Hope with Purpose

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  The following are my notes taken during my pastor's sermon.

Our Bible study passage for "Hope with Purpose" is Esther 4:13-16.

Then Mordecai told them to reply to Esther, “Do not imagine that you in the king’s palace can escape any more than all the Jews.  For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place and you and your father’s house will perish. And who knows whether you have not attained royalty for such a time as this?” 

Esther Plans to Intercede

Then Esther told them to reply to Mordecai, “Go, assemble all the Jews who are found in Susa, and fast for me; do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my maidens also will fast in the same way. And thus I will go in to the king, which is not according to the law; and if I perish, I perish.” - Esther 4:13-16

The scriptures give us hope and encouragement.

For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. - Romans 15:4

When we feel hopeless, we tend to focus on ourselves.  We focus on our disappointments, our circumstances, and our sadness.  We must refocus.  We must learn to use our heartache for His glory.

The Background Story

Ahasuerus was a powerful king.  He loved a big party.

Queen Vashti refused the king's request to model.

By Esther, chapter 2, there had been no queen for several years.  Ahasuerus missed having a queen.  Several hundred women were selected to contest for the position of Queen.  They went through sort of a beauty school.  Esther was a Jewish girl who was part of the contest.  She had been raised by Mordecai.  Esther was chosen and became the Queen of Persia.

Image Credit - PawinG - CCO Public Domain Image - via Pixabay

 The following are my notes taken during my pastor's sermon.

Our mothers influence us all our lives.  Exodus 2:1-10 tells us the characteristics of an influential mother.

The Birth of Moses

Now a man from the house of Levi went and married a daughter of Levi. The woman conceived and bore a son; and when she saw that he was beautiful, she hid him for three months.  But when she could hide him no longer, she got him a wicker basket and covered it over with tar and pitch. Then she put the child into it and set it among the reeds by the bank of the Nile.  His sister stood at a distance to find out what would happen to him.

The daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the Nile, with her maidens walking alongside the Nile; and she saw the basket among the reeds and sent her maid, and she brought it to her.  When she opened it, she saw the child, and behold, the boy was crying. And she had pity on him and said, “This is one of the Hebrews’ children.”  Then his sister said to Pharaoh’s daughter, “Shall I go and call a nurse for you from the Hebrew women that she may nurse the child for you?”  Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Go ahead.” So the girl went and called the child’s mother.  Then Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Take this child away and nurse him for me and I will give you your wages.” So the woman took the child and nursed him.  The child grew, and she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter and he became her son. And she named him Moses, and said, “Because I drew him out of the water.” - Exodus 2:1-10

 Characteristics of an Influential Mother

An influential mother will be:

1.  Courageously Protective

2.  Ingeniously Creative

But when she could hide him no longer, she got him a wicker basket and covered it over with tar and pitch. Then she put the child into it and set it among the reeds by the bank of the Nile. - Exodus 2:3

3.  Strategically Effective  

His sister stood at a distance to find out what would happen to him. - Exodus 2:4

 An influential mother is hope filled, faith centered, and future focused.

We Have a Mission - We have a responsibility to reach and raise the next generation for Christ.

Image Credit - langll - CCO Public Domain Image - via Pixabay

We are focusing on a new theme at church.  The following are my notes taken during my pastor's sermon.

We exist to glorify God

By discipling one another

To reach and raise the next generation

To live out God's truth. 

The following are the notes I took during my pastor's sermon on this topic. 

Our scripture passage for this study is John 20:19-23.

(19) So when it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and when the doors were shut where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, “Peace be with you.”  (20) And when He had said this, He showed them both His hands and His side. The disciples then rejoiced when they saw the Lord.  (21) So Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you; as the Father has sent Me, I also send you.”  (22) And when He had said this, He breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.  (23) If you forgive the sins of any, their sins have been forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they have been retained.”

At the beginning of the passage, in verse 19, we need to remember what was happening at that time.  Jesus had been crucified.  The disciples felt deflated.  The felt their mission was over.  They were afraid.

We Have a Mission