WELCOME TO WEEK 5

Welcome to week 5! This month we’ve learned about what it means to be brave. It doesn’t mean we have no fear, but we can trust God to lead us and be with us. God created each one of us and has a plan for each of our lives. We can trust God’s plans.

Esther 8:5-17

BIBLE STORY

Our parents give us rules to obey in order to keep us safe. We may not always like the rules they give us, but they are for our good. Listen to these rules and tell me what good can come from the rule. Why is it a good rule to follow?

-No dessert before dinner (To not spoil your appetite for good food that helps your body)

-Brush your teeth twice a day (So you do not get cavities or end up losing your teeth)

-Tie your shoes before you play (So you don’t trip and fall and hurt yourself)

-Wear shoes when riding a bike (so your foot doesn’t get caught on the wheels and get hurt)

-Only eat food in the kitchen (So you don’t get crumbs in your room and then have rodents living in your bedroom!)

-Watch a limited amount of TV or screen time (To give your brain stimulated activities to think and grow, instead of zoning out in front of a screen)

-Go to bed at a decent time (to get rest so your body will grow and your mind can work well the next day)

Can you think of some other rules at your house and why your parents want you to follow them?

In our story of Esther we saw last week that there was a new law in the kingdom that would destroy all of the Jews. Esther had to be brave and go before the king to request his help. 

Read or listen to the scripture  Esther 8:5-17 

What did Esther ask the king to do in order to help the Jews against Haman? (for the king to write and order to overrule Haman’s plan to destroy the Jews)

What did the new edict declare? (that the Jews in every city had the right to defend themselves)

How did the get the word out to everyone? (The couriers riding the royal horses went out and the edict was issued in Susa)

What did the city of Susa do afterwards? (They held a joyous celebration)

BIBLE STORY ACTIVITY

God has a plan for each one of us. He wants to use our talents and skills to complete the plan he has for us. Queen Esther saved her people because she followed the plan God had already set aside for her to do. We can trust God and trust that His plan for us is better than the one we have for ourselves.

Activity

Create your own masterpiece art by following along during this video. Watch this video and pause it when necessary to follow along with his steps. Use the paper and whatever paint supplies you already have at home. Watch and see what a masterpiece you are able to create!

Materials: paper, art supplies, paint, device to watch video

Alternate

Complete this activity sheet.

Materials: printed activity sheet

Independent activity:

Listen and watch this read aloud story of Queen Esther.

Materials: device to watch story read aloud

ARTS & CAFTS

CRAFT 1

Create a new law and design a scroll. Using a sheet of paper, write the new law you would like to see at your home or school. Design your new law and place your emblem/signature at the end. Roll the scroll and place ribbons on the ends to keep it closed.

Materials: piece of paper, pencil/pen, ribbon, stickers

Craft 2

Coloring page

Materials: printed coloring sheet, crayons

FOLLOW-UP

God had a special plan for Esther’s life and he has a special plan for ours too! He wants us to use the special skills and talents he has given us for a special purpose. Esther was beautiful and kind and she allowed God to use those things to save her people. 

What special skills or talents has God blessed you with?

How can you use those talents for God?

Does being brave mean you are never afraid?

What did Esther do before she went to see the king?

What should we do before we make our own plans? 

Practical Application at Home

It’s easy to make our own plans without ever asking God if this is his plan for us. We may not see what God’s plans are while bad things are happening all around us, but we can see His plan after it is finished. Esther didn’t know how God’s people were going to be saved, or why she was made to be queen out of all the girls in the kingdom, but God knew what would happen from beginning to end. We can’t see the future but we can look at the past to see how God had a plan all along.

Listen to these clues about people in the bible who faced difficult times and guess who is being described. Then read how God had a plan for them.

-Taken into captivity to Babylon

-did not bow down to an idol…

- tested for 10 days for not eating the kings food.

-thrown into fiery furnace

(3 Hebrew Boys)The 3 Hebrew boys may not have understood God’s plan when they were taken into captivity and had to leave their home and family, but through them others were shown God’s power, strength, and provision.

-Taken into captivity to Babylon

-became an advisor to the king…

-thrown into lions den for praying

(Daniel) Daniel may not have seen God’s plan while he was living in a foreign land working for a pagan nation, but through him Babylonian kings learned that the God of Heaven was the true God.

-Lived among a wicked people.

-preached to those who would not listen

-built an ark to save his family from a flood

(Noah) Although Noah may not understood God’s plan while he was preaching to a wicked nation who did not want to follow God, he obeyed God and built an ark even though he had never seen rain. God was able to cleanse the earth and preserve a group of people. 

-Given dreams at a young age

-thrown into a pit and sold into slavery.

-thrown in prison.

-placed in charge under Pharoah

(Joseph) Joseph may not have understood God’s plan for his life as he sat in a pit and then later in prison, but Joseph was faithful to God and worked hard. God used Joseph to save his family, God’s people. 

-Left in the river as a bab.

-raised by Pharaohs daughter

-exiled to the wilderness

-freed the Israelites from slavery

(Moses) Moses may not have understood God’s plan when he had to flee Egypt or while he tended sheep for 40 years, but God used Moses’ palace education and shepherd humbleness to free the Israelites from slavery.

-her husband died

-stayed with her mother in law to take care of her…

-left her homeland to go to Bethlehem.

-married Boaz

(Ruth) Ruth may not have understood God’s plan when her husband died and she left her home to follow Naomi, but she had faith and God blessed her with a guardian redeemer and she became part of the lineage of Jesus.

Additional Resources

Outings to Reinforce Lesson

Spend time in nature watching how both living and non-living things have their own cycle and jobs to do. Watch how their job fits with the ecosystem and creates balance in nature. God had a plan for all of creation.