This summer there were several Heavenly-minded folks down at Faith Bible Church, the small congregation in mid-town Omaha where I have served as the teaching pastor these past 20 months.That's gotta' be good.
As I did last summer, I invited the parishioners to join me in a special study course on Sunday evenings. Last year we tackled hermeneutics but this summer we went to Heaven together -- that is, we took on Randy Alcorn's tremendous Bible study book, Heaven.
Thanks to a special price given us by our buddies up at Eternal Perspective Ministries, I was able to give away over 25 copies of Randy's excellent book. And then I challenged the congregation to join us for our 6-week class (stretched out over 8 weeks) in which we would incorporate lecture and discussion...and reading. Over 20 signed on for the challenge.
This was a real stretch for many in our congregation. Some admitted they hadn't read an entire book in years. But, bless their hearts, they dared to try -- and the results were tremendous. Most of the congregants who took the class finished the book. Others have pledged to stay with it until they make it through. But, most important, for several of the individuals in the project, the read was life-changing as they saw heaven in new and exhilarating ways.
For our church, it was an important milestone; a proof that our people are willing to work, change old habits, and overcome difficulties in order to better know and serve Jesus Christ.
There are many examples I could tell you about how Heaven brought people nearer to Christ, honed their skills as Bible students and increased their joyous expectations of the life to come. It was very rewarding to hear people relate how the book stimulated, challenged and comforted them.
Judy Bledsoe is just one of these.
After just a couple of weeks into our class, Judy had to be taken to the hospital and then to a nursing home for rehab. When walking in to visit her one morning (she didn't know we were coming), Claire and I were delighted to see her copy of Heaven out where she had been diligently reading it. She told us how her physical therapist had been talking to her a lot about the book, asking at the beginning of every daily session, "So, Judy; tell me what you've learned about heaven today."
As I had promised the first Sunday night, everyone who participated in the class (and read the whole book!) would be rewarded with an invitation to our home for a barbecue party. We're looking forward to hosting that party this Saturday evening. We'll have over a dozen in attendance.
And among them will be Judy Bledsoe, who for overcoming that hospital stay and five weeks of nursing home rehab and still finishing the book, wins the first hot dog!