts 14:19-20 and 2 Corinthians 12:2-4. What do you think about Paul’s near-death experience (NDE) and how he describes the afterlife? Do you think his experience provides strong evidence for similar accounts? Why or why not?

5. Read John 14:2-3. God has made it clear that He has something more for us after this life. What does it mean to you to know that God is preparing a future for you, even beyond what you may be able to imagine? What do you think that says about how much He loves each of us?

6. Read Luke 16:9. What would it mean to you to see people in heaven that have gone on before you? Is there a particular person(s) you would look forward to seeing again? Why?

7. We learned this week that the Bible tells us accepting God’s love offered through Jesus is your ticket to Heaven, and it’s a free gift. We can look forward to heaven if we simply accept God into our lives. If you’ve never prayed and asked God to become the leader of your life, consider doing that or seeking more information to make a step in that direction. If you are already a follower of Jesus, ask yourself what practical steps you can take in the coming weeks to live like you’re looking toward heaven. What does it look like to live for the Kingdom to come by letting God’s will be done in your life, as it is in Heaven?

D I S C U S S I O N Q U E S T I O N S

Acts 14:19-20 – They stoned Paul and dragged him out of town, thinking he was dead. But as the believers gathered around him, he got up and went back into the town.

2 Corinthians 12:2-4 – I was caught up to the third heaven fourteen years ago. Whether I was in my body or out of my body, I don’t know—only God knows…But I do know that I was caught up to paradise and heard things so astounding that they cannot be expressed in words, things no human is allowed to tell.

John 14:2-3 – 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? When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am.

Luke 16:9 – “Use your worldly resources to benefit others and make friends. Then, when your earthly possessions are gone, they will welcome you to an eternal home”

As you look to dig deeper into the topics of this week’s message, consider who you might be able to share the book “What’s After Life?” with. Who in your life would be open to hearing the stories of those who experienced what so many of us wonder about—the afterlife? Grab a free book for each person you think of, and share it with each of them this coming week.

D I G G I N G D E E P E R

K E Y S C R I P T U R E S

S P I R I T U A L O U T C O M E S— gatewaychurch.com/spiritual_outcomes/multiplication