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Let Your Light Shine

This week Jesus climbs a mountain and teaches the Beatitudes, His surprising list of what makes people truly happy, and tells His disciples they are the light of the world. Kids learn that being gentle, merciful and a peacemaker isn’t boring: it’s how their light helps other people find Jesus. The week ends on Valentine’s Day, a perfect Sunday to talk about loving everyone, even people who are hard to love.

  • Week 7
  • 📅 Feb 8–14, 2027
  • 📖 Matthew 5; Luke 6
Start with Monday
Read it togetherMatthew 5; Luke 6 in Gospel LibraryCome, Follow Me manualNew Testament 2027, week 7

What your kids learn in class

Stories, verses and games for the week come from each child’s own Primary or youth lesson, so home matches Sunday.

Daily sparks

Five to ten minutes a day, Monday to Sunday. Grown-ups lead; kids act, play and answer. Where a step says to tap something, that’s in the Gospel Sparks app; on the web, use the “Play along” links.

Monday · 8 min · Story

The Sermon on the Mountain

⛰️ Jesus shares His secret list for real happiness!Climb the cushion mountain.Every “Blessed” = arms up!Shout “Happy!”

📖 Read together: Matthew 5:1–12 ↗

  1. Pile couch cushions and pillows into a “mountain” and have everyone climb up and sit on the slope, like the crowd that followed Jesus.
  2. Open the story scenes and let your kids swipe while you read each one in your best storyteller voice.
  3. Read Matthew 5:3–9 slowly. Each time you say “Blessed,” the kids throw both arms up and cheer “Happy!”
  4. SAY“The world says you’re happy when you’re the richest, loudest or coolest. Jesus said real happiness comes from being gentle, kind, forgiving and a peacemaker. That’s His secret list!”

🎭 Play along: the story scenes (from the CTR 8 lesson; pick your kid’s class above for theirs)

Talk about it
  • Which thing on Jesus’s happy list do you think is the hardest?
  • When did being kind make you feel happy inside?
🧸 Little ones (2–5)Let your little one sit on top of the cushion mountain and be the official “Happy!” cheerleader every time they hear “Blessed.”
📚 Big kids (10–13)Have your 10–13-year-old read Matthew 5:3–9 out loud and pick one Beatitude to explain in their own words, with a real-life example from school.
🧑 Teens (14–18)Have your teen read Luke 6:20–26 next to Matthew 5:3–12 and spot the difference: Luke adds “woes” to the blessings. Let them lead a two-minute debate: is Jesus’s list realistic for a teenager today, or completely upside-down? Which Beatitude would change their school most if everyone lived it?
☕️ For grown-upsNotice who Jesus calls blessed: the poor in spirit, the mourning, the persecuted, not the comfortable. Before you read, ask yourself which Beatitude fits your season of life right now, and hear that verse as a promise addressed to you.

Sticker for today: ⛰️

Tuesday · 7 min · Verse

Follow the Light

🔦 Your light can lead people to Jesus!Follow the flashlight beam.Where does it stop?Say the verse with motions!

📖 Read together: Matthew 5:14–16 ↗

  1. Before you start, set a picture of Jesus somewhere in the room (on a phone screen works too).
  2. Turn off the lights. Wiggle a flashlight beam around the walls and have your kids follow it with their eyes (or their pointing fingers). Slowly lead the beam to the picture of Jesus.
  3. SAY“When we are kind and good, we are like this flashlight. People notice our light, and it can lead them to Jesus.”
  4. Open the key verse screen and say it together three times: in a whisper, in a normal voice, then super bright and loud, with the motions.

📖 Play along: the key verse (from the CTR 8 lesson; pick your kid’s class above for theirs)

Talk about it
  • Who has been like a light for you?
  • What is one good work that could make someone smile tomorrow?
🧸 Little ones (2–5)Let your little one hold the flashlight (with your hand on theirs) and “find Jesus” with the beam.
📚 Big kids (10–13)Turn off the lights and let your 10–13-year-old lead the flashlight game, then challenge them to say the key verse from memory with the lights still off.
🧑 Teens (14–18)Read Matthew 5:13 with your teen and taste a pinch of salt. Salt that lost its savor was thrown out. Ask: what makes a disciple lose their “flavor” with friends or online, and what keeps it? Then tell them one specific place where you’ve seen their light, since teens rarely notice their own.
☕️ For grown-upsVerse 16 has a quiet twist: people see your good works, but the glory goes to your Father in heaven. Real light points past itself. Where are you shining in a way that points to God rather than to you?

Sticker for today: 💡

Wednesday · 10 min · Activity

Be-Attitude Match-Up

🧩 Hunt down the hidden happy words!Find every paper.Match word + blessing.Strike a pose for each one!

