Do you like a good fairy-tale story? Many in our culture do. The Book of Esther, written roughly in 470 B.C. and most like by Mordecai, contains all the setup to a great fairy-tale story. A wealthy king, a beautiful queen, a breathtaking palace, royal parties, an orphan girl, a beauty competition, and the young girl winning and becoming the new queen of Persia! At least is some of the basic highlights until you arrive at Esther 2:20. However the problem is this, the book of Esther is a real life story, and in real life, things rarely end “happily ever after.” It is very important to note that a unique characteristic of the book is that the name of the Lord God is never mentioned, nor is He ever prayed to. Prayer is suggested, but never mentioned explicitly. Yet even with the absence of the mention of God, His handiwork and divine providence of the Lord is seen throughout.  We would like to encourage you to download the teaching notes, and turn in your own Bible as pastor Anton teaches on the Story of Esther, chapter 1. We trust that you will be encouraged.