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Through the Roof

Four friends who wouldn’t give up, a Pharisee who only saw a label, and a class storm that goes silent on command

  • 🔥 Youth 14–16
  • Week 9
  • 📅 Sunday, February 28, 2027
🤔 Forehead Guess🏆 Showdown
💡 The big idea

Jesus Christ came to heal and forgive sinners, not to condemn them, and He wants me to be the kind of friend who carries people to Him instead of judging them from the doorway.

I can carry a friend closer to the Savior, see people the way He sees them, and bring my own mistakes to Him instead of hiding them.

Study it yourself firstRead Matthew 8; Mark 2–4; Luke 7 in Gospel LibraryCome, Follow Me manualOpen this week (Matthew 8; Mark 2–4; Luke 7)
Know the chapters

Matthew 8, Mark 2–4 and Luke 7 are packed with healings: a leper Jesus actually touched (Matthew 8:3), a Roman centurion’s servant healed from a distance (Matthew 8:5–13), Peter’s mother-in-law, a man with palsy, a man with a withered hand, and a widow’s only son raised during his funeral procession in Nain (Luke 7:11–16). Mark 2:10 tells us why the miracles matter: they show that the Son of Man “hath power on earth to forgive sins.” The physical healing points to a deeper one. The manual’s title for the week is the Savior’s promise to a forgiven woman: “Thy faith hath saved thee” (Luke 7:50).

Mark 2:1–12 is today’s scripture scene. Many houses then had flat roofs people could climb onto (Luke 5:19 says they let him down through the tiling), so breaking through was possible, but it was still a bold, messy, all-in move. Notice two things. First, “when Jesus saw their faith” (verse 5): it was the friends’ faith that got the man there. Second, the first thing Jesus gave him was forgiveness, then healing. For fourteen- to sixteen-year-olds, friends are one of the strongest forces in their lives. This lesson turns that around: peer influence can carry someone toward the Savior, too.

Luke 7:36–50 shows two ways of seeing people. Simon the Pharisee invited Jesus to dinner but skipped the normal courtesies for a guest: water for dusty feet, a kiss of greeting, oil for the head. A woman known in the city as a sinner came in and washed the Savior’s feet with her tears. Simon silently judged both of them. Jesus told a short parable about two debtors, one forgiven 500 pence and one 50, and then asked Simon, “Seest thou this woman?” Simon saw a reputation; Jesus saw a person who loved Him and was ready to change. Teens live in a screenshot culture where one bad moment can follow you forever. The Savior does not define anyone by their worst moment (see also Mark 2:15–17 and John 3:17).

Mark 4:35–41 adds one more picture of His power: the storm on the Sea of Galilee. The passage contains four questions, including the disciples’ raw “Master, carest thou not that we perish?” and the Savior’s “Why are ye so fearful?” Honest fear is not the end of faith; it can be where faith starts. The block also includes hard sayings about putting the Savior first (Matthew 8:19–22; Mark 3:31–35), which make a good extra for a class that is ready for more.

Only have 5 minutes?

Read Mark 2:1–12, Mark 2:17 and Luke 7:36–50. Run the Four Corners hook with no supplies, let Teach Mode carry the scripture scene (the four friends carry an invisible mat), have two youth teach Mark 2:17, then read three scenarios from the Simon or the Savior? step and let each team answer. Close with the Real Talk questions and a short, honest testimony about how the Savior sees people.

What to bring5 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. Write these six scenarios on slips: (1) A guy who got suspended last year shows up at a youth activity for the first time, and the group goes quiet. (2) A girl’s old posts from middle school resurface in a group chat, and people start screenshotting them. (3) Someone who hasn’t been to church in a year sits alone on the back row. (4) In seminary, someone asks a question that sounds like doubt, and a couple of kids roll their eyes. (5) A friend did something you think is seriously wrong, and now they seem genuinely sorry. (6) You messed up, people know, and you wonder whether you still belong at church.
  2. Mark Mark 2:1–12 and 2:15–17, Mark 4:37–41 and Luke 7:36–50 in one set of scriptures (or have readers bookmark them in Gospel Library).
  3. Add your class in the My Class tab so you can hand out the scene parts with one tap. Give the Scribe to a confident reader and the Man on the Mat to someone who doesn’t mind being the center of attention.
  4. Think of a time someone helped carry you (or you helped carry someone) closer to the Savior, or a time someone saw past your worst moment. You’ll share it briefly at the end.

