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The Fast That Frees

Grumpy fasters, a knot nobody can break alone, and the day Jesus read Isaiah aloud and said, “This is Me”

  • ⭐ Valiant 9–11
  • Week 42
  • 📅 Sunday, October 18, 2026
🤔 Forehead Guess🏆 Showdown
💡 The big idea

Jesus Christ came to free and heal people, and when I fast, pray, and give, I join Him in that work.

I can fast with a purpose when I’m ready, help people in need, and make the Sabbath a delight.

Study it yourself firstRead Isaiah 58–66 in Gospel LibraryCome, Follow Me manualOpen this week (Isaiah 58–66)
Know the chapters

Isaiah 58 opens with people complaining to God: “We fasted! Why didn’t You notice?” (58:3). The Lord’s answer is blunt. On their fast days they were bossing their workers, arguing, and even fighting, then drooping their heads so everyone could see how holy they were (58:3–5). The fast the Lord chooses looks outward: loosen the bands of wickedness, lift heavy burdens, free the oppressed, share bread with the hungry, bring the homeless in, and clothe the naked (58:6–7). The promises that follow are some of the most beautiful in Isaiah: light breaking out like morning, the Lord answering “Here I am,” and becoming “like a watered garden” (58:8–11). The chapter ends by asking us to call the Sabbath “a delight” (58:13–14).

Isaiah 61:1–3 describes the mission of the Anointed One. (Messiah in Hebrew and Christ in Greek both mean “anointed.”) About 700 years later, Jesus stood up in the synagogue of Nazareth, His hometown, read this passage from the scroll of Isaiah, and said, “This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears” (Luke 4:16–21). It was one of His clearest announcements that He is the Christ. Sharp-eyed readers will notice that Luke’s version also includes “to set at liberty them that are bruised,” an echo of Isaiah 58:6 (“let the oppressed go free”). The Savior’s mission and the true fast point in the same direction. Some of His neighbors grew angry and tried to throw Him off a cliff, but He walked through the crowd and went on His way (Luke 4:28–30).

In the Church today, fast Sunday is usually the first Sunday of the month. Members who are able go without food and drink for two meals in a row, pray with a purpose, and give a fast offering, at least what the meals would have cost. The bishop uses fast offerings to help people in need, and in many wards deacons help collect them. Children aren’t required to fast; they can start small when they and their parents feel ready, and anyone whose health would be harmed shouldn’t go without food. Jesus taught that we fast for Heavenly Father, not for an audience (Matthew 6:16–18).

Nine- to eleven-year-olds are old enough to ask “Why would anyone skip food on purpose?” Take the question seriously: fasting builds spiritual power, humbles us so we can hear the Spirit, and turns our hunger into food for someone else. The rest of the block is full of hope: “Arise, shine; for thy light is come” (60:1), “beauty for ashes” (61:3), “we are the clay, and thou our potter” (64:8), and a new heaven and new earth where the wolf and lamb eat together when the Savior comes again (65:17–25). Your 11-year-olds will soon be deacons or Young Women, and many will help with fast offerings. Help them see it as joining the Savior’s own work.

Only have 5 minutes?

Read Isaiah 58:3–11, Isaiah 61:1, and Luke 4:16–21. Start with Fasting: Fact or Fake, let Teach Mode carry the two-part drama (grumpy fasters, then Jesus in Nazareth), and do the yarn object lesson. Compare Isaiah 61:1 with Luke 4:18, play Forehead Guess, and share a short fasting testimony. Brought nothing? Tap “I brought nothing”: kids link arms to become the “bands,” the scroll is pantomimed, and you read both verses from your own scriptures.

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. Cut the yarn into about ten pieces, each long enough to wrap around a kid’s wrists once and tie in a bow. (Precut pieces make the object lesson fast.)
  2. Wrap paper around the tube to make the scroll. Write “Isaiah” on the outside if you like.
  3. Text two strong readers before Sunday: one to be Isaiah in the drama (Isaiah 58:6 and 61:1) and one to read Luke 4:18–19 in the Scroll Detective step.
  4. Split the class into two teams for the whole lesson: Team Sunrise and Team Garden. Keep score with tally marks or the Goal Jar.
  5. Think of one real experience with fasting, a fast offering, or someone who helped your family. You’ll share it briefly at the end.

