Now if you would, take your bibles and turn with me to the book of esther chapter 2. The whole story of esther is chocked full of lessons, tests, courage, faith. After several special banquets for the king and haman, esther finally revealed hamans plot and made known her request for her people. The book of esther answers these questions but in a way you will never imagine. Sermons on esther first presbyterian church, jackson. Captive israel in sackcloth and ashes key verses esther 4. Divine reversals sermon by tony evans esther series. This unlikely contestant for a beauty pageant was crowned queen of persia and renamed esther, meaning star.
Preach on topics including relying on god, calling on god in the midst of trouble, covenant faithfulness, and trusting and obeying despite the circumstances. Most people would not pick esther as their favorite book of the bible. Our sermon ideas on esther will help you preach a powerful message on the sovereignty of god. And yet, as the book unfolds, those who hear a series of sermons through esther will be encouraged to trust gods promises in their own lives. We should be ashamed of ourselves, who believe in persecuted apostles, slain reformers, and a crucified lord, when we look with disdain at those whom this world has cast off and banished. Tony evans is the founder and senior pastor of oak cliff bible fellowship in dallas, founder and president of the urban alternative, chaplain of the nbas dallas mavericks, and author of. Many frequent churchgoers, including me, have never heard even a single sermon from the book of esther. The mass of the nation preferred the easy and lucrative life under the persian rule. Its about the providence of god and his ability to accomplish his will, despite the imperfections of his people. Sermons on esther first presbyterian church, jackson, mississippi. It also reveals deep and abiding spiritual truths about gods power to deliver us from danger and oppression, even when despotic rulers plan to do evil to gods people. Esther is a beautiful book, but is often misunderstood.
Welcome to the only book in the bible where god is not mentioned, where apparently god is absent. If youre using a church bible, youll find that on page 410 and 411. Why does abraham appear to be so cruel as to send ishmael away with little food, facing the likelihood of death. Listen to this description in the five megilloth, a jewish commentary published by the soncino press. Even though the word god is not recorded in the book of esther, his work, his guidance, and his protection is there for us to hear.
The book of esther is often scrutinized for the lack of any reference to god in it. If you were with us last lords day evening in chapter 1, you would have seen one such sudden reversal. Now if you would please take your own bibles or turn in one of the church bibles with me to the book of esther chapter 4. At least, youre wrong about what the queen stands for. You want to open your bible, if you will, to the book of esther. Look through our sermons for easter to find great encouragement as you begin to prepare your easter sermon.
No claims of absolute originality are made for this material. The story gives us six powerful lessons about courage, divine. And this morning i made it through a whole chapter, and tonight well take a whole book. This sermon looks at easter and the resurrection of jesus christ and its life changing message that our sins are forgiven, we have a purpose to live out through the power and promises of christ, and our eternal future is secured in heaven. Well, i am greatly challenged, on some occasions, in all honesty, as you well know, to get through one verse. Because jesus christ was cruxified and rose from the dead, he is able to make and to keep the promises recorded in this chapter of 1 corinthians. In the days of ahasuerus, king of persia, and in the days between the building of the temple and the wall around jerusalem, israel found themselves in a time of great peril. Divine reversals sermon by tony evans esther series youtube. Video sermon the book of ester, a message delivered by elder r. God is the author of a grand story of redemption, and it includes you. This is what the resurrection does for those who know christ as their lord and savior.
As the great bible scholar matthew henry says of this book, but, though the name of god be not in it. In esther, god providentially uses two exiled israelites to rescue his. In the book of esther god used mordecai an ungodly man to rebuke esther into obedience. I picked this passage because its a lectionary reading for today, and because ive never before.
If we are honest, we often wrestle with this same reality in our lives. Esther the brave queen childrens sermon sermons4ki. Queen esther and mordecai were working against hamans wicked decree to have all jews killed esther 3. We have the advantage is being able to read the entire book of esther.
The book of esther described part of the jewish diaspora that stayed behind in persia and did not return to jerusalem during the restoration. The title for our series of studies in the book of esther is sudden reversals. As we begin this esther 2 sermon we need to remember, the king issued this edict when he was very angry. Esther in some respects the book of esther may well be the most unusual book in the old testament. May 17, 2008 in the book of jonah, he used a storm to convince the fleeing prophet, jonah 1. While the basic narrative is well known and the subject of a few different film adaptations. This sermon looks at the lessons learn from esthers life esther esther 4. The title i have chosen for the study of these two chapters is, a pair of queens. Book of esther overview insight for living ministries. The book of esther is the only book in the bible where the name of god is not mentioned, but while the name of god is not mentioned his. The bible book of esther is a dramatic account which can give us insight into gods special and purposeful plan for our lives. The book of esther tells a compelling story, dramatic and exciting, with clearly defined heroes and villains.
