How to use this guide This study guide is designed to engage your group in deep

and meaningful conversation.

To Begin is designed to break the ice and allow for group

members to engage in opening conversation. The questions

are usually fairly simple so anyone can participate. Feel free

to come up with your own question to break the ice too.

Digging Deeper is designed to take the group through the text

and engage the group in a more robust conversation. The

questions in this section will hopefully engage group

members from all walks of life. You don’t have to work

through all the questions. As a leader, pick the ones that you

think would best suit your group needs.

Space for Praise & Prayer Points is provided at the end of each

section for you to take notes and write down the prayer

requests of your group. We hope that through this study that

you and your group will grow in the hope that we have

through Jesus Christ.

Contents Session 1 – “Heaven Walking On Earth” Genesis 3:1-9

Session 2 – “Heaven Comes Back” Luke 1:26-55

Session 3 – “Heaven Comes to Us” Colossians 2:16-3:4

Session 4 – “Heaven Comes to Stay” Revelation 21:1-5

*Please note all materials including video teachings and

discussion guides are now available through our

FAC Experience App under the ‘Resources’ tab.

TO BEGIN To get things started, let’s go around the group and answer this

question:

What food do you find especially tempting?

DIGGING DEEPER What stood out to you the most from this past weekend service?

Together, open your Bibles and read from Genesis 3:1-9

then watch Session 1.

God’s desire has always been to be with His people. The fall was

tragic, separating humanity from the presence of God. This series

looks at the grand narrative of scripture from Genesis through

Revelation and how God has made a way for us to dwell with Him

once again.

What do you think it would have been like to be with God in the

Garden of Eden?

When you were a child, what was “off-limits” to you?

The fall of humanity brought upon us by Adam and Even has left a

deep longing for God in our hearts.

Does it matter to you that there is hope for something beyond

this life? Why? What do you hope for?

Do you think it is important to think about our future hope

before we face death ourselves? Why?

What increases or decreases your longing to be in the presence

of God?

Read Isaiah 61:1-3. The way it is now is not always the way it has

been. Thankfully, God is on the move to make change happen!

How can we reflect God’s attitude toward injustice when we

interact with suffering in our won lives or try to encourage those

who are in the midst of suffering?

Take a moment to envision heaven the way you understand it.

How would you describe heaven to someone who was curious

about what heaven would be like? What do you think it will be

like to be in the presence of God in heaven?

What has been the primary inspiration for your understanding

of heaven?

How does your understanding of heaven influence how you

process life and death? If you can think of a real-life example,

please share it. (Example: How you helped your children process

their grandparent’s death or how you processed it yourself.)

PRAISE & PRAYER POINTS Spend some time praying for each other’s prayer requests and

share what God is doing in your life.

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TO BEGIN To get things started, let’s go around the group and answer this

question:

What have you been told about the events surrounding your

birth?

DIGGING DEEPER What stood out to you the most from this past weekend service?

Together, open your Bibles and read from Luke 1:26-55

then watch Session 2.

How well, would you say, are you able to recognize God at work

in your life and around you? Share a story of God at work in

your life.

Mary’s song of praise helps us understand what God is up to. God

has remembered us and has come to save us. Both Mary and

Elizabeth responded to the presence of God in faith. They are a

great example to us of humility and trust.

Do you ever struggle to trust the promptings or promises of

God in your life? Why?

Are there people or teachers in your life who have helped you to

see God at work in your life? What did they share with you that

made a difference?

There are many different characteristics and qualities we can look

for when we are discerning the presence and promptings of God.

Our church community, our Bibles and the Holy Spirit help us keep

our eyes open, watching closely for these movements of God.

What are characteristics and qualities you have identified as key

markers of God’s presence? How have you seen these in the life

of Jesus?

If you can, share a time when you experienced, without any

doubt, that God was present with you.

What surprising ways has God shown up in your life or in the life

of someone you know?

God is constantly working to help us become the people He

intended us to be. This means, that He will heal us, encourage us,

transform us but also challenge us – just as He did with the

Pharisees. All of this, He does out of love for us – to see us live into

the fullness of life He has offered to us.

