What picture comes to mind when you think about heaven?  Most of us have heard that heaven is a wonderful place and everyone wants to go there, but we don't know much else about it. Maybe you've decided, like author Dan Schaeffer once did, that there is little that can be known about heaven in this life, so there isn't much point speculating. He observes:

"I think if the truth we known, many Christians are at best ambivalent, or at worst afraid, of heaven--or at least of the vision they have in their mind...We're far more attached to earth than we think. This may partly explain why it can be so hard to get Christians to think beyond this earthly life to greater spiritual realities."

And yet, Schaeffer reminds us, there is a restless yearning in our hearts that moments of pleasure cannot long quench and sorrow only intensifies. And that desire has been planted by God Himself---a universal "longing for a better country---a heavenly one" (Hebrews 11:16). In these pages you will discover that thing you've always wanted; that world you've longed for; that life you were meant to live; that goal you were meant to pursue--in a word, heaven.

Based on biblical evidence, Schaeffer's insights about our heavenly desire, the heavenly location, the heavenly life, and heavenly preparation show us that God wants that "better country" to be the passion and purpose of our present life.  And then, as we understand what heaven will truly be like, our priorities will shift and we will no longer live for this life alone.

Study guides for each chapter make this an excellent group study or an opportunity for personal learning and reflection.