First Five / Final Five:

• Take the first five minutes of each day to READ God’s Word, and the final five minutes of your day to REFLECT on God’s Work in your life.  
   

The Big Idea:

• In your own words, how would you summarize the main idea of the message?  
   

From the Message:

• What do you think were the emotions that Esther was facing?  When have you faced (or felt) something similar?  
• We don’t really know what Esther’s plan was, but she seemed to have one.  What is the role of planning when dealing with fear and the need for courage?
   

From the Passage:

• Fatalism is the belief that what is going to happen is going to happen, and that we can’t do anything to change outcomes.  In other words, Esther really didn’t have much choice in this story.  What is wrong with the idea of fatalism?
   

Think it through / Talk it over:

• What is a tough situation that you are facing right now?  Which of the tips on courage do you most need to hear and heed?
• Reflect on a time when you had to show courage?  Were you scared?  Why did you choose to act?  What were the results?  
   Did you survive?
• Do you consider yourself as cautious—or are you more of a risk
   taker?  How can you balance the two approaches?
• How have you seen God at work in a situation that you have faced?
• What lessons can be learned from the person of Haman?
   

Take a Step:

• Truth transforms us only as we take action.  What is that one step you need to take?