Brave Like Esther

Are Fear, Doubt, and Discord the "new normal"? A global pandemic, social unrest, contentious elections, and prolonged isolation may make you think so. But Brave Like Esther: Faith's Answer to Fear in a World Full of Questions reminds us that no calamity can outflank the perfect plans of a sovereign, loving God—even when all seems lost. For proof, trace God's sovereign fingerprints through one of the most dramatic books in the Bible: Esther. Connecting past to present, pastor Ray Green's Brave Like Esther illuminates God's perfect plan as it played out in the risky choices of Esther and Mordecai—Jewish exiles in Persia in the 480s BC—and challenges American Christians to make similarly courageous leaps of faith.

Does God have a plan to use the world's evil to achieve his redemption? Does the average person have a role to play in redeeming a broken world? Does God place specific people in specific places to accomplish specific tasks? Connecting past to present, pastor Ray Green's Brave Like Esther illuminates God's perfect plan as it played out in the risky choices of Esther and Mordecai—Jewish exiles in Persia in the 480s BC—and challenges American Christians to make similarly courageous leaps of faith. Each chapter of Brave Like Esther shows how deep convictions, shaped by faith in the biblical God, quell fear, doubt, disappointment, conflict, and even death. Green's investigation of Esther drives at two critical questions: What divine fingerprints are in my life? Have I surrendered to God "for such a time as this"? The chapters of Brave Like Esther began as sermons preached to the author's local congregation at Immanuel Baptist Church in Lexington, Kentucky.

Ray Green surrendered his life to Jesus Christ in 1997. He was called into full-time ministry in 2001. Ray graduated from Cedarville University with a bachelor's degree in communications and a minor in Bible. He then went on to earn a master's degree from Dallas Theological Seminary. Ray has enjoyed serving churches for more than fifteen years, most recently as lead pastor at Immanuel Baptist Church. Ray and his wonderful bride, Sarah, have two delightful daughters, Addison and Emily. Ray enjoys having fun with his family, playing golf, hiking mountains, reading, playing music, smoking meat, and dreaming of the future. Above all, he is passionate about seeing lives transformed through the gospel of Jesus Christ. Immanuel Baptist Church exists to lead people to Jesus and equip disciples in their faith. The vision of Immanuel Baptist Church is to create a community of authentic believers and to witness a city transformed by the life-changing reality of the gospel, as people come to know and follow Jesus. Both the Tates Creek Campus and the Armstrong Mills Campus are in Lexington, Kentucky. Visit Immanuel Baptist Church online at ibclex.com.

Brave Like Esther: Faith's Answer to Fear in a World Full of Questions is a product of Sermon TRANSCENSION: Transcription for 21st-Century Churches℠, an offering by Good Comma Editing℠. The mission of Sermon TRANSCENSION℠ is to help biblically orthodox churches shepherd their local congregations by extending and deepening the impact of sermons. For more information or to contact an editor, please visit GoodCommaEditing.com.