Gospel Sparks Join the beta

Jesus Is My Light

A peekaboo flashlight, a world full of roaring and tweeting, and friends who waved, “Come and see!”

  • 🧸 Nursery
  • Week 3
  • 📅 Sunday, January 17, 2027
🤔 Forehead Guess🏆 Showdown
💡 The big idea

Jesus is my light.

I can open my hands like sunshine and say, “Jesus is my light!”

Study it yourself firstRead John 1 in Gospel LibraryCome, Follow Me manualOpen this week (John 1)
Know the chapters

John 1 begins before the world was made, when Jesus was with Heavenly Father. Under the Father’s direction, Jesus created the earth: “All things were made by him” (John 1:3). John calls Jesus the Light: “the light shineth in darkness” (John 1:5). Later in the chapter, John the Baptist sees Jesus and says, “Behold the Lamb of God” (John 1:29). Jesus invites two followers, “Come and see” (John 1:39). Andrew brings his brother Simon, and Philip brings his friend Nathanael (John 1:40–49).

For toddlers, the whole lesson is one warm feeling: Jesus is my light. Light is something they know with their whole bodies: the lamp at bedtime, the sunshine on the floor, the flashlight they love to grab. Jesus helps us feel happy and safe, like a light does. Cover your eyes, pop your hands open like sunshine and say “Jesus is my light!” over and over, all day long. The friends in the story add a toddler-sized job: wave and say, “Come and see!”

Many toddlers are afraid of the dark, so never turn the lights all the way off. In this lesson, “dark” is just covering your eyes for one second. Flashlight safety: a grown-up always holds it, it never shines in eyes, and use one with a screwed-shut battery cover (never a light with button batteries). The whole lesson is six minutes, and the play-time ideas below repeat the same idea for the rest of nursery.

Only have 5 minutes?

Grab a flashlight and a picture of Jesus. Pop the flashlight on for peekaboo, swipe through the six-picture story on your phone or tablet, roar and flap like the animals Jesus made, pop your hands open like sunshine while you say “Jesus is my light!” and end with “I know Jesus loves you.” For play time, pick three ideas below. Brought nothing? Tap “I brought nothing”: your sunshine hands are the light, and your phone or tablet shows the pictures.

What to bring6 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. Check that the flashlight works and its battery cover is tight. Keep it in your bag until the hook.
  2. Open the Sound Board on your phone or tablet and find the magic and roar buttons. Turn the volume low: a big roar can scare little ones.
  3. Sweep the floor with your eyes and hands for anything small. Quick test: if it fits through a toilet-paper tube, it’s a choking hazard and goes up high or away.
  4. Decide with the other adult who leads the lesson and who greets and comforts at the door. There are always two adults in nursery.
  5. Practice covering your eyes, then popping your hands open wide like sunshine while you say “Jesus is my light!” That’s the whole key phrase.

If your class is wild

  • Tears at drop-off are normal and usually pass in a few minutes. Let the other adult hold the crying child near the fun, and say softly, “Mommy will come back. You’re safe here.” A quick, happy goodbye is easier than sneaking a parent out.
  • Everyone will want the flashlight. Say, “The flashlight is a grown-up job. You can catch the light!” and shine the spot on the floor for them to stomp. Put it away up high when you’re done.
  • If a child gets scared when you cover your eyes, keep your hands open and just point to the window: “Look, the sun! Jesus is my light.”
  • Follow your ward’s policy for diapers and potty trips, and never leave one adult alone with the class or go off alone with one child.

The 25-minute plan6 min + bonus

Bonus steps are for when you have extra time. Steps that mention Teach Mode, the Sound Board or other class games refer to the Gospel Sparks app; on the web you can play Forehead Guess and Scripture Showdown from this page.

1. Hook

Peekaboo Flashlight

1 min

A light that pops on and off is the best toddler magnet there is, and it shows what a light does before we say Jesus is our light.

