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Make Room for the King

The people came home from Babylon, but they stopped building the Lord’s house and got busy with their own. Haggai told them to “consider your ways,” and Zechariah promised that their King would come riding on a donkey. In the middle of busy December, your family will rebuild a pillow temple, roll out a red-carpet welcome for King Jesus, label everyday things “Holiness to the Lord,” and practice putting the Lord first.

  • Week 50
  • 📅 Dec 7–13, 2026
  • 📖 Haggai 1–2; Zechariah 1–4; 7–14
Start with Monday
Read it togetherHaggai 1–2; Zechariah 1–4; 7–14 in Gospel LibraryCome, Follow Me manualOld Testament 2026, week 50

What your kids learn in class

Stories, verses and games for the week come from each child’s own Primary or youth lesson, so home matches Sunday.

Daily sparks

Five to ten minutes a day, Monday to Sunday. Grown-ups lead; kids act, play and answer. Where a step says to tap something, that’s in the Gospel Sparks app; on the web, use the “Play along” links.

Monday · 10 min · Story

Build It Again!

🧱 Stack it up! Build the Lord’s house!Freeze! The work stopped…“Consider your ways!”Build, build, build!

📖 Read together: Haggai 1:2–8; 2:4 ↗

  1. Pile pillows, boxes or blocks in the middle of the room as the “rubble” of the temple. Open the story scenes and read them together.
  2. When the people start building, have your kids stack the pillows into a temple as fast as they can.
  3. When the work stops, everyone freezes and goes off to build their own houses in the corners of the room.
  4. When Haggai says, “Consider your ways!”, everyone runs back and finishes the temple. Cheer when it’s done!
  5. SAY“When the people put the Lord’s house first, He blessed them. He blesses us when we put Him first too.”

🎭 Play along: the story scenes (from the CTR 8 lesson; pick your kid’s class above for theirs)

Talk about it
  • Why did the people stop building the temple?
  • What made them start again?
  • What does it mean to put the Lord first?
🧸 Little ones (2–5)Let your little one put the very last pillow on top and shout, “The temple is finished!”
📚 Big kids (10–13)Have your 10–13-year-old read Haggai 2:4 aloud as the prophet, cheering the builders on.
🧑 Teens (14–18)Have your teen read Haggai 1:4–6 and list what “wages … into a bag with holes” looks like for teens today: effort that never seems to satisfy. Then ask what the Lord’s put-first-things-first answer in verses 7–8 might mean for their own schedule.
☕️ For grown-upsHaggai 1:4 asks whether it’s time to live in “cieled houses” while the Lord’s house lies waste. The question isn’t whether homes should be nice; it’s what gets built first. December is a good month to ask it of your calendar.

Sticker for today: 🏛️

Tuesday · 8 min · Verse

Red-Carpet Welcome

👑 Rejoice! Your King is coming!Roll out the carpet.Wave your palm branches!Zechariah 9:9

📖 Read together: Zechariah 9:9; Matthew 21:1–9 ↗

  1. Open the key verse screen and read Zechariah 9:9 together. Say: “Zechariah said the King would come riding on a donkey. More than 500 years later, Jesus did exactly that!”
  2. Roll out a “red carpet” down the hallway with towels, jackets or blankets, like the people who spread their clothes on the road.
  3. Make “palm branches” from green paper, or just wave your hands. Set a stuffed animal donkey at the end of the carpet.
  4. Line up on both sides of the carpet and wave while everyone says the key verse together, louder each time.
  5. SAY“Jesus is our King. We welcome Him by making room for Him in our day.”

📖 Play along: the key verse (from the CTR 8 lesson; pick your kid’s class above for theirs)

Talk about it
  • How would you get ready if a king were coming to your house?
  • How can we welcome Jesus into our home this Christmas?
🧸 Little ones (2–5)Your little one can hold the stuffed donkey and wave a paper branch as high as they can.
📚 Big kids (10–13)Ask your 10–13-year-old to read Matthew 21:5 and find the words that match Zechariah 9:9.
🧑 Teens (14–18)Ask your teen to compare Zechariah 9:9 with Matthew 21:1–9 and John 12:14–16, and notice that even the disciples didn’t connect the prophecy until later. Ask: what’s something in your life that only made sense looking back?
☕️ For grown-upsA king riding a donkey instead of a war horse was a statement: Jesus came lowly and speaking peace (Zechariah 9:9–10). In the busiest month of the year, ask how the Prince of Peace would want to enter your home.

Sticker for today: 🌿

Wednesday · 10 min · Activity

Holiness to the Lord Labels

🏷️ Label everything! Holiness to the Lord!Two minutes. Go!How can a spoon serve God?

