Prepare your heart for the Sermon by looking through these suggestions that will assist you in making the most of our time together hearing God's Word.

You will find suggestions for thinking more critically through the passage, meditating more intently on the text, and prayerfully seeking wisdom to deepen your understanding of the passage to be preached this Sunday.

Carefully Think

• Read Genesis 18 in its entirety. How does this chapter connect to ch. 17? How does it connect to the rest of the life of Abram? How does it fit in the book of Genesis as a whole up to this point?
• Who appears to Abraham in this chapter according to v. 1? How does Abraham’s response reveal that he knew who had appeared to him? What is distinct about v. 10-12 compared to what we saw last week in ch. 17? Why is this important? What does the Lord’s response in v. 14 reveal about his character?
• How do vv. 16-19 reflect what we have seen in the life of Abraham thus far? What does the Lord promise Abraham? How was Abraham to respond? Why does the Lord mention all of this in this chapter?
• What does Abraham and the Lord’s interaction in vv. 20-33 reveal about the character of the Lord? Notice the explicit statement in v. 25. What does this interaction reveal about Abraham? Why is this recorded in this section?

Prayerfully Meditate

• How does Abraham’s response in v. 3 reflect his relationship with the Lord at this point? What lessons are there for us to learn from this example? Should we be presumptuous when we come before the Lord? How should we approach the Lord?
• What does Sarah’s response to the promise of the Lord reveal about her faith? Why would she doubt the promise of the Lord? What circumstances cause us to doubt God’s promises? Why? Was Sarah excused because her circumstance appeared impossible in her eyes? Are we then excused when faced with trusting the Lord in difficult circumstances?
• Meditate on the abounding gracious character of God displayed in the interaction between Abraham and the Lord in vv. 20-33. Notice how at the beginning of the interaction God’s justice is fully on display, but as the section progresses the grace of the Lord becomes more prominent. Think on the grace of God toward you. What has God relented of for your sake? How does Abraham respond to this interaction? What kind of peace should we have knowing the abundance of God’s grace?