1. For such a time as this!

3. 1.If you could have lived during any other time period in history, when would it have been and why? 2.If you could have been born in any other place in the present, where would it have been and why? 3.Why has the Lord sent you to the earth at this time and placed you in your circumstances?

4. Silent Auction Hangman You will see how many letters are in each word tha tis to be discovered (I’ll write it on the board). Each team will ‘bid’ on how many letters they need to determine the word. The team with the lowest bid will go first and have the number of letters revealed as they bid (if a team bid ‘3 letters’ for example, they can choose any three letters to be revealed). If they solve the puzzle, they get the points. If they cannot solve it, the team with the next highest bid will go next and another letter will be revealed. If that team solves the puzzle, they get the points. If not, the team with the next highest bid will go… Etc, etc etc

5. 1234 5 6 ESTHER

6. 1234 5 6 78 MORDACAI

7. 123 JEW

8. 1234 5 HAMAN

9. 1234 5 6 VASHTI

10. 1234 FAST

11. “For such a time as this…”

12. Means “STAR” in Hebrew

13. She is given the best place in the king’s palace and is loved above everyone else.

14. The king places a crown on her head.

15. The people are then subjected to a law that decrees their death.

16. Because of her relationship with the king, her role is to be a mediator.

17. Esther falls to the ground and pleads to the king in behalf of the covenant people.

18. Because of Esther, the people of God have “light, and gladness, and joy and honor” (Esther 8:16)

19. After subduing their enemies, God’s people enjoy a period of rest and joy.

20. He is loved above everyone else. A crown was placed on his head. People are subjected to a law that decrees their death. Because of His relationship with the king, His role is to be a mediator. He will plead to the king in behalf of the covenant people. Because of Him, the people of God have “light, and gladness, and joy and honor” (Esther 8:16) After subduing their enemies, God’s people will enjoy a period of rest and joy during the millennium.

21. (Approximately 70 years before Ezra and Nahum’s day), King Ahasuerus deposed of his wife, Queen Vashti, and chose a Jewish girl named Esther to be his new queen. Esther’s cousin and guardian, Mordecai, offended Haman, a leader in the Persian kingdom, by not bowing to him. Haman received permission from the king to destroy all of the Jews in the kingdom. After fasting along with the Jews, Esther risked her life by approaching the king to intervene in the Jews’ behalf. She exposed Haman’s treachery and saved the Jews from their enemies.

22. Esther  Read Esther 3:1–2, 5–6, 8–13 and look for the problem that Esther, Mordecai, and the Jews faced.  If you had been a Jew living at this time and had received this news, what do you think you would have done in response?  Read Esther 4:8 and look for what Mordecai asked Esther to do.  Read Esther 4:11, looking for Esther’s concern.  Read Esther 4:13–14, looking for what Mordecai told her.  Video “For Such a Time as This” (13:44) “For Such a Time as This”

23. After the king asked Esther what she wanted from him, she asked if he and Haman would come to a banquet that she would prepare for them. The king and Haman gladly accepted the invitation. The king could not sleep the night before the banquet. He had some official reports read to him and learned that Mordecai had saved his life by stopping the assassination attempt. As a result, he had Haman bestow a great honor on Mordecai, further fueling Haman’s hatred of Mordecai and the Jews. READ Esther 7:1–6, 9–10 After Haman died, King Ahasuerus gave a second decree to preserve the Jews and give them power to destroy their enemies within the kingdom. Mordecai was elevated to second-in-command in the kingdom (In our day, the Jewish Feast of Purim was instituted to help the Jews remember their deliverance). The Rest of the Esther’s Story…

24.  What principle can we learn from Esther about preparing to do difficult things?  When have you or someone you know acted courageously to do the right thing? How were others blessed because of this courageous action?  When have you seen someone use his or her position or circumstances to bless the lives of others?  In the particular circumstances the Lord has placed you in, how can you bless the lives of others? “The Lord gave you your responsibilities for a reason. There may be people and hearts only you can reach and touch. Perhaps no one else could do it in quite the same way” (President Uchtdorf “Lift Where You Stand,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2008, 56).

25. “Such a Time as This”