Esther Sermon in Production

I had the privilege of talking with some wiser persons than myself over the weekend, and one of them in particular walked me through the basic approach that he would take to my text for the sermon that I am preaching in June.

Esther 4:12-16 will be my text:

“So they told Esther’s words to Mordecai. Then Mordecai said for them to respond to Esther, ‘Do not imagine that you in the kings’ house can escape any more than all the Jews. For if you remain silent at the 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 reached royalty for such a time as this?’

Then Esther said for them to respond to Mordecai, ‘Go, gather 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 young women 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.’”

This text, I am told, divides easily into two points. So, my outline will be:

I. Introduction – give wider background of Esther and the immediate context within 5 minutes.

II. Body –

a. Mordecai’s Proposition

b. Esther’s Cynicism

III. Conclusion

Actually, in the process of beginning my work last month, I was overloading the introduction with background information and focusing on all these “cool facts” that I pretty much delineated in the previous blog posts on this site. In a sermon, I am told that I need to stay within the text and say what the text says, so that is my new goal. I want to avoid the 12 minute background lecture and push forward to explaining the text in front of me.

Today has been productive for me. I am enjoying the process of learning. And teaching a narrative like this one from the Old Testament that I think requires more skill than going on about New Testament abstractions from Romans 3 or the like. So, that makes me excited. I am also learning to keep it simple. That is hard for my brain. I am so thankful for people in my life who help me.