What challenges have you faced in the past that has brought

you closer to God? How so?

How can we respond when God does challenge our lifestyle,

attitude, or beliefs?

PRAISE & PRAYER POINTS Spend some time praying for each other’s prayer requests and

share what God is doing in your life.

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TO BEGIN To get things started, let’s go around the group and answer this

question:

What ideas or experiences influenced the formation of your

identity during your childhood and young adult years?

DIGGING DEEPER What stood out to you the most from this past weekend service?

Together, open your Bibles and read from Colossians 2:16-3:4

then watch Session 3.

In our Colossians passage, Paul shows how there are many activities

to participate in and rules to follow that look good to the world.

However, God wants to make sure that we are not fulfilling the

ideals of this world but pursuing what is eternally valuable. We

should find our identity in Christ alone and find our purpose in His

will. All other things are only a mirage of value and security.

What ideas/experiences currently hold a significant role in

defining who you are?

Where have these ideas/experiences come from? Do they reflect

God’s truth?

Where should we get our primary source of identity?

Are you willing to exchange ungodly links in your chain for God’s

truth?

Read Matthew 7:24-29 and reflect on this question: is the

foundation of your identity secure or is your confidence being

tossed around by the waves of life experiences?

Can you identify where you have built the foundation for your

life? If not, pray together that God would reveal this to members

of the group who desire to know. Pray now and listen for how

God responds.

Why are you holding onto this foundation? Is it secure or temporary?

What prayer can be said and actions taken to build your foundation on God’s truth instead of on the uncertain things of this world?

Share a passage of Scripture that has helped bring you security in a difficult time.

Read Matthew 3:16-17.

God spoke over Jesus his true identity. Take a moment to be still

before the Lord, offering before Him the foundation you have built

your life on and the chain you have developed for your identity.

Acknowledge that there are parts that need to be exchanged for His

truth.

Privately ask God: What truth or identity statement do you want

to speak over me tonight?

Take a moment to share the truth that God has spoken over each of

you. Encourage each other in this and declare God’s truth.

PRAISE & PRAYER POINTS Spend some time praying for each other’s prayer requests and

share what God is doing in your life.

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TO BEGIN To get things started, let’s go around the group and answer this

question:

Have you ever waited eagerly for something even though you

didn’t know exactly what it was? (Example: a surprise trip or gift

under the tree?) What was the surprise or gift?

DIGGING DEEPER What stood out to you the most from this past weekend service?

Together, open your Bibles and read from Revelation 21:1-5

then watch Session 4.

Do you relate most to one who embraces the mystery with child

-like faith or the one who studies to understand as much as they

possibly can?

What might be the benefits and cautions of dealing with mystery

from each approach?

Take a moment to read the whole chapter of Revelation 21

together.

Together, compile a written or spoken list of all the imagery offered

to us in Revelation 21.

What imagery is easy to understand and which ones leave us

wandering in our imagination?

In what ways do these images build in you an anticipation to see

heaven yourself?

Read 1 Corinthians 13:9-12. Ponder the ongoing transformation we

experience as God helps us to see through His eyes.

On our own, we are limited in our ability to see things the way God

sees them. We understand through a worldly, human perspective.

But we are challenged in Scripture to seek God’s wisdom through

the Holy Spirit so that we might understand His ways.

Is mystery comfortable or uncomfortable to you now?

Why might mystery be necessary in our relationship with God?

Has God ever helped you to understand something that was

previously very confusing or mysterious to you? (This might be a

Bible passage or an instruction God gives for how we are to live.)

What role does your faith play in helping you to rest in God

despite what we do not yet understand about Him or about

eternity?

In the parables of Matthew 13:44-46, Jesus implies that this treasure

of heaven is worth giving up everything to have.

Is this how you view heaven? How valuable is the hope of

heaven to you?

Do you believe that heaven is going to be as wonderful as God

describes it to be?

PRAISE & PRAYER POINTS Spend some time praying for each other’s prayer requests and

share what God is doing in your life.

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