If your class is wild

  • Fasting: Fact or Fake is a stand-up, sit-down game. Kids who crash into each other or tackle the chairs sit out one round as the “judge” who calls the answer.
  • The Grumpy Fasters are great roles for your loudest kids. Complaining dramatically is exactly what the scene needs, and it gives that energy a job.
  • During the yarn object lesson, only you use the scissors. The volunteer keeps wrists together; everyone else stays seated so they can see.
  • Some kids may have families who struggle with food or money. Keep the focus on helping, never on who needs help, and don’t ask anyone to share their family’s situation.
  • For the Nazareth scenes, no child plays Jesus. The Synagogue Attendant sets the scroll on an empty chair, and the class watches that chair. The stillness makes the scene powerful.

The 25-minute plan25 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

Fasting: Fact or Fake?

3 min

A fast stand-up, crouch-down game clears up myths about fasting and makes kids curious about why the Lord asks us to do it.

  1. SAY“Stand tall if it’s a FACT. Crouch down if it’s FAKE. Ready?”
  2. “Jesus once fasted for forty days.” (Fact: Matthew 4:2.) · “Fast Sunday is usually the first Sunday of the month.” (Fact.) · “Primary kids are required to fast.” (Fake: you start when you and your parents feel ready.)
  3. “You should look miserable so everyone knows you’re fasting.” (Fake: Matthew 6:16–18.) · “A fast offering is money given to help people in need.” (Fact.) · “In many wards, deacons help collect fast offerings.” (Fact.)
  4. “If you skip meals but don’t pray, it’s still the full fast.” (Fake: we fast with prayer and a purpose.)
  5. Ask: “So why would anyone skip food on purpose?” Take two guesses, then say: “Isaiah 58 is the Lord’s own answer. Some people in Isaiah’s day were doing it all wrong. Let’s see what went wrong.”
🌪️ Last one to move on each statement becomes the next “caller” and reads a statement from your list.

Class screen: 🤔 Fasting: fact or fake? Stand or crouch! · Stand = Fact · Crouch = Fake

2. Story

Story Drama: Two Scrolls, One Mission

6 min

Acting out the wrong fast, the right fast, and Jesus reading Isaiah in Nazareth shows that fasting joins us to the Savior’s mission.

  1. Hand out roles (tap Roles in Teach Mode). Everyone else is the Crowd: grumblers in scenes 1–4, then Jesus’s hometown neighbors.
  2. SAY“Part one is Isaiah 58. Part two happens seven hundred years later. Watch for how they connect.”
  3. Read each scene and pause for the action. Isaiah reads the verses from real scriptures.
  4. At scene 5, say: “No one plays Jesus. The Attendant sets the scroll on this empty chair, and that’s where we look.”
  5. Afterward, ask: “What did Jesus’s mission in Isaiah 61 have in common with the fast in Isaiah 58?” (Both free captives, lift burdens, and help the hurting.)
🌪️ Grumpy Fasters may complain loudly but only with their own bodies: no poking the Worker. The Worker can call “Freeze!” once if the bossing gets too real.

Class screen: 📜 Two scrolls, one mission: fasting and the Savior · Isaiah 58 · Luke 4

No supplies? Do this instead

Instead of: A paper towel tube wrapped in a sheet of paper to be the scroll of Isaiah

  1. Hand out roles (tap Roles in Teach Mode). Everyone else is the Crowd: grumblers in scenes 1–4, then Jesus’s hometown neighbors.
  2. SAY“Part one is Isaiah 58. Part two happens seven hundred years later. Watch for how they connect.”
  3. Read each scene and pause for the action. Isaiah reads the verses from your own scriptures.
  4. At scene 5, the Attendant carries an invisible scroll so heavy they stagger, then sets it on an empty chair. Say: “No one plays Jesus. That chair is where we look.”
  5. Afterward, ask: “What did Jesus’s mission in Isaiah 61 have in common with the fast in Isaiah 58?” (Both free captives, lift burdens, and help the hurting.)
3. Wiggle break

Arise, Shine!