📖 Read together: Matthew 5:3–9 ↗

  1. On scraps of paper, write six of Jesus’s happy words (meek, merciful, pure in heart, peacemaker, mourn, hunger for what’s right) and, on other scraps, the promised blessings from Matthew 5:4–9.
  2. Hide the papers around one room and send your kids on a hunt. Every time they find one, they bring it back to the table.
  3. Read Matthew 5:4–9 together and match each happy word with its blessing.
  4. For each match, have your kids invent a quick pose: gentle as a lamb, merciful with a hug, peacemaker with a handshake.
  5. SAY“Jesus always keeps His promises. When we try to live like this, He blesses us.”
Talk about it
  • Which blessing would you most like to have?
  • What does it look like to be meek (gentle and teachable) at school?
🧸 Little ones (2–5)Give your little one the job of finding the papers and doing the poses; a big helper can read the words.
📚 Big kids (10–13)Let your 10–13-year-old write and hide the cards, then time the younger kids’ hunt with a stopwatch.
🧑 Teens (14–18)Hand your teen Matthew 5:21–44 and have them find the pattern “Ye have heard … but I say unto you.” Ask them to put one of Jesus’s upgrades (anger, honesty, loving enemies) into modern words and explain why He aimed at the heart and not just the behavior.
☕️ For grown-upsAgain and again Jesus moves the law from actions to the heart: not only “don’t kill” but “don’t nurse anger.” That isn’t meant to crush us; it shows where real change starts. Is there one area where you keep the letter of a commandment but not yet its spirit?

Sticker for today: 🧩

Thursday · 10 min · Game

Game Night: Lights Can’t Hide

🕯️ Game night! Can a light really hide?Play Forehead Guess.Then hide with a flashlight ON.Can they find you?

📖 Read together: Matthew 5:15 ↗

  1. Play Forehead Guess with this week’s words. Give clues, act things out, and cheer for every right guess.
  2. Then turn off the lights and play “Lights Can’t Hide”: one person hides with a flashlight switched on. Everyone else finds them by the glow.
  3. Read Matthew 5:15 and ask: “Could you hide with your light turned on? Why not?”
  4. SAY“Jesus doesn’t want us to hide our goodness. A kind kid is hard to miss!”

🤔 Play along: Forehead Guess (from the CTR 8 lesson; pick your kid’s class above for theirs)

Talk about it
  • What does it mean to hide your light?
  • How can people tell when someone is following Jesus?
🧸 Little ones (2–5)Pair your little one with a big helper for hide-and-seek, and let them act out easy words like “mountain” or “salt” during Forehead Guess.
📚 Big kids (10–13)Have your 10–13-year-old be the Forehead Guess host and give only one-word clues to make it harder.
🧑 Teens (14–18)Let your teen be the first seeker in “Lights Can’t Hide,” then ask a real question: where is it hardest to be openly a follower of Jesus, at school, with friends or online? What is one small, non-preachy way to let their light show there?
☕️ For grown-upsKids learn more from the light they watch than the lectures they hear. Tonight, just enjoy playing with them; a parent laughing on the floor is a pretty bright light.

Sticker for today: 🎲

Friday · 7 min · Service

Peacemaker Mission

🕊️ Secret mission: be a peacemaker!Act out the tricky moments.Pick your peace move.Try it this weekend!

📖 Read together: Matthew 5:9, 44 ↗

  1. Read Matthew 5:9 and 5:44 together. Say: “Jesus asks us to make peace, and to be kind even to people who aren’t kind to us.”
  2. Act out quick peacemaker moments: a sibling grabs your toy; someone laughs when you fall at recess; two friends both want the swing. Have your kids show a peacemaker way to handle each one.
  3. Give each child a secret peacemaker mission for the weekend: stop a fight before it starts, let someone go first, or say a kind word to someone who was grumpy.
  4. Tonight at bedtime, ask: “Did you get to be a peacemaker today?”
Talk about it
  • What is hard about being kind to someone who was mean?
  • What peacemaker words can you use when your family is arguing?
🧸 Little ones (2–5)Teach your little one one peace move, like saying “Your turn!” and handing over a toy, and cheer every time they try it.
📚 Big kids (10–13)Ask your 10–13-year-old to think of a real person who is hard to be kind to and plan one quiet, kind thing to do for them this week.
🧑 Teens (14–18)Read Matthew 5:23–24 with your teen: Jesus said to make things right with your brother before bringing your gift to the altar. Invite them to think of one relationship that’s frayed (a friend, a sibling, a group chat) and take one real step to repair it this weekend. No report required.
☕️ For grown-upsMatthew 5:44 asks us to pray for people who have hurt us. Try it tonight, specifically and by name. It rarely changes them overnight, but it usually changes the person praying.

