BEYOND THE GRAVE 

Heb. 9:27 And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment

In April of 1999 there was a tragic school shooting in Columbine, Colorado. You could say we

entered into a new season that day. Unexpected shootings have become more and more

common since then. They have happened in movie theaters, shopping malls, elementary

and high schools, and even on military bases. It seems as if there is really no safe zone in our

modern world. As a response to this explosion of violence, Victory Fellowship began a

production called Beyond the Grave in October of 1999. There have been hundreds of

performances with thousands of young people being impacted and converted to the Christian

faith over theses last eighteen years. Tonight, we begin the nineteenth season of performances of Beyond the Grave.

What has caused the unexpected success of BTG? It seems to have captured the sense of the

hopelessness that this world is engulfed in and at the same time present the hope offered to us

in the message of the gospel. The gospel story never gets old, ‘God so loved the world’ is still

the greatest of all messages.

Solomon, in Ecclesiastes, talks about eternity in our hearts. The Fire Bible explains the

significance of this.

“God has placed within each person an inborn desire for something beyond our earthly

existence. Deep inside, human beings want to live forever in peace. They want to find lasting

value in the world and the activities of life; they want to be a part of something with eternal

meaning. That is why material things, worldly activities and the pleasures of earth will never fully satisfy.”

Is it possible we live in a generation that has learned to be satisfied in the conveniences and

pleasures available to us in our highly technical, modern world? It seems as if the combination

of the conveniences our society affords us and the “best life now” message that has over run

the modern church world has inoculated this generation from the power of the gospel. The

hunger for eternity that is in all of our hearts explains the popularity of the production Beyond

the Grave. Is there a hunger crying out inside of you? Do you know that there must be more to

life than a new smart phone, a football game, or another three day weekend? Maybe its time to

dig below the surface and allow your heart’s cry for more to be released. Tonight could be

historic. Why not make some phone calls and bring a carload of friends to Beyond the Grave?