  1. Sit on the floor. Hold the flashlight pointed at the floor, never at faces. Whisper: “Shhh… I have a surprise.”
  2. Click it on: “Peekaboo, light!” Click it off: “Where did it go?” Do it again. Little ones will come to see.
  3. Make a light spot on the floor and wiggle it slowly. Let children pat or stomp the spot.
  4. SAY“Light helps us see and feel happy. Jesus is like a light! Jesus is my light!”
  5. Click it off and put it up high.
🌪️ If they reach for the flashlight, hold it close to your chest and say, “Grown-up job! You catch the light!” Then shine the spot on the floor.

Class screen: 🔦 Peekaboo, light!

No supplies? Do this instead

Instead of: A flashlight with a screwed-shut battery cover (never a light that uses button batteries); a grown-up always holds it

Peekaboo Sunshine

  1. Sit on the floor. Cover your eyes: “Uh-oh! I can’t see!” (Leave the room lights on.)
  2. Pop your hands open wide: “Peekaboo, sunshine!” Do it again and again while they copy you.
  3. Point to the window or the ceiling lights: “Light helps us see and feel happy.”
  4. SAY“Jesus is like a light! Jesus is my light!”

Class screen: ☀️ Peekaboo, sunshine!

2. Story

Picture Story: Jesus Is My Light

2 min

Six pictures with one sentence and one action each let toddlers roar, shine, point and wave their way through John 1.

  1. Hold your phone or tablet up at their eye level. Everyone is an Animal Friend, everyone has Sunshine Hands, and everyone is a Come-and-See Waver.
  2. Read the one sentence, then do the action big so they can copy you. Don’t wait for everyone to join; the joiners will come.
  3. After the light picture, pop your sunshine hands open on every picture and say, “Jesus is my light!”
  4. If attention is gone before the end, jump to the last picture: take hands and say, “Come and see Jesus!”
🌪️ Tap the roar button only if nobody startles. If someone does, switch to a tiny kitten roar and a giggle.

Class screen: ☀️ Roar! Shine! Come and see!

3. Wiggle break

Things Jesus Made

1 min

Toddlers need to move after two minutes of anything, and animal moves let them feel the world Jesus made.

  1. SAY“Stand up! Jesus made the animals!”
  2. Roar like a lion. Flap like a bird. Hop like a bunny. Waddle like a duck: “Quack!”
  3. Reach up tall like a tree, then wiggle your fingers down like rain.
  4. Pop your hands open like sunshine: “Jesus is my light!” Sit down together.

Class screen: 🦁 Roar! Flap! Hop! Quack! · 🦁 Roar · 🐦 Flap · 🐰 Hop · 🦆 Quack

4. Scripture

Our Little Verse: John 1:5

1 min

Five words and one motion, said many times, is how a toddler carries a scripture home.

  1. Hold up your scriptures. Say: “This is the Bible. It tells about Jesus.”
  2. Read slowly: “the light shineth in darkness.” Say: “That means Jesus is my light!”
  3. Cover your eyes, then pop your hands open and say it together: “Jesus is my light!” Say it three times: a tiny whisper, a regular voice, a happy voice.
  4. Kneel by each child, pop your sunshine hands open and say, “Jesus is Ella’s light.”

Class screen: ☀️ Jesus is my light! · 🙈 Cover, then ☀️ pop!

5. Testimony

I Know Jesus Loves You

1 min

A quiet moment with a picture of the Savior helps each child feel His light as warmth and love.

  1. Lower your voice to a whisper. Hold up the picture of Jesus. Say: “This is Jesus. He is my light.”
  2. Let each child look closely, point or gently pat the picture.
  3. SAY“I know Jesus loves you. He helps you feel happy and safe, like a light.”
  4. If your nursery has a prayer now, fold arms together while a grown-up says a short one.

Class screen: ❤️ Jesus loves you!

