BIBLE STORY Esther Saved Her People

October 12, 2014

2-5 Grades–Unit 21, Session 6

Morning – At – Glance

SESSION TITLE: Esther Saved
Her People / Bible Passage: Esther
BIG PICTURE QUESTION & ANSWER / How does God use people? God uses ordinary people to carry out His plan.
UNIT CHRIST CONNECTION / God saved His people who were in physical captivity as He would one day send Jesus to save and restore His people who are in spiritual captivity.
MEMORY VERSE
NEW – We’re adding a verse each month until we finish the whole chapter! New verse is bold. / “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake.”
Psalm 23: 1-3 ESV
9:00/11:00 – 9:25/11:25
WELCOME & CONNECT / SUPPLIES: SG Binder, Books of the Bible Cards, memory verse cards, cups), dry erase board & marker, whiffle ball
Offering
Take Attendance
Big Picture Concentration
Books of the Bible
Memory Verse Review
9:25/11:25 – 9:30/11:30
PLUG IN & OPENING QUESTION / SUPPLIES: activity page, markers, paper wads, round carpet -- 1 per group
What would you do if you could be king/queen for a day?
9:30/11:30 – 10:10/12:10
LARGE GROUP & PRAYER / Take your SG Binder with you – Attendance Roster and Shepherding Guide are inside
10:10/12:10 – 10:25/12:25
BIBLE STORY REVIEW / SUPPLIES: Bibles, timeline, map of the return, bean bags
10:20/12:20 – 10:25/12:25
PREPARE FOR PARENT PICK-UP / Hand-out Big Picture Cards & connect with parents

BIBLE STORY -- Esther Saved Her People

Esther 1–10

(The bolded script highlights the most important points when you review with your kids.)

King Ahasuerus (uh haz yoo EHR uhs) was the king of Persia. Many years earlier, when Cyrus was king, he sent some of God’s people back to Judah to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem. So some of God’s people went to Judah, but some of them stayed in Persia. God’s people were called Jews because they were from Judah.

The king of Persia needed a queen. He chose Esther to be queen. Esther was very beautiful. She was a Jew and had been raised by her cousin Mordecai (MAWR duh kigh). Esther didn’t tell the king that she was a Jew.

One day, Mordecai heard that Haman, a very important leader who worked for the king, was planning to kill all the Jews. Haman didn’t like the Jews. Mordecai was upset! He was a Jew; he didn’t want all the people he loved to be killed. Mordecai and all the Jews cried.

Esther didn’t know what was wrong. She sent a messenger to ask Mordecai why all the Jews were upset. Mordecai told Esther about Haman’s evil plan.

“You have to do something!” Mordecai said. “You’re the queen. Ask the king to stop Haman. Ask him to save the Jewish people.”

Esther sent a message back to Mordecai. “No one can approach the king unless the king calls for that person first,” Esther said. “The punishment is death—unless the king holds out his scepter; then you may live.”

Mordecai encouraged Esther to think about it. “You’re a Jew,” he said. “If you don’t stop Haman, he will kill you too. Maybe this is why you are the queen.” Maybe God put Esther in the palace to save her people!

Esther asked Mordecai to gather the Jewish people and to fast. They would not eat or drink for three days. They would pray to God for help. Then Esther would go to the king. She was willing to die to save the Jews.

Mordecai, Esther, and the Jewish people fasted for three days. On the third day, Esther went to the king. The king was sitting on his throne. He saw Esther and held out his golden scepter. Esther walked toward him and touched the tip of the scepter.

“What is it, Queen Esther?” the king asked. “What do you want to ask me? I’ll give you anything—up to half of my kingdom.”

Esther said, “Would you and Haman come to a feast today? I have prepared it.”

So Haman and the king went to Esther’s feast. As they sat after eating, the king said, “What do you want, Queen Esther? I’ll give you anything—up to half of my kingdom.”

“Please come to my feast tomorrow, you and Haman,” Esther said.

The king agreed. That night Haman went home and had gallows made where he could hang Mordecai. Haman often saw Mordecai sitting outside the palace, and Haman hated him.

The next day, Haman and the king went to Esther’s feast. As they sat after eating, the king said, “What do you want, Queen Esther? I’ll give you anything—up to half of my kingdom.”

Esther spoke up, “There is a plan to kill me and my people.”

The king replied, “Who is responsible for this plan?”

“This evil enemy—Haman!” Esther said.

The king was angry! He ordered for Haman to be hanged on the gallows Haman had built to kill Mordecai. Haman was hanged, and the king wasn’t angry anymore. He made a law to keep the Jewish people safe from their enemies.

