1. ABRAHAM AND THE THREE VISITORS

2. GOD MADE ABRAHAM HIS FRIEND
Genesis 18:1-19:38
Key Verse 18:18,19
“Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation, and all nations on earth will be blessed through him. 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."

3. Introduction
In chapter 17, Abraham repented of his petty desire and accepted God’s vision to make him a father of many nations.
In today’s passage we can see that Abraham became God’s friend who knew the heart and mind of God.
May God help us to grow as God’s friends who know the heart and mind of God.

4. I. Abraham Entertained Strangers (18:1-15)
How did Abraham welcome them?
What can we learn from Abraham’s family, who welcomed the visitors?
Where does generosity like this come from?

5. I. Abraham Entertained Strangers (18:1-15)
What did God tell Sarah would happen?
What faith did God plant in her?
“Is anything too hard for the Lord?”

6. II. Abraham offered an intercessory prayer(18:16-33; 19:29)
What Plan Did God Have for Abraham?
“Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation, and all nations on earth will be blessed through him.” (v.18)
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.“ (v.19)

7. How Did the Lord Make Abraham His Friend?
The Lord allowed Abraham to know what he was doing so that Abraham could voluntarily participate in what he was doing.
Abraham began to know God and to become God’s friend; as friends, they worked together in God’s redemptive work.

8. What Is the Privilege of a Friend of God?
God’s friend can know what God is doing.
God’s friend has the privilege of offering intercessory prayer.

9. What Can We Learn from 19:29?
“So when God destroyed the cities of the plain, he remembered Abraham, and he brought Lot out of the catastrophe that overthrew the cities where Lot had lived.”

10. What Can We Learn from 19:29?
We learn the importance of righteous people.
We learn the importance of intercessory prayer.

11. III. The Lord Destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah (19:1-38)
How did Lot welcome the angels?
Why did Lot’s sons-in-law reject Lot’s plea?
Why would Lot hesitate to leave the city?

12. III. The Lord Destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah (19:1-38)
How did God help him?
What was God’s judgment like upon Sodom and Gomorrah?
What happened to Lot’s wife?

13. Conclusion
Lot's life of compromise ended in suffering, shame, and curse.
Abraham’s life of faith was pleasing to God and a blessing to others.
God made Abraham his friend who knew the heart and mind of God.

14. Conclusion
Abraham resolved to do the will of God, and he became a giant in faith as a result.
Lot wanted his own way and became a dwarf.
We must grow as God’s friends who know the heart and mind of God and be shepherds for lost people in our generation.