Allow me to share my personal favorite Bible lesson on Esther for Sunday School with you. Through learning the Bible story of Esther, your children’s ministry group will learn how to be brave – something that Queen Esther was a pro at… Esther moved from being seen as the “beautiful queen” to the “brave queen”; we will discover how that happened.
Whether you need a last-minute Sunday School lesson or you just want to try something different – this great lesson is available to you for free.
From my years of doing children’s ministry myself, I know how challenging it can be to find lesson plans that are based on this specific book of the Bible. But this great story from the Old Testament teaches kids many valuable lessons, including how to be brave. It is focused on finding our identity in God and not in earthly circumstances or what other people might say.
Notes for Sunday School teachers: What you need to know before using this Esther Bible lesson for Brave Kids
Read Esther in your personal Bible study as you prepare this lesson. It is a very short book in the Bible and will not take long to read at all!
This Sunday School lesson has 8 parts: Introduction, Ice-breaker, Worship songs, Story, Memory Verse, Key message, Response, and an Activity.
It is written in a style where you can just read the text to the children. Wherever there is a note to the teacher, it is added in brackets. (Like this)
There’s a spot in the lesson where I’ve added name tags. Using those is not completely necessary though. You can pivot by writing on their hands or a sheet of paper instead.
I added a free printable coloring picture to the end of this lesson that features Esther when she was being prepared to become the new queen.
Good morning everybody & welcome to church! Today we will be learning about a queen, named Esther, who was very brave. Who can tell us what it means to be brave? (Let them answer)
To be brave means to have great courage at a time when you actually feel afraid. But instead of giving in to fear or staying in your comfort zone, you take a step forward and step out of the fear instead.!That can be a very scary step to take – so we need to learn all we can about bravery.
Did you know that the Bible is full of real stories of people just like you and me who lived their lives with God? There are many stories in the Bible of people who were intimidated and forgot who they were. Then they had to be brave and take that scary step in order to act into their God-given identity again.
Think of a time when you were afraid or unsure of what to do… Did you believe you cannot do it? Today we will learn how…
Ice-breaker game
But first, let’s move our bodies a little bit. Did you know that we can worship God with our bodies through all kinds of things like work, exercise, and even dancing?
Let’s do a few stretches to see if you are all awake! (Touch the clouds / Touch the ground / etc.)
To start today off, we are going to do something fun – Let’s play charades! I am going to ask somebody to come forward. Then, I will whisper something in their ear that they need to act out for the rest of the group.
(Focus the prompts on TITLES: a doctor, a king, a bodybuilder, a winner, a loser, and so forth)
“He is calling: Wake up child It’s your time to shine You were born for such a time as this”
The story based on the book of Esther
Story time…
Once upon a time, there was a land far away.
God’s people, the Jewish people, lived there too. One of God’s people was a woman named Esther. There was a beauty contest to choose the new queen. God made Esther very beautiful, so she was chosen to marry the king of that land, King Xerxes.
But the king had a friend who was a bad influence on him. The friend whispered in the king’s ear about all kinds of evil things. One day, the friend told the king to kill all God’s people!
Queen Esther’s cousin, Mordecai, came to her where she was living in the King’s palace. He said: “Esther! We are doomed! There is no hope for us! … Except, maybe… Yes! What if you are queen for a reason. Maybe God put you in that position so that you can save His people!?”
Then Esther’s family asked her to go to the King and beg him to save God’s people. Esther was very afraid. She was not even allowed to speak to the King if he did not call her, never mind making such a big request. Esther’s heart beat wildly in her chest – doof, doof, doof! She thought: “I am not brave, I am just beautiful. I don’t think I can do this!”
But then, she prayed that God would help her. God helped Esther by making her very brave so she went to the King and, long story short, he granted her wish! All of God’s people were saved! Hallelujah!
Today’s memory verse is from the part of the story where Cousin Mordecai visits Esther at the royal palace.
