Materials Included • 5 Sessions of Learner’s Materials  • 5 Sessions of Bible Commentary  • 5 Sessions of Teaching Materials  Scriptures 1. Esther 2:1-18 2. Esther 3:1-15 3. Esther 4 4. Esther 5:1-8; 7:1–8:2 5. Esther 8:3–9:3, 26-28 Brief Description Some five centuries before Christ, the biblical narrative travels east, out of Israel to the kingdom of Persia—modern-day Iran. King Ahasuerus, or Xerxes, ruled the Middle East and the Persian Gulf at the apex of world domination. God’s people, the Jews, were in exile, yanked violently away from their homeland. There, in a foreign land, one of the great stories of Jewish deliverance unfolds, precipitated by a beautiful young woman named Esther. The account that bears Esther’s name is one of the more enigmatic books of the Old Testament. Once part of the Kethubim or “miscellaneous writings” of Judaism, it was one of the last books admitted into the canon of Scripture, and only then with editorial adjustment. Why the delay? First, a clear candidate for authorship has never emerged. More importantly, God is not mentioned anywhere in the entire volume. This is a unique characteristic of Esther when compared to the other biblical writings. Nevertheless, this appears to be the author’s intent, whoever he or she may have been: invoked or not invoked, God is present. The book of Esther is not a record of historical facts as such. Rather, it is a magnificent narrative that refuses to interpret life as being driven by coincidence or happenstance. While the silence of God is all too normative for life, this does not mean God is not nearby or actively at work behind the scenes. In the otherwise unknown characters of Esther, Haman, and Mordecai, we trace the movement of the divine hand as God collaborates with God’s risk-taking people to rescue them from the hand of their enemies. At the conclusion of the book of Esther, the reader is introduced to the Jewish festival of Purim. This was a national celebration honoring the Jewish deliverance from extermination. The word Purim means “chance” or “lot”: the rolling of the dice. Yet, this escape from destruction was not the accomplishment of a lucky political wager. It was through the providence of God and the courage of the Jewish queen Esther. A part of the NextSunday Resources line of adult Bible studies, The Book of Esther contains five lessons for use as individual study or group discussion. Each study contains lessons on the biblical material, combined with an additional commentary from an alternate, but complementary, viewpoint. Free teaching materials available online at NextSunday.com.

Approaching a Missional Mindset

Religion & Spirituality

Prosser, Bo

Cartledge, Tony

Christian Books & Bibles

NextSunday Resources

Leaders are found in many settings. Ministers, corporate managers, spouses, parents, and leaders in all areas of life need motivators to keep them focused and growing in their leadership. Lessons from the Cloth: 501 One-Minute Motivators for Leaders will inspire you to keep growing in your leadership career. Among a multitude of themes, the book touches on communication, power, trust, and balance as keys to progress. These elements of working with others do not come naturally to many of us. It takes work to be at our best. In today’s society, time has become more and more valuable. These one-minute motivators allow readers to pick up the book and immediately begin improving some aspect of their leadership style.

Lessons from the Cloth 1: 501 One Minute Motivators for Leaders

Qualls, Charles

Smyth & Helwys Publishing, Incorporated

Building Blocks for Sunday School Growth are at your fingertips. These six building blocks: Vision, Balance, Leadership, Relevant Teaching, Receptivity and Inclusion, and Outreach and Inreach, will help you develop an intentional vision and plan for spiritual and numerical growth. The authors contend that failure to pay attention to the infrastructure in these six areas can lead to a decline in the quality of your Sunday school. However, by focusing on these six building blocks, you will re-energize your leaders and allow your Sunday school to grow and develop. As you gain a renewed perspective on the potential of Sunday school, you will notice an increase in energy, both spiritual and numerical. The critics are wrong— Sunday school is not dead! Strengthening these six areas of your organization can lead to a renewed Bible Teaching Ministry. Your Sunday school can grow, and as the Sunday school grows, so, too, will the church.

Building Blocks for Sunday School Growth

For today’s youth, life is filled with new choices, new decisions, new feelings, new perspectives, and new freedoms. During this time, teens are forming the belief systems that will influence their adult faith, and their ideas about the nature of God, the Bible, and the church. Will teen involvement in church youth programs provide them with a framework for making important choices? Will this time nurture values and encourage their emerging identities to be deeply Christian? Something wonderful can happen when you mix teenagers, the Bible, and an enthusiastic teacher together. Many teenagers are hungry to learn about the Bible, what it means, and how it can be applied to their lives. Traditionally, this type of education happens in Sunday School. Unfortunately, too many Youth Sunday School teachers are not prepared or feel inadequate when it comes to teaching teens. They do their best, but all they are doing is surviving the Sunday school hour. Help! I Teach Youth Sunday School offers the Sunday school teacher specific tips and hints to prepare for and care for teens. Real-life stories are mingled with information on Youth and their culture, common myths about Sunday school, a new way of preparing the Sunday school lesson, creative teaching ideas, ways to think about growing a class, and how to reach out for new members while reaching in to old members.

Help! I Teach Youth Sunday School

Foreman, Brian

Woody, David

This eight-session study of Paul’s letter to the Philippians explores the centrality of Paul’s faith in Jesus Christ, his love for the Philippian church, and his joy in serving both Christ and their church. Paul’s letter reminds us of his special relationship with Jesus and calls us into a renewed relationship with Christ, too. Each session concludes with thought-provoking suggestions, making it an ideal resource for Bible study groups as well as individual readers. The Sessions Series is preferred by a number of churches seeking to help people build their Bible study skills. Many groups enjoy studying the Bible book-by-book. This popular approach helps a group discuss a book’s basic themes, learn how to interpret that book, and then wrestle with it’s meaning for their lives.

Sessions with Philippians: Finding Joy in Community

As the force that drives organizations to accomplishment, leadership is at a crucial point in churches, corporations, families, and almost every arena of life. Without leadership there is chaos. With leadership there is sometimes chaos! In this follow-up to their first volume, Bo Prosser and Charles Qualls will inspire you to keep growing in your leadership career.

Lessons from the Cloth 2: 501 More One Minute Motivators for Leaders

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