Ascension Day and the Road to Heaven

*I was given a Road to Heaven game from Inspirational Design LLC in exchange for an honest review.  I promise to always give my honest opinion to my readers, as helping you find good Christian resources is my top priority!  

I don’t know about your house, but around here, we love holidays.  Any excuse to celebrate is a good one! It’s hard to imagine a better reason to celebrate than the fact that we have an opportunity to be with Jesus in heaven one day.  Easter is a grand celebration of that.  We should not let the ball drop after Easter.  If you only celebrate salvation once a year, it won’t have much of an impact.  Last year we decided to continue our heavenly celebration with Ascension Day!

Ascension Day is a celebration of the day that Jesus ascended to Heaven. In 2016, Ascension Day is Friday, May 6th. Click To Tweet

What is Ascension Day?

Ascension Day is a celebration of the day that Jesus ascended to Heaven.  It occurred 40 days after Resurrection Sunday (a.k.a. Easter).  To determine the date, we count 40 days forward from Easter to arrive at the date for our Ascension Day celebration.  In 2016, Ascension Day is Friday, May 6th.  

While he blessed them, he parted from them and was carried up into heaven. And they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and were continually in the temple blessing God.” Luke 24:51-53 ESV

How To Prepare for Ascension Day

If you want to build anticipation, spend the time leading up to Ascension Day studying what the scriptures say happened from the time of the resurrection until Ascension Day.  Discuss what you think Jesus may have taught about during this time.  Study heaven and build some anticipation.  Most importantly, talk about salvation and the plan set out for us to follow if we want to live with Jesus in Heaven one day.  

The Road to Heaven

At the Teach Them Diligently Conference, we found a unique and fun way to teach God’s word and His plan for us.  If you have been around church very long, you may have heard about the Roman Road, a set of verses in the book of Romans that lay out the plan of salvation.  We have found a board game, entitled “Road to Heaven,” that gets kids (and adults alike) thinking about what it takes to get to heaven.  

Check out the Road to Heaven game! Click To Tweet

In this family-friendly game, the goal is to move from the “In the Beginning” space, around the road, and finally to enter Heaven.  While traveling toward Heaven, players learn about the Bible through a series of Blessing and Knowledge cards.  The game even comes with a Bible so players can look up the noted scripture references and check their answers.  Along the road, you might encounter Hallelujah spaces that move you forward, or Repent spaces that force you to go back.

There are also tokens that help solidify concepts.  For example, you must have a cross piece before you can enter into Heaven.  If you collect two earth pieces (worldliness), then you must move your piece backwards.  If you collect three Lamb’s Book of Life tokens, you get to go straight to Heaven.  Be careful though!  If you land on a Sacrifice space, you might have to give up a cross or Lamb’s Book piece!

One of my favorite aspects of the game was the Temptation Space.  If you land on it, you have a choice to roll a die and be rewarded, or risk receiving the negative Worldliness earth piece.  I had a little secret satisfaction because my children received a Worldliness earth each time they risked temptation.  They quickly learned that temptation just wasn’t worth it!

Over all, this game was a fun way to introduce and review basic salvation concepts.  We had to clarify a few things, such as the fact that there is really only one Lamb’s Book of Life.  As with any game, there was a bit of a learning curve when it came to the rules. The game was recommended for ages 8 and up, but we let our little ones play on teams with us so we could all join in the fun.  All our kids thought it was fun and wanted to play again.  I can see this becoming a family favorite that we play for years to come.  I hope that your family will enjoy The Road to Heaven too!

More Ascension Day Fun

Try celebrating Jesus’ return to Heaven with ice cream sundaes and whipped cream clouds! Click To Tweet

If you want to have more Ascension Day fun, or just have some fun celebrating Heaven after you play the game, try celebrating Jesus’ return to Heaven with ice cream sundaes and whipped cream clouds.  It’s the fun of party food and a reminder of Jesus taken up into heaven all rolled into one!

Whether or not you celebrate Ascension Day or not, make sure you take time to celebrate Jesus. Talk about how your children can live in Heaven with Him one day.

“And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”  Matthew 28:20 ESV