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What Doth the Lord Require?

Micah named Bethlehem and boiled true religion down to three things; Habakkuk learned to rejoice while he waited

  • 📖 Adult Sunday School
  • Week 49
  • 📅 Sunday, December 6, 2026
🏆 Showdown
💡 The big idea

The Lord doesn’t want bigger and bigger offerings; He wants us to do justly, love mercy and walk humbly with Him, and to keep trusting Him while we wait for answers.

I can practice one of Micah’s three requirements on purpose this week and keep rejoicing in the Lord while I wait on Him.

Come, Follow Me manualOpen this week (Micah; Nahum; Habakkuk; Zephaniah)
Know the chapters

This week covers four short books from the century and a half before Babylon destroyed Jerusalem. Micah, from the small town of Moresheth, preached in Judah under the same kings as Isaiah (compare Micah 1:1 with Isaiah 1:1). He condemned leaders who judged for bribes and priests who taught for hire while insisting the Lord was on their side (Micah 3:11). A century later, when Jeremiah was on trial for his life, elders remembered Micah’s warning and how King Hezekiah had repented, and Jeremiah was spared (Jeremiah 26:18–19). Micah also foresaw the mountain of the Lord’s house in the last days (4:1–4, nearly the same as Isaiah 2:2–4) and named Bethlehem as the birthplace of a Ruler “whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting” (5:2). Herod’s scribes quoted that verse to the wise men (Matthew 2:4–6).

This lesson centers on Micah 6, written like a courtroom scene. The Lord calls the mountains as witnesses and asks His people what He has done to weary them, reminding them that He brought them out of Egypt and gave them Moses, Aaron and Miriam (6:1–5). The people answer with a rising bid: burnt offerings, calves, thousands of rams, ten thousand rivers of oil, even a firstborn child (6:6–7). The Lord’s answer is quieter and harder: do justly, love mercy, walk humbly with your God (6:8). Jesus named the same things the “weightier matters of the law” (Matthew 23:23).

Habakkuk is a conversation with God. He asks how long violence and injustice will go unanswered (Habakkuk 1:2–4), is told the Lord will use the Chaldeans, the Babylonians, who were worse (1:6), and climbs his watchtower to wait (2:1). The Lord tells him to write the vision plainly and wait for it, and gives the line Paul later quotes: “the just shall live by his faith” (2:4; Romans 1:17). By chapter 3 nothing outward has changed, yet Habakkuk says he will rejoice in the Lord (3:17–18). Nahum announces the fall of proud Nineveh while calling the Lord “a strong hold in the day of trouble” (Nahum 1:7). Zephaniah, in the days of King Josiah, invites the meek to seek the Lord and promises that He will rejoice over His people with singing (Zephaniah 2:3; 3:17).

Twenty-five minutes goes quickly. Micah 6:8 read closely and one honest conversation about it will do more than a tour of four books. December 6 is the first Sunday of the month, so many in the room may be fasting; Micah’s question about what the Lord really wants fits a fast Sunday well.

Only have 5 minutes?

Read Micah 6:1–8 and Habakkuk 3:17–18 once. Open with Micah 5:2 and ask why the Lord starts great things in small places. Read Micah 6:6–8 together, then have pairs take one phrase of verse 8 each and say what it looks like on a Tuesday. Use the What Doth the Lord Require? questions for most of the time, close with Micah 7:18–19, and invite everyone to choose one of the three phrases to practice this week.

What to bring2 items

Tick what you have. Forgot something? Every step that needs a supply has a no-supplies version in the plan below.

Before class

  1. Read Micah 6 and 7, then Habakkuk 1–3. Mark Micah 5:2, 6:6–8 and 7:18–19, and Habakkuk 2:1–4 and 3:17–18.
  2. Ask one person ahead of time to read Micah 6:8 and 7:7–8 when the time comes. A quick text on Saturday is plenty.
  3. Bring one small nativity figure or ornament for the hook. Keep it small; the smallness is the point.
  4. Decide which phrase of Micah 6:8 is hardest for you and why. If the room is quiet, your honesty goes first.
  5. Pick the two or three discussion questions you most want to reach.