2 min

Isaiah 60:1–3 becomes a listening game that burns energy and teaches that Jesus Christ is our light.

  1. Everyone curls up small on the floor. A kid Light Leader reads Isaiah 60:1–3 slowly.
  2. On “darkness,” curl up tight and cover your eyes. On “light,” “arise,” “shine,” “brightness,” or “rising,” leap up and spread your arms like sunbeams.
  3. Round two: the Leader reads faster and adds dramatic pauses. For round three, you flip the room lights off on “darkness” and on at “light.”
  4. Ask: “Whose light is Isaiah talking about, and how do we shine it?” (Jesus Christ’s. We reflect His light when we live like Him.)

Class screen: ☀️ Arise, shine; for thy light is come! · Darkness = curl up · Light = leap up!

4. Object lesson

Undo the Heavy Burdens

3 min

A knot one kid can’t break shows how fasting, prayer, and fast offerings help the Savior free people from Isaiah 58:6’s “bands.”

  1. Ask a volunteer to hold their wrists together. Tie one piece of yarn around them loosely. Say: “Try to break it.” (Snap! Easy.)
  2. Now tie on eight or nine pieces, one at a time. Say: “These are bands: things that trap people, like a family that can’t pay for food, a sickness, a bad habit, loneliness.” The volunteer tries again and can’t.
  3. Read Isaiah 58:6. Say: “Every time someone names a way a fast or a fast offering could help loosen a band, I’ll cut one strand.” Take answers: food for a family, praying for a sick grandma, strength to quit a habit, help for a missionary, a friend who needs a blessing.
  4. Cut one strand per answer until the volunteer is free. Ask: “Who really does the freeing?” (Jesus Christ, Isaiah 61:1. When we fast and give, we get to join His work.)
🌪️ Tie bows, not knots, and keep the loops loose. Only you touch the scissors.

Class screen: ✂️ One band snaps easily. Can you break ten? · Isaiah 58:6: loose the bands, undo the heavy burdens

No supplies? Do this instead

Instead of: A ball of yarn or string and a pair of scissors (only you handle the scissors)

The Human Bands

  1. Choose a volunteer to stand in the middle with wrists together. Eight kids link elbows in a snug ring around them. Say: “You are the bands: things that trap people, like a family that can’t pay for food, a sickness, a bad habit, loneliness.”
  2. The volunteer gently tries to step out of the ring and can’t. (No pushing; bands just hold their spot.)
  3. Read Isaiah 58:6. Say: “Every time someone names a way a fast or a fast offering could help loosen a band, one band steps away.” Take answers: food for a family, praying for a sick grandma, strength to quit a habit, help for a missionary, a friend who needs a blessing.
  4. When the last band steps away, ask: “Who really does the freeing?” (Jesus Christ, Isaiah 61:1. When we fast and give, we get to join His work.)

Class screen: 🔗 Can the helpers loosen every band? · Isaiah 58:6: loose the bands, undo the heavy burdens

🌪️ Bands link elbows, never grab the volunteer. Anyone who squeezes too tight becomes the next answer-giver instead.
5. Scripture

Scroll Detective: Isaiah 61:1

3 min

Kids memorize the key verse, then compare it with Luke 4:18 like detectives and discover the echo of Isaiah 58.

  1. Teach Isaiah 61:1 with the motions. Say it twice together.
  2. Reader A reads Isaiah 61:1 from the Bible. Reader B reads Luke 4:18 from the New Testament. Everyone else listens like detectives: a point to the first team to name a match or a difference.
  3. Point out the line “to set at liberty them that are bruised.” Say: “That phrase isn’t in Isaiah 61. Find the verse in Isaiah 58 that says something like it!” The first team to find 58:6 (“let the oppressed go free”) scores two points.
  4. SAY“Messiah and Christ both mean ‘Anointed One.’ When Jesus read ‘the LORD hath anointed me,’ He was telling Nazareth, ‘I am the Christ.’ And His mission sounds just like the true fast.”