If your class is wild

  • Nobody lifts anybody. The four friends carry the empty mat by its corners while the Man walks in the middle holding on. It still looks great and nobody ends up in the emergency room.
  • Teens can smell a lecture. Ask more than you tell, and let a question hang for ten seconds before you rescue anyone.
  • The scenarios in Simon or the Savior? may hit close to home for someone in the room. Keep it about situations, never about real classmates, and shut down any “that’s so you” comments right away.
  • Give your loudest youth the Scribe or the game host job. Energy that’s pointed at a task stops competing with you.
  • Phones are fine for Gospel Library. If they drift, try: “Scriptures open, everything else face down; you can check it the second class ends.”

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

Four Corners: Your Friend Is Struggling

3 min

Youth commit to what they’d really do for a struggling friend, which sets up four friends who did something none of them picked.

  1. Point to four corners of the room and name them: A “Text them,” B “Show up in person,” C “Tell a trusted adult,” D “Give them space until they reach out.”
  2. SAY“A friend has been really down for weeks. Skipping things, quiet in the group chat. What do you do first? Go to a corner.” Ask one person in each corner why, in one sentence.
  3. SAY“Harder one. Your friend isn’t sad; they’re making choices that are hurting them. Same corners.” Watch who moves.
  4. SAY“Today we meet four friends who picked an option none of us listed. They tore a hole in someone’s roof.”
🌪️ If everyone follows one popular kid to a corner, add a rule: eyes closed until you’ve picked your corner in your head.

Class screen: 🧭 Your friend is struggling. What do you do first? · A: Text them · B: Show up · C: Tell an adult · D: Give them space

2. Story

Scripture Scene: Four Friends and a Hole in the Roof

6 min

Youth act out Mark 2 and notice that the friends’ faith carried the man, and that Jesus forgave him before He healed him.

  1. Hand out parts (tap Roles in Teach Mode). Four youth are the Friends; everyone left over is the Crowd.
  2. Lay the blanket by the door. The Friends carry it by the corners with the Man walking in the middle holding on. Nobody lifts a person.
  3. The Narrator reads each scene while the class watches the screen; pause for each action. No one voices the Savior; the Narrator reports His words.
  4. After scene 3, ask: “Be honest. At this point, would you have gone home?”
  5. After the last scene, ask: “Why do you think Jesus said ‘thy sins be forgiven’ before He said ‘arise’?”
🌪️ If they get too into the roof demolition, give the Crowd a job: the best silent “dirt falling in my hair” reaction wins.

Class screen: 🎭 Four friends, one blocked door, and a hole in the roof · Friends: carry the mat · Crowd: block the door

No supplies? Do this instead

Instead of: A blanket, beach towel or bedsheet to be the man’s mat

  1. Hand out parts (tap Roles in Teach Mode). Four youth are the Friends; everyone left over is the Crowd.
  2. The Friends each hold one corner of an invisible mat and have to keep it level the whole time. The Man walks in the middle with a hand on it.
  3. The Narrator reads each scene while the class watches the screen; pause for each action. No one voices the Savior.
  4. After scene 3, ask: “Be honest. At this point, would you have gone home?”
  5. After the last scene, ask: “Why do you think Jesus said ‘thy sins be forgiven’ before He said ‘arise’?”
🌪️ Judge the invisible mat: if any corner drops, the Crowd yells “Mat down!” and the Friends have to reset.
3. Wiggle break

Rainstorm, Then Peace

2 min

The whole class builds a storm with their hands and feet and then stops it on the Savior’s words, a physical picture of Mark 4.

  1. Everyone stands. You are the conductor: they copy whatever your hands do. Start by rubbing palms together (drizzle), then finger snaps (rain), then patting thighs (downpour), then stomping (the storm hits).
  2. As the storm peaks, a volunteer shouts Mark 4:38 over the noise: “Master, carest thou not that we perish?”
  3. Then slice your hand through the air and read, “Peace, be still.” Total silence. Hold it for five seconds.
  4. Ask: “The disciples asked, ‘Carest thou not…?’ In other words: don’t you care? Have you ever felt like asking that? He answered with calm, not a lecture.”
🌪️ If the stomping gets out of hand, it’s actually perfect: the louder the storm, the more dramatic the silence.

