Title The Road to Heaven
Contents
Hymn: 543 (New Hymn 491) 'Toward that high place'
Meditation: How should the saints prepare for the end times?
Confession of Faith: Apostles' Creed
Text: "Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor do perishable things inherit incorruption" (1 Corinthians 15:50-58).
Jesus Christ opened the kingdom of heaven to us through his death and resurrection. Heaven is the blessed community of all saints who have become one body with Christ. Heaven is love and fellowship in its perfected form. It can be said that heaven has already begun in the place where we love each other.
Pascal, famous for his book 'Pangse', said this to people who are obsessed with the belief that 'everything is over when you die'. “There is a one-to-one chance of whether or not there is a heaven after death anyway. There may or may not be. Now, then, let’s gamble to see who loses. Is it a person who realizes that there is a heaven and that there is a heaven, or a person who believes that there is a heaven and lives a life of faith, but there is neither God nor Heaven? Who will be at a loss.”
Apocalypse is a word that encompasses the last things: death, judgment, heaven, and hell. So, is the Last Judgment really real? “It is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment” (Hebrews 9:27). The final judgment is sure to come. At the time of judgment, you will be judged whether you have lived by your own righteousness, or whether you have lived by the righteousness of our Savior, Jesus Christ. At this time, he said that those who live according to their own righteousness will be judged by wrath. “He who believes in him will not be condemned, but he who does not believe is already judged because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God” (John 3:18).
Today's text gives hope to us believers. Everything in this world disappears. No matter how young, healthy and beautiful people are, they will also grow old and die someday. However, no one in this world is exempt from God's unconditional love and unconditional forgiveness. Everyone has hope. As we approach the end times, the most important thing is the 'now' moment.
Prayer: Thank you for embracing all who come before you with your love and forgiveness. I pray in Jesus name. Amen.
Lord's Prayer