Sodom and Gomorrah - Genesis 18-19 (Bible lesson for teens)

In this Bible study, we’ll explore the story of Sodom and Gomorrah from Genesis 18:16 to 19:29. We’ll also look at Abraham’s powerful example of prayer and the confidence we can have to approach God.

This lesson relates to pre-teens and teens and by the end of this lesson, they should have learned about the following:

God is a perfect and good Judge,
We can draw near to God,
The need to flee from sin.

BIBLE READING: Genesis 18:16 – 19:29

MEMORY VERSE: “Then Abraham drew near and said, “Will you indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked?” – Genesis 18:23

DOWNLOAD THE FREE PRINTABLE LESSON

Sodom and Gomorrah pdf – preteen and teen Bible lesson

BIBLE STUDY NOTES FOR TEENS

BACKGROUND TO THE PASSAGE

The cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, located in the southern region of the Jordan Rift Valley, are mentioned in the Bible as some of the most wicked cities ever to exist. According to Genesis 18:20, the “outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and their sin is very grave.”

In Genesis 18:22-33, Abraham pleads with God to spare Sodom from destruction. Despite their wickedness and sinfulness, he intercedes on behalf of the people who live there. Abraham also knew his nephew Lot, and his family lived in the wicked city.

Abraham asks God to spare the city for fewer and fewer righteous people. God agreed to Abraham’s plea, saying, “For the sake of ten, I will not destroy it.” However, a search proved unsuccessful as ten righteous people could not be found there.

In Genesis 19, the story of Sodom and Gomorrah is recounted in detail. The Lord sent two angels to investigate the city, confirming it is filled with sin and wickedness. God decided to destroy the cities, but first, He sent two angels to save Lot and his family.

KEY POINTS

1. GOD IS THE PERFECT JUDGE – GENESIS 18:16-33

In Genesis 18:16-33, Abraham pleaded with God for mercy and asked Him to spare the city. Abraham asks, “Will not the Judge of all the earth do right?” (18:22-25).

Abraham knew that God was the ultimate Judge of all the earth. Abraham recognized God’s position as the sovereign ruler and believed He was a good God who always did what was right.

The Bible explains that God is the ultimate Judge and will always do what is right. In Psalm 19:9, we read, “The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever; the rules of the LORD are true, and righteous altogether.”

Isaiah 45:21 also says, “Declare and present your case; let them take counsel together! Who has declared this from of old? Who has told it from that time? Have not I, the LORD? And there is no other God besides me, a righteous God and a Saviour; there is none besides me.”

God’s justice is perfect, and He will always do what is right. We can trust Him to make the right decisions and judgments in our lives because He knows all things. He sees what we cannot see and understands what we don’t understand.

Often, people will judge us unfairly and come to conclusions not based on facts or knowledge. Unfortunately, people judge us on things like the colour of our skin or the clothes we wear. Even friends at school sometimes make snap judgments based on a few surface details when they don’t really know who we are.

We can be sure that God will judge according to His perfect standards of justice and righteousness, and we can rest assured knowing that He always does what is right, knowing all things.

2. CONFIDENCE TO DRAW NEAR TO GOD IN PRAYER – GENESIS 18:23

Genesis 18:23 says, “Then Abraham drew near the Lord and said…” This Scripture demonstrates how we can approach God in prayer. We have been given access to the throne room of Heaven; what an amazing privilege!

When we draw near to God, we must do so with a humble heart and attitude. The Bible says, “God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble” (James 4:6). We should come before God in prayer with reverence and awe, recognizing the greatness of who He is.

When Abraham drew near to the Lord and spoke, he did so with reverence and respect. Yet, He shows confidence in his relationship with the Lord and God’s character by approaching Him to speak.

Hebrews 4:16 says because Jesus is our High Priest, ‘Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” Ephesians 3:12 says “Because of Jesus and our faith in Him, we can now come boldly and confidently into God’s presence.”

Through Jesus, we can approach God as His children, knowing He will hear us and answer our prayers. Let us be confident that He hears us and will answer according to His perfect will. In the same way that Abraham prayed for Sodom and Lot, we, too, can and should intercede on behalf of others.

3. GOD’S JUDGMENT AND THE WORLD’S REACTION – GENESIS 19:14

Genesis 19:14 says, “So Lot went out and said to his sons-in-law, who were to marry his daughters, “Up! Get out of this place, for the LORD is about to destroy the city.” But he seemed to his sons-in-law to be jesting.”

Sadly, the world continues to laugh and mock God’s judgement of sin. Many people treat the Bible as fairy tales and downplay the weight of sins such as lying, cheating, stealing, and murder. People think that God will never judge the world; therefore, they have free rein to do whatever they please. This idea is totally false. While it may appear in the moment that no one is watching or that there are no consequences for their actions, this could not be further from the truth.

The Bible says that God is slow to anger, abounding in love (Matthew 5:45). It also says “Our Lord’s patience gives people time to be saved” (2 Peter 3:15). But the day will come when God judges sin, and when that day comes, there will be no escape. It is so important to seek forgiveness from the Lord and repent from our sins before it is too late.

4. FLEE FROM SIN, AND DON’T LOOK BACK – GENESIS 19:26

The angels warned Lot and his family to flee the city of Sodom immediately. But Lot’s wife looked back, and she turned into a pillar of salt.

The Bible tells us to flee from sin and not look back. In a time when the world is filled with wickedness and evil, we must take it upon ourselves to turn away and resist temptations.

We are called to flee from sin and must do so without hesitation and never look back. 2 Timothy 2:22 says, “So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.”

We must put our old life behind us when we follow Jesus. To live a life of faith, our memories and attachments to the sin of our past should be abandoned altogether. It is not helpful to look back at our former selves with nostalgia; instead, we should look to Jesus, who has saved us from our old ways and given us a new future.

CONCLUSIONThe story of Lot and his family is an important reminder that we must flee from sin and never look back. We must resist temptations, examine our lives, and make decisions that bring us closer to God. The Bible tells us that God is slow to anger, abounding in love and mercy, yet He will judge the world eventually. Therefore, we must turn away from our wickedness and seek His mercy before it’s too late.

Read full notes in the pdf lesson

YOUTH GAMES AND ACTIVITIES – Sodom and Gomorrah

DON’T LOOK BACK

Split players into teams.
Give each team a set number of pieces of carboard.
Team should try to get from point A to B only stepping on the cardboard.
They will need to work as a team and pass the last pieces of cardboard to the front to move forward.
But none of the players are allowed to look backwards.
If a player looks backward, they must freeze in place.

FLEE AWAY

Choose a starting player to be “It”.
The objective of the game is to be the last player left without being tagged by “It”.
“It” must chase and try to tag the other players by touching them.
If a player is tagged, they become “It” and must continue to chase and tag the other players.
The game continues until there is only one player left who has not been tagged.
That player becomes the winner and starts as “It” in the next round.

PRAYER STATIONS FOR OTHERS

Set up stations with pictures of people from different professions, such as police officers, doctors, teachers, or people from different countries.
Provide a brief description of each person and their role in society, along with a specific prayer request for each person.
Have the youth visit each station and spend a few minutes praying for the person depicted in the picture.
Encourage the youth to reflect on how they can show compassion and support for these people in their daily lives.
After visiting all the stations, have a group discussion about the importance of praying for others and how Abraham prayed for Sodom in Genesis 18:16-19:29.