Class screen: 🌊 Build the storm. Stop on “Peace, be still.” · Rub · Snap · Pat · Stomp · Then total silence

4. Scripture

Scripture Spotlight: Mark 2:17, Taught by You

4 min

Two youth teach the key verse so the class hears it from peers, then everyone wrestles with what church looks like if it’s a hospital.

  1. A volunteer reads Mark 2:15–16: Jesus eats dinner at Levi’s house with publicans and sinners, and the scribes complain.
  2. Youth teacher 1 (give them 60 seconds to prep): who were publicans? (Tax collectors who worked for Rome; most people saw them as traitors and cheats.)
  3. Youth teacher 2: read Mark 2:17 and explain it in normal words.
  4. Ask: “If our ward acted like a hospital for people who are hurting, what would change? What happens when people treat church like a museum where only perfect people belong?”
  5. Say the verse together using the call-and-answer motions.

Class screen: 🩺 They that are whole have no need of the physician · Hospital or museum? · Who is church for?

No supplies? Do this instead

Instead of: Scriptures for each pair (their own, a classroom set, or Gospel Library on their phones)

  1. Read Mark 2:15–16 from your own scriptures: Jesus eats dinner with publicans and sinners, and the scribes complain.
  2. Ask a volunteer to explain who publicans were after you give the hint: tax collectors for Rome, seen as traitors.
  3. Put Mark 2:17 on the screen and ask another volunteer to explain it in normal words.
  4. Ask: “If our ward acted like a hospital for people who are hurting, what would change? What happens when people treat it like a museum?” Then say the verse together.
5. Game

Simon or the Savior?

5 min

Real situations show the difference between seeing a label and seeing a person, and push youth to name something realistic they could do.

  1. Set it up in one minute: Simon the Pharisee hosted Jesus but skipped every courtesy. A woman known as a sinner washed the Savior’s feet with her tears, and Simon judged them both. Have a volunteer read Luke 7:44 and 7:47.
  2. Split into two teams. Draw a slip and read it aloud.
  3. Team A has 20 seconds to give the honest “Simon” reaction (what people usually do or think). Team B has 20 seconds to give the “Savior” reaction: what seeing the person would look like, in real, doable actions.
  4. The whole room votes thumbs up or down: “Could a real fifteen-year-old actually do that on Monday?” Thumbs up earns Team B a point.
  5. Swap roles each round. Play three or four slips, then share Elder Ulisses Soares’s words from “The Savior’s Abiding Compassion” (see Conference quotes).
🌪️ If the Simon answers get too savage, pause and say: “That’s exactly why this is hard. We’re all a little bit Simon.”

Class screen: 👀 Seest thou this person? Simon’s reaction vs. the Savior’s · Team A: the Simon reaction · Team B: the Savior reaction · Room votes: realistic?

No supplies? Do this instead

Instead of: Six scenario slips (see prep), folded into a bowl, bag or hat

  1. Set it up: Simon hosted Jesus but judged a woman who washed the Savior’s feet with her tears. Read Luke 7:44 and 7:47 from your scriptures.
  2. Split into two teams. Read a scenario: a guy who got suspended shows up at a youth activity · old middle-school posts resurface in a group chat · someone who hasn’t come in a year sits alone · a seminary question gets eye rolls · a friend did something wrong and seems truly sorry · you messed up and wonder if you still belong.
  3. Team A gives the honest “Simon” reaction in 20 seconds; Team B gives a realistic “Savior” reaction. The room votes: could a real teen do that Monday?
  4. Swap roles each round. Play three or four scenarios, then share Elder Ulisses Soares’s words from “The Savior’s Abiding Compassion” (see Conference quotes).
6. Game

Forehead Guess: Through the Roof

4 minBONUS

A quick, competitive review of the people, places and ideas from this week’s chapters.

  1. Split into two teams. Tap Forehead Guess. The guesser holds your phone or tablet on their forehead facing their team.
  2. Teammates give clues without saying the word. Tilt down for got it, up to pass. Turns are 45 seconds.
  3. Bonus point if the team can name the chapter where the word shows up.
▶ Play Forehead Guess on the web

Class screen: 🤔 Forehead Guess: Through the Roof edition · No saying the word · Bonus: name the chapter

7. Game

Scripture Showdown

5 minBONUS

A fast team quiz reviews the whole lesson.

