IT’S HELL, BUT HEAVEN’S COMING
Beyond the Sermon
Message 4a — Pop Culture Heaven
A deep-study guide to Matthew 18:1-5 · Pastor Rod Meyers · Covington Community Church
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Key Scripture — Matthew 18:1-5 (NIV) At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who, then, is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” He called a little child to him, and placed the child among them. And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.” Verse 3 as read in the message (NKJV): “Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.” |
The Big Idea
Pop culture dreams about heaven as a place we may go someday. Jesus describes it as a way of living now. When the disciples asked for a hierarchy, Jesus offered humility; when they wanted status, He gave them simplicity; when they sought promotion, He pointed to purity. Heaven is not a reward you cash in at the end of a good life — it is a relationship, and it is not just a destination for the future but a transformation for the present.
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“If you want to understand heaven, start by unlearning everything you think is important.” — Pastor Rod, on Matthew 18:3 |
Heaven, the Hollywood Edition
When you hear the word “heaven,” what comes to mind? Peace, clouds, harps, pearly gates — maybe Morgan Freeman saying “welcome.” If you have seen enough movies, heaven starts to look like a cosmic day spa for the soul: everybody in white linen, soft light, perfect hair, and about thirty years old. The message named the films and songs below. Each one carries a grain of hope, and each one bends the picture. Use the right-hand column to check the picture against the Word.
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Title |
The picture it paints |
What Scripture actually says |
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It’s a Wonderful Life (1946) |
An angel earns his wings by helping a human being; a bell rings when he does. |
Angels are already “ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation” (Hebrews 1:14). They don’t earn heaven — and neither do we. |
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Heaven Can Wait (1978) |
A clerical mix-up in the afterlife; Warren Beatty ends up in heaven’s HR department for eternity. |
No one slips in by accident. The Shepherd knows His sheep by name and no one snatches them from His hand (John 10:27-29). |
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Titanic (1997) |
Jack and Rose reunite on the grand staircase to applause — even in heaven, an audience matters. |
There is a reunion, but the audience is God Himself: “we will be with the Lord forever” (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17). |
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Heaven Is for Real (2014) |
A child’s near-death account of heaven as a real, seen place. |
Heaven is real, and you don’t need a vision or a YouTube clip to know it — “the kingdom of God is in your midst” (Luke 17:20-21). |
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“Stairway to Heaven” (1971) |
A lady who is sure all that glitters is gold is buying her stairway to heaven. |
You can’t buy it: “by grace you have been saved, through faith … not by works” (Ephesians 2:8-9). Theology and electric guitars don’t mix. |
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“Tears in Heaven” (1992) |
Grief that longs to see a lost child again. |
“He will wipe every tear from their eyes” (Revelation 21:4). The longing is right; the tears will end. |
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“Heaven” — Bryan Adams (1984), Kane Brown (2017) |
Heaven is wherever love lives on. |
Love does live on, because God is love (1 John 4:16) — and heaven is where He lives, not just where we feel it. |
Notice the pattern: culture gives us mythology — golden gates, angel wings, reunion scenes. Jesus gives us mission.
Word Study: The Greek Behind Matthew 18
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Word |
Pronounced / meaning |
Why it matters |
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στρέφω (v. 3) |
strephō — to turn, turn around; NKJV “be converted,” NIV “change” |
Not a small adjustment. It is an about-face — the same root as “repent.” Entering the kingdom starts with turning around, not climbing up. |
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παιδίον (vv. 2-5) |
paidion — a little child, a young child |
Not a teenager. A small child with no status, no résumé, no leverage — only trust. Jesus doesn’t praise childishness; He points to a child’s dependence. |
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ταπεινόω (v. 4) |
tapeinoō — to make low, to humble oneself |
The “lowly position.” Greatness in the kingdom is measured downward. The same word describes Christ, who “humbled himself” to the cross (Philippians 2:8). |
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βασιλεία τῶν οὐρανῶν |
basileia tōn ouranōn — “kingdom of the heavens” |
Matthew’s phrase (about 32 times, only in his Gospel) for what the other Gospels call the kingdom of God. Not merely a place you go later, but God’s reign wherever His will is done — which is why Jesus can say it is entered now. |
Historical Background
Children in the first-century world
In Jesus’ day a small child had no social standing at all — no legal rights, no voice, nothing to offer a rabbi. Rabbis did not typically teach children, and a child’s opinion carried no weight. So when Jesus stood a child in the center of the group as the model of greatness, He was not being sentimental. He was overturning the entire status system His disciples lived in. Mark’s parallel adds that Jesus “took the child in his arms” (Mark 9:36); the greatest person in the kingdom is the one with nothing to prove.