Discussion tips

  • Quiet class? Micah 6:8 is familiar, which can make people feel there’s nothing new to say. The pairs moment in the scripture step breaks that open; people will talk about one phrase with a neighbor more readily than about the whole verse with the room.
  • One voice filling every pause? Thank them warmly, then say, “Let’s hear from someone who hasn’t had a chance yet,” or send the next question to pairs first.
  • “Do justly” can slide into politics fast. Keep it personal and local: how we treat people at work, in our families, online and in our ward. If a debate starts, thank people and bring it back to what each of us can do this week.
  • Some in the room are carrying Habakkuk’s question right now: why doesn’t God fix this? Don’t rush them to Habakkuk 3. Let chapter 1 be honest, then show that Habakkuk kept talking to God instead of walking away.
  • Visitors and new members: Micah 6:8 is one of the best-loved verses in the Bible, so it is a friendly place to begin. Give page numbers, tap the references on the shared screen, and never ask anyone to read aloud without checking first.

The 25-minute plan25 min + bonus

Bonus steps are for when you have extra time. Each “On the screen” line is what the class sees on a shared screen in Teach Mode in the Gospel Sparks app; on paper, read it aloud or write it on the board. On the web you can play Scripture Showdown from this page.

1. Hook

Little among the Thousands

3 min

Opens the Christmas season with Micah’s Bethlehem prophecy and sets up the lesson’s theme: the Lord works through small things.

  1. Hold up the small nativity figure or ornament.
  2. SAY“It’s the first Sunday of December. About seven hundred years before the first Christmas, the prophet Micah named the town where it would happen.”
  3. Read Micah 5:2 aloud.
  4. Ask: “Bethlehem was ‘little among the thousands of Judah.’ Why do you think the Lord so often starts His greatest work in small places and small ways?” Take two or three answers.
  5. SAY“The same prophet asked one of the biggest questions in scripture: what does God actually want from us? The answer turns out to be small, too, and harder than we expect.”

On the screen: ⭐ “But thou, Bethlehem … though thou be little among the thousands of Judah.” · Micah 5:2

No supplies? Do this instead

Instead of: A small nativity figure or a simple Christmas ornament

Seven Hundred Years Early

  1. SAY“It’s the first Sunday of December. About seven hundred years before the first Christmas, the prophet Micah named the town where it would happen.”
  2. Read Micah 5:2 aloud.
  3. Ask: “Bethlehem was ‘little among the thousands of Judah.’ Why does the Lord so often start His greatest work in small places?” Take two or three answers.
  4. SAY“The same prophet asked what God actually wants from us. The answer turns out to be small, too, and harder than we expect.”
2. Story

Read It in Context: The Lord’s Case

6 min

Reads Micah 6 as the courtroom scene it is, so verse 8 lands as the Lord’s answer to a real argument.

  1. Open Teach Mode to the scripture scene. The shared screen shows one scene at a time.
  2. Read each scene’s context yourself, then let the assigned voices read the verses. You read the Lord’s words; no one is assigned to speak as the Lord.
  3. Keep it moving: context, verses, next scene. Save comments for the discussion.
  4. After the last scene, let a few seconds of silence sit before moving on.

On the screen: ⛰️ Micah 6: the mountains listen as the Lord pleads with His people · Follow along in Micah 6:1–12 and 7:7–19

3. Scripture

Three Phrases

4 min

Studies Micah 6:8 phrase by phrase so class members put each requirement into everyday terms themselves.