  1. Split into two teams and pick captains. Tap Scripture Showdown.
  2. Teams huddle for ten seconds; only the captain answers.
  3. Steal rule: if a team misses, the other team can steal by naming the chapter.
▶ Play Scripture Showdown on the web

Class screen: 🏆 Scripture Showdown!

8. Talk it over

Real Talk

3 min

Honest questions connect the roof, the dinner and the storm to their actual lives.

  1. Sit wherever they’re comfortable. One question per screen; you won’t get to all of them, and that’s fine.
  2. Let silence sit for ten seconds before you rescue anyone. Answer one yourself, briefly and honestly.
  3. If something heavy comes up, thank them and follow up after class.
💬 Ask the class
  • Who has been one of the “four friends” for you, someone who carried you when you couldn’t get there yourself?
  • Why is it so easy to be Simon, especially online? What makes someone’s worst moment so hard to forget?
  • Jesus forgave the man before anyone asked Him to. What does that tell you about how He feels about you when you mess up?
  • The disciples asked Jesus, “Carest thou not…?” (Don’t you care?) Is it okay to pray like that? What helps when the storm doesn’t stop right away?

Class screen: 💬 Real talk: roofs, labels and storms

9. Testimony

Testimony & Who’s on Your Mat?

2 min

End quietly with one real person to carry toward the Savior this week and the reminder that He sees them, and us, with mercy.

  1. Lower your voice. Share briefly how someone once carried you toward the Savior, or how He saw past your worst moment. Testify that He came for people who need Him.
  2. Hand out cards. Invite each person to write the initials of one person who might be stuck outside the door right now, and one small thing they could do for them this week. It stays private.
  3. Show the challenge on the screen and invite someone to say the closing prayer.

Class screen: 🛏️ Who’s on your mat this week? · Write their initials · One thing you’ll do

No supplies? Do this instead

Instead of: One sticky note or index card per person, and a few pens

  1. Lower your voice. Share briefly how someone once carried you toward the Savior, or how He saw past your worst moment. Testify that He came for people who need Him.
  2. Invite everyone to type one person’s initials in their phone notes (or just picture them) and decide on one small thing they’ll do for them this week.
  3. Show the challenge on the screen and invite someone to say the closing prayer.

Story drama

Four Friends and a Hole in the Roof

Mark 2:1–12 ↗

Parts to hand out

  • NarratorA strong reader who reads each scene and reports what Jesus said (no one voices the Savior).
  • The Man on the MatCan’t walk at first; walks between the friends holding the mat, then rolls it up and strides out.
  • The Four FriendsFour youth who carry the mat by its corners, get blocked, climb and dig through the roof.
  • The ScribeSits with arms folded and reads Mark 2:7 out loud: who can forgive sins but God?
  • The CrowdEveryone else: packs the doorway, flinches at falling roof dirt, then parts in amazement.

Scenes

  1. 🏠👥 Capernaum: a packed house, no way in

    Word spread that Jesus was back in Capernaum, and people crammed into the house where He was teaching. There was no room left, not even around the door. If you weren’t already inside, you weren’t getting in.

    🎬 The Crowd packs shoulder to shoulder in front of the doorway, facing in, listening.

  2. 🛏️🚶 Four friends carry a man who can’t walk

    Outside, four men arrived carrying a friend with palsy. He couldn’t walk. We don’t know their names or how far they carried him. We just know they showed up for him.

    🎬 The Four Friends each grab a corner of the mat. The Man walks in the middle holding on. They head for the door.

  3. 🚫🚪 The door is blocked

    They couldn’t get anywhere near Jesus. The crowd wasn’t moving. This is the moment most people say, “Well, we tried,” and go home.

    🎬 The Friends try to get through; the Crowd folds its arms and doesn’t budge (no shoving). The Friends huddle: “Now what?”

  4. 🪜🏚️ Up the stairs and through the roof

    So they climbed up onto the flat roof and started breaking a hole through it. Picture it: Jesus is teaching, and chunks of roof start falling on the audience.

    🎬 The Friends mime climbing and digging. The Crowd looks up, flinches and brushes imaginary dirt out of their hair.

  5. ⬇️🛏️ Lowered right in front of Jesus

    They let the mat down through the hole, right in front of the Savior. Mark says Jesus saw their faith, the friends’ faith. Then He said the last thing anyone expected: not “be healed,” but “Son, thy sins be forgiven thee.”

