Explore the Bible Overview
December - Esther
Date/#
12/7
Lesson Title
& Focus
A Deliverer was Needed
ADVENT Esther 1:1-3:15
Lesson 1
12/14
A deliverer was Provided
ADVENT Esther 4:6-17
Lesson 2
12/21
God Provided a Savior
ADVENT Luke 2:8-20
Lesson 3
12/28
Text Truth
Everyone
Needs God
Connectional
Statement
The Jewish people
needed a deliverer
(savior) just as
people today need
a Savior
God Always
God planned for
Provides Help Mordecai to be a
deliverer of the
Jewish people. God
planned for Jesus
to be our deliverer
today.
Jesus is Our
Mary and Joseph
Savior
obeyed God, Baby
Jesus was born, the
lineage of Abraham
completed, and the
prophesies were
fulfilled.
Memory Verse
(NIV)
Connectional
Passage
“You shall have no other
Gods before me.” Exodus
20:3
Esther and
Mordecai (Esther 12);
Connect with
Christmas (Isaiah
7:14; 9:6-7)
“For if you remain silent at this
time, relief and deliverance for
the Jews will arise from
another place . . . and who
knows but that you have come
to your royal position for such
a time as this?” Esther 4:14
A Plan Foretold
(Esther 4:1-10:3);
Connect With
Christmas (Luke
1:26-28, Matthew
1:18-24
“Today in the town of David
a Savior has been born to
you; he is the Messiah, the
Lord.” Luke 2:11
Jesus was Born
(Luke 1:1-2:52)
Combined Worship
(No Kids Zone Activities)
Chrsit in Context (Esther): The book of Esther highlights our need for deliverance. Jesus is our deliverer.
He came to live the perfect life and die on the cross for our sin. God raised Him from the dead. Jesus
delivers us from our old life of sin to a new life changed by His grace and mercy.
Review Questions
SESSION 1: A DELIVERER WAS NEEDED
1. Name the king who wanted a new queen? (Ahasuerus or Xerxes, Esther 2:1-4.)
2. Who was selected to be the new queen? (Esther, Esther 2:17.)
3. Esther was adopted by her relative, a cousin. What was his name? (Mordecai, Esther 2:7.)
4. What did Mordecai overhear two men discussing? (The men were planning to kill the king, Esther 2:21.)
5. Whom did Mordecai refuse to bow down before? (Haman, Esther 3:2.)
6. What was Haman's response? (He was angry and wanted to kill all of the Jews, Esther 3:5-6.)
7. The prophet Isaiah said Jesus would be called four special names. Name one of them. (Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace;
Isaiah 9:6.)
8. Who came to deliver people from sin? (Jesus.)
SESSION 2: THE DELIVERER IS PROMISED
1. Who created an evil plan to kill the Jews? (Haman, Esther 3:6-9.)
2. Who told a messenger to tell Esther about Haman's plan? (Mordecai, Esther 4:7-9.)
3. What did Mordecai ask Esther to do to save her people? (Go to the king and ask for the people to be saved, Esther 4:8.)
4. Why was it dangerous for Esther to go see the king? (The rule was that the king had to invite you to visit. If the king didn't like that Esther had come, she could
be killed; Esther 4:11.)