  1. Put Micah 6:8 on the shared screen and read it together.
  2. Divide the room into three sections: “do justly,” “love mercy” and “walk humbly with thy God.”
  3. SAY“With the person next to you, describe what your phrase looks like on an ordinary Tuesday. Be specific.” Give one minute.
  4. Take one answer from each section.
  5. Share Elder Dale G. Renlund’s words about loving mercy (in “From general conference” below).

On the screen: ⚖️ Do justly. Love mercy. Walk humbly with thy God. · Micah 6:8 · What does your phrase look like on an ordinary Tuesday?

4. Talk it over

What Doth the Lord Require?

6 min

Helps adults see where we offer the Lord “rivers of oil” instead of the daily faithfulness He asks for.

  1. Pick two or three questions; don’t try to cover all of them.
  2. Start the third question in pairs for a minute, then invite a few to share with the room.
  3. Let silence work. Count to seven in your head before rescuing a question.
  4. If the room is quiet, share your own honest answer first.
💬 Ask the class
  • The people in Micah 6:6–7 keep raising the price. Why is it sometimes easier to offer the Lord something dramatic than to change how we act every day?
  • Elder Renlund says loving mercy includes delighting when God is merciful to others. Why can that be hard?
  • Where does “do justly” get tested in an ordinary adult week: at work, with money, online, at home? (Talk with a neighbor first.)
  • What does walking humbly with God look like for someone who is capable, busy and used to being in charge?
  • Which of the three comes most naturally to you, and which is the Lord stretching you on right now?

On the screen: 🐂 Why do we offer God something big when He asks for something daily? · Micah 6:6–8

5. Talk it over

Yet I Will Rejoice

4 min

Uses Habakkuk to show that honest questions and faithful waiting belong together.

  1. Summarize Habakkuk 1: he asks the Lord how long injustice will go on, and the answer troubles him more.
  2. Read Habakkuk 2:1–4 together, then 3:17–18.
  3. SAY“Nothing outward changed between chapter 1 and chapter 3. Habakkuk did.”
  4. Ask one or two questions, then move to the testimony on time.
💬 Ask the class
  • Habakkuk brought God a hard question and then climbed a watchtower to wait for the answer. What does his example teach about honest questions?
  • “Though it tarry, wait for it” (2:3). What has helped you keep faith while an answer was slow in coming?
  • In Habakkuk 3:17–18 the fields are still empty, yet he rejoices. Where have you seen someone live that kind of faith?

On the screen: 🗼 “Though it tarry, wait for it … Yet I will rejoice in the LORD.” · Habakkuk 1:2–4; 2:1–4; 3:17–18

6. Testimony

He Delighteth in Mercy

2 min

Ends with testimony of the Savior, the Ruler from Bethlehem, who delights in mercy, and a concrete invitation.

  1. Read Micah 7:18–19.
  2. SAY“The Ruler Micah saw coming from Bethlehem is the same God who delights in mercy and casts our sins into the depths of the sea.”
  3. Invite one or two people to share, in a sentence or two, what one of Micah’s three phrases has meant to them.
  4. Bear a short testimony of Jesus Christ as the One who shows us what is good and walks with us.
  5. Invite: “This week, choose one of the three phrases and practice it on purpose, in one specific place.”

On the screen: 🌊 He delighteth in mercy, and casts all our sins into the depths of the sea. · Micah 7:18–19 · This week: choose one phrase of Micah 6:8 and practice it on purpose.

7. Talk it over

The Mountain of the Lord’s House

4 minBONUS

Connects Micah’s vision of the last days to the temple and to peace.

  1. Read Micah 4:1–4.
  2. Point out that Isaiah 2:2–4 records nearly the same prophecy; two prophets saw it.
  3. Ask one or two questions.
💬 Ask the class
  • Micah says people will go up to the Lord’s house so “he will teach us of his ways.” What has the temple taught you?
  • What “swords” in our own relationships could the Lord help us beat into plowshares?
  • Micah 4:4 pictures everyone under their own vine and fig tree with no one to make them afraid. What would that kind of peace look like in your home?

