Thursday February 12th

Hi gals!

See you tonight!

The plot has thickened and we have so much to dig in to! Can't wait to see you for such a time as this.
k

GNOW a HUGE Success!

What fun Thursday night! The food was great and I loved getting to know you all more. Thanks you so much for bringing the great food!!! (Brett thanks you too. He loved the pizza, spaghetti pie, brie strawberry salad…. Hmmm. Maybe there’s a hint there that I need to cook more!).

If you have a chance tell Mitzi (Women’s Ministry Director) a big thank you. The logistics of the Worship night are a lot of work and it’s nice to be appreciated. : )

There is new homework for this week (Week 3) Not much… since we didn’t have study on Thursday. But it will get us all up to date so we can have some meaty discussion this week. Email me if you didn't receive it.

See you at 6:30 on Thursday. You KNOW there will be obstacles to you coming. The enemy, the devil, does not want you in a study or in fellowship with other believers… so he will put up every fight he can. KNOW that you have the victory if you are child of God. Stand firm when the darts start flying at you this week. Put on the Armor of God (Eph 6:10-18). You may feel blue, or maybe you didn’t get your homework done, maybe you’ll have a bad hair day or it’s been “hell” at work or home. God KNOWS … and He will provide a way for you to be here. Ask Him for help and when He speaks to your heart, listen and respond!!

Sunday January 25, 2009

Isn't this a beautiful image of Esther. Laurie brought this Thursday night and I don't think everyone had a chance to see it. It was painted around 1565 by Luca Cambiaso.

By now hopefully you have read through the entire book and started identifying Key Words.

Don't forget to make your lists as that will really help you during our class time next Thursday. Not to mention the more you see the text, write the text and discuss, the more likely you are to remember it! And we could all use a little help with our memories.

Historical Context

Babylon Conquers Israel. Before the time of Esther the Babylonians were the world power and they had carried the Jews off into captivity. The Babylonians took the cream of the crop. Think Daniel…. the best, the smartest, the good looking Jews in Israel.

Jews Released to return to Israel. In 538 BC Cyrus (after a 70 yr exile) issued a decree that said the Jews could go back to their homeland. Not all of them went. In fact only 60,000 of 2 million Jews returned. Many had grown comfortable in the Babylonian Empire so they didn’t go back.

Persia Conquers Babylon. Later Persia conquers Babylon. Persia was the strongest world power. Xerxes (Greek name) was the king. In your Bible it might say Ahasuerus.

Esther’s Time. Now it’s 50 years later and a group of Jews remains in Persia – the Diaspora – the dispersed.

I Can't Wait

I have got to tell you... I have that Christmas morning feeling. Major excitement and anticipation!! Like I am getting ready to open the biggest and best present under the tree.

And it is truly the best gift ever to be able to study God’s Word with you.

I have met so many very cool women who will be joining us… a creative director for an ad agency… a recruiter… a beautiful mother of 3 beautiful girls… an adorable realtor… a sharp attorney… an internet guru… and more. Single… married… new moms… and many with grown kids… working in the home… working outside the home… or just working everywhere!!

God is bringing together His girls for such a time as this…. And I can hardly wait.

Be praying for protection. Pray that your thought life would be protected and that you would not bail out. Stand firm and be here. I promise God has something in store just for you. He is so personal and He loves you so much!!

See you next Thursday!
k.

... may the righteous be glad and rejoice before God; may they be happy and joyful. ~Psalm 68:3

Is God Really With Me?

What happens when you are faced with a life threatening illness? Or your spouse loses his job? Is God there? What about when you lose a child or sibling to cancer? Is God there? Have you experienced the death of a parent? How could God be there?

There is much to learn about God when we can't see Him or feel His presence. Have you lost God recently? He has not lost you.

As you study through the extraordinary Book of Esther, you will be surprised that the Name of God is not in it. Ask yourself as you read it... is God there? You will be amazed at the answer.

"The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel" —which means, "God with us." ~ Matthew 1:23

Mirror Mirror on the Wall

Mirrors are very powerful. When you look in the mirror, do you like what you see or do you hate what you see? When you look in the mirror, do you feel loved, secure, blessed, accepted? Or do you feel insecure, fat, unloved, and ugly?

What mirror did Esther use? In chapter 2 it tells us that there was a search for the most beautiful women. The king wanted a babe to replace Vashti and he had his pick of the virgins. So we know that Esther had to be a beauty since she was hand picked.... but the strange thing about the story is that chapter 2, verse 12 says that this beautiful woman received 12 MONTHS of beauty treatments before she went before the king. So she was beautiful... but not beautiful enough!

Is there a message in this for us today? How much is enough? How much botox, filler, plastic surgery, dieting,etc. is enough? As you read though the Book of Esther ask yourself what real beauty looks like. See if you can find the answer in this amazing story.

The king is enthralled by your beauty; honor him, for he is your lord. ~ Psalm 45:11

I'm So Angry!

Have you been furious with anyone lately? Have you lost your temper with your kids, spouse or a friend?

Well friends... as you read through the Book of Esther you will find a lot of anger. The king is angry. His servants are angry. His right hand man Haman is angry.

How do they deal with their anger? How do you deal with your anger?

Look for the words anger, wrath, and any synonyms of these words. Mark them with your colored pencils. One color for all the words and synomyns that refer to anger.

Then get your spiral notebook. At the top of a page list the Key Words - Anger, Angry and Wrath. Then make a list of the verses that contain these words. Observation is the first step in an Inductive Bible Study. We'll talk in class about what God is showing you.

A fool gives full vent to his anger, but a wise man keeps himself under control.
~ Proverbs 29:11

Key Words

A key can open a treasure box or unlock the door to Nordstrom's the day after Christmas. Open either and you'll find treasures galore.

A key can also be very important in Bible Study. Key Words can and will open up the meaning of the text. Key words are simply repeated words. If God puts a word in the text over and over again, you can count on the fact that He has something special for us to laern about it.

As you read through the Book of Esther you will find many repeated words. Mark them in a distinct way. Get a pack of colored pencils and /or some fine point colored pens.

Some key words are obvious... like the main characters the story is about.King Ahasuerus, Queen Vashti, Esther, Mordecai and Haman are all key words in the Book of Esther.