Hopefully Ever After

Message Listening Guide

Guiding Question: If high expectations often lead to disappointment, and low expectations protect us from it, should Christians really place so much emphasis on our heavenly hope?

Hope in God’s Future Can Bring Joy in the Present
Even before the New Heavens and New Earth arrive, God commands His people to present-tense joy because of future-tense promises (Isaiah 65:17-18).
Many Christians think of heaven as a disembodied escape, but Scripture teaches that our ultimate hope is resurrection—restored bodies, a renewed earth, and face-to-face life with God forever (Revelation 21:1-5).
Creation itself groans in hopeful anticipation of what’s coming—and so do we. We long not just to survive death, but to be fully restored—body, soul, and world—when God makes all things new (Romans 8:22–25).

Post-Bucket List: If eternity with God is guaranteed, we don’t have to chase every thrill now. What would you put on your post-bucket list?

The Point: Hope reaches into the not-yet and returns with joy for the right-now.

Re-Prioritize Your Life (2 Corinthians 4:16-18)
Eternity is for exploration, leisure, and adventure.
This life is your one opportunity to walk by faith, share Christ, and bring healing to broken places and people.
Ask yourself: “If I truly believed that I will live forever in a perfect world with God, how would I live this short life differently? What would I give up? What would I run toward?”

Closing Thought: When we rejoice in the midst of sorrow, we send a signal to the watching world: Death doesn’t get the last word. Jesus does.