Class screen: 🕵️ Scroll Detective: Isaiah 61 vs. Luke 4. Find the echo! · Isaiah 61:1 · Luke 4:18 · Isaiah 58:6

No supplies? Do this instead

Instead of: Two sets of scriptures for readers: one open to Isaiah 61:1 and one open to Luke 4:18 (a Bible, a quad, or Gospel Library)

  1. Teach Isaiah 61:1 with the motions. Say it twice together.
  2. SAY“Close your eyes and listen like detectives.” From your own scriptures or Gospel Library, read Isaiah 61:1, then Luke 4:18. Teams raise hands to name a match or a difference for a point.
  3. Read Isaiah 58:6. Ask: “Which line in Luke 4:18 sounds like this?” The first team to shout “set at liberty them that are bruised” scores two points.
  4. SAY“Messiah and Christ both mean ‘Anointed One.’ When Jesus read ‘the LORD hath anointed me,’ He was telling Nazareth, ‘I am the Christ.’ And His mission sounds just like the true fast.”
6. Game

Forehead Guess: Arise and Shine Edition

3 min

A fast, competitive review of fasting words, the Nazareth story, and Isaiah’s last-days promises.

  1. Tap Forehead Guess. A Grumpy Faster goes first: device on the forehead, screen facing the class.
  2. Valiant rules: clue-givers can’t say the word OR any word from the hint under it.
  3. Team Sunrise and Team Garden alternate 45-second turns. The scorekeeper adds correct guesses to the lesson score.
  4. Act-it-out round: for Yoke, Wolf and lamb, and Arise, clue-givers can only act, no talking.
  5. No phone or tablet? Play Twenty Questions: secretly pick a word from the list, and teams take turns asking yes-or-no questions.
🌪️ Clue-givers raise a hand and wait for the guesser to pick them. The guesser always picks someone sitting still.
▶ Play Forehead Guess on the web

Class screen: 🤔 Forehead Guess: Arise and Shine Edition · No saying words from the hint!

7. Talk it over

Talk It Over

3 min

Deeper why-questions help kids understand the purpose of fasting and the Sabbath, not just the rules.

  1. Sit in a circle. A kid Discussion Leader reads each question from your phone or tablet and picks who answers.
  2. Keep answers short so more voices get in, and share one honest answer of your own.
💬 Ask the class
  • Why do you think the Lord ties going hungry ourselves to feeding people who are hungry?
  • The people in Isaiah 58:3–4 fasted but kept fighting and bossing others. Why didn’t their fast work? What makes a fast real?
  • Jesus chose Isaiah 61 to announce who He is. What does that passage tell you about what matters most to Him?
  • If you fasted for someone, who would it be, and what would you pray for?
  • Isaiah 58:13 says to call the Sabbath “a delight.” What could make Sunday feel like a delight instead of a day of can’ts?

Class screen: 💬 Talk it over

8. Testimony

Like a Watered Garden

2 min

A short, real testimony about fasting helps kids trust Isaiah’s promises and want to try it themselves.

  1. Lower your voice. Read Isaiah 58:9: “Then shalt thou call, and the LORD shall answer; thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am.”
  2. Share your short experience with fasting, a fast offering, or someone who helped your family. Testify that Jesus Christ still frees and heals people, and that He lets us help.
  3. SAY“You don’t have to fast yet. When you and your parents feel ready, you can start small with a purpose and a prayer. Some of you will soon be deacons who help gather fast offerings, and all of you can help your family give.”
  4. Introduce the challenge and ask a kid to say the closing prayer.

Class screen: 🌱 Call, and the Lord will answer: “Here I am.” · Isaiah 58:9–11

9. Game

Scripture Showdown

5 minBONUS

A tough team quiz reviews Isaiah 58, Luke 4, and the promises in Isaiah 60–65.

  1. Keep the same teams: Team Sunrise and Team Garden. Tap Scripture Showdown.
  2. Read each question aloud. Teams get 10 seconds to whisper, then point to an answer.
  3. Bonus point if the winning team can name the verse.
▶ Play Scripture Showdown on the web

Class screen: 🏆 Scripture Showdown: Team Sunrise vs. Team Garden!

