Grade 5 - Coptic Orthodox Diocese of the Southern United States

Sunday School Curriculum Grade 5
Objective:
Week before Fast: Life after death - Heaven
To learn about the quality of living in heaven
Memory Verse:
“Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which
God has prepared for those who love Him” (Matthew 2:9 from Isaiah 64:4)
References:
―Heaven‖ by the late Bishop Youannis
Introduction:
Review the previous lesson and verse.
Let‘s say our parents were notified that they would have to move with their job to a different
city or state or even they decided to move to another country. Now the parents at that point
would make an effort to learn more about that new place they‘re moving to. They probably
check on the schools in that area, on the crime rate in the neighborhood, and other concerns they
might have about that new place. It was probably a good idea for them to do such research, and
so let‘s stop and think for a minute. That‘s very similar to our situation here on earth. We know
at some point we‘ll have to depart and move to a different place, and for the believers that would
be heaven. Well, the moral of this story is that we need to also get ourselves familiar with that
wonderful place, and most importantly we need to prepare ourselves to fit in the environment of
such a place. So in this lesson, let us introduce through the Holy Bible the very little that was
said about our life in the heavens after the physical death.
Lesson Outlines:
First it is very important for us to note that no matter how much we describe heaven, we will
never be able to totally comprehend what it is really like living in heaven. Even when St. Paul
was taken to heaven, he said, ―How he was caught up into Paradise and heard inexpressible
words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter‖ (2 Corinthians 12:4). Here St. Paul tells us that
he couldn‘t express what he saw, and the second part of that statement means that he couldn‘t
dare to even try to express what he saw! Having this point in mind, we could still attempt to
describe some of the few values of living in heaven:
A. No hunger, no thirst, no hot or cold in heaven
While Christ blesses those who ―hunger and thirst for righteousness‘ sake‖ here on earth, St.
John the beloved tells us in Revelation 7:16 that in heaven ―they shall neither hunger anymore
nor thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any heat.‖
JONAH’S FAST 75