26. Esther

Materials Needed

• food for a meal or a snack
• table and chairs for a pretend restaurant

Setting The Stage

In the book of Esther we hear of an incredible thing that happened in the land. A young Jewish girl has just become the queen. This young girl’s name is Esther, and she does some wonderful things. During the serving of food the adult, who is the server, will share the details of the story. The lesson here is that no matter how young you are you can be used by God to do some very special things for other people.

Project

This can be tea time or meal time. Some ideas for what to serve are suggested below, but you may use your own favorites. Make sure that whatever you serve you do it in stages so you can tell the story in stages

First Course: Small Bowl Of Favorite Soup

Server’s story (told as you serve. Speak enthusiastically as if you have a great secret you want to share): “Have you heard about that young teenager, Esther? The one who is now queen? Did you know that she is probably only 13 or 14 years old? Well, the king sure thinks she is beautiful. Did you know she won the position of queen by winning a sort of beauty contest? There were lots of girls who wanted to win, but Esther was so beautiful and nice the king loved her the first time he saw her. Well, enjoy your meal!”

Second Course: Fruit Pieces Or Salad

Server’s story: ‘Was your soup good? While I serve you the next part let me tell you what happened. No one knew that Esther was a Jew. You see Esther’s uncle, Mordecai, told her not to tell anyone that she was a Jew. Of course, Mordecai was a Jew as well. Mordecai hung around the castle in case Esther needed him. It was during this time the king’s right-hand man, Haman, got angry at Mordecai. Haman decided not only to kill Mordecai but to kill all the Jews. He asked the king if it was okay, and the king passed a law that on one day all the Jews were to be killed. Now this was a problem because, of course, the queen was a Jew too!! I’ll tell you more when I am back with the next part of your meal”

Third Course: Hot Dogs With Potato Chips

Server’s story: “Are you wondering what Queen Esther is going to do? Well, I think she wondered too, but she got a message from her Uncle Mordecai and he reminded her that God had given her the position of Queen so she could help other people. The problem was if Esther went to the king and told him that she too was a Jew, she could die. If she didn’t say anything, then all the Jews would die, but she might not die because no one knew she was a Jew. That would be a hard decision to make, wouldn’t it?

Fourth Course: Ice Cream

Server’s story: “I don’t want to make you wait any longer to find out what happened. The queen went to the king and the king was glad she told him about the situation. The king was so upset with Haman that he had Haman killed. The king changed the law so the Jews didn’t have to die after all. That was a tough job for Queen Esther to do, but I am sure glad she did it because I have a lot of friends who are Jews. Wall, enjoy the rest of the meal and I will be back to get your money when you are done.”

Pay Time $$$

As you collect the pretend money, challenge each person to learn to be like Queen Esther. Ask each one how they can help a person in their life. Remember each response.

Prayer

When you are finished collecting the money, stop and say a prayer for each person around the table. In the prayer ask God to help them help the child mentioned earlier so they will be like Queen Esther.