Jesus Is My Light

A flashlight in the dark, a world Jesus made, and friends who said, “Come and see!”

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

Jesus is my light.

I can follow Jesus, my light, and say to a friend, “Come and see!”

Know the chapters

John 1 begins before the world was made. Jesus lived with Heavenly Father before He was born, and under Heavenly Father’s direction He 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), and darkness can’t put that light out.

Later in the chapter, John the Baptist, now grown up, sees Jesus and says, “Behold the Lamb of God” (John 1:29). Two of John’s followers start following Jesus, and Jesus invites them, “Come and see” (John 1:39). Andrew runs to get his brother Simon (later called Peter). Philip brings his friend Nathanael, who is sitting under a fig tree, and Jesus already knows him. One friend brings another, and the group following Jesus grows.

For three-year-olds, the tiny truth is: Jesus is my light. Light is something they understand. It helps us see, feel safe and find our way. Jesus helps us know what to do and helps us feel happy and safe. The friends in the story show what to do with a light this good: share it. A three-year-old can say “Come and see!” by taking a friend’s hand to Primary, showing a picture of Jesus, or singing a song about Him.

Some little ones are afraid of the dark. Keep the “dark” part short and gentle, leave a little light from the door or window, and let the flashlight come on quickly.

Only have 5 minutes?

Dim the lights (not all the way) and turn on a flashlight or open your hands like a burst of sunshine: “Jesus is my light!” Let Teach Mode carry the picture story, teach “the light shineth in darkness” with the eyes-covered, eyes-open motions, and play a train game where each child takes a friend’s hand and says, “Come and see!” End by whispering each name: “Jesus is Ava’s light.”

What to bring4 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. Ask a helper (or plan yourself) to switch the room lights down, leaving a little light from the door or window.
  2. Have the picture of Jesus ready to hide during the Come and See game.
  3. Open this lesson in Teach Mode and add your children’s names in the My Class tab.

If your class is wild

  • Never make the room fully dark for three-year-olds. Keep the door cracked, and turn the lights back on the second anyone looks scared.
  • Only the teacher holds the flashlight at first. Later, let each child hold it for one count of three: “Shine it on the ceiling, not in eyes!”
  • No child plays Jesus. In the story, Jesus is the picture on your phone or tablet or your picture of Jesus. Children point to Him.
  • The Come and See train can get fast. Say, “This train goes slow, slow, slow!” and lead it yourself.
  • Potty breaks: never leave the class alone and never go somewhere alone with one child. Follow your ward’s plan.

The 25-minute plan23 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

Little Light in the Dark

3 min

A flashlight clicking on in a dim room makes “Jesus is my light” something they can see.

  1. SAY“I’m going to make the room a little bit dark. Ready? Hold hands with a friend.” Dim the lights (leave the door cracked).
  2. Whisper: “Hmm, it’s hard to see. What do we need?” Click on the flashlight: “A light!”
  3. Shine it slowly on the ceiling, then the floor, then your own smiling face.
  4. Turn the room lights back on. Say: “A light helps us see and feel safe. Jesus is like a light for us! Today we’ll learn that Jesus is my light.”
🌪️ If someone is scared, turn the lights on right away and say, “See? The light always wins!”

Class screen: 🔦 Click! A light in the dark!

No supplies? Do this instead

Instead of: A flashlight

  1. SAY“Let’s make it dark with our hands!” Everyone covers their eyes.
  2. Whisper: “Hmm, it’s dark. What do we need?” Everyone pops their hands open like a burst of sunshine: “A light!”
  3. Do it three times: dark… light! Dark… light! Dark… light!
  4. SAY“A light helps us see and feel safe. Jesus is like a light for us! Today we’ll learn that Jesus is my light.”

Class screen: 🌞 Cover your eyes… pop! Light!

2. Story

Picture Story: Come and See Jesus!

5 min

Eight short picture scenes, each with an action, show that Jesus is the Light and friends brought friends to Him.

  1. Pick a John the Baptist, an Andrew, a Simon Peter, a Philip and a Nathanael. Everyone else joins every action.
  2. Show each picture on your phone or tablet, read the short lines, then do the action together.
  3. When the story talks about Jesus, everyone points to the picture on your phone or tablet.
  4. At the last scene, everyone holds hands in a line.
🌪️ If the lions roar too long, say, “The lions are going to sleep!” Everyone curls up and snores softly.

