Imagine Heaven by John Burke
Week 14: Chapter 13 — The God of Second Chances?
Read Chapter 13 of Imagine Heaven. Key Scripture: Hebrews 9:27; John 14:6; Luke 23:39–43.
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Burke takes on one of the most sensitive and contested questions raised by NDE accounts: is there opportunity to turn to God after death?
Discussion Questions
7 questions1.Some NDE accounts suggest that people who had no faith in life were given some kind of encounter with God at the threshold of death, and some returned changed. How do you initially respond to those accounts — with hope, with skepticism, or with theological concern?
2.Burke grounds his response to this question in Hebrews 9:27 — 'People are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment.' What does this verse suggest about the finality of earthly life's choices? How should it be held alongside our trust in God's mercy?
3.Burke points to the thief on the cross (Luke 23:39–43) as evidence that God's grace can reach a person at the very last moment of life. What does that story tell you about the wideness of God's mercy and the nature of saving faith?
a.What did the thief's faith actually look like? What did he do or say that evidenced saving trust?
b.How does this story give hope without encouraging presumption?
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