Object: A ruler, a ball of string, a calendar.

Good morning, boys and girls. How long is forever? (Let them answer.) Have you ever heard me talk about living forever? (Let them answer.) I always talk about living forever. I suppose that every pastor talks about those words more than any other words. But what is forever?

Some things we know about, like: how long some things are or how long they will last. I have a ruler and I know that this ruler is twelve inches long. It isn't thirteen inches or twenty inches long, but twelve inches long. Here is a ball of string. If I stretch it out as far as it will go, I know that it is as long as this church, but not much longer. I also have a calendar. This calendar tells me how many …