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Writer's picturePhillip Raimo

ABRAHAM BARGAINS WITH GOD


GEN.18:16-33

Sun 9/26/21

Kinder/First grade


RECAP


God Makes a Promise to Abram-

Genesis 15:1-17:19 ;  18:1-16

Hagar and Ishmael-

Genesis 16


TODAY


Abraham Bargains with God-

MEMORY VERSE

PROVERBS 11:19 As righteousness leads to life, so he

who pursues evil pursues it to his own death.


Genesis 18:16-33

16 When the men got up to leave, they looked down

toward Sodom, and Abraham walked along with them to see

them on their way. 17 Then the LORD said, “Shall I hide

from Abraham what I am about to do? 18 Abraham will

surely become a great and powerful nation and all nations

on earth will be blessed through him.[fn] 19 For I have

chosen him, so that he will direct his children and his

household after him to keep the way of the LORD by doing

what is right and just, so that the LORD will bring about for

Abraham what he has promised him.” 20 Then the

LORD said, “The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so

great and their sin so grievous 21 that I will go down and see

if what they have done is as bad as the outcry that has

reached me. If not, I will know.”


22 The men turned away and went toward Sodom, but

Abraham remained standing before the LORD. 23 Then

Abraham approached him and said: “Will you sweep away

the righteous with the wicked? 24 What if there are fifty

righteous people in the city? Will you really sweep it away

and not spare[fn] the place for the sake of the fifty righteous

people in it? 25 Far be it from you to do such a thing—to kill

the righteous with the wicked, treating the righteous and the

wicked alike. Far be it from you! Will not the Judge of all the

earth do right?” 26 The LORD said, “If I find fifty righteous

people in the city of Sodom, I will spare the whole place for

their sake.” 27 Then Abraham spoke up again: “Now that I

have been so bold as to speak to the Lord, though I am

nothing but dust and ashes, 28 what if the number of the

righteous is five less than fifty? Will you destroy the whole

city for lack of five people?” “If I find forty-five there,” he said,

“I will not destroy it.” 29 Once again he spoke to him, “What

if only forty are found there?” He said, “For the sake of forty,

I will not do it.” 30 Then he said, “May the Lord not be angry,

but let me speak. What if only thirty can be found there?”

He answered, “I will not do it if I find thirty there.”

31 Abraham said, “Now that I have been so bold as to

speak to the Lord, what if only twenty can be found there?”

He said, “For the sake of twenty, I will not destroy it.”

32 Then he said, “May the Lord not be angry, but let me

speak just once more. What if only ten can be found there?”

He answered, “For the sake of ten, I will not destroy it.”

33 When the LORD had finished speaking with Abraham,

he left, and Abraham returned home.


ATTENTION GRABBER!


Tell the class about the word persistence, what it means to

be persistent.


The dictionary defines perseverance as persisting in what

is undertaken, and maintaining a course in spite of difficulty

or obstacles, to continue steadfastly.


LESSON TIME!


One day the Lord visited Abraham. Although, it seemed an

impossible promise since Abraham and Sarah were very old,

God promised they would have a son. Then, the Lord shared

with Abraham His plans for the wicked city of Sodom. He

was about to bring judgment upon them. But there was a

problem; Abraham’s nephew Lot lived in the city of Sodom.

Let’s see what happens.


Gen. 18:16-19

16 When the men got up to leave, they looked down

toward Sodom, and Abraham walked along with them to see

them on their way. 17 Then the LORD said, “Shall I hide

from Abraham what I am about to do? 18 Abraham will

surely become a great and powerful nation and all nations

on earth will be blessed through him. 19 For I have

chosen him, so that he will direct his children and his

household after him to keep the way of the LORD by doing

what is right and just, so that the LORD will bring about for

Abraham what he has promised him.”


God had great plans for Abraham. He was going to make

him the father of a great nation. Jesus, God's own Son,

would be a descendant of Abraham. God chose Abraham to

be a righteous example to others. Since Abraham was

chosen for such great things, God told him of His plans for


the city of Sodom, the place where Abraham's nephew Lot

lived.


What are some ways God speaks to us today?


He spoke to His people then and God is still speaking to

us today. We may not hear an audible voice, but He desires

to speak to His people. Sometimes, He wants us to know His

plans;


We communicate with God as we read His Word and allow

His Spirit to speak to our hearts. We also communicate with

God through prayer we tell Him our needs and praise Him

for His goodness.


20 Then the LORD said, “The outcry against Sodom and

Gomorrah is so great and their sin so grievous 21 that I will

go down and see if what they have done is as bad as the

outcry that has reached me. If not, I will know.”


