For Such a Time as This

Before you start

Esther is a young Jewish woman who has become queen of Persia. A royal decree, plotted by Haman, orders the destruction of her people. Her cousin Mordecai asks her to plead with the king, but anyone who approaches the king without being called risks death. This is the passage EFF is named for.

Read Esther 4:1–17 aloud from any translation. Invite volunteers to read; never put anyone on the spot.

Icebreaker · 5 minutes

What is one place you never expected to end up, that you now see was right for you?

Observe · what does it say?

1. What does Mordecai ask Esther to do, and why is it dangerous?
2. What does Esther ask her people to do before she acts (verse 16)?
3. Find the words "if I perish, I perish". What changed in Esther between verse 11 and verse 16?

Interpret · what did it mean?

1. Mordecai says help could come "from another place" if Esther stays silent. Why does he still urge her to act?
2. Why might fasting and community come before courage?

Apply · what does it ask of us?

1. Where on this campus might you be "for such a time as this"?
2. Who is one person you could speak up for, or stand beside, this week?

On your campus

Set up a table with the question "What were you made for?" on a card wall. Invite students to write an answer and come to a short study on Esther that evening.

Closing prayer

God, You placed us on this campus for a reason. Give us Esther's courage, the humility to ask others to stand with us, and the boldness to speak for those who can't. Amen.

Take home

Write Esther 4:14 somewhere you'll see it each morning this week.