    🎬 The Friends slowly “lower” the mat to the floor and the Man sits on it. The Narrator reads Mark 2:5.

  6. 🤨📜 The scribes wonder: who can forgive sins?

    Some scribes sat there thinking this was blasphemy, because only God can forgive sins. Jesus knew what they were thinking. He asked which is easier to say: “Thy sins be forgiven thee,” or “Arise, and take up thy bed, and walk”? So they would know He had power on earth to forgive sins, He told the man to rise.

    🎬 The Scribe reads Mark 2:7 with folded arms. The Crowd murmurs and turns to look at the Man.

  7. 🙌🚶 He rolls up his bed and walks out

    Immediately the man stood up, picked up the mat he’d been carried on and walked out in front of everyone. The whole crowd was amazed and praised God. They had never seen anything like it.

    🎬 The Man rolls up the mat, tucks it under his arm and walks out as the Crowd parts. Everyone reads Mark 2:12’s last line together: “We never saw it on this fashion.”

Key verse

Mark 2:17 ↗
“They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”
In plain words: Healthy people don’t need a doctor; sick people do. Jesus didn’t come for people who think they’re already perfect. He came for people who know they need Him, which is all of us.
🙌 Split the room: one side says “They that are whole have no need of the physician,” the other answers “but they that are sick,” and everyone finishes the verse together. Swap sides, then try it once with the screen covered.

More verses

Mark 2:5 ↗
“When Jesus saw their faith, he said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, thy sins be forgiven thee.”
In plain words: Jesus noticed the friends’ faith, and the first thing He gave their friend was forgiveness.
Luke 7:44 ↗
“And he turned to the woman, and said unto Simon, Seest thou this woman?”
In plain words: Jesus asked Simon if he could actually see her, as a person and not a reputation.
Luke 7:50 ↗
“And he said to the woman, Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace.”
In plain words: Your faith in Me has saved you. You can leave in peace.
Mark 4:39 ↗
“And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.”
In plain words: Jesus stood up and told the storm to stop, and it did. Everything went calm.

Forehead Guess words16 words

  • 🏘️ Capernaum
  • 🛏️ Palsy
  • 🏚️ Roof
  • 🧑‍🤝‍🧑 Four Friends
  • 📜 Scribe
  • 🩺 Physician
  • 💰 Publican
  • 🍽️ Simon the Pharisee
  • 🏺 Alabaster Box
  • 🧾 Two Debtors
  • 🪖 Centurion
  • ⚱️ Widow of Nain
  • 🤲 Leper
  • ⛈️ Storm
  • 🌊 Peace, Be Still
  • 💗 Forgiveness
Clues for each word
  • Capernaum: Town by the Sea of Galilee where the roof got dug up
  • Palsy: Why the man couldn’t walk
  • Roof: The friends dug through it
  • Four Friends: Carried the mat when the door was blocked
  • Scribe: Thought “Who can forgive sins but God only?”
  • Physician: The sick need one; the whole don’t
  • Publican: Tax collector Jesus ate dinner with
  • Simon the Pharisee: Hosted Jesus, skipped the foot washing, judged everyone
  • Alabaster Box: Held the ointment the woman used on Jesus’s feet
  • Two Debtors: Jesus’s parable: one owed 500, one owed 50
  • Centurion: Roman officer whose servant was healed from far away
  • Widow of Nain: Her only son was raised during his funeral
  • Leper: Jesus touched him and made him clean
  • Storm: Filled the boat while Jesus slept on a pillow
  • Peace, Be Still: Three words that stopped the wind
  • Forgiveness: What Jesus gave the man before healing him
▶ Play Forehead GuessFull screen, 60-second timer, works on any phone.

Scripture Showdown9 questions

  1. How did the four friends get the man to Jesus?
    • A. Through a window
    • B. Through the roof
    • C. Through the back door
    Show answer

    ✅ B. Through the roof Mark 2:4. The door was blocked, so they dug through the roof.

  2. Whose faith did Jesus notice first in Mark 2:5?
    • A. The friends’ faith
    • B. The scribes’ faith
    • C. Peter’s faith
    Show answer

    ✅ A. The friends’ faith “When Jesus saw their faith.” Your faith can help carry someone else.

