Esther's Decision

Last week we talked about the importance of seeking God in our lives and what it means for us to be rooted in our faith. This week I want to talk about our responsibility to others and what happens when we don’t seek God.

The Bible is full of characters that do incredible things for the Lord. We have all heard the stories of David and Goliath, Noah, Abraham, Paul, the disciples, etc. God is known throughout the world today because of these few ordinary folks who took the message to God's people. Esther is one of these people.

Esther was a Jewish woman who became queen in a land where her people were not respected because they did not abide by the laws of the kingdom. They lived differently. Esther becomes Queen by the favor of the king, but the king doesn’t know she is a Jew. During this time, Esther’s Uncle refuses to bow to one of the King’s officials (Haman). It doesn’t say why Mordecai refused, but the official threatens to kill Mordecai and all the Jews in the land and the king allows signs a law that would allow him to do so.  Esther is the only one that can save her family from Haman by telling the king who she is and asking him to spare her people.

Esther 4:14 - ¹⁴ For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?”  

The important message from this passage is that the end of the story is already known. God loves his people and he will deliver them, but if Esther doesn’t act, Haman will kill her family.  Mordecai tells Esther that she was put in this place for this opportunity to save her people. 

You all have an opportunity right now to make a decision to follow God. You have a choice and your choice can affect everyone around you. Your choice has an immediate impact. You have the opportunity to save your life and the lives of your friends by making a decision to serve God and to love Him with all your heart, soul and mind.

I asked each of you to write someone down that you would talk to or pray with this week about your relationship with Christ or to pray for a friend. Let's share stories in a couple weeks!

The Parable of the Sower

With this lesson, I wanted to be honest with you all. There are a lot of adults out there trying to figure out what teens are thinking. They find out information from the culture, analyze it, and then use it to better reach their audience. Often times, we change the way we approach our audience without telling them why. Here are some of the statistics about the current youth culture:

78% of young adults claim to be Christian

88% of children raised in Christian families leave church at the age of 18, never to return

45% of youth had shared their faith with a friend

31% of youth read their Bible

These are incredible numbers to consider when we think about the importance of Christ in our lives. Why am I sharing this with you? You are more than just a number. Your friends are more than just statistics. Making the decision to follow God is the most important decision we can make and most of us choose to walk away.

Parable of the Sower - Luke 8:1-15

Jesus teaches in this parable that there are many who will hear the word and fall away from it.

Path - Sometimes we fall away because we have no roots or no foundation. Sometimes we let others convince us that following God is stupid and doesn’t make any sense

Rocky - Sometimes we have an experience with God, maybe at a camp or event, then we lose sight of God when it gets difficult

Thorns – Sometimes the other parts of life just seem more important

Good soil- Sometimes God takes hold of us and changes our lives and the lives of many others through our ministry.

I don’t know about you but, I want to be the seed that falls on good soil. In order to spread God's message to the world, we have to first accept Him in our hearts and it is absolutely vital that we do so.

Ice Skating Crew