One Story | March 22, 2026
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Genesis 19
17 And as they brought them out, one said, "Escape for your life. Do not look back or stop anywhere in the valley. Escape to the hills, lest you be swept away."
18 And Lot said to them, "Oh, no, my lords. 19 Behold, your servant has found favor in your sight, and you have shown me great kindness in saving my life. But I cannot escape to the hills, lest the disaster overtake me and I die. 20 Behold, this city is near enough to flee to, and it is a little one. Let me escape there--is it not a little one?--and my life will be saved!"
21 He said to him, "Behold, I grant you this favor also, that I will not overthrow the city of which you have spoken. 22 Escape there quickly, for I can do nothing till you arrive there." Therefore the name of the city was called Zoar. 23 The sun had risen on the earth when Lot came to Zoar.
24 Then the LORD rained on Sodom and Gomorrah sulfur and fire from the LORD out of heaven. 25 And he overthrew those cities, and all the valley, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground. 26 But Lot's wife, behind him, looked back, and she became a pillar of salt. 27 And Abraham went early in the morning to the place where he had stood before the LORD. 28 And he looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah and toward all the land of the valley, and he looked and, behold, the smoke of the land went up like the smoke of a furnace. 29 So it was that, when God destroyed the cities of the valley, God remembered Abraham and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow when he overthrew the cities in which Lot had lived.
Talk Sheet Questions
(KQ) Tell the story above in your own words. Make it dramatic!
In what ways is Abraham's hospitality (Genesis 18:1-15) like Lot's hospitality (Genesis 19:1-11)? How is it different?
How does the question in Genesis 18:23 propel the entire story? Have you ever wondered if God’s judgment is fair? How did you resolve it?
How is the tale of Sodom and Gomorrah like the story of the flood as you remember it? How is it different?
Would you say Lot is grateful to have been delivered, or not? Explain. Would you characterize Lot as "righteous" (18:23ff)? Why or why not? (Compare 2 Peter 2:7)
What is the good news in the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah? How might you talk about the gospel using only the texts from today?
Prayer
Pray for your friends like Abraham prays for Sodom. (18:23ff)