DANGEROUS PEOPLE
Week 2: Esther—Stand Up Against Injustice
This includes:
1. Leader Preparation
2. Lesson Guide
1. LEADER PREPARATION
LESSON OVERVIEW
The news is filled daily with reports about natural disasters, tragedies, and war. We hear
about people losing their homes and loved ones. We hear about nations ravaged by disease
and starvation and corruption. We hear about people in our own communities battling
hunger and homelessness. Drawing on the life of Esther, this lesson will encourage your
students to see themselves as people who can make a difference by meeting needs and
confronting injustice in our world.
LESSON OBJECTIVES
1. WHAT: As followers of Jesus, we have the opportunity and obligation to help people
in need and to address injustices.
2. WHY: When we help people in need, we are allowing God to use us and giving others
an opportunity to experience God’s love for them.
3. HOW: Students will be challenged to consider specific ways they can get involved in
meeting needs or confronting injustice in our world.
PRIMARY SCRIPTURE
Esther 4
SECONDARY SCRIPTURES
James 1:26-27; 2:14-17
TEACHING PREP
The short overview below is designed to help you prepare for your lesson. While you may
not want to convey this information word-for-word with your teenagers, you’ll definitely
want to refer to it as you lead your lesson.
Read Esther 4. If you have enough time, we encourage you to read more—from chapter 1
through chapter 8. You won’t be able to read this entire chunk of Scripture with your
students, but it’s important for you to know how the story unfolds. We’ve provided
summaries along the way that you can use to help your students experience the story.
Esther’s people—the Jews—were in danger. Due to an evil scheme by the king’s adviser, all
of the Jews in the Persian Empire had been sentenced to death. The king was unaware that
Esther was Jewish. When her cousin Mordecai told her of this news, he challenged her to
view herself as uniquely placed in a position of influence so she could save her people.
Esther could remain silent and her life would be spared—as long as the king didn’t learn that
she was Jewish. If she chose silence, she would lose her family and her people—she
wouldn’t be used by God. Or she could choose to act. She could put her life on the line and
stand up against injustice. That’s the path she selected, and God rewarded her faithfulness
by protecting the Jews through a series of miraculous events.
Making a decision to follow Christ is a defining moment because we become a part of
something bigger than ourselves. Being a Christ-follower gives us a purpose that is bigger
than our own. Esther had lived her life as one of God’s chosen people. She believed in God
and knew that he cared about his people—but it wasn’t until she chose to act on what she
knew was right in the eyes of God that she was able to witness firsthand his mercy and
love. Challenge your students this week to discover and experience the joy of putting their
faith into action by helping the needy and standing against injustice in the world.
If you’re using the Getting Things Started activity, you’ll need one or two copies of a local
newspaper.
THE BEFORE & AFTER [optional]
Text Message Questions
We’ve provided a couple of different text message questions to send out to your students
prior to your meeting. Feel free to use one or both of the questions below. As with the rest
of the curriculum, edit these questions to fit the needs of your ministry.
What are some of the injustices in our world—unjust acts against people or violations
of people’s rights? Let’s talk about it tonight at small group.
Ever feel like the world is filled with only bad news? Looking for a way to make a
difference? Don’t miss small group tonight.
Parent Email
We’ve provided you with an email below that you can send to your parents following the
lesson. Our hope is to encourage parents to continue the conversation at home. Feel free to
edit and customize the email to fit your ministry needs.
Dear parents,
Our small groups continued their three-week series on “Dangerous People” by examining
the life of Esther and her role in saving the Jewish people from annihilation in the Persian
Empire during King Xerxes’ reign.
Making a decision to follow Christ is a defining moment because we become a part of
something bigger than ourselves. Being a Christ-follower gives us a purpose that is bigger
than our own. Esther had lived her life as one of God’s chosen people. She believed in God
and knew that he cared about his people—but it wasn’t until she chose to act on what she
knew was right in the eyes of God that she was able to witness firsthand his mercy and
love. We challenged our students to discover and experience the joy of putting their faith
into action by helping the needy and standing against injustice in the world.