Story drama

Two Scrolls, One Mission

Isaiah 58:3–11; 61:1–3; Luke 4:16–30 ↗

Parts to hand out

  • Grumpy Faster 1Stomps and complains, “We fasted! Why didn’t God notice?” Changes their ways in scene 3.
  • Grumpy Faster 2Argues with Faster 1 and bosses the Worker around, all while “fasting.”
  • Tired WorkerSweeps and hauls loads while the fasters boss them around, then gets set free.
  • Hungry NeighborSits by the door with cupped, empty hands until someone shares bread.
  • IsaiahReads Isaiah 58:6 and Isaiah 61:1 aloud from real scriptures.
  • Synagogue AttendantCarries the scroll of Isaiah to the front, sets it on the reading chair, and rolls it back up.
  • Nazareth CrowdEveryone else: grumble with the fasters, then become Jesus’s hometown neighbors in the synagogue.

Scenes

  1. 😤🍞 “We fasted! Why didn’t God notice?”

    In Isaiah 58, some people were upset with God. “We fasted,” they complained. “We went hungry and made ourselves miserable. Why don’t You see it? Why don’t You answer us?”

    🎬 The Grumpy Fasters clutch their growling stomachs and stomp around. The Crowd grumbles along: “Hmmph! Not fair!”

  2. 👊🧹 Fasting… and fighting

    The Lord answered through Isaiah: Look at what you do on your fast day. You boss your workers around. You argue and fight. Then you droop your heads like wilted reeds so everyone can see how holy you are. Do you really call that a fast?

    🎬 Faster 2 points at the Worker: “Work faster!” The Fasters argue in slow motion, then droop their heads like wilted plants, peeking to see who’s watching.

  3. 🔓🍞 The fast the Lord has chosen

    Here is the fast the Lord chooses: loosen the bands of wickedness, lift heavy burdens off people, and let the oppressed go free. Share your bread with the hungry. Bring the homeless into your house. Give clothes to someone who has none.

    🎬 Isaiah reads Isaiah 58:6. The Fasters untie invisible ropes from the Worker’s wrists and hand invisible bread to the Hungry Neighbor, who smiles for the first time.

  4. 🌅🌱 Light breaking forth like the morning

    Then come the promises. Your light will break out like the sunrise. When you call, the Lord will answer, “Here I am.” He will guide you always, and you will be like a watered garden, like a spring whose water never runs out.

    🎬 Everyone crouches low, then slowly rises like the sun with arms spreading wide. When you read “Here I am,” everyone says it together.

  5. 🕍📜 Seven hundred years later, in Nazareth

    About seven hundred years later, Jesus came home to Nazareth, the town where He grew up. On the Sabbath He went to the synagogue, as He always did, and stood up to read. The attendant brought Him the scroll of the prophet Isaiah.

    🎬 The Crowd sits in rows. The Synagogue Attendant carries the scroll slowly to the front and sets it on an empty chair. (No one plays Jesus; everyone watches the chair.)

  6. 📖✨ He found the place in Isaiah

    Jesus unrolled the scroll and found the exact place: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me.” He read that He had been sent to preach good news to the poor, heal the brokenhearted, free the captives, give sight to the blind, and set at liberty those who are bruised.

    🎬 Isaiah reads Isaiah 61:1, the words Jesus read that day. The Crowd leans forward, listening hard.

  7. 👀🤫 “This day is this scripture fulfilled”

    Jesus rolled up the scroll, handed it back, and sat down. Every eye in the room was fastened on Him. Then He said, “This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.” In other words: Isaiah was writing about Me. I am the Anointed One.

    🎬 The Attendant rolls up the scroll. Total silence while everyone stares at the chair. Then the Crowd whispers: “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?”

  8. 😠⛰️ Not everyone was ready to believe

    Some of His neighbors got angry. They couldn’t believe the boy they had watched grow up was the Messiah. They pushed Him out of town to the edge of a cliff. But Jesus passed right through the middle of the crowd and went on His way. No one could stop His mission.

    🎬 The Crowd frowns and folds their arms, then parts down the middle like a gate swinging open while everyone watches the open path.

  9. 🤝🍞 His mission, our fast

    Look at what Jesus read: free the captives, heal broken hearts. It sounds just like the fast in Isaiah 58! When we fast, pray, and give fast offerings, we help Jesus do the very work He announced in Nazareth. The bishop uses fast offerings to help people in need.

    🎬 Everyone turns to a neighbor, shakes hands, and says, “I can help with His work.”