No supplies? Do this instead

Instead of: A picture of Jesus Christ (from your meetinghouse library, a Friend magazine, or home)

  1. Lower your voice to a whisper. Put your hand on your heart and say: “Let’s think about Jesus.”
  2. Whisper: “Jesus loves you,” as you touch each child’s hand or wave to them.
  3. SAY“I know Jesus loves you. He helps you feel happy and safe, like a light.”
  4. If your nursery has a prayer now, fold arms together while a grown-up says a short one.
6. Song

Sing: My Heavenly Father Loves Me

2 minBONUS

If they’re still with you, a slow song about the beautiful world is a calm, happy way to finish.

  1. Sit by the window if you can. Say: “Look at the world Jesus made!”
  2. Sing “My Heavenly Father Loves Me” (Children’s Songbook, 228) slowly, pointing at the sky, a tree or the sunshine as you sing.
  3. At the end, pop your hands open and whisper: “Jesus is my light.”

Class screen: 🌈 Look at our beautiful world!

Story drama

Jesus Is My Light

John 1:1–5, 29–49 ↗

Parts to hand out

  • Animal FriendsEveryone! Roar like a lion, flap like a bird and swim like a fish.
  • Sunshine HandsEveryone! Cover your eyes, then pop your hands open wide like sunshine.
  • Come-and-See WaversEveryone! Wave your hand toward you: “Come and see!”

Scenes

  1. 🌍 Jesus made the world!

    Heavenly Father had a plan, and Jesus made the whole big world.

    🎬 Make a giant circle with your arms: “So big!”

  2. 🦁 Roar! Tweet! Jesus made the animals!

    Jesus made lions that roar, birds that tweet and fish that swim.

    🎬 Roar like a lion, flap like a bird, then put your hands together and swim like a fish.

  3. ☀️ Jesus is like a light!

    Jesus is like a light that helps us see and feel happy.

    🎬 Cover your eyes for one second… then pop your hands open like sunshine: “Jesus is my light!”

  4. 👉 Look! There is Jesus!

    By the river, John the Baptist saw Jesus and pointed so his friends would look.

    🎬 Everyone points to the picture of Jesus: “Look!”

  5. 👋 Jesus says, “Come and see!”

    Jesus smiled at the friends and said, “Come and see.”

    🎬 Wave your hand toward you: “Come and see!”

  6. 🧑‍🤝‍🧑 Friends bring friends to Jesus!

    Andrew brought his brother, and Philip brought his friend, to come and see Jesus.

    🎬 Take a friend’s or grown-up’s hand and toddle to the picture of Jesus together.

Key verse

John 1:5 ↗
“the light shineth in darkness”
In kid words: Jesus is my light!
🙌 Cover your eyes for one second, then pop your hands open wide like sunshine as you say it.

More verses

John 1:3 ↗
“All things were made by him”
In kid words: Jesus made the world and everything in it.
John 1:39 ↗
“He saith unto them, Come and see.”
In kid words: Jesus said, “Come and see!”
John 1:29 ↗
“Behold the Lamb of God”
In kid words: John said, “Look! There is Jesus!”

Forehead Guess words9 words

  • ☀️ Sun
  • 🔦 Flashlight
  • 🦁 Lion
  • 🐦 Bird
  • 🐟 Fish
  • 🌳 Tree
  • 🐑 Lamb
  • 🌙 Moon
  • 🌍 World
Clues for each word
  • Sun: Pop your hands open like sunshine!
  • Flashlight: Click! Peekaboo, light!
  • Lion: Roar! Jesus made lions.
  • Bird: Tweet! Flap your wings.
  • Fish: Swim, swim!
  • Tree: Reach up tall
  • Lamb: Baa! A soft little sheep.
  • Moon: A light in the night sky
  • World: So big! Jesus made it.
▶ Play Forehead GuessFull screen, 60-second timer, works on any phone.