Here are some questions that could fuel conversation from this week’s lesson:
What are some ways you’ve seen God uniquely work in your life—in other words,
evidence that your life isn’t an accident?
What are some of the injustices in our world—unjust acts against people or violations
of people’s rights? How do you feel when you hear or read about these things?
Why is it so important for Christ-followers to help those in need?
Have a blessed week!
DANGEROUS PEOPLE
Week 2: Esther—Stand Up Against Injustice
2. LESSON GUIDE
GETTING THINGS STARTED [optional]
Welcome your students and invite them into your meeting area. Open in prayer, and then
jump into the activity below:
Bring one or two copies of a local newspaper. Ask your students to find a partner, and then
distribute different sections to your students. Ask the pairs to spend about five minutes
searching for articles that reveal “needs” in your area—needs representing individuals,
families, organizations, groups, or communities.
ASK:
Tell us about some of the needs you and your partner discovered. Do these needs
represent individuals, families, organizations, groups, or communities?
Did you read anything that surprised you? Explain.
Do you feel compelled to try to help with any of these needs? Explain.
SAY SOMETHING LIKE: You may have heard people talk about being in the right place and
the right time. Today we are going to meet a woman in the Bible who was in the right place
at the right time—but it wasn’t a coincidence. It was part of God’s plan. God has a plan for
your life, too, and God wants to use you in big ways to make a difference in other people’s
lives.
Before we read our main Scripture for today, let me give you a little background. Our story
focuses on a woman named Esther. The first two chapters of this book in the Bible reveal
how King Xerxes of the Persian Empire banished his queen and how he chose a new one—
this woman was Esther. In chapter 3, we learn about a plot concocted by a guy named
Haman against the Jews living in the empire. Esther and her family were Jewish, so this plot
meant they would be killed. This leads us to chapter 4, where Esther’s relative named
Mordecai seeks help from the queen to address this injustice against the Jewish people.
If you came up with an opening activity, movie clip, or game that worked well with your
group, and you’d like to share it with other youth workers, please email us at
[email protected].
TEACHING POINTS
The goal of the Teaching Points is to help students capture the essence of each lesson with
more discussion and less lecture-style teaching. The main points we have chosen here are
(1) Your life is not an accident, (2) God will give you opportunities to act, and (3) You can
help others.
Remember: All throughout these lessons, it’s up to you to choose (1) how many questions
you use, and (2) the wording of the main points—keep ours, or change the wording to make
it clearer for your audience.
Read Esther 4 together as a group. Consider allowing one or more of the teenagers to read
the text.
SAY SOMETHING LIKE: Today we are going to spend a few minutes talking about God’s
plans for your life, based on what we learn from the life of Esther.
1. Your life is not an accident
ASK:
What are some of the things in your life that you are grateful for?
What are some ways you’ve seen God uniquely work in your life—in other words,
evidence that your life isn’t an accident?
In this chapter, Esther’s relative Mordecai reveals the details of the plot against the
Jews and asks her to take action. Read Mordecai’s words in verses 13-14. What’s
your reaction to what he said? How might these verses relate to your own life?
SAY SOMETHING LIKE: Your life has purpose and meaning. I want you to remember that.
You are not an accident. God has a unique plan for your life. Right now, you may only have
a brief glimpse of everything God will do in your life. But that’s OK. God’s plan will continue
to unfold as you get older and as you continue following Jesus.
2. God will give you opportunities to act
SAY SOMETHING LIKE: In chapters 5 and 6 of the book of Esther, we see more about how
God used Esther to save the Jews from Haman’s evil plot. In chapter 5, Esther boldly
approached the king and invited him and Haman to attend a special banquet she was
holding. This was actually risky to do, because the king didn’t have to let her enter his
presence. This leads us into chapter 7, where a wonderful twist of fate leads the king to
honor Mordecai—and makes Haman do the honors!
