This past Sunday we looked at the Old Testament book of Esther. Here are some resources from that message. 

1. Two resources on a popular level.

We referenced a book by Malcolm Gladwell called Outliers and a film by M. Night Shyamalan called Signs. Neither of these make any claim to be Christian in any sense, but both raise insightful questions concerning the apparently random events in our lives. They are also useful in introducing one to the category of providence.

2. From an old sermon

God’s Providence. C.H. Spurgeon

I believe that every particle of dust that dances
in the sunbeam does not move an atom more or
less than God wishes; that every particle of spray
that dashes against the steamboat has its orbit
as well as the sun in the heavens; that the chaff
from the hand of the winnower is steered as
surely as the stars in their courses; that the
creeping of an insect over a rosebud is as much
fixed as the march of the devastating pestilence;
and the fall of leaves from the poplar is as fully
ordained as the tumbling avalanche.
He who believes in God must believe this truth.
There is no standing point between this and Atheism.
There is no halfway between an Almighty God, who
works all things according to the good pleasure of
his will, and no God at all!

4.The Scroll of Esther as Deuteronomic Theology. Jonathan Matias

Don’t let the title scare you. This brief article provides a valuable literary analysis of Esther, as well as a useful reader’s guide to the book. (Jonathan also pastors a sister church of Emmanuel in Alexandria, VA.)

5.Not by Chance: Learning to Trust a Sovereign God. Layton Talbert

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