Scripture Showdown5 questions

  1. Which one gives light?
    • A. ☀️ Sun
    • B. 🥄 Spoon
    Show answer

    ✅ A. ☀️ Sun Pop your hands open like sunshine!

  2. Who made the world?
    • A. 🧸 Teddy
    • B. ❤️ Jesus
    Show answer

    ✅ B. ❤️ Jesus Jesus made the whole big world. So big!

  3. Which one says roar?
    • A. 🦁 Lion
    • B. 🐟 Fish
    Show answer

    ✅ A. 🦁 Lion Roar! Jesus made lions.

  4. Who is my light?
    • A. 🚜 Tractor
    • B. ❤️ Jesus
    Show answer

    ✅ B. ❤️ Jesus Cover your eyes, then pop! Jesus is my light.

  5. What did Jesus say to His friends?
    • A. 👋 Come and see!
    • B. 😴 Go to sleep!
    Show answer

    ✅ A. 👋 Come and see! Wave your hand toward you: “Come and see!”

▶ Play Scripture ShowdownTeams take turns on one screen.

Songs

  • My Heavenly Father Loves Me Children’s Songbook, p. 228

    A song about the beautiful world. Point out the window while you sing it after the lesson. Find it ↗

  • Once There Was a Snowman Children’s Songbook, p. 249

    A January favorite: grow tall, then melt slowly in the warm sunshine Jesus made. Find it ↗

  • Tell Me the Stories of Jesus Children’s Songbook, p. 57

    Hum it softly during Glow Rest. Find it ↗

This week’s challenge

Light Hunt at Home

Hunt for lights this week: a lamp, the sun, a night-light. Each time you find one, pop your hands open like sunshine together and say, “Jesus is my light!”

Text the parents

Today in nursery we learned that Jesus is our light: “the light shineth in darkness” (John 1:5). We played peekaboo with a flashlight, roared and flapped like the animals Jesus made, and waved “Come and see!” like Jesus’s friends (John 1:39). Try it at home: cover your eyes, then pop your hands open like sunshine and see if your child says, “Jesus is my light!”

📝 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.

Nursery play time

The lesson is short on purpose. Fill the rest of nursery with these: pick what fits your little ones today.

🦁 Come and See Zoo · 10 min

  1. Set out the nursery’s toy animals and let children play however they like. Play along with lots of animal sounds.
  2. When a child holds up an animal, cheer: “A lion! Jesus made the lion! Roar!”
  3. Every few minutes, wave your hand toward you: “Come and see!” and take a child by the hand to see what a friend is playing with.
  4. SAY“Jesus made all the animals, and He made you!” Pop your sunshine hands open: “Jesus is my light!”
  5. Big animals only, nothing that fits through a toilet-paper tube. No toy animals? Everyone is the animals: roar, hop and flap around the room.

🎵 Sunshine and Snowman Songs · 5 min

  1. Stand up and sing “Once There Was a Snowman” (Children’s Songbook, 249). Grow up tall like a snowman, then melt slowly down to the floor. Say: “The warm sun melted him! Jesus made the sun and the snow!”
  2. Sing “My Heavenly Father Loves Me” (Children’s Songbook, 228) and point to the sky, a tree and each other.
  3. Tap Freeze Dance on your phone or tablet. When the music stops, everyone freezes with sunshine hands: “Jesus is my light!”
  4. Don’t know a tune? Play it once in the Gospel Library app, or just chant “Grow, grow, melt!” while you move.

🐦 Shadow Animals · 6 min

  1. Sit on the floor facing a blank wall. One grown-up holds the flashlight, pointed at the wall and away from faces. Keep the room lights on; the shadows still show.
  2. The other grown-up makes hand shadows on the wall: a flapping bird (link your thumbs and flap your fingers), a bunny (two fingers up for ears), a snapping crocodile (open and close your flat hands).
  3. Ask: “Who’s that? A bird! Tweet, tweet!” Let children make the sound or flap, hop and snap along.
  4. SAY“All things were made by him” (John 1:3). “Jesus made the birds and the bunnies, and He made you!”
  5. The grown-up keeps the flashlight the whole time, and it goes up high afterward. No flashlight? Make the same animals with your hands in your lap and let children copy you.