Sticker for today: 🕊️

Saturday · 8 min · Game

Showdown & Sunday Ready

🏆 Quiz time, then a secret heart surprise!Beat the family quiz.Lay out Sunday clothes.Hide your love notes!
  1. Play the family quiz. Kids against parents, or everyone on one team trying to get a perfect score.
  2. Set out Sunday clothes and shoes by the door so tomorrow morning is peaceful (that’s being a peacemaker too!).
  3. Tomorrow is Valentine’s Day. Cut out a paper heart for each person in the family and write or draw one thing you love about them.
  4. Hide the hearts in shoes, on pillows, or under breakfast plates for a Sunday morning surprise.

🏆 Play along: Scripture Showdown (from the CTR 8 lesson; pick your kid’s class above for theirs)

Talk about it
  • What was your favorite part of this week?
  • What would you like to learn in Primary tomorrow?
🧸 Little ones (2–5)Let your little one color the hearts and choose the hiding spots.
📚 Big kids (10–13)Have your 10–13-year-old read the quiz questions aloud as the game-show host and keep score.
🧑 Teens (14–18)Put your teen in charge of the family valentines with one rule: every note has to name something specific and true, not generic. Specific kindness takes more thought, and it lands deeper.
☕️ For grown-upsAs you write your hearts, write one for your spouse or a close friend too. The Sermon on the Mount is lived mostly in ordinary kitchens, and the people closest to us often get our most tired selves.

Sticker for today: 🏆

Sunday · 6 min · Sabbath

Love Everyone Sunday

❤️ Jesus loves everyone. So can you!Teach your family what you learned.Make a valentine for someone lonely.Say thank you to Heavenly Father.

📖 Read together: Luke 6:31, 35 ↗

  1. After church, ask: “What did you learn in Primary today?” Let your kids teach you one thing, and act impressed!
  2. Read Luke 6:31 and 6:35 together. Say: “On Valentine’s Day, most people love the people who love them. Jesus asks us to love everyone.”
  3. Think of one person who might feel left out or lonely, and make them a simple valentine or send them a kind message together.
  4. End with a quiet gratitude circle: each person thanks Heavenly Father for one person who shines their light for them. Share your own testimony of Jesus in one or two sentences.
Talk about it
  • What did you learn about Jesus in Primary today?
  • Who can we show Jesus’s kind of love to this week?
🧸 Little ones (2–5)Let your little one scribble or add stickers to the valentine and help deliver it.
📚 Big kids (10–13)Invite your 10–13-year-old to share which Beatitude they want to work on this month and why.
🧑 Teens (14–18)Read Matthew 5:48 with your teen and ask how they hear “Be ye therefore perfect”: as pressure or as a promise? Explain that the word points to being complete or fully grown, something Jesus Christ finishes in us over time as we keep coming to Him, not a score we reach alone.
☕️ For grown-upsLuke 6:35 says God is kind “unto the unthankful and to the evil.” That includes us on our worst days. Let His kindness to you set the tone for how you speak to your kids tonight.

Sticker for today: ❤️

Family challenge

Light Spotters

Each night at dinner, everyone names one time they saw someone in the family let their light shine that day. Tape a paper star to the fridge for every one. Can you fill the fridge by Sunday?

Parent Corner

The Sermon on the Mount doesn’t lower the law of Moses; it moves it inward. Six times Jesus quotes the old standard and then goes deeper: from murder to anger, from adultery to lust, from oaths to plain honesty, from revenge to loving enemies. Read straight through, it can feel impossible, especially when it lands on “Be ye therefore perfect.” But the sermon opens with the Beatitudes, and they describe people who know they are not enough: the poor in spirit, the mourning, the hungry for righteousness. The higher law is not a scorecard for the self-sufficient. It is a portrait of who our Father is and of what Christ will make of anyone who keeps coming to Him. Perfection, in the New Testament sense, is being made complete, and that is His work in us as much as ours.

  • Ponder: Which of Jesus’s “but I say unto you” teachings do you quietly avoid, and what would it look like to bring that one to Him instead of hiding it?
  • Try this: Read Matthew 5–7 in one sitting this week (about 20 minutes) as if you were on the hillside hearing it for the first time. Mark the one line that feels written for you, and keep it on your phone’s lock screen until Sunday.

From general conference

“If we admit that honestly and are trying to improve, we are not hypocrites; we are human.”

— Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, “Be Ye Therefore Perfect—Eventually,” October 2017

For parents who feel they keep falling short; read it before Sunday’s talk about Matthew 5:48.

Read the talk ↗

Dinner-table questions

  • If you could add one thing to Jesus’s happy list, would it already be on there?
  • Who in our family was a peacemaker today?
  • What is something good you saw someone do today?
  • Why would Jesus want us to be kind even to people who are mean?
  • What does “blessed” mean to you?
  • Where is a place you could shine your light tomorrow?

Sources

Scripture quotations are from the King James Version, the Bible used by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

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