Class screen: 📖 Story time: come and see Jesus!

3. Wiggle break

Things Jesus Made

2 min

Being mountains, fish and birds gets the wiggles out and remembers that Jesus made the world.

  1. SAY“Jesus made the world! Let’s be the things He made.”
  2. Call out one at a time, slowly: “Tall mountain!” (stretch up) “Swimming fish!” (wiggle hands) “Flying bird!” (flap) “Hopping bunny!” (hop) “Tiny seed!” (curl up small).
  3. SAY“Now let’s be… YOU! Jesus made the world for you!” Everyone gives themselves a hug.
  4. Sit down quietly like a sleepy seed.

Class screen: 🌍 Be the things Jesus made!

4. Scripture

The Light Shineth in Darkness

3 min

Five words with a cover-your-eyes, pop-them-open motion help each child remember that Jesus is their light.

  1. SAY“John wrote that Jesus is the Light. Let’s say his words!”
  2. Teach the motions. Then say together: “The light shineth in darkness.”
  3. Say it in a sleepy nighttime voice, then a bright sunshine voice.
  4. Go around the circle. Say one child’s name and everyone points to them: “Jesus is Leo’s light!” Then everyone says the verse again.

Class screen: 💡 The light shineth in darkness. · 🌞 the light · ✨ shineth · 🙈 in darkness

5. Game

Come and See!

4 min

Hiding and finding a picture of Jesus, then calling friends to come and see, acts out what Andrew and Philip did.

  1. Everyone covers their eyes. Hide the picture of Jesus somewhere easy: on a chair, under a table, behind a door.
  2. Choose one child to find it (help them with “warmer, colder”).
  3. When they find it, they call to the class: “Come and see!” Everyone tiptoes over to look.
  4. SAY“Andrew and Philip found Jesus and brought their friends. We can bring our friends to Jesus too!”
  5. Hide it again for a new finder. Play three or four rounds.
🌪️ Only one finder at a time. Everyone else sits on their hands and says, “Warmer! Colder!”

Class screen: 👋 Found Him! Come and see!

No supplies? Do this instead

Instead of: A picture of Jesus Christ (from a Church magazine, a printed picture, or your phone’s Gospel Library)

Come and See Train

  1. Stand in front of the class. Say: “I’m going to find a friend and bring them to see Jesus!”
  2. Take one child’s hand and say, “Come and see!” Walk together to your phone or tablet showing a picture from the story.
  3. That child takes another friend’s hand: “Come and see!” The train grows longer.
  4. Keep going until everyone is on the train. Go slow, slow, slow.
  5. SAY“Andrew and Philip brought their friends to Jesus. We can bring our friends to Jesus too!”

Class screen: 🚂 Come and see! The train grows!

6. Song

Sing: Tell Me the Stories of Jesus

2 min

A gentle song settles the class after the game and keeps Jesus at the center.

  1. Sit in a circle. Say: “We love to hear about Jesus!”
  2. Sing “Tell Me the Stories of Jesus” (Children’s Songbook, 57), or hum along and point to the picture of Jesus.
  3. Whisper at the end: “Jesus is my light.”

Class screen: 🎶 We love stories about Jesus!

7. Talk it over

Roll and Shine

2 min

Rolling a ball gives every child a turn to share, with or without words.

  1. Sit in a circle. Show a question on your phone or tablet and roll the ball to a child.
  2. The child answers with a word, a point or a show-me, then rolls the ball back to you.
  3. Help shy children with two choices: “Did Jesus make fish or cars?”
💬 Ask the class
  • What did Jesus make? Show me!
  • Who is our light?
  • Who can you bring to Primary?
  • Show me how you say, “Come and see!”

Class screen: ⚽ Roll the ball! Let’s talk!

No supplies? Do this instead

Instead of: A soft ball or a rolled-up pair of socks

  1. Sit in a circle. Show a question on your phone or tablet and cup your hands: “This is a little light!”
  2. Gently “hand” the light to a child. The child answers with a word, a point or a show-me, then hands it back.
  3. Help shy children with two choices: “Did Jesus make fish or cars?”

