Esther - Part 4: Courage in the Mess

November 8th, 2026

MICRO CHURCH GUIDE
November 08, 2026

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ANNOUNCEMENTS

OneLife’s Angel Trees
This year OneLife is continuing our partnership with the McNabb Center’s Dear Santa program. The Angel Trees are up in the lobbies at each campus, so check them out and be sure to grab a tag! Gifts need to be returned to both campuses by Sunday, November 15th. Tags and more information will be available at the table next to the tree in the lobbies. Let’s work together to help make this a great Christmas for families across our community!

OneLife Students United Friendsgiving - November 18
Our Middle and High School students from both campuses are coming together for a Friendsgiving on Wednesday, November 18th! We’re creating space for students and leaders to gather around the table, share a Thanksgiving meal, and grow in meaningful community with one another. Invite your friends, and join us at the Ball Road Campus from 6:30–8:30pm.

Christmas is coming!
Christmas is coming, and some families will be walking through our doors for the very first time. Would you help us welcome them? You could greet someone at the door, help a family find a seat, or serve in Kid City so a child hears the Christmas story in a way they can understand. Wherever you serve, you can help people feel at home and create a space where they can experience Jesus. To get started just mark the volunteering box on your connection card!

RightNow Media
If you have ever wanted to grow in your walk with Jesus but weren’t sure where to start then we have a great resource for you. RightNow Media has over 25,000 biblically-based videos for small groups, families, students, leadership development, and much more. Our subscription allows us to share this resource with you free of charge. You can download the app on Roku and Apple TV as well as access their website at rightnowmedia.com. To sign up simply write “RightNow Media'' as well as your email address on your connection card and we will send you a link.

Baptism
If you’ve given your life to Jesus but haven’t gone public with your story through baptism, now is the time to take that step! Baptism is an opportunity to publicly declare your faith, celebrate God’s work in your life, and take the next step in your journey with Jesus. We would love to walk with you through this process, answer your questions, and help you experience the joy of declaring your faith through baptism.
Mark the baptism box on your Connection Card, and we’ll help you get started!

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Bottom Line: While God is working behind the scenes, faith requires stepping onto the stage.

Esther 4:4-9 NLT

When Queen Esther’s maids and eunuchs came and told her about Mordecai, she was deeply distressed. She sent clothing to him to replace the burlap, but he refused it.Then Esther sent for Hathach, one of the king’s eunuchs who had been appointed as her attendant. She ordered him to go to Mordecai and find out what was troubling him and why he was in mourning.So Hathach went out to Mordecai in the square in front of the palace gate.Mordecai told him the whole story, including the exact amount of money Haman had promised to pay into the royal treasury for the destruction of the Jews.Mordecai gave Hathach a copy of the decree issued in Susa that called for the death of all Jews. He asked Hathach to show it to Esther and explain the situation to her. He also asked Hathach to direct her to go to the king to beg for mercy and plead for her people.So Hathach returned to Esther with Mordecai’s message.

1. God positions me before I understand my purpose.

Esther 4:11-14 NLT

“All the king’s officials and even the people in the provinces know that anyone who appears before the king in his inner court without being invited is doomed to die unless the king holds out his gold scepter. And the king has not called for me to come to him for thirty days.”So Hathach gave Esther’s message to Mordecai.Mordecai sent this reply to Esther: “Don’t think for a moment that because you’re in the palace you will escape when all other Jews are killed.If you keep quiet at a time like this, deliverance and relief for the Jews will arise from some other place, but you and your relatives will die. Who knows if perhaps you were made queen for just such a time as this?”

2. I don't have to know the outcome to take the next step.

Esther 4:15-17 NLT

Then Esther sent this reply to Mordecai“Go and gather together all the Jews of Susa and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. My maids and I will do the same. And then, though it is against the law, I will go in to see the king. If I must die, I must die.”So Mordecai went away and did everything as Esther had ordered him.

3. Faith is not the absence of fear. It is obedience in spite of fear.

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START TALKING:

When have you known someone or something was working behind the scenes for you, but at the end of the day you had to step up to the plate or step onto the stage and do something?

START THINKING:

Read Esther 4:4-5. Why was Esther believing this was the correct response? What was she completely unaware of? How do we often act the same way when there are problems around us?

Read Esther 4:11. What did "everyone" know and what did it make Esther think about what she could do?

Read Esther 4:7-8 and 4:13-14. Why was Mordecai so persistent? What did he not allow Esther to do? What would happen if Esther - and each of us - didn't have a Mordecai in her life to persist and push?

START SHARING:

When you look back on your life through the lens of faith, or even look at where you are now, how do you see that God has positioned you for a purpose before you even knew or know what it was or is?

When have you not known the outcome that would happen if you took a step so it either kept you from taking the step of faith or you pushed through anyway? If you took the step, what was the actual outcome?

Read Esther 4:16. How did Esther handle her fear? Who do you have around you to go to for spiritual support, and when have you had them pray through with you? How did it help you with your fear?

START DOING:

Read Philippians 1:21. How is this similar to Esther's quote at the end of Esther 4:16? How can you develop this same faith-in-action and resolve? What is one step you need to take but might be facing fear of not knowing the outcome? What will you do like Esther this week to face that fear and step onto the stage?

Name one position that God has placed you in at this point in your life. What can you do to discern His purpose or to fulfill his purpose, even if you don't fully understand it right now? What do you sense the Spirit might be showing you about what that purpose is?

What is one next step you can take with your "one" this week to put your faith into action as God is working behind the scenes? You don't know the outcome of how that will be received, and that can bring a lot of fear! But if you trust God is working behind the scenes, it's time to step onto the stage!

START PRAYING:

Pray for each person in the micro church and the position they shared above and the purpose the believe God has for them. Pray that each will step onto the stage and trust that God is working behind the scenes. Pray for the opportunity we each have with our "one" to help lead them to experience Jesus, and that each of us will simply take that one next step.

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CONNECTION CARDS
Be sure to fill out the online Connection Card to let us know next steps, prayer requests, or other information you'd like to share, click here.
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MULTIPLICATION
Share spiritual/missional conversations you've had where you live, work, and play:
- Who did you have a conversation with that took a spiritual/missional turn this week?
- What questions did you ask to discover where God is at work in their life, even if they are not aware?
- How were you able to share your story of life change or how you have experienced Jesus?
- How can you be intentional this week with people where you live, work, and play to have spiritual/missional conversations if the opportunity arises?
- Who in your life do you think could be disciple-able or open to spiritual/missional conversations?
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WHAT'S NEXT?
- Discuss the next step for your micro church. When will we gather again, and which purpose will it fulfill (missions, fellowship/care, growth, worship, multiplication)?
- Discuss the next step for your micro church. When will we gather again, and which purpose will it fulfill (missions, fellowship/care, growth, worship, multiplication)?

Posted in Micro Church Guides