Hades, Heaven, & Hell
After Easter, we’re beginning a short series exploring how Jesus’ descent, resurrection, and ascension shape what we believe about death—and what lies beyond it.
The scriptures doesn’t answer every question we might have about the afterlife. Very often, our ideas have been shaped far more by popular culture than by Scripture itself. This has often exacerbated the fear and anxiety we feel about the life of the world to come.
In this series, we’ll return to what God has made clear: his character. As we look at what the Bible says about Hades (Sheol), Heaven, and Hell, we’ll see how God’s justice and compassion give us solid ground for trusting him with the life to come.
Ultimately, this is a series about confidence—not only in what happens after death, but in the goodness of the God who holds our future in his hands.
TALK SCHEDULE & Description
click the drop down (+) to see a description of the theme of the passage.
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The Old Testament does not begin with talk of heaven and hell. It starts out with a more vague, shadowy, and diverse view of the underworld. The way the “grave” or Sheol is spoken of raises several key questions that the New Testament will address – Why doe the righteous and the evil all die? is it better to rest in the grave, or to endure the suffering of life? Will the wicked get away with the prosperity they enjoy in life?
Also, what does scriptures teaching on the “grave” (Sheol and Hades) mean for what happens between death and the resurrection to judgement? -
What does the bible have to say about our future home; about the future of our bodies and our souls? What are believers actually exhorted to hope about the future? How ought this hope to express itself in how we live in the present and think about the word we presently call home?
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If the Old Testament is so shadowy and vague in its details of the afterlife, where do the images we’re now so familiar come from?
What does Jesus mean by hell? Who does Jesus warn about Hell? What kind of future judgement can do justice to BOTH God’s Holy and Merciful character?
SERMON ResourceS:
The resources are organised by passage below in the same order that we worked through them.
The first section lists a bunch of resources we’d encourage you to explore BEFORE the series begins. They will help you process where you feel both clear and uncertain about this challenging topic. Exploring some of these resources before the sermons will help you get the most out of our Sunday services.
Following that are resources organised by their weekly focus.
BEFORE WE BEGIN
Below are a collection of resources that may be a real help in getting ready for this three part series on Hades, Heaven, and Hell.
UNDECEPTIONS PODCAST – ON HELL
This podcast devotes an entire episode to the place of hell in the scriptures. Click the link-title above to take you to the podcast pageUNDECEPTIONS PODCAST – Q&A
This podcast tackles listen questions such as
- Why is it considered Good News, if so many who don’t believe will end up in Hell?
- Why do we know so little about Heaven?
- Is the punishment of Hell proportional to our acts on Earth?
Click the link-title above to take you to the podcast pageTHE APOSTLE’S CREED – JESUS DESCENDED TO THE DEAD?
What does it mean in the Apostle’s Creed when we declare that Jesus “Descended to the Dead”? Why do some versions of the creed seem to imply Jesus descended to Hell?
Click the link-title above to take you to the blog pageIS HEAVEN REALLY OUR ETERNAL HOME?
Christopher Ash writes in the Briefing on why he doesn’t think about heaven as his eternal home – AND why we have something more wonderful in store than just a vaguely spiritual future up above.
Click the link-title above to take you to open a brief PDF article
2. HADES (Sheol & the Grave)
*No extra resources for this week yet
3. Heaven
(Resurrection & the future of the eaRTH)
*No extra resources for this week yet
4. Hell, Gehenna, & the Lake of Fire
*No extra resources for this week yet