5. What did the king do to show Esther she was welcome to see him? (He extended his gold scepter, Esther 5:2.)
6. What did Esther invite the king and Haman to attend? (Two banquets, Esther 5:4,8.)
7. What happened to Haman? (He was killed, Esther 7:10.)
8. What happened to the Jews? (They were allowed to defend themselves and were saved, Esther 8:11.)
9. Whom did God chose to be the earthly parents of Jesus? (Mary and Joseph, Luke 1:30-31 and Matthew 1:20-21.)
10. Who told Mary to name her baby "Jesus"? (the angel, Luke 1:30-31.)
SESSION 3: THE DELIVERER PROVIDED
1. Who ordered that all of the people should be counted? (The Roman emperor Caesar Augustus, Luke 2:1.)
2. Whose family did Joseph belong to? (King David's, Luke 2:4.)
3. Where did Mary and Joseph have to travel to be counted? (Bethlehem, Luke 2:4-5.)
4. Where did they put Baby Jesus? (A feeding trough or manger, Luke 2:7.)
5. Whom did an angel appear to and tell the news of Jesus' birth? (A group of shepherds, Luke 2:8-14.)
6. Name one of two people Mary and Joseph met when they took Jesus to the temple? (Simeon and Anna, Luke 2:27-28,36-38.)
7. What did Simeon and Anna realize about Baby Jesus? (They understood He was the Savior God had promised; Luke 2:28-38.)
Explore the Bible Overview – January (Nehemiah)
Date/#
1/4
Lesson Title
& Focus
Text Truth
The Wise Men honored
and worshipped Jesus. We
can honor and worship
Jesus today.
“ On coming to the house, they
saw the child with his mother
Mary, and they bowed down and
worshiped him. Then they
opened their treasures and
presented him with giftsof gold,
frankincense and myrrh.”
Matthew 2:11
Wise Men
Worshiped Jesus
(Matthew 2:112)
Trust God
Nehemiah 2:1-8, 17-18
Pray for
God’s
Inspiration
Nehemiah prayed before
he spoke to people. God
gave him the requests to
ask the king. God gave the
king the knowledge to
grant the requests.
“The king said to me, “What is
it you want?” Then I prayed to
the God of heaven,” Nehemiah
2:4
Nehemiah
(Nehemiah 1, 2,
4)
Honor God
Nehemiah 5:1-13
Treat Each
Other Fairly
“Know that the LORD is God.
Treat Each
It is he who made us, and we Other Fairly
are his[a];
(Nehemiah 5)
we are his people, the sheep
of his pasture.”
Psalm 100:3
Be Encouraged
Nehemiah 6:1-18
Let God
Guide You
Through
Tough
Times
Nehemiah saw how
unfairly people groups
were being treated.
Nehemiah made right
those wrongs. He
continued to treat the
people fairly.
Even though people
discouraged, intimidated
and spread rumors about
him, Nehemiah never
wavered in his
dependence on God.
Lesson 7
1/25
Lesson 8
Connectional
Passage
Worship
Jesus
Lesson 6
1/18
Memory Verse (NIV)
A Savior was Worshiped
Matthew 2:1-12
Bonus
Lesson
1/11
Connectional
Statement
“so I sent messengers to them Don’t be
with this reply: ‘I am carrying
discouraged
on a great project and cannot
(Nehemiah 6
go down. Why should the work
stop while I leave it and go
down to you?’” Nehemiah 6:3
Chrsit in Context (Nehemiah): The book of Nehemiah tells of God’s faithfulness to complete His work among His people.
Through His faithfulness, God sent Jesus to a broken world to restore His people. In His life, death and resurrection, Jesus
overcame challenges and completed His work, forever securing a place for God’s people with Him.
Review Questions
BONUS SESSION : THE SAVIOR IS WORSHIPED
1. Where did the wise men travel from? (The east, Matthew 2:1.)
2. What had the wise men seen that made them travel? (They saw a star in the sky, Matthew 2:2.)
3. Who did the wise men want to see when they arrived in Jerusalem? (The new King of the Jews, Matthew 2:2.)
4. What did Herod ask the wise men to do? (He wanted them to come back and tell him where the baby was, Matthew 2:7-8.)
5. What did the wise men do when they saw Jesus? (They worshiped Him, Matthew 2:11.)
6. Name one of the three gifts the wise men gave Jesus. (Gold, frankincense, and myrrh; Matthew 2:11.)
7. Why did the wise men not return to see King Herod? (They were told in a dream not to go see Herod again, Matthew 2:12.)
