Esther 8:1-11 That same day King Xerxes gave Queen Esther the estate of Haman, the enemy of the Jews. And Mordecai came into the presence of the king, for Esther had told how he was related to her. 2 The king took off his signet ring, which he had reclaimed from Haman, and presented it to Mordecai. And Esther appointed him over Haman’s estate. 3 Esther again pleaded with the king, falling at his feet and weeping. She begged him to put an end to the evil plan of Haman the Agagite, which he had devised against the Jews. 4 Then the king extended the gold scepter to Esther and she arose and stood before him. 5 “If it pleases the king,” she said, “and if he regards me with favor and thinks it the right thing to do, and if he is pleased with me, let an order be written overruling the dispatches that Haman son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, devised and wrote to destroy the Jews in all the king’s provinces. 6 For how can I bear to see disaster fall on my people? How can I bear to see the destruction of my family?” 7 King Xerxes replied to Queen Esther and to Mordecai the Jew, “Because Haman attacked the Jews, I have given his estate to Esther, and they have impaled him on the pole he set up. 8 Now write another decree in the king’s name in behalf of the Jews as seems best to you, and seal it with the king’s signet ring—for no document written in the king’s name and sealed with his ring can be revoked.” 9 At once the royal secretaries were summoned—on the twenty-third day of the third month, the month of Sivan. They wrote out all Mordecai’s orders to the Jews, and to the satraps, governors and nobles of the 127 provinces stretching from India to Cush. These orders were written in the script of each province and the language of each people and also to the Jews in their own script and language. 10 Mordecai wrote in the name of King Xerxes, sealed the dispatches with the king’s signet ring, and sent them by mounted couriers, who rode fast horses especially bred for the king. 11 The king’s edict granted the Jews in every city the right to assemble and protect themselves; to destroy, kill and annihilate the armed men of any nationality or province who might attack them and their women and children,and to plunder the property of their enemies. Discussion Questions Is power good or bad? What relationship should followers of Jesus have with power? Haman vs. Esther Haman used power to: Esther was empowered to: Main Idea: We resist the power of the world by yielding to the power of God. How? Give God Say problems Lay down Embrace the journey Questions for D Groups: Review (could discuss thoughts pre-sermon vs post sermon): Is power good or bad? What relationship should followers of Jesus have with power? What stood out from the sermon? Discussion Where do you most feel the pull of earthly power? (Where are you tempted to control, etc?) Where do you find it easiest to yield to God? How do you give God the glory in your life? Where do you need to grow in this? Tell a story about a time you said yes to a problem bigger than you that helped your faith grow. Where might God be asking you to take a new faith risk? What rights are you holding on to that you need to let go of? Where is God asking you to yield more to him?