Key verse

Isaiah 61:1 ↗
“The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound;”
In kid words: Jesus was chosen and sent by Heavenly Father to bring good news to humble people, heal broken hearts, and set free everyone who is trapped.
🙌 “The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me” = hands float down over your head · “the LORD hath anointed me” = touch the top of your head · “to preach good tidings unto the meek” = cup hands around your mouth · “to bind up the brokenhearted” = hands over heart, then wrap them like a bandage · “to proclaim liberty to the captives” = wrists together, then snap them apart · “the opening of the prison” = swing both arms open like doors.

More verses

Isaiah 58:6 ↗
“Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke?”
In kid words: The fast God wants sets people free and lifts heavy loads off them.
Isaiah 58:11 ↗
“And the LORD shall guide thee continually … and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not.”
In kid words: The Lord will guide you always and keep you growing, like a garden that never dries out.
Isaiah 58:13 ↗
“call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the LORD, honourable”
In kid words: Sunday isn’t a list of can’ts. It’s a holy day we can actually enjoy with the Lord.
Isaiah 60:1 ↗
“Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the LORD is risen upon thee.”
In kid words: Get up and shine! Jesus is our light, and His glory shines on us.

Forehead Guess words19 words

  • 🪙 Fast offering
  • 📅 Fast Sunday
  • 🧑‍💼 Bishop
  • 🤝 Deacon
  • 🐂 Yoke
  • 🔗 Bands
  • 🍞 Bread
  • 🌱 Watered garden
  • 🌞 Sabbath
  • 🏘️ Nazareth
  • 🕍 Synagogue
  • 📜 Scroll
  • 🫒 Anointed
  • 💔 Brokenhearted
  • ⛓️ Captives
  • 🌸 Beauty for ashes
  • ☀️ Arise, shine
  • 🐺 Wolf and lamb
  • 🌍 New earth
Clues for each word
  • Fast offering: Money given to help people in need
  • Fast Sunday: Usually the first Sunday of the month
  • Bishop: Uses fast offerings to help ward members in need
  • Deacon: Often helps gather fast offerings
  • Yoke: Wooden bar on an ox’s neck: “break every ___”
  • Bands: “Loose the ___ of wickedness”
  • Bread: Deal it to the hungry (Isaiah 58:7)
  • Watered garden: What you become when the Lord guides you
  • Sabbath: Call it a delight (Isaiah 58:13)
  • Nazareth: Jesus’s hometown, where He read Isaiah
  • Synagogue: Where Jews gathered on the Sabbath to read scripture
  • Scroll: Rolled-up scripture Jesus unrolled to read
  • Anointed: Messiah and Christ both mean this
  • Brokenhearted: People Jesus came to bind up and heal
  • Captives: Jesus came to proclaim liberty to them
  • Beauty for ashes: Isaiah 61:3: a crown in place of sorrow
  • Arise, shine: “For thy light is come” (Isaiah 60:1)
  • Wolf and lamb: Will feed together when Jesus comes again
  • New earth: Isaiah 65:17: God will create one
▶ Play Forehead GuessFull screen, 60-second timer, works on any phone.

Scripture Showdown10 questions

  1. In Isaiah 58, why were the people upset with God?
    • A. He didn’t seem to notice their fast
    • B. It rained too much
    • C. They had no temple
    Show answer

    ✅ A. He didn’t seem to notice their fast Isaiah 58:3: “Wherefore have we fasted… and thou seest not?”

  2. What were those people doing on their fast days?
    • A. Reading scriptures
    • B. Fighting and bossing their workers
    • C. Helping the poor
    Show answer

    ✅ B. Fighting and bossing their workers Isaiah 58:3–4. A fast full of fighting isn’t the fast the Lord wants.

  3. Which is part of “the fast that I have chosen”?
    • A. Looking sad in public
    • B. Skipping church
    • C. Sharing bread with the hungry
    Show answer

    ✅ C. Sharing bread with the hungry Isaiah 58:7. The true fast turns our hunger into help for others.

  4. Isaiah 58:11 promises you’ll be like a…
    • A. mighty oak
    • B. watered garden
    • C. bright star
    Show answer

    ✅ B. watered garden And “like a spring of water, whose waters fail not.”