SESSION 6: TRUST GOD
1. What was Nehemiah's job in Susa? (Cupbearer to the king, Nehemiah 2:1.)
2. Who was Hanani to Nehemiah? (His brother, Nehemiah 1:2.)
3. What news did Hanani and the others bring from Jerusalem? (The city was still in ruins, Nehemiah 1:3.)
4. How did Nehemiah respond to the news? (He mourned, fasted, and prayed; Nehemiah 1:4.)
5. What did King Artaxerxes notice about Nehemiah? (He was sad, Nehemiah 2:2.)
6. What did Nehemiah ask of the king? (To return to Jerusalem and rebuild it, Nehemiah 2:3-5.)
7. Who opposed the rebuilding of the walls? (Sanballat, Tobiah, and others; Nehemiah 4:7-8.)
8. How high were the walls built when the opponents got serious? (Half of its height, Nehemiah 4:6.)
9. What did the builders hold in their two hands? (Loads of materials for work and weapons, Nehemiah 4:17.)
10. When did the workers carry weapons? (Daybreak or dawn until the stars appeared at night, Nehemiah 4:21.)
SESSION 7: HONOR GOD
1. Why did the people need food? (A famine had come and some people had borrowed money to pay their taxes, so the people were poor; Nehemiah 5:3.)
2. What is a famine? (Shortage of food, usually caused by a drought.)
3. What happened to some of the children of people who owed money? (They became slaves to help pay back the money, Nehemiah 5:5.)
4. Nehemiah told the people to stop charging interest and to return the fields and houses that belonged to their fellow Israelites. True or False? (True, Neh 5:9)
5. As governor, Nehemiah was allowed to take food from the people. True or False? (True, Nehemiah 5:14.)
6. Did Nehemiah take food from the people? (No, He did not want to make their situation harder; Nehemiah 5:18.)
SESSION 8: BE ENCOURAGED
1. Name an enemy of Nehemiah's (Sanballat, Tobiah, Geshem, Shemaiah, Noadiah, other prophets; Nehemiah 6:1,10,14.)
2. What was Nehemiah rebuilding in the city of Jerusalem? (The walls, Nehemiah 6:1.)
3. How many messages did Sanballat and Geshem send to Nehemiah? (5, Nehemiah 6:5.)
4. What else did Sanballat say to try to stop Nehemiah's work? (He tried to start a rumor that Nehemiah & Israelites were going to rebel against the king, Neh 6)
5. How did Nehemiah respond to his enemies' requests to meet with them? (He told them he was working and couldn't come, the rumors weren’t true; Neh 6:3)
6. How long did it take for the wall to be completed? (52 days, Nehemiah 6:15.)
7. Where did Shemaiah try to trick Nehemiah to go hide? (In the temple, Nehemiah 6:10.)
8. How did the enemies of God's people feel when they heard that the walls were finished? (Scared, Nehemiah 6:16.)
9. The enemies realized that who had helped the Israelites rebuild the wall? (God, Nehemiah 6:16.)
Explore the Bible Overview – February (Nehemiah)
Date/#
2/1
Lesson Title
& Focus
Lesson 12
Connectional
Passage
Nehemiah had the great
task of rebuilding and
resettling Jerusalem. He did
his part and assigned parts
to all the people so the job
would be completed.
“All hard work brings a profit,
but mere talk leads only to
poverty.” Proverbs 14:23
Jerusalem was
Resettled
(Nehemiah 3,
7, 11)
Listen to God’s Word
Nehemiah 8:1-8
Learn and
Understand
the
Scriptures
Ezra, Nehemiah and other
priests helped the people
understand the law
(Scriptures).
“Ezra opened the book. All the
people could see him because
he was standing above them;
and as he opened it, the
people all stood up.”
