SERMON SERIES: FOUR FOUNDATIONAL QUESTIONS
Message: Destiny: “If a man dies, shall he live again?”
Ecclesiastes 3:11
Paul Hawkes
Parksville Baptist Church
February 1, 2015
Growth Group Participation
For the week of February 1, 2015
Looking back at your notes from this week’s teaching, was there
anything that particularly caught your attention, challenged or
confused you?
MY STORY
1. People leave home for all kinds of reasons. Some are kicked
out of their home, some run away from home, some choose to
leave home at an early age, and some hope never to leave
home. Pick one of the following…
a. What was it like when your first child left home?
b. How young were you when you first left home? Were the
circumstances good around your leaving?
c. Did you ever run away from home? Explain.
2. Which of the three longings mentioned in the sermon this week
did you most resonate with, a longing for home, a longing for
heaven, a longing for Eden? Explain your choice.
for otherwise as we will, there is no evidence of an external
grace shining down upon us, no demonstrateable destiny of
purpose assigned us, no second life vouchsafed us for the end
of the present one. We are, it seems, completely alone. And that
in my opinion is a very good thing. It means we are completely
free.” (Edward O. Wilson)
Now, counter each sentence/statement with a sentence of
statement from a biblical worldview. Provide scripture to back up
your viewpoint.
2. Alistair McGrath writes about a desire in all human-kind – a
homing instinct for God. To be sure this is not an argument from
reason, per se, but rather an appeal of the heart. It is very true
that an appeal of the heart is just as powerful as an appeal to
reason. As Pascal once said, “the heart has its reasons, which
reason doesn’t understand.” How do the following verses
explain this heart-longing for God?
Genesis 1:26-27
Ecclesiastes 3:11
Acts 17:23
DIGGING DEEPER:
1. Sometimes Christians are afraid of arguments made against
Faith. We need not be. As a group, consider the quote given
below. Take it apart, sentence by sentence and phrase by
phrase. What statements are made? What assumptions are
presumed? What conclusions about life and existence are
drawn?
“What does the story of our species tells us? By this I mean the
narrative made visible by science, not the archaic version
soaked in religion and ideology. I believe the evidence is
massive enough and clear enough to tell us this much: We were
created not by a supernatural intelligence but by chance and
necessity as one species in Earth’s biosphere. Hope and wish
Discuss the two sentences below. In what way do the two
images help explain the universal longing for God?
“If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world
can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was
made for another world.”
“Our soul is like an iron needle drawn to the magnetic pole
of God.”
3. Pastor Paul talked about three longings revealed in Scripture. A
longing for home, a longing for heaven, and longing for Eden.
How do the following scriptures help us understand our longing
for “home”?
2 Corinthians 5:1-10
Colossians 3:1-2
From these texts, what are some of the effects this longing
for home has on my attitudes and behaviors?
FOUR FOUNDATIONAL ISSUES:
Destiny: “If a man dies, shall he live again?”
Revisiting the big picture – four fundamental questions and why
they matter.
Destiny Explained
A Longing in our hearts
Ecclesiastes 3:11
1. A Longing for Home
John 8:14-19; 12:44-50/ 1 Corinthians 13:12/ Revelation 21:3/ Luke 15:11/ 2
Corinthians 5:1-10
TAKING IT HOME
1) Science cannot prove or disprove the existence of heaven. For
the rest of the week think about the evidence from your heart,
from nature, from the resurrection of Jesus Christ, and from
Scripture. What conclusion does that evidence lead you to?
2) Think about this: “The worldview of the Christian faith is simple
enough. God has put enough into this world to make faith in him
a most reasonable thing. But he has left enough out to make it
impossible to live by sheer reason alone”
2. A Longing for Heaven
Colossians 3:1-2/ Philippians 1:23; 3:20
Prayer for the following…
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3. A Longing for Eden
Genesis 2:8- 10, 15-17; 3:22-24/ Revelation 22:1-5
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“There is no greater discovery than seeing God as the author of your destiny.”
― Ravi Zacharias