Bible Story Outline This Is Me (Esther) • Esther

252 Kids August 2020 • Week 3 Indescribable: Your Creator has no limits Bible Story Outline • K-5 Plus

SETTING UP THE STORY • God can use us in big ways, no matter WHAT we grow up to be • Esther’s story shows how God can work through us in unexpected ways • Esther was the queen of Persia, but she didn’t become queen in the usual way • Her father wasn’t a king; her family wasn’t considered important • Esther was Jewish • Her family was among the Jewish people who had been taken to Babylon which was THEN captured by Persia • Esther’s parents died, so she was raised by her cousin, Mordecai

ESTHER BECOMES QUEEN • Xerxes came to power as the king of Persia • One day he got angry and fired his queen, Vashti, because she didn’t show up for a party • Xerxes decided to hold a contest to find a NEW queen • He ordered his officials to gather the most beautiful young women and put them through a year of beauty treatments • Esther was one of the girls they chose • Xerxes chose Esther as his queen • Mordecai had told Esther not to tell anyone she was from a Jewish family

HAMAN AND THE JEWS • King Xerxes promoted one of his royal officials, Haman, to be second in command • Haman ordered everyone to bow down to him • Everyone did, except Mordecai • Haman became angry; he made a plan to destroy ALL the Jewish people in the land • He took the plan to King Xerxes, who agreed to it and sent out a decree • Mordecai sent a message to Esther: she must ask King Xerxes to save their people • She wrote Mordecai a letter and reminded him that no one was allowed to approach the king unless the king had asked them to come • If Esther went to the king, she might die—unless he reached out his golden scepter • Mordecai wrote Esther: Esther 4:14 • Esther told Mordecai to gather the Jewish people and fast for three days • They didn’t eat any food, and they spent time in prayer • Esther and her attendants did the same thing

ESTHER APPROACHES THE KING • Three days later, Esther entered the throne room • King Xerxes was happy to see Esther; he reached out his golden scepter • The king told her he would give her anything—up to half of the kingdom! • Esther didn’t make her request right away; she wanted to make the king curious • She invited Xerxes and Haman to a feast

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• At the meal, Xerxes again tried to discover what Esther wanted • Esther invited the king and Haman to come to another feast the NEXT day • At that meal, Esther told the king about Haman’s decree: it was going to kill all of her relatives—and even her! • She asked the king to spare her people • Xerxes asked who dared to do such a thing; Esther told him it was Haman • That very night, Haman was killed . . . and King Xerxes created a new order that would save the Jewish people

WRAPPING UP THE STORY • God gave Esther a surprising position in a faraway nation • When the time was right, she used her creativity to save her people • God gave you special gifts, too • He has a plan for your life that you’ll be able to discover more and more as you get older • BL: God created you for a purpose.