Esther Teaching Activities

But let's go ahead and dive into this week's materials, uh, from the Book of Esther.

So lesson number one is For Such a Time as This, and our truth, God may place me where I can make a difference, and when my moment comes, He can give me strength to act faithfully even when I'm afraid.

Now, for some fire in the bones, the story of Esther is really, really powerful for us because we know from the story that she's afraid, and yet she still chooses to step forward.

We're, we're never gonna be called to stand before a Persian king, but all of us are inevitably going to face moments where remaining silent is going to feel safer, when fear is gonna tell us to remain where we are, and when others may be blessed if we're just willing to step forward.

Esther teaches us that God doesn't always remove the fear before that moment comes but that He can give us enough strength to act faithfully even though we're feeling that fear.

As an icebreaker and a story overview, you could show the church video For Such a Time as This.

Now, this fourteen-minute long version gives students the background that they might need a- and ends as Esther approaches the king, and then they can discover the conclusion to the story in Scripture.

And, uh, like I gave in the insight video, students can complete the accompanying crossword puzzle activity as they watch and as they study the Scriptures.

But if time is limited, you can use, uh, this two-minute and forty-four second animated summary instead if you feel like, like the fourteen-minute version is gonna take too long.

Now, I explain that activity, the crossword puzzle, a- and the historical details to the story more fully in the insight video.

So you can refer to that if you'd like additional help clarifying the story and some thoughts on why I feel Esther's decision required such extraordinary courage.

But before you introduce that story, you might wanna ask your students, "Have you ever known what the right thing was but still felt afraid to do it because you couldn't control what might happen afterward?" And maybe it was telling the truth, apologizing, standing up for somebody, asking for help, sharing what you believe, or accepting a responsibility that felt intimidating.

Students don't need to share that situation out loud, but invite them to hold that one example in their minds and explain that this is what makes Esther's story valuable to us.

She knew what she needed to do, but she was genuinely afraid of what might happen if she did.

As we study her experience, we're gonna look for what gave her enough strength to step forward anyway, and perhaps that can help us in our, in our similar circumstances.

And the portion of the story that I would want my students to focus on most, and what I feel is the thematic center of Esther's story, is Esther 4:13-16.

This is the moment when Esther is trying to summon the courage to approach the king.

So tell your students, "We know that Esther was afraid, but something happened between her first response and her final decision.

Let's find what gave her enough strength to act." Invite students to read those verses while looking for answers to the following question: What helped Esther move from fear to faithful action? And you might tell them that you see at least four sources of strength in these verses.

And, and hopefully, these ideas are gonna come from your students, but if they need some help, you could point them toward the following phrases and ideas.

Uh, the line, "Mordecai commanded to answer Esther," suggests the idea of support and encouragement from others giving us strength.

"Who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?" Well, that suggests a sense of divine purpose as a source.

"Fast ye for me," that's an easier one, suggesting the power of fasting and spiritual preparation.

And then the phrase, "If I perish, I perish," suggests that we gain strength when we're willing to trust God with the outcome, whatever it may be.

And if your students find something beyond those four things, all the better.