Sodom and Gomorrah had grown very wicked. The people

there were sinful and rebellious against God. God could not

let them continue in their wicked ways, so He was prepared

to judge them.


People may think that they can get away with sin forever,

but God sees everything and knows everything.

No one can choose to live a life of sin and not suffer the

punishment.


What are some ways that you get punished when you do

wrong?


22 The men turned away and went toward Sodom, but

Abraham remained standing before the LORD. 23 Then

Abraham approached him and said: “Will you sweep away

the righteous with the wicked? 24 What if there are fifty

righteous people in the city? Will you really sweep it away

and not spare the place for the sake of the fifty righteous

people in it? 25 Far be it from you to do such a thing—to kill

the righteous with the wicked, treating the righteous and the

wicked alike. Far be it from you! Will not the Judge of all the

earth do right?”


Abraham stood before the Lord and pleaded for any

righteous people in the city. Abraham's nephew Lot was in

the city and surely Abraham did not want him destroyed with

the wicked.


Abraham is praying (interceding) for others. This is called

intercessory prayer. We, too, can pray for God's protection

and blessings on others.


Notice that Abraham was comfortable going to the Lord to

ask Him a question.


Do you ever have questions that you would like to ask God?

He wants to talk to us, spend time with us, and answer

our questions. He has all of the answers. Even if we

feel something is unfair, like Abraham did, we can go

to the Lord and will help resolve our questions.

Where can we find the answer to our questions to God?


26 The LORD said, “If I find fifty righteous people in the

city of Sodom, I will spare the whole place for their sake.”

27 Then Abraham spoke up again: “Now that I have been

so bold as to speak to the Lord, though I am nothing but dust

and ashes, 28 what if the number of the righteous is five less

than fifty? Will you destroy the whole city for lack of five

people?” “If I find forty-five there,” he said, “I will not destroy

it.” 29 Once again he spoke to him, “What if only forty are

found there?” He said, “For the sake of forty, I will not do it.”

30 Then he said, “May the Lord not be angry, but let me

speak. What if only thirty can be found there?”

He answered, “I will not do it if I find thirty there.”

31 Abraham said, “Now that I have been so bold as to

speak to the Lord, what if only twenty can be found there?”

He said, “For the sake of twenty, I will not destroy it.”


Intercession is our way of intruding into a situation, and our

first priority in intercession should always be

“according to God’s will.” If we pray according to God’s

will, He will grant our request.


What is one way to know God and His will for our lives?


Many times we do not know God’s will, and we must

persevere in prayer until we do.

Abraham also models for our persistence in prayer. He was

humble, realizing he was not equal to God;” yet he

continually sought the Lord's mercy. Each request

Abraham brought, the Lord granted.


What are some things you have prayed for and God

answered your prayers?


Abraham was a man of faith and called the “friend of God”

(James 2:23).


What a blessing to have that kind of relationship with the

Lord. God wants to have that kind of close relationship

with each one of us. We can be God’s friends when

we come to Him through Jesus Christ.


32 Then he said, “May the Lord not be angry, but let me

speak just once more. What if only ten can be found there?”

He answered, “For the sake of ten, I will not destroy it.”

33 When the LORD had finished speaking with Abraham,

he left, and Abraham returned home.


Lastly, Abraham asked, “Would God save Sodom if ten

righteous people remained in the city?” Abraham

wanted Lot and his family to be safe from God’s

judgment.


Abraham may have thought, Lot's family would be

the righteousness that saved the city.


What does it mean to be righteous?


Then, the Lord departed. We can learn many things from

Abraham.


God chose him for great blessings; yet, he was humble.

Abraham was a man of faith and a man persistent in prayer.

He interceded for others.


The bible says the people in the bible are there for our

example to know what to do. Right and wrong

2Pe 2:6


if he condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah by

burning them to ashes, and made them an example of what

is going to happen to the ungodly;

Jude 1:7-8


In a similar way, Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding

towns gave themselves up to sexual immorality and

perversion. They serve as an example of those who suffer

the punishment of eternal fire.

1Co 10:11


These things happened to them as examples and were

written down as warnings for us, upon whom the ends of the

ages have come.

Rom 15:4


For everything that was written in the past was written to

teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the

Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might

have hope.


Remember, as Christian, our desire should be to see God’s

will done, not our own will. God does not always answer our

prayers the way we think He should, but He will always do

what is best for us.


MEMORY VERSE

PROVERBS 11:19 as righteousness leads to life, so he

who pursues evil pursues it to his own death.


Pray

Snack Time

Game (maybe)




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