Scripture: for teacher background: The book of Esther
Making
contact:
Play
a time game. For younger children you could have a clock face and get them to
tell what time it is. Tell the children about special times that stand out more
than others.
The
time they were born was more special than just 6pm on Wednesday – it was a
special time. There are people who seem to be given an extra special job to do on
earth and it is as if that is why they were born.
Today’s
story is about a young girl who was born for a special purpose and whose uncle
said to her “For this reason you were born.”
Another
idea is to have some dress up clothes and have a beauty contest. Get older
children to debate the whole concept of whether this kind of thing is right or
not.
Today’s story is about a girl who won a beauty contest. But what really counted was her beautiful spirit because she obeyed God and was able to save her people.
Exploration:
This story works well using
wooden spoon puppets – one for each main character.
Many
years after Daniel and his friends, some of the Jews had been allowed to return
to their own country, but many still lived in Babylon
King
Xerxes held a great feast and when he summoned his wife, Queen Vashti, she
refused to come. She made him look silly in front of his friends and he was
furious.
He sent her away and searched for a new queen.
All the beautiful girls of the country were
found and brought to the palace and for a year they were pampered with special
oils and perfumes and put on a special diet.
The king then chose one – Esther. He didn’t
know she was Jewish.
One day, Mordecai, her uncle, told her to tell the king
there was a plot to kill the king. The king was very grateful and Mordecai’s
name was written down in the records.
Haman
was chief of staff to the king and wanted everyone to kneel before him.
Mordecai refused and said he was a Jew and would only bow to God.
Haman told
the king and organized that all Jews be killed. The king agreed.
Mordecai told Queen Esther the terrible news
and that she had to do something – for such a time she was made queen.
Esther
asked all her friends to fast and to pray.
She took the big risk of going to the king
without an invitation. She could have been killed, but he held out his scepter
to her.
She didn’t tell him the problem straight away. She merely invited him
to dinner. Haman also came to dinner, but she didn’t say anything this time.
She asked
them to come again the next day. In the meantime, Haman had gallows built on
which he wanted to hang Mordecai.
It
just so happened that on that night when the king couldn’t sleep, he read
through the records and discovered that Mordecai had never been honoured for
saving his life. So instead of going to the gallows, Mordecai was honoured in
front of everyone.
At
the dinner, Queen Esther told the king that she was a Jew and that her and all
her people were to be put to death because of Haman.
The king was furious and
had Haman hung on the gallows he had prepared for Mordecai. The Jews lives were
saved and Mordecai became the new chief of staff.
Application
Esther was very brave and risked her own life to help others.
We can also do this, if we are sure we are God’s children, then we can be brave
and stand up for what is right and true.
If we just look after our own skin,
that is very selfish, but if we do what God wants, we will be blessed and
honoured.
Challenge to Mission
Do
you need to speak out on behalf of other people who are in trouble? Maybe you
have been put in a specific place, school, or group to do something for God. Be
brave and speak out.
Consolidation
Memory
Verse
“You
are God’s chosen and special people. You are a group of royal priests and a
holy nation.” 1 Peter 2:9
Print the memory verse on cardboard crowns. Glass pebbles
are very cheap and can be used to decorate the memory verse.
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