HALFWAY CHRISTIANITY PRODUCES HEARTBREAKING CONSEQUENCES. (Genesis 19:1-29)
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SERMON NOTES:
Halfway Heartbreak
Genesis 19:1-29
Halfway Christianity produces heartbreaking consequences.
Evening Day 1 – Sinful Sodom and compromising Lot. (1-14)
Early Day 2 – Angels rescue the reluctant Lot. (15-22)
Later Day 2 – Consequences for sin. (23-26)
Early Day 3 – Reflections on sin, judgment and salvation. (27-29)
Halfway Christians…
- Pursue the wrong priorities.
- Waver morally.
- Surround themselves with the wrong friends.
- Hesitate to leave the world behind.
- Suffer devastating consequences.
study questions:
For the Next Lesson – Genesis 19:1-29
- Read verses 1-3. What is your initial impression of Lot? How did he treat the two angels? Do you think he knew they were angels? Why or why not?
- Read verses 4-14. How can you describe this frightening scene in verses 4-9 in your own words? How do you think Lot felt? His wife? His daughters? What did the angels do and say? What would your attitude be toward the angels if they had done this for you?
- Read verses 15-22. Why do you think Lot lingered in the city even as the angels were urging him to leave? How did the angels show Lot and his family mercy and compassion? How did Lot respond to the command to escape to the hills? What do you think about this response? What do the responses of Lot in this situation show us about his heart?
- Read verses 23-19. How do you imagine the scene of God raining down sulfur and fire on Sodom and Gomorrah? What did it look like? Smell like? Sound like? Why do you think God turned Lot’s wife into a pillar of salt (see vs. 17)? What might have been going through Abraham’s mind as he was looking out on the smoking remains of these two cities? What do you think about God’s decisive, violent judgment of Sodom, Gomorrah and Lot’s wife? What can we learn from this?
- So what. What are the main characteristics we learn about God in these verses? Why are these characteristics important to understand? Are any of them hard for you to accept? How so? As we consider Lot’s reluctance to leave Sodom, how can we as Christians be reluctant to leave behind things of this world that are not good for us? What can we do to make sure we are responsive to God instead of resisting his merciful provision in our lives?