On the screen: 🏔️ “Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD.” · Micah 4:1–4

8. Game

Scripture Showdown

5 minBONUS

A light, friendly review if you finish early.

  1. Split the room down the middle into two teams.
  2. Launch Scripture Showdown on your phone or tablet and read each question aloud.
  3. After each reveal, read the reference so people can mark it.
▶ Play Scripture Showdown on the web

On the screen: 🏆 Scripture Showdown: Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk and Zephaniah

Read it together

The Lord’s Controversy with His People

Micah 6:1–12; 7:7–19 ↗

Reading parts

  • ReaderReads Micah 6:8 and later Micah 7:7–8.
  • The ClassEveryone reads the people’s rising offer together: Micah 6:6–7.

Scenes

  1. ⛰️ The mountains are called as witnesses

    Micah frames this like a court case. The Lord calls the mountains and the foundations of the earth to listen, because He has a controversy with His people.

    🎬 The teacher reads Micah 6:1–2.

  2. ❓ “What have I done unto thee?”

    Instead of accusing first, the Lord asks what He has done to weary them. Then He reminds them: He brought them out of Egypt and sent them Moses, Aaron and Miriam.

    🎬 The teacher reads Micah 6:3–5. Pause after verse 3 and let the question sit.

  3. 🐂 “Wherewith shall I come before the LORD?”

    The people answer by raising the price. Calves? Thousands of rams? Rivers of oil? Even their firstborn? Surely something big enough will satisfy Him.

    🎬 The Class reads Micah 6:6–7 together, getting a little louder with each offer.

  4. ⚖️ Do justly, love mercy, walk humbly

    The Lord’s answer isn’t bigger. It’s smaller, and much harder. He has already shown them what is good.

    🎬 The Reader reads Micah 6:8 slowly. Let a few seconds of quiet follow.

  5. 🧺 Scant measures and wicked balances

    Then the Lord shows what injustice looked like in their marketplace: short measures, rigged scales, deceitful weights and lying tongues.

    🎬 The teacher reads Micah 6:10–12.

  6. 🕯️ “When I fall, I shall arise”

    Micah ends his book with hope. He will wait for the God of his salvation, and he praises a God who pardons, delights in mercy and casts sins into the depths of the sea.

    🎬 The Reader reads Micah 7:7–8. The teacher reads 7:18–19.

Key verse

Micah 6:8 ↗
“He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?”
In plain words: God has already told us what He wants: treat people fairly, love showing mercy, and walk with Him humbly every day. It’s simpler than a grand offering, and it asks for more of us.

More verses

Micah 5:2 ↗
“But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.”
In plain words: Centuries ahead, Micah named the little town where the Savior would be born, and testified that He existed long before His birth.
Micah 7:18–19 ↗
“Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? he retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth in mercy. He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.”
In plain words: No one is like our God: He loves to forgive, and when we repent He sends our sins as far away as the bottom of the sea.
Habakkuk 2:3–4 ↗
“For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry. Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith.”
In plain words: The Lord’s promises come on His schedule. While we wait, we live by faith in Him.
Habakkuk 3:17–18 ↗
“Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls: Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation.”
In plain words: Even if every crop fails, Habakkuk chooses joy in the Lord. His faith doesn’t depend on circumstances.

Scripture Showdown7 questions

  1. Which town did Micah name as the birthplace of Israel’s Ruler?
    • A. Nazareth
    • B. Jerusalem
    • C. Bethlehem
    Show answer

    ✅ C. Bethlehem Micah 5:2: “But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah … out of thee shall he come forth.”

  2. In Micah 6, what does the Lord call as witnesses?
    • A. The mountains
    • B. The stars
    • C. The angels
    Show answer

    ✅ A. The mountains Micah 6:2: “Hear ye, O mountains, the LORD’s controversy.”