Christ Connection: God was in control over Haman’s evil plan to destroy the Jews. Like Haman, Satan wants to destroy believers. He thought he had won when Jesus died on the cross, but God raised Jesus from the dead and defeated Satan once and for all.

BIBLE STUDY

Let’s set the scene for the story of how Esther saved her people. The Babylonian captivity had ended while Cyrus was king. Some of God’s people—now referred to as Jews (people from Judah)—traveled back to Judah to rebuild the temple, the city, and their lives. Others, however, stayed in Persia where life among the pagans was relatively comfortable.

The king of Persia was now Ahasuerus (uh haz yoo EHR uhs), also known by his Greek name, Xerxes (ZUHRK seez). Esther was a young Jewish girl who became queen of Persia by winning a beauty contest of sorts. The former queen had defied the king and was promptly replaced.

Esther had been an orphan, so her cousin Mordecai adopted her. Mordecai kept in touch with Esther while she lived in the palace. One day, the king gave Haman the Agagite a very important position in the kingdom. The king even commanded the people to bow down to Haman. But Mordecai refused.

Haman was a descendant of Agag, king of the Amalekites. The nations of Israel and Amalek did not get along. Haman was angry, but instead of just punishing Mordecai, he planned to kill all the Jews in the kingdom.

In today’s Bible story, Mordecai turned to Esther for help. After all, she was in a position of power, and the Jews were her people. The stakes were high, but Esther approached the king and explained her people’s plight. Review the details in Esther 7. The king ordered Haman to be killed on the very gallows Haman constructed for killing Mordecai.

Note how Esther described Haman: “The adversary and enemy is this evil Haman” (Esth. 7:6). We too have an adversary—the Devil. He prowls around like a lion, seeking people to devour. (1 Pet. 5:8) He loves nothing more than to destroy believers and hinder the work of God. Satan thought he had succeeded when Jesus died on the cross, but God raised Jesus from the dead and defeated Satan once and for all. (See Heb. 2:14-15.)

9:00/11:00 – 9:15/11:15

WELCOME & CONNECT 15 minutes

SUPPLIES: SG Binder, Books of the Bible cards, memory verse cards, Dry Erase board & markers, Nerf Ball

❖Offering: As kids arrive, have them place their offering in the basket on the stage.

❖Take Attendance: Fill out the attendance roster with the children’s first & last names. ONLY children who are not listed on your printed roster should be added to the “GraceKids Roster.”Please be sure to check each child’s tag to see if they are in the correct group. If a tag says “Unassigned”, please talk with the parents at drop-off and pick-up to find out which service time they will be regularly attending so that we can “assign” their child to a small group.

**Remember, the focus of the opening time is to build relationships. Do not worry if you are not able to complete all of the activities. But try and complete one to prepare the kids for the Bible story.

❖Books of the Bible: Review the OT books.

❖Memory Verse Review:(Choose ONE)

➢Card Mix-Up: (Supplies: Memory Verse Cards) Scramble the cards with the words of the memory verse. Time the kids to see how quickly they can place them in order.

➢Missing Card: (Supplies: Memory Verse Cards) Lay the memory verse cards on the floor. Have the kids read the verse several times. Then, remove several cards and have the kids try again. Remove cards and recite the verse until all the cards are gone.

➢Concentration: (Supplies: Memory Verse Cards) Lay the memory verse cards face down. Each child takes turns turning over two cards. If one of those are the first words of the verse, they set them out and can go again. Each child takes turns turning over two cards and setting out the next words of the verse.

➢Dry Erase-A-Word: (Supplies: Dry erase board, dry erase marker, paper towel) Write out the words of the memory verse on the board. Have the kids recite the verse. Then, erase one or two words and have the kids recite the verse. Continue erasing and reciting until all the words are gone and the kids have the verse memorized.

➢Whiffle Ball Games: (Supplies: Nerf ball) As you throw the ball, each child says the next word of the verse when they catch the ball.

9:15/11:15 – 9:30/11:30

PLUG IN & OPENING QUESTION 15 minutes

SUPPLIES: activity sheet, markers, paper wads, round carpet -- 1 per group

Opening Question -- If you could be king/queen for a day, what would you do? Connect to the lesson: Today we’ll be learning about a queen who faced a very difficult challenge as queen.

Plug-In Activity #1 – “Find the Scepters”: Challenge the kids to see who can find the most scepters on the activity page..