Nehemiah 8:5
Ezra read
aloud the law
(Nehemiah 8)
Respond to God’s Word
Nehemiah 9:32-37
Remember The Israelites recalled what
what God
God had done through the
has done
ages.
for you as
you confess
your sin
“In all that has happened to
us, you have remained
righteous; you have acted
faithfully, while we acted
wickedly.” Nehemiah 9:33
The Israelites
confessed
their sin
(Nehemiah 9)
Worship Honestly
Nehemiah 10:28-39
Be Faithful
in
Following
God
“We will not neglect the house of
our God.”
Nehemiah 10:39
Follow God
(Nehemiah
9:38-13:31)
Lesson 11
2/22
Memory Verse (NIV)
Do the
Work God
Prepares
for You
Lesson 10
2/15
Connectional Statement
Work Together
Nehemiah 7:1-8
Lesson 9
2/8
Text
Truth
The Israelites returned to
God and made a written
vow to be faithful to him.
Christ in Context (Nehemiah): The book of Nehemiah tells of God’s faithfulness to complete His work among His people.
Through His faithfulness, God sent Jesus to a broken world to restore His people. In His life, death and resurrection, Jesus
overcame challenges and completed His work, forever securing a place for God’s people with Him.
REVIEW QUESTIONS
SESSION 9: WORK TOGETHER
1. The people built the walls and what other items under Nehemiah's leadership? (The gates or doors, Nehemiah 7:1.)
2. Whom did Nehemiah ask to be in charge of the city of Jerusalem? (Hanani, Nehemiah 7:2.)
3. Did Nehemiah want the gates open at night? (No, Nehemiah 7:3.)
4. After the walls and gates were rebuilt, what problem did Nehemiah find? (They needed more people to live in Jerusalem, Nehemiah 7:4.)
5. How did the people decide who would live in Jerusalem? (They cast lots and 1 out of 10 moved to the city, Nehemiah 11:1.)
SESSION 10:LISTEN TO GOD'S WORD
1. What did Ezra read to the people? (The book of the law of Moses, Nehemiah 8:1.)
2. Where did Ezra stand while he read the book? (On a wooden platform above the people, Nehemiah 8:4.)
3. When Ezra began to read the book, what did the people do? (They stood up, Nehemiah 8:5.)
4. Who explained the law to the people? (The Levites, Nehemiah 8:7.)
5. When the people heard the law, what was their response? (They began to cry, Nehemiah 8:9.)
6. The leaders told the people to continue to cry. True or False? (False, they told the people not to cry. The day was holy; Nehemiah 8:9,11.)
7. The people made booths to celebrate what festival? (Festival of Booths also called the Feast of Booths or Festival of Tabernacles, Nehemiah 8:14-17.)
8. What did Ezra do every day of the festival? (Read the book of the law, Nehemiah 8:18.)
SESSION 11: RESPOND TO GOD'S WORD
1. The people gathered together to do what? (Repent, Nehemiah 9:1-2.)
2. They spent a fourth of a day reading what? (The Scriptures, Nehemiah 9:3.)
3. The people spent another fourth of the day doing what? (Confessing their sins and worshiping God, Nehemiah 9:3.)
4. Name one thing the Israelites praised God for in their prayer. (Various answers, Nehemiah 9:5-37.)
5. The people admitted that their ancestors had been perfect. True or False? (False, they admitted that their ancestors had sinned; Nehemiah 9:16-37.)
6. The people chose to trust God. True or False? (True. Nehemiah 9:32-38.)
SESSION 12: WORSHIP HONESTLY
1. The Israelites decided to write down a promise to God. True or False? (True, Nehemiah 9:38.)
2. The people made special promises because they did not want to do what again? (Sin or disobey God, Nehemiah 10:29.)
3. After making their promises to obey God, the people decided to cancel their dedication of the walls. True or False? (False, they had a celebration to dedicate
the walls, Nehemiah 12:27.)
4. How many groups did the people form to march along the tops of the wall? (Two, Nehemiah 12:31.)
5. Did the people sing as they celebrated? (Yes and they played instruments, Nehemiah 12:27,42-43.)
6. Who could hear the celebration? (People from far away, Nehemiah 12:43.)