🍎 Jesus Made Our Snack · 10 min

  1. Check allergies and your ward’s snack policy first. Wipe every child’s hands, and yours, before snack.
  2. Everyone sits to eat, with an adult watching. Skip choking foods for this age: no popcorn, nuts, whole grapes, hard candy or chunks of raw carrot.
  3. Fold arms. A grown-up says a short blessing: “Thank you for our snack and for the world.”
  4. Talk while they munch. Say: “Apples grow on trees, and Jesus made the trees! The sun helps them grow.” Pop your sunshine hands open.
  5. No snack today? Have a pretend picnic in the sunshine: pretend to munch apples, and say thank you to Heavenly Father.

🖍️ Sunshine Plates · 8 min

  1. Give each child a paper plate (or a spot on a big sheet of paper taped to the table). Say: “Let’s make sunshine!”
  2. Give each child one chunky yellow or orange washable crayon. Every scribble is sunshine!
  3. Draw a few big rays around each plate for them. Write the child’s name and “Jesus is my light” on it.
  4. Safety: chunky crayons only. Skip glitter, stickers, pom-poms and marker caps (small parts). Count the crayons back into the box.
  5. No plates, paper or crayons? Open Draw & Guess on your phone or tablet and let each child finger-paint a sun while you hold your phone or tablet.

🌳 Peekaboo Under the Tree · 4 min

  1. Drape the blanket over a small table to make a leafy “tree.” Say: “Nathanael was sitting under a tree. Jesus knew him!”
  2. Let a child crawl under. Ask: “Where’s Ella? Come and see!” Lift the edge: “Peekaboo! Jesus knows you!”
  3. Take turns. Some children will only want to peek from outside, and that’s fine.
  4. Safety: skip chairs, which tip when toddlers pull the blanket. One adult stays by the tree. No blanket? Stand with your arms up high as the tree and let children peek around your legs.

🖼️ Come and See Walk · 5 min

  1. Sit with a child or two in your lap and swipe back through today’s story pictures on your phone or tablet. Point: “Where’s the lion? Where’s the sun?”
  2. Take hands and wave: “Come and see!” Walk together to the window: “Look! The sky! Jesus made the sky.”
  3. Walk to a plant, a toy animal or a friend: “Come and see! Jesus made that!”
  4. Finish at the picture of Jesus: “Come and see Jesus! Jesus is my light.”
  5. Stay in the nursery room with both adults. If a child drifts off, let them go; the walk is for whoever wants to come.

😴 Glow Rest · 4 min

  1. Turn off some of the lights, never all of them. Spread out the blanket. Children may lie down, sit or climb into a lap. Nobody has to.
  2. A grown-up shines the flashlight softly on the ceiling for a gentle glow. Say: “Look, a little light.” No flashlight? Look at the window light together.
  3. Hum “Tell Me the Stories of Jesus” (Children’s Songbook, 57) softly.
  4. Whisper each child’s name: “Jesus is your light, Ella. He loves you.”
  5. Upset child? Turn the lights back on, hold them, rock side to side and walk to the window together. Calm comes before learning.

👋 Come-and-See Goodbye · 5 min

  1. Five minutes before the end, tap magic on the Sound Board: “Toys go home!” Put the toys in their bins together.
  2. Sit together one more time. Cover your eyes and pop your hands open: “Jesus is my light!”
  3. Hand each child only to their own parent or guardian, as your ward’s policy says. Let the child wave, “Come and see!” and show their Sunshine Plate.
  4. Share today’s family note from the app with parents, and tell them one happy moment about their child.
  5. Kids still waiting? Keep them busy with Catch the Light or a picture book. Both adults stay until every child is picked up.

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.

All Nursery lessons