  3. What did Jesus say to the man before telling him to walk?
    • A. Where are your friends?
    • B. Stop worrying
    • C. Thy sins be forgiven thee
    Show answer

    ✅ C. Thy sins be forgiven thee He met the deepest need first.

  4. What did the scribes think when Jesus forgave sins?
    • A. That it was blasphemy
    • B. That it was kind
    • C. That it was a joke
    Show answer

    ✅ A. That it was blasphemy Mark 2:7. They knew only God can forgive sins. They just didn’t see who Jesus was.

  5. Mark 2:17: who needs a physician?
    • A. Those who are whole
    • B. Those who are sick
    • C. Only the scribes
    Show answer

    ✅ B. Those who are sick He came for people who know they need Him.

  6. What courtesies did Simon skip when Jesus came to dinner?
    • A. Music and dancing
    • B. Bread and fish
    • C. Water for feet, a kiss, oil
    Show answer

    ✅ C. Water for feet, a kiss, oil Luke 7:44–46. The woman did all three, with tears.

  7. In the parable of two debtors, who loves the lender most?
    • A. The one forgiven most
    • B. The one forgiven least
    • C. Neither one
    Show answer

    ✅ A. The one forgiven most Luke 7:43. Simon got the answer right; he just didn’t apply it to himself.

  8. What was Jesus doing when the storm filled the boat?
    • A. Fishing
    • B. Sleeping on a pillow
    • C. Rowing
    Show answer

    ✅ B. Sleeping on a pillow Mark 4:38. The disciples woke Him: “Carest thou not that we perish?”

  9. Which miracle happened during a funeral procession?
    • A. The centurion’s servant
    • B. Peter’s mother-in-law
    • C. The widow of Nain’s son
    Show answer

    ✅ C. The widow of Nain’s son Luke 7:11–15. Jesus had compassion on a mother who had lost her only son.

▶ Play Scripture ShowdownTeams take turns on one screen.

From general conference

“Unlike you and me, Christ is capable of clearly seeing all facets of a given situation. Even knowing all our weaknesses as He does, the Savior does not rashly condemn us but continues to work with us compassionately over time, helping us to remove the beam from our eye.”

— Elder Ulisses Soares, “The Savior’s Abiding Compassion,” October 2021

Share at the end of Simon or the Savior?, before Real Talk.

Read the talk ↗

Songs

  • Master, the Tempest Is Raging Hymns, no. 105

    Written about the storm in Mark 4. Try matching its lines to Mark 4:37–39. Find it ↗

  • I Need Thee Every Hour Hymns, no. 98

    The sick need a physician, and so do we, every hour. Find it ↗

  • Come, Follow Me Hymns, no. 116

    These chapters include Jesus’s hard sayings about following Him first. Find it ↗

This week’s challenge

Be One of the Four

Pick one person who might be stuck outside the door right now: lonely, struggling, new, or away from church. Do one real thing this week to carry them a little closer: sit by them, invite them, or send a message that isn’t about you. And when you mess up, go straight to the Savior instead of hiding. He is eager to forgive when we repent.

Text the parents

Today in class we acted out the four friends who dug through a roof to bring their friend to Jesus (Mark 2:1–12), and we talked about Simon the Pharisee, who saw a sinner where Jesus saw a person (Luke 7:36–50). Ask your teen: who has been one of the “four friends” for you, and who might need you to be one for them this week?

📝 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?

🪖 Faith from a Distance · 4 min

  1. Read Matthew 8:5–13. A Roman officer, an outsider, trusts that Jesus can heal his servant without even coming to the house.
  2. Ask: “Why do you think Jesus marveled at this man’s faith?”
  3. Ask: “Who are the ‘outsiders’ at your school with more faith or goodness than people expect?”

🥇 Who Comes First? · 5 min

  1. Read Matthew 8:19–22 and Mark 3:31–35. Jesus’s answers sound harsh at first.
  2. Ask: “What is He really teaching about putting Him first? Is He against families?” (No: He is teaching that following Him comes first, and that everyone who does God’s will becomes His family.)
  3. Ask: “What’s one thing that competes with the Savior for first place in your week?”

❓ Four Questions in the Storm · 4 min

  1. Read Mark 4:35–41 and find the four questions.
  2. Write them where everyone can see. Ask which one each person relates to most right now.
  3. Ask: “What’s the answer to the last question: what manner of man is this?”

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 Youth 14–16 lessons