Class screen: ✨ Pass the light! Let’s talk!

8. Testimony

Jesus Is My Light

2 min

A quiet moment and their own name help each child feel that Jesus is their light.

  1. Ask for whisper voices. Everyone holds their hands open like a little light.
  2. SAY“Jesus made the world, and He is our light. He knows each one of you. I love Jesus, and I know He is my light.”
  3. Go around the circle and whisper each child’s name: “Jesus is Ava’s light.”
  4. Fold arms and help a child say the closing prayer.

Class screen: 💛 Jesus is my light.

9. Game

What’s Hiding?

3 minBONUS

Guessing a hidden picture reviews the story with no reading at all.

  1. Open Mystery Picture. Say: “A picture is hiding in the dark! Let’s let the light in.”
  2. Ask an easy question (“Who made the world? Jesus!”). For each right answer, a child taps away one tile.
  3. When they guess, everyone does its action: roar for a lion, wave for “come and see,” sunshine hands for light.
🧩 Mystery Picture (a class game in the Gospel Sparks app)

Class screen: 🔍 What’s hiding? Let the light in!

10. Game

Picture Quiz

4 minBONUS

Pointing at pictures lets pre-readers review the story and cheer.

  1. Open Scripture Showdown. Read each question aloud and point to each picture.
  2. Children point to or shout the right picture. Everyone cheers every right answer.
  3. Skip team scores if they cause tears. With Sunbeams, everybody wins.

Class screen: 🏆 Picture quiz!

Story drama

Come and See Jesus!

John 1:1–5, 29–49 ↗

Parts to hand out

  • John the BaptistPoints and says, “Look! There is Jesus!”
  • AndrewRuns in place to find his brother and says, “We found Jesus!”
  • Simon PeterTakes Andrew’s hand and walks to Jesus (the picture).
  • PhilipWaves to Nathanael and says, “Come and see!”
  • NathanaelSits under a pretend tree, then peeks out and comes to see.

Scenes

  1. ☁️ Before the world, Jesus lived with Heavenly Father

    Before there was any world, Jesus lived in heaven with Heavenly Father. We lived there too!

    🎬 Everyone points up to heaven and smiles.

  2. 🌍 Jesus made the world!

    Heavenly Father had a plan, and Jesus made the world: big mountains, splashy oceans and animals. Roar! Tweet!

    🎬 Make tall mountain arms, wavy ocean arms, then roar like a lion and flap like a bird.

  3. 💡 Jesus is the Light!

    Jesus is like a light. When it’s dark, a light helps us see and feel safe. Jesus helps us too!

    🎬 Cover your eyes (dark!), then open your hands wide like sunshine: “Jesus is my light!”

  4. 🐑 “Look! There is Jesus!”

    John the Baptist grew up and taught by a river. When he saw Jesus, he pointed and said, “Look! There is Jesus!”

    🎬 John the Baptist points to the picture of Jesus. Everyone points too.

  5. 👋 Jesus says, “Come and see!”

    Two friends wanted to follow Jesus. Jesus said, “Come and see.” They went with Him and stayed with Him that day!

    🎬 Everyone waves one hand toward themselves: “Come and see!”

  6. 🏃 Andrew runs to get his brother

    Andrew was so happy! He ran to find his brother Simon. “We found Jesus! Come and see!”

    🎬 Andrew runs in place. Everyone runs in place too, then takes a neighbor’s hand.

  7. 🌳 Jesus knew Nathanael under the tree

    Philip told his friend Nathanael, “Come and see!” Nathanael came, and Jesus already knew him. Jesus knows you too!

    🎬 Nathanael sits under pretend tree arms, then peeks out. Everyone points to themselves: “Jesus knows me!”

  8. 🧑‍🤝‍🧑 Friends bring friends to Jesus

    One friend brought a friend, and that friend brought another friend. Everyone wanted to come and see Jesus!

    🎬 Everyone holds hands in a long line and says together, “Come and see!”

Key verse

John 1:5 ↗
“the light shineth in darkness”
In kid words: Jesus’s light shines, even in the dark!
🙌 “the light” = open your hands wide like a burst of sunshine · “shineth” = wiggle your fingers up high · “in darkness” = cover your eyes, then pop them open and smile

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, our Savior!”