ASK:
Think about a time that you ignored someone you saw in need. Why didn’t you help
or get involved?
God gave Esther an opportunity to act, but she had to do something bold. Why does
God often require us to be bold when we obey him?
When you watch the news of a crisis or see a video of people in need, what does
your heart tell you to do or how to respond?
What are some of the injustices in our world—unjust acts against people or violations
of people’s rights? How do you feel when you hear or read about these things?
3. You can help others
SAY SOMETHING LIKE: As we reach chapter 7, our plot reaches the crucial moment. Queen
Esther has invited Xerxes and Haman to a second banquet, and on this night, the king says
he will grant his queen any request. Her request is simple: Save me and my people from
being killed by this evil plan. The king grants this request, and Haman is punished for his
deeds. So, the Jews are saved—and in chapter 8, we find out that King Xerxes makes this
decision official and even called for special protection for the Jews throughout the empire.
To this day, Jews celebrate this miraculous event during the Festival of Purim.
ASK:
Tell us about your most recent experience helping a person in need. Did it take
courage? Did it take a lot of time and effort to help out? Explain.
What would you think of Esther’s faith in God if she had chosen not to help the
people?
How might God use you to uniquely help others—particularly people who are the
victims of injustice around the world?
Why is it so important for Christ-followers to help those in need?
Think about how this story would have ended if Esther had stayed quiet and didn’t do
anything. How might this motivate you to get involved in helping people in need and
people facing injustices?
SAY SOMETHING LIKE: Caring for others can take time. If you live each day only doing the
things you want to do, spending all your money on stuff you want to buy, and hanging out
with only your closest friends, then your life is all about you. But God loved us first and
gave us the gift of salvation through Jesus as a reminder of his deep love for us. God put
our needs first by giving us what we need—new life in Christ. God calls us as followers of
Jesus to help others, and through our actions, we pray they will begin to follow Jesus, too.
ADDITIONAL DISCUSSION [optional]
SAY SOMETHING LIKE: St. Francis of Assisi once said, “Preach the gospel always. If
necessary, use words.” Although it is important to tell others what Jesus Christ did for them,
it’s also important to live as Christ lived because it provides people a fuller picture of who
Jesus is. Jesus cares about people and the challenges and struggles they face in life.
ASK:
Read James 1:26-27 and James 2:14-17. According to these passages, why is it so
important that we turn our faith in Jesus Christ into action?
What does it mean to say that faith without actions is “dead and useless,” like we
read in James 2:17?
Look at James 1:26-27 again. Do you think this passage about taking care of people
in need is limited to widows or orphans? Who else might it refer to?
What might happen if everyone helped the widows and orphans and others in need?
Why do you think many people don’t help even if they have the resources?
APPLICATION
ASK:
On a piece of paper or on your handout, write three needs in your family, three
needs in your school, three needs in our community, and three needs in the world.
Put this paper someone where you will see it every day, and begin praying daily for
those needs to be met.
Think about your life and your unique abilities, skills, and opportunities. How might
you use these things this week to help someone in need?
Think of one habit or pattern of behavior that you want to give up so that God can
help you grow. Take a moment and commit that to God through prayer. Then share
it with someone in the group and ask them to pray for you.
Let’s think about things beyond our own community. What is an injustice in our
world that causes you to react with strong emotions? Maybe it’s AIDS victims in
Africa, or human trafficking, or rampant hunger and poverty. How might we as a
small group—or our youth group or church—address this injustice? What can we do
to make a difference?
SUMMARY
End your small group lesson here. Provide your teenagers with a quick summary or takehome challenge based on (1) the content of this lesson, (2) the dialogue that took place
during the lesson, (3) your understanding of the issues and struggles your teenagers are
facing, and (4) the big picture of your youth ministry and what your leadership team wants
accomplished with the teaching and discussion time.
FOR KEEPS [MEMORY VERSE]
Encourage and/or challenge your teenagers to memorize the verse below.
“Who knows if perhaps you were made queen for just such a time as this?” (Esther 4:14).