Plug-In Activity #2– “Carpet Defense”: Place a round carpet on the floor. Challenge kids to take turns standing inside the carpet. Once inside, the kid must defend the carpet from the paper wads that the other kids are trying to toss inside. The defender may knock the paper wad away, but once it lands on the carpet, that is counted as one point. Connect the lesson: What does it mean to defend something or someone? Today in our Bible story, a group of people were almost harmed. Listen to discover who risked her life to defend the group of people. Have you ever had to stand up for someone else? What did you do? What did you say? Encourage kids that they can always reach out to an adult for help if they need to.

Clean Up and Transition to Large Group

**Kids should use the bathroom BEFORE Large Group – NOT during Large Group.

9:30/11:30 – 10:10/12:10

WORSHIP & BIBLE STORY & PRAYER 40 minutes

SUPPLIES: Small Group Binder

Prayer Time will be directed from the Bible Story Teacher at the end of Large Group.

●Take requests:Record the date, child’s name and request on the Shepherding Guide.

●kidZone Requests: AOET sponsor children, Helen & Siras and Compassion sponsor children, Anthony and Emely

●Last year, the kids learned to pray using the word ACTS to help them learn the different aspects of prayer. Each letter is the beginning of a word that describes something they can talk to God about.

Adoration:Telling God how awesome we know He is -- “God, You are...”

Confession:Saying “I’m sorry” and telling God about what we have done. He will forgive us.

Thanksgiving:Thanking God for all the good things in your life. “Thank you for...”

Supplication:Asking God for help for ourselves and others. “Please help…”

You may want to use this model with your kids, or focus on one particular aspect each week. If you have questions about leading the kids in prayer, please talk with your Team Coach.

When you are finished praying with your group, quietly return to your small group area.

10:10/12:10 –10:25/12:25

BIBLE STORY REVIEW 15 minutes

SUPPLIES: Bible, timeline, map of the return, bean bags

Review the timeline with the kids pointing out the fall of the Southern Kingdom of Judah and the exile. Explain that our story takes place after some of the Jews have returned to Jerusalem while some Jews have remained in Babylon.

Encourage the kids to open up their Bibles to Esther. Where is Esther in our Bible – the Old or New Testament? Yes, Old. It is grouped with the books of History.

Read: Esther 4:10-16 Ask: Why was Esther concerned? What was Mordecai’s response? What did Esther ask the people to do and why?

Discussion Questions: What would you have done if you were in Esther’s place? What areas of your life could God use you to encourage, serve, bless, or tell someone about Jesus? Remind kids that God uses people in big ways and little ways. Both are important. Invite kids to share an area of their lives in which they are not sure how God could use them.

**Optional – Bible Beanbag Grab: Create two teams. Have the teams line up facing each other behind two Velcro strips placed about 5 ft. or more apart. Number the members of the teams. Both teams should have a one, two, etc. If there is an odd number either: give one person two numbers, have the extra person read the questions, or you can play. Place two beanbags in the middle of the two teams separated by about one ft. Read the Bible Beanbag question and then call out one of the assigned numbers. The person on each team who has that number must run to the middle, grab the bean bag, get back across the Velcro line, and hold the bean bag in the air above their head. The first one to do this, gets a chance to answer the question. If they get it correct, their team gets a point. If they miss it, the other team gets a chance to steal the point. Repeat calling numbers at random.

●Name the king of Persia. (Ahasuerus, Esther 1:1)

●Name Esther’s cousin. (Mordecai, Esther 2:6-7)

●The Israelites were called by this name after the exile. (Jews or Jewish people; Esther 2:5-6; 3:6)

●Who was planning to kill all of the Jews? (Haman, Esther 3:6)

●What did Mordecai want Esther to do? (He wanted her to ask the king to save the Jewish people, Esther 4:8)

●What could happen to Esther if the king did not want to see her? (She could be killed, Esther 4:11)

●What did the king extend to show Esther that she was welcome? (golden scepter, Esther 5:2)

●What did Esther prepare for the king so she could talk to him about the Jews? (two feasts, Esther 5:4,8)

●What did the king do to save the Jews? (He made a law to keep them safe, Esther 8:8-11)

●What happened to Haman? (He was killed, Esther 7:10)

●Say• How does God use people? God uses ordinary people to carry out His plan.

10:25/12:25

PARENT PICK-UP P

SUPPLIES: Big Picture Cards

Try to connect with each parent as they arrive to pick-up their child. Mention something their child said, how they answered questions, learned part of the memory verse, etc.

Please return supplies to the correct bin in the Small Group closet -- as NEATLY as possible!

Your Behind-the-Scenes team really appreciates it when you do!