As one man said, i milk a lot of cows, but i churn my own butter. And rather than keep you in suspense, i might as well just tell you now god is not in the book of esther. The significance of the book of esther is that it testifies to the secret watch care of jehovah over dispersed israel. The exiles from judah had spent nearly 70 years as captives of the babylonians. The book of esthera brief outline sermons by art davison. The prayers of esther and mordecai are especially noteworthy. Another biblical theme in the book of esther is divine providence follows people god that use to serve his purposes, jonah 1.
This sermon series is not about the virtues of the people who saved the jews from certain genocide. Haman has issues buys off king for holocaust heyday, 5. Once you have your bibles open would you bow your heads with me as we turn to god together in prayer. Esther, who was definitely a hero to her nation, was not the actual hero of the book of esther god is. The first lesson we did an overview of the entire book. This is probably because god was awfully silent during this period as israels sin against him had reached its peak. Our sermon ideas for easter will help you preach a powerful message on the good news and resurrection of jesus christ. The book of esther 6 powerful life lessons from the bible. Gods rescue of his people unfolds in a book in which god is never mentioned. Sadly, many who read and study esther including bible scholars who write commentaries on the book fill in the blanks, rather than leaving them blank and learning from the silence of the author. You will find that on page 412 and 4 in the church bible.
The author of the book of esther is unknown, though some attribute the work to mordecai. In the book of esther, what is not said is vitally important. The book of esther in the bible is a dramatic account which can give us insight into gods special and purposeful plan for our lives. You can read the remainder of the book of esther to see what happened. We ordinarily think of the bible as preeminently a book revealing to us the nature of god, both through his attributes and through his deeds. Please use these sermons as the lord leads, but nothing on this site may be used for profit without my expressed, written permission. The name of god does not once occur, but in no other book of the bible is his providence more conspicuous. We all like the idea of fairy tales coming true, but we realize thats seldom the case in real life. Sermons in this series ordinary people the lad with the lunch john 6. Part of esther s plan to expose haman before the king was a series of two banquets for just the king and haman. Chapters 1 and 2 of the book of esther sets the stage for us, and introduces the action of the story. The greek septuagint remedied this situation by adding six passages which include the name of god.
In this series, god uses ordinary people, we are reaffirmed, through his word, that god can use us in a mighty way and are shown some specific occasions were god did something magnificent by using one of his faithful followers. A chapter by chapter and verse by verse study of esther taught by pastor paul leboutillier of calvary chapel ontario, oregon. Chapter one opens with the abundance of lavish festivals and feasts of king ahasuerus of persia. Watch our overview video on the book of esther, which breaks down the literary design of the book and its flow of thought. When you read it and i encourage you to do so you will find that god appears to be absent. The book of esther baptist preaching kjv sermon christian bible message duration. In this esther 3 sermon were going to see the two protagonists in this story esther and mordecai live by faith in the unseen god. The book of esther describes the jewish heroine esther, who saved the jewish people in persia from annihilation during the reign of king xerxes i ahasuerus of persia, who ruled from 486 to 465 bc. The king did extend his golden scepter, and he spared esthers life. Easter sermon the resurrection of jesus christ from the.
This sermon looks at the lessons learn from esther s life esther esther 4. Holiness history would have forgotten vashti had she not made her stand for what was right. Now, if you think this reveals a misspent youth, wasting my time at a poker table, youre wrong. Tindall at muleshoe primitive baptist church, date unknown. The book of esther in hebrew is secular in nature, in that the name of god, the temple, and prayer are not mentioned. This silence doesnt mean that god was inactive though. One of the ways that we read at the same time is by getting books on tape from the public library. The book of esther is the only one not found in the dead sea scrolls. When god seems far away book of esther unlocking the bible. Haman, however decided that it was time to have mordecai hung from the gallows esther 5. The paperback bible presents the bible by the book and is designed to be portable, readable, and truly personal with ample margins for notations. Free access to sermons on esther, church sermons, illustrations on esther, and powerpoints for preaching on esther.
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