  5. Where did Jesus read Isaiah 61 aloud?
    • A. The synagogue in Nazareth
    • B. The temple in Jerusalem
    • C. A boat on Galilee
    Show answer

    ✅ A. The synagogue in Nazareth Luke 4:16–17. It was His hometown synagogue.

  6. After reading, what did Jesus say?
    • A. “Read it again”
    • B. “Isaiah was wrong”
    • C. “This day is this scripture fulfilled”
    Show answer

    ✅ C. “This day is this scripture fulfilled” Luke 4:21. He was announcing that He is the One Isaiah wrote about.

  7. Messiah (Hebrew) and Christ (Greek) both mean…
    • A. The Anointed One
    • B. The King of Rome
    • C. The Teacher
    Show answer

    ✅ A. The Anointed One Isaiah 61:1: “the LORD hath anointed me.”

  8. Which Isaiah 58:6 idea shows up in Luke 4:18?
    • A. Keeping the Sabbath
    • B. Setting the oppressed free
    • C. Building a temple
    Show answer

    ✅ B. Setting the oppressed free Luke 4:18’s “set at liberty them that are bruised” echoes Isaiah 58:6.

  9. Isaiah 58:13 says to call the Sabbath a…
    • A. burden
    • B. rest stop
    • C. delight
    Show answer

    ✅ C. delight The Sabbath is a gift to enjoy with the Lord, not a list of can’ts.

  10. When Jesus comes again, Isaiah says the wolf will feed with the…
    • A. lion
    • B. lamb
    • C. bear
    Show answer

    ✅ B. lamb Isaiah 65:25. No more hurting or destroying in His holy mountain.

▶ Play Scripture ShowdownTeams take turns on one screen.

Songs

  • I’m Trying to Be like Jesus Children’s Songbook, p. 78

    Helping people in need is how we follow the mission Jesus announced in Nazareth. Find it ↗

  • Did You Think to Pray? Hymns, no. 140

    Fasting always goes with prayer. Sing it before the challenge. Find it ↗

  • When He Comes Again Children’s Songbook, p. 82

    Isaiah 65 describes the peaceful new earth when the Savior returns. Find it ↗

This week’s challenge

Fast with a Purpose

Before the next fast Sunday, talk with your parents about fasting. If you’re ready, try fasting for one meal and pray for one specific person. If you’re not ready to go without food, you can still pray with a purpose and help your family give a fast offering. Eleven-year-olds: ask your parents or a deacon how fast offerings are gathered, and how they help the bishop care for people.

Text the parents

This week we learned from Isaiah 58 that the fast the Lord wants frees people and feeds the hungry, and we acted out Jesus reading Isaiah 61 in Nazareth and saying, “This day is this scripture fulfilled.” Children aren’t required to fast, but we invited them to talk with you about starting small when they’re ready. Ask your child: what’s the difference between the grumpy fast and the fast the Lord has chosen?

📝 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?

🧭 The Fast Offering Journey · 4 min

  1. Line up five kids and give each a station: a family fasts and prays · the family gives an offering · deacons or leaders gather it · the bishop prayerfully decides who needs help · a family in need gets food or help.
  2. Walk an invisible offering down the line while each kid explains their station.
  3. Ask: “Who at the end of the line even knows your name? Does it matter?” (Fast offerings are quiet, private service, just as Jesus taught in Matthew 6:18.)

📦 Sabbath Delight Box · 4 min

  1. Read Isaiah 58:13–14. Ask: “What’s the difference between a day of can’ts and a day of delight?”
  2. Teams race to write as many Sabbath delights as they can in two minutes on slips of paper: write a missionary, visit a grandparent, family history, a nature walk, bake for a neighbor.
  3. Put the slips in the box. Let each kid draw one to try this Sunday.

🐺 Wolf and Lamb Picnic · 3 min

  1. Read Isaiah 65:17–25. Pair up natural enemies: wolf and lamb, lion and ox, cat and mouse.
  2. Each pair acts out sharing a peaceful picnic while the class guesses the animals.
  3. Ask: “What will you be most glad about when Jesus comes again? What can we do now to get ready?”

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 Valiant 9–11 lessons