February 24, 2025
The Story | Where Are You? | Chapter 20
Hope: The Return of the Exiles
The story of Esther is surprising—not once is God mentioned. Yet God’s silence is not the same as his absence. He works for good, even through ordinary events and with flawed people.
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Chapter 20: Esther 4:10-17
- How would you compare the Persian culture to our culture today? Why do you think some Jews chose to stay there instead of returning to Israel?
- Esther hid her identity when she entered Xerxes’ harem. When have you witnessed someone make moral compromises to blend in? Has that ever been a temptation for you?
- When in your life have you wondered where God is? How does Esther's story speak to that experience?
- How have you seen God working in the ordinary events of your life to bring good?
- Esther and Mordecai were imperfect, maybe even disobedient. God still used them. How do you feel about that? Is it the same for us today?
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Recent Sermons
Acts 3:1-21 - Now what? The story of Acts is what happens after the death and resurrection of Jesus. God takes ordinary people, fills them with His Spirit, and sends them out into the world. It's a crazy idea! Peter and John transform an everyday visit to the Temple into a medical miracle and preach a compelling message to boot. Hundreds of people come to trust Jesus. Just another day of walking in the Spirit.
John 20:24-29 - All through his ministry, Jesus took time to speak with individuals. Even after the resurrection, he never changed course. John records an interaction with Thomas that speaks to doubt and the struggle it is for each of us to believe.
John 12:9-19 -When Jesus rode into Jerusalem to the shouts and cheers of the crowd, there was no mistaking what was happening: the King was back in his rightful place. There were several responses to this long-awaited event: some celebrated, some grumbled, and then… everyone went home. It may have looked anticlimactic, but Jesus wasn’t going anywhere. He had come to do what only the true King of Israel could do.
John 14:1-14 -John’s biography of Jesus slows as he chronicles the week leading up to Jesus’ death. Jesus has a long, careful conversation with the disciples, and today, we listen to the beginning of that conversation. He begins with a strong command: “Do not let your hearts be troubled.” He then reinforces it with three unshakable assurances: He is going ahead of them, He has cleared the way to the Father, and He will send supernatural power so they can continue His work.
John 8:48-59 -Jesus’ friend John was very careful to record the things that Jesus said about Himself. As an observant Jew, John knew that there is only one God. From time to time, God sent prophets, ordained priests, and crowned kings so that the people of God had someone to lead them to Him. Everyone knew that these leaders only ever pointed to God; they never claimed any status beyond being messengers. But when Jesus came, He was different. He claimed to be “the Light of the World,” “the Truth that sets you free,” and “the Resurrection and the Life”—all of them ridiculous claims for anyone but God to make. That was exactly His point.
Luke 15:11-32 - Jesus tells a story about a father with two lost sons. The rule-breaking younger son was lost in self-indulgence, and the rule-keeping older son was lost in self-righteousness. The father loved both generously and even recklessly. Both needed to be found. Were they?