Forehead Guess words12 words

  • 🔦 Flashlight
  • 🌞 Sun
  • 🌍 World
  • ⛰️ Mountain
  • 🐟 Fish
  • 🦁 Lion
  • 🐦 Bird
  • 🌳 Tree
  • 🐑 Lamb
  • 🌊 River
  • 👬 Brothers
  • 🌙 Moon
Clues for each word
  • Flashlight: It shines in the dark
  • Sun: A big light in the sky
  • World: Jesus made it
  • Mountain: Tall and pointy
  • Fish: Swims in the ocean Jesus made
  • Lion: Roar!
  • Bird: Flap, flap, tweet!
  • Tree: Nathanael sat under one
  • Lamb: John called Jesus the Lamb of God
  • River: Where John the Baptist taught
  • Brothers: Andrew ran to get Simon
  • Moon: A light at night
▶ Play Forehead GuessFull screen, 60-second timer, works on any phone.

Scripture Showdown7 questions

  1. Who is our light?
    • A. 🙏 Jesus
    • B. 🦆 A duck
    Show answer

    ✅ A. 🙏 Jesus Jesus is the Light. He helps us see what’s right and feel safe.

  2. Who made the world?
    • A. 🤖 A robot
    • B. 🙏 Jesus
    Show answer

    ✅ B. 🙏 Jesus Jesus made the world, following Heavenly Father’s plan.

  3. What helps us see in the dark?
    • A. 🧦 A sock
    • B. 🍪 A cookie
    • C. 🔦 A light
    Show answer

    ✅ C. 🔦 A light A light helps us see, and Jesus is like a light for us!

  4. What did Jesus say to His new friends?
    • A. 👋 Come and see!
    • B. 🙅 Go away!
    Show answer

    ✅ A. 👋 Come and see! Jesus said, “Come and see,” and they stayed with Him that day.

  5. Who did Andrew run to get?
    • A. 🐶 His dog
    • B. 👬 His brother
    Show answer

    ✅ B. 👬 His brother Andrew brought his brother Simon to Jesus.

  6. Where was Nathanael sitting?
    • A. 🚗 In a car
    • B. 🌳 Under a tree
    • C. 🛁 In a bathtub
    Show answer

    ✅ B. 🌳 Under a tree He was under a fig tree, and Jesus already knew him!

  7. Which animal did Jesus make?
    • A. 🦁 A lion
    • B. 🧸 A teddy bear
    Show answer

    ✅ A. 🦁 A lion Jesus made real animals: lions, fish, birds and more. Roar!

▶ Play Scripture ShowdownTeams take turns on one screen.

Songs

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

    A calm song about loving to hear of Jesus, sung after the Come and See game. Find it ↗

  • I Lived in Heaven Children’s Songbook, p. 4

    Jesus and we lived with Heavenly Father before we came to earth. Find it ↗

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

    A song about the beautiful world, if there’s time after the Things Jesus Made wiggle. Find it ↗

This week’s challenge

Come and See!

Show someone in your family a picture of Jesus and say, “Come and see! Jesus is my light.” At bedtime, turn on a little light and remember Jesus.

Text the parents

Today in Sunbeams we learned that Jesus is our light: “the light shineth in darkness” (John 1:5). We learned that Jesus made the world, and that Andrew and Philip brought their friends to Jesus by saying, “Come and see!” Ask your child: “Who is our light?” and let them show you how they cover their eyes and pop them open like sunshine.

📝 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?

🔦 Flashlight Pass · 3 min

  1. Sit in a circle. Hand the flashlight to one child for a count of three.
  2. They shine it on the ceiling and say, “Jesus is my light!” Then they pass it to the next child.
  3. Remind everyone: shine on the ceiling, never in eyes.

✏️ Draw & Guess · 3 min

  1. Open Draw & Guess. You (the teacher) draw a word from this lesson on your phone or tablet.
  2. Children guess: a sun, a fish, a tree, a mountain.
  3. Each time, say: “Jesus made that!” or “Jesus is our light!”

🖍️ Sunshine Picture · 5 min

  1. Give each child a paper with a big circle in the middle.
  2. Children color the circle yellow and draw sun rays all around it.
  3. Write “Jesus is my light” in the middle so parents can read it at home.

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 Sunbeams lessons