It was Esther’s beauty that made her become queen. The world put a name tag on her that said “You are pretty” and although that is wonderful, people have wondered if Esther sometimes wished to be more…
Perhaps she wanted to do something with her life. Perhaps she wanted to be smart or sporty or creative, but she was none of those things, she was just pretty… Yet God used her beauty for His purposes.
In Esther chapter 4, verse 14 we read what Mordecai said to her:
“Maybe you have been chosen to be the queen for such a time as this”
Can you say: “I have been chosen for such a time as this”? (Let them repeat it)
Key message of the lesson
“Lord, you are my Light and my Savior, so why should I be afraid of anyone? The Lord is where my life is safe, so I will be afraid of no one!” – Psalm 27:1
What titles do I carry?
photographer_jon_tyson_unsplash
(Hand out name tags and let volunteers help the kids write down some of the titles they carry in life. They might not be a queen, but they might be a…
brother sister cousin son daughter team mate captain leader )
Each one of us was placed by God into this specific moment for a purpose. His purposes and ways are higher than our own. God has a great big plan – to bring His Kingdom to Earth – and we get to play a part in that. Each one of you was born for such a time as this.
Since we know that God has given us certain titles, talents, and skills – we can know that God created us with a purpose in mind. It can be easy to forget the truth about who God made us to be. The world puts lots of name tags on us and so does shame. Instead of royal robes, we start wearing lies and believing they are the truth. This might be things like “I am not good enough”, “Nobody loves me”, or “I am ugly”.
Those false titles can make us feel really small and powerless. Perhaps you have bad friends or people in your life who are noise makers. They distract you from the truth and say false things about you.
It is important to ask the Holy Spirit instead:
“What is the truth? Who does God’s word say that I am?”
The truth is that God says you are brave. You are His beloved child and He knows you by name.
The Bible says you are God’s masterpiece, created for good works that He had planned ahead of time (Ephesians 2:10).
You look like God and are made in His image (Genesis 1:27).
The Bible says are made new (2 Corinthians 5:17) as a child of God (John 1:27).
You are part of God’s body, the church, (1 Corinthians 12:27) and you have a part to play.
Remember that you are loved by God! (John 3:16)
You are like Esther, God can make you brave:
In the same way the the beautiful young woman called Queen Esther went in front of the king because God made her brave and put her in a specific place, God can do the same thing for you.
Esther had to make the hard choice of walking into the King’s presence. It is not always easy to do the right thing.
King Xerxes had to learn how to not give in to the peer pressure of a bad friend. Perhaps that is you today. You need to choose to listen to God instead.
When Esther was brave, God’s people were saved and God received the glory.
Isaiah 41:20 says : “Don’t worry—I am with you. Don’t be afraid—I am your God. I will make you strong and help you. I will support you with my right hand that brings victory.”
Response
Spread out in the class and sit or lie down. I am going to read this prayer over you…
Dear God,
Thank You for the way that You still speak today through Bible stories.
Please help me to become aware of the voices that I am listening to:
Lead me to make the right choice and to find my identity in You.
You say that I am good enough.
You make me brave.
In You, I can have a full and free life!
You are amazing, God!
Amen.
Activity
Divide them into small groups and have them act out the story.
Do a craft where the kids make a royal crown using craft paper and stick-on gemstones.
Write some truths on a mirror and have each child look at themselves in the mirror while you speak the truths over them.
Print out some Esther coloring pages and let the kids have fun. Here is a free downloadable Esther coloring picture that I drew that you can also use along with this lesson (you can download a printable PDF version of it here):
“When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. I trust God, so I am not afraid of what people can do to me! I praise God for his promise to me.” – Psalm 56:3-4
Eljoh Hartzer is combining theology and art to nurture faith journeys across generations. She is a Masters-level Practical Theologian with the University of Stellenbosch. She is also a writer and editor in the niche of Christianity and children's content and she illustrates children's books. Eljoh resides in the Swartland area in the Western Cape province of South Africa.
You can follow Eljoh on LinkedIn or Instagram.