  3. Which is NOT one of the three things in Micah 6:8?
    • A. Do justly
    • B. Offer thousands of rams
    • C. Walk humbly with thy God
    Show answer

    ✅ B. Offer thousands of rams The rams were the people’s offer in 6:7. The Lord asked for justice, mercy and humility.

  4. Where does Micah say the Lord will cast our sins?
    • A. Into the fire
    • B. Into the depths of the sea
    • C. Behind a mountain
    Show answer

    ✅ B. Into the depths of the sea Micah 7:19: “thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.”

  5. Where did Habakkuk go to wait for the Lord’s answer?
    • A. Upon his watch, on the tower
    • B. Into the temple
    • C. Into the wilderness
    Show answer

    ✅ A. Upon his watch, on the tower Habakkuk 2:1: “I will stand upon my watch, and set me upon the tower.”

  6. Finish Habakkuk 2:4: “the just shall live by his …”
    • A. works
    • B. wisdom
    • C. faith
    Show answer

    ✅ C. faith Paul quotes this line in Romans 1:17.

  7. What does Zephaniah 3:17 say the Lord will do over His people?
    • A. Weep
    • B. Joy over them with singing
    • C. Stand in silence
    Show answer

    ✅ B. Joy over them with singing “He will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing.”

▶ Play Scripture ShowdownTeams take turns on one screen.

From general conference

“Loving mercy means that we do not just love the mercy God extends to us; we delight that God extends the same mercy to others.”

— Elder Dale G. Renlund, “Do Justly, Love Mercy, and Walk Humbly with God,” October 2020

Share in Three Phrases, after the class describes what each phrase looks like on a Tuesday.

Read the talk ↗

Songs

  • O Little Town of Bethlehem Hymns, no. 208

    The first Sunday of December and Micah’s Bethlehem prophecy. A warm opening hymn. Find it ↗

  • Come, Follow Me Hymns, no. 116

    A hymn about following the Savior in daily life, the heart of walking humbly with God. Find it ↗

This week’s invitation

One Phrase, On Purpose

Choose one phrase of Micah 6:8 (do justly, love mercy, or walk humbly with God) and practice it on purpose this week in one specific place: a conversation at work, a bill you owe, a person you’ve judged, or a daily prayer. At the end of the week, notice what changed in you.

Take it home

In Sunday School we read Micah, who named Bethlehem seven centuries early (Micah 5:2) and summed up what the Lord wants: “to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God” (Micah 6:8). Take it home: read Micah 6:8 at dinner and ask everyone to name one way to live one of those phrases before Christmas.

📝 After class

What worked? Who needs a check-in this week? Jot it here on a printed copy, or in the app’s private class notes.

Got extra time?

🏰 A Strong Hold in the Day of Trouble · 4 min

  1. Explain that Nahum announced the fall of Nineveh, about a century after Jonah’s mission there.
  2. Read Nahum 1:3 and 1:7 and ask how the Lord can be both slow to anger and great in power.
  3. Read Nahum 1:15 alongside Isaiah 52:7 and Mosiah 15:18, where the feet of the one who brings good tidings point to the Savior.

🍷 Settled on Their Lees · 4 min

  1. Read Zephaniah 1:12, about people “settled on their lees” who say the Lord will do neither good nor evil.
  2. Explain that wine left too long on its sediment turns thick and stale; Zephaniah is describing spiritual complacency.
  3. Ask: “What stirs us when we have settled?” Then read Zephaniah 2:3 and 3:17.

📜 The Scribes Knew the Verse · 3 min

  1. Read Matthew 2:3–6, where Herod’s chief priests and scribes quote Micah 5:2 to locate the Christ child.
  2. Ask: “They knew exactly where He would be born, and it was the wise men who went. What’s the difference between knowing the scriptures and acting on them?”

Sources

Scripture quotations are from the King James Version, the Bible used by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Tap or click a reference to open it in Gospel Library. Start with the official Come, Follow Me manual; these ideas are here to help it come alive.

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