Why the disciples were asking
Matthew places this scene in Capernaum, right after the temple-tax episode (Matthew 17:24-27). Mark tells us what prompted the question: on the road the disciples had been arguing about which of them was the greatest (Mark 9:33-34). It was not a one-time slip. Later James and John — with their mother’s help — would ask for the seats at Jesus’ right and left, and the other ten were indignant (Matthew 20:20-28). Jesus’ answer both times was the same: the greatest is the servant.
“The kingdom of heaven”
Matthew, writing to a largely Jewish audience, used “heaven” as a reverent way of referring to God. The kingdom of heaven is the kingdom of God — His rule breaking into this world. That is why Jesus taught us to pray “your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:9-10). Heaven is not only out there; it is wherever God’s will is done.
The Kingdom Question: A Heavenly Realignment
Muhammad Ali asked it and answered it himself: “Who’s the greatest?” The disciples asked it too. Who is on top when we get there? Who are the VIPs? Jesus doesn’t point upward. He looks down and calls over a child.
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The disciples asked for… |
Jesus answered with… |
Which looks like… |
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A hierarchy |
Humility |
Taking the lowly position (v. 4) |
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Status |
Simplicity |
The trust of a child who simply expects dinner will come |
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Promotion |
Purity |
Clean hands and a pure heart (Psalm 24:3-4) |
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A leaderboard |
A relationship |
Welcoming a child — and in doing so, welcoming Christ (v. 5) |
Pop culture heaven vs. the heaven Jesus describes
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Pop culture heaven |
The heaven Jesus describes |
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What it is |
A destination, someday |
A way of living, now |
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How you get there |
Earn it, buy it, or get lucky |
Grace — Jesus already paid the cover charge |
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What it’s about |
Reward, reunion, applause |
Relationship with God and one another |
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Who’s great |
The VIPs, the celebrities, the ones with the most toys |
Whoever humbles himself like a child |
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What it does to you |
Comforts you about the future |
Transforms you in the present |
How to Live for Heaven Today
1. Live small, love big
“Whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven” (v. 4). Real-estate wisdom says don’t live beyond your means; kingdom wisdom says live small in your own expectations and love big. The world is obsessed with platforms and followers, but heaven still values the servant over the celebrity (Matthew 20:26-28).
Where in your life are you quietly competing for the “right hand” seat? What would living small in that area look like?
2. Be childlike, but don’t be childish
Children trust easily, forgive quickly, and love without calculating what they’ll get back. That is not immaturity; it is purity of heart. Paul draws the same line: “in regard to evil be infants, but in your thinking be adults” (1 Corinthians 14:20). Childlike faith and grown-up maturity belong together.
Which comes hardest for you — trusting easily, forgiving quickly, or loving without calculating? Who do you know who does it well?
3. Bring heaven down
Heaven isn’t only out there; it is wherever God’s will is done (Matthew 6:10). Every act of mercy, every kind word, every moment of grace is heaven breaking through. We don’t wait for heaven to arrive — we practice living heaven as if it has already arrived, because in Christ it has.
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Heaven breaking through — this week
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Have you brought a little heaven into somebody’s life today? Write down one person and one thing you could do before Sunday.
Reflection Questions
1. Which movie or song most shaped your picture of heaven growing up? What did it get right, and what did it get wrong?
2. Jesus said we must “change” (be converted) to enter the kingdom. What in your thinking about heaven needs to be unlearned?
3. “Heaven is about relationship, not status.” How does that change the way you would tell a non-Christian friend about heaven? (Everyone expects to go — that expectation is an open door.)
4. Pastor Rod said cynicism is something we learn. Where has the world taught you to be cynical, and what would it take to reclaim the wonder, trust, and openness of a child?
5. “No ticket, no ladder, no purchase necessary — just grace.” Do you live as though your place in heaven is already paid for? What would change if you did?
Further Study
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Passage |
Why read it |
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The parallel account — the argument on the road and Jesus taking the child in His arms. |
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The right-hand / left-hand request and Jesus’ definition of greatness as service. |
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“Let the little children come to me” — the kingdom belongs to such as these. |
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Christ humbled Himself (tapeinoō) — the pattern behind “live small, love big.” |
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Childlike, not childish: infants in evil, adults in thinking. |
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A three-verse picture of a quieted, childlike soul. |
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“Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” — bringing heaven down. |
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The kingdom of God is in your midst. |
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Saved by grace, not by works — and created for good works. |
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What heaven actually looks like: God with His people, every tear wiped away. |
Series memory verse: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” — Matthew 18:3