Jesus has promised to come back and take all believers to be with Him in heaven! (2 Peter 3:3-14) Even though some may “scoff” at the idea, God will keep His promise to come again. No one knows when, so we should always be ready.

Tell the kids you are going to take them out for ice cream (or another outing), but don’t tell them when. They will probably ask you all day, “Is it time yet?” Keep saying, “No, but when I say it’s time, we’ll go.”

Ask (while you’re eating your ice cream):
Was it hard to wait?
Jesus has promised to take us to a wonderful place called heaven. If we really understood how wonderful heaven is, we would have a hard time waiting. Only God knows the time and when He says, “It’s time,” we’ll go.

Show your wedding video and talk about how much you looked forward to that special day. Maybe you crossed days off the calendar as you couldn’t wait to start a new life together with your mate. (If you have older kids, you may want to talk about keeping yourself pure for that special day – just as they can stay pure and holy for Jesus’ return.)

Tell your kids that God is preparing the most wonderful place imaginable for them. (For more information about what is and what’s not in heaven, read Revelation 21-22.)

Make and play "what's in/what's not in heaven game." Involve your kids in the drawing of the pictures and/or writing the words.

Items needed: index cards (cut in half)
pencils (if you buy the cheap index cards like I do, pen will show through)

Cut the cards apart and talk about what's in heaven and what's not in heaven. Have them draw the same item twice- one on each half of the card. For the things NOT in heaven, have them draw a diagonal line through the picture.

Things NOT in heaven:
Tears
Death (tombstone)
Sickness (medicine bottle)
Sin (write the word)
Sadness (sad face)

Things that ARE in heaven:
God (throne)
tree of life
golden street
mansion
happiness (happy face)

Mix all the cards up and place them face down on a table or the floor. Take turns looking for matches. If you get a match, hold it until the end of the game. The one with the most matches wins the game.