Week 466 · about 45 minutes
Esther 4
Esther 4 · Memory verse Esther 4:1
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Queues the lesson plan, this story’s coloring page (Esther 4), the matching word search and answer key (Esther 4 word search), the memory-verse tracer, and a parent slip.
Five-minute object lesson
Prop: a cup of water
Hold a cup of water. Read Esther 4 in about four minutes, stopping at Esther 4:1: “Now when Mordecai found out all that was done, Mordecai tore his clothes, and put on sackcloth with ashes, and went out into the middle of the city, and wailed loudly and bitterly.” Ask, “What does this prop have to do with Esther 4?” Let two children answer, then say the memory verse together.
Story script
Esther 4 is a real chapter from the Old Testament. It starts, “Now when Mordecai found out all that was done, Mordecai tore his clothes, and put on sackcloth with ashes, and went out into the middle of the city, and wailed loudly and bitterly.” That is not a motto invented for a poster. It is the first sentence a family hears when this page is opened at night.
Keep going a little further. The chapter also says, “Hathach came and told Esther the words of Mordecai.” Esther 4 opens with these words: “Now when Mordecai found out all that was done, Mordecai tore his clothes, and put on sackcloth with ashes, and went out into the middle of…” The line to keep is Esther 4:1: “Now when Mordecai found out all that was done, Mordecai tore his clothes, and put on sackcloth with ashes, and went out into the middle of the city, and…” Carry the word “mordecai” from that verse into the rest of the day.
The line worth learning out loud is Esther 4:1: “Now when Mordecai found out all that was done, Mordecai tore his clothes, and put on sackcloth with ashes, and went out into the middle of the city, and wailed loudly and bitterly.” If the rest of the chapter feels crowded, hold that one sentence until the room is quiet.
What happens first in Esther 4? Then try this: Read “Now when Mordecai found out all that was done, Mordecai tore his clothes, and put on sackcloth with ashes,…” once more. What does it show you about God? You do not have to finish every verse. You can close the book after the memory verse and still have read the Bible together.
Group game
Walk the room as if you are moving through Esther 4. Every time you freeze, a child says one word from Esther 4:1. The last child says the whole verse.
Craft
On a US Letter sheet, draw one picture from Esther 4 and write Esther 4:1 under it. Send it home as tonight’s reminder, not as a decoration contest.
Memory verse
Esther 4:1
“Now when Mordecai found out all that was done, Mordecai tore his clothes, and put on sackcloth with ashes, and went out into the middle of the city, and wailed loudly and bitterly.”
Take-home prayer
Father, thank you for Esther 4. Help us remember Esther 4:1 when we wake up, and teach us to notice you in an ordinary night. Amen.