📖 Read together: Zechariah 14:20 ↗

  1. Read Zechariah 14:20 together. Say: “Zechariah saw a day when even horse bells and cooking pots would say ‘Holiness unto the Lord.’ Temples today carry almost the same words: ‘Holiness to the Lord.’”
  2. Give your kids sticky notes or paper strips and tape. Set the timer for two minutes.
  3. Race to label everyday things with “Holiness to the Lord”: a spoon, shoes, a backpack, a phone, a toothbrush.
  4. Walk around together and have each child tell how that thing could be used for the Lord (shoes can walk to help a neighbor, a phone can call Grandma).
  5. Leave a few labels up all week as reminders.

⏱️ Big Timer (in the Gospel Sparks app)

Talk about it
  • Which label was the most surprising?
  • How can an ordinary day become holy?
🧸 Little ones (2–5)Let your little one stick the labels on while an older child or parent writes them.
📚 Big kids (10–13)Have your 10–13-year-old label something they use every day, like their phone, and share one way to make it holy this week.
🧑 Teens (14–18)Ask your teen to put a “Holiness to the Lord” label on their phone for the week and set one real phone rule they choose for themselves (no scrolling in bed, or one app off-limits). Check in on Sunday without lecturing.
☕️ For grown-upsZechariah 14:20–21 imagines holiness engraved on horse bells and cooking pots, the most ordinary things in a household. Holiness isn’t only what happens at church; it’s also in how you drive the carpool and do the dishes.

Sticker for today: 🏷️

Thursday · 10 min · Game

Not by Might Game Night

💪 Push the wall! Did it move?Not by muscles……but by the Lord’s Spirit!Now play Forehead Guess!

📖 Read together: Zechariah 4:6 ↗

  1. Challenge each child to push a wall with all their might. Did it move? Nope!
  2. Read Zechariah 4:6 together. Say: “The Lord told Zerubbabel the temple would be built not by muscles, but by His Spirit. Big things happen when the Lord helps us.”
  3. Play Forehead Guess with this week’s temple builder words.
  4. Ask each person to name one hard thing the Holy Ghost could help them with this week.

🤔 Play along: Forehead Guess (from the CTR 8 lesson; pick your kid’s class above for theirs)

Talk about it
  • What’s something too hard to do by yourself?
  • How has the Lord helped you do something hard?
🧸 Little ones (2–5)Let your little one flex their muscles for the wall push, then partner with a big helper during Forehead Guess.
📚 Big kids (10–13)Let your 10–13-year-old be the game host and give the fastest clues to the youngest players.
🧑 Teens (14–18)Have your teen read Zechariah 4:6–10 and find the question in verse 10: “who hath despised the day of small things?” Ask what small, unimpressive thing they’re doing (a practice, a habit, a friendship) that the Lord might build into something big.
☕️ For grown-upsZerubbabel was rebuilding with a small, discouraged crew, and the new foundation looked like nothing next to the first temple (Haggai 2:3). “Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit” (Zechariah 4:6) is a verse for every parent who feels under-resourced.

Sticker for today: 💪

Friday · 10 min · Service

Lord-First Service

🧹 Secret job first, screens second!Pick a job.Do it in secret.Leave a crown note. 👑

📖 Read together: Zechariah 8:5 ↗

  1. Read Zechariah 8:5. Say: “Zechariah saw streets full of happy kids playing. Let’s make our home like that by serving first.”
  2. Before anyone turns on a screen today, have each child do one secret job for someone else: make a bed, put away shoes, set the table.
  3. Leave a little note on the job: “Holiness to the Lord!” or a drawn crown.
  4. At dinner, see if people can guess who did which secret job.
Talk about it
  • How did it feel to do something before being asked?
  • What happens to a family when everyone serves first?
🧸 Little ones (2–5)Let your little one team up with a sibling on their secret job and put the note on it.
📚 Big kids (10–13)Challenge your 10–13-year-old to invite a friend or neighbor kid over to play who might feel left out, like the happy streets in Zechariah 8:5.
🧑 Teens (14–18)Challenge your teen to do their secret job for the sibling they’ve been clashing with, and to make it something that really costs them time, like doing that sibling’s chore.
☕️ For grown-upsZechariah 8:4–5 pictures the redeemed city with old people sitting in the streets and children playing there. Zion isn’t only a temple; it’s a neighborhood where the elderly and the young both feel safe and welcome.

Sticker for today: 🧹

Saturday · 8 min · Activity

Clean Clothes for Sunday

👕 Off with the dirty shirt! On with clean!Jesus makes us clean inside.Quiz time!

📖 Read together: Zechariah 3:3–5 ↗

  1. Have one child put an old, dirty or wrinkly shirt over their clothes. Read Zechariah 3:3–4 together.
  2. Take off the dirty shirt and give them a clean one to hold. Say: “The angel of the Lord had Joshua the high priest’s dirty clothes taken away and gave him clean ones. When we are baptized and take the sacrament, Jesus makes us clean inside.”
  3. Play the quiz together to get ready for Primary tomorrow.
  4. Lay out everyone’s Sunday clothes together and talk about how you’ll think of Jesus during the sacrament.

🏆 Play along: Scripture Showdown (from the CTR 8 lesson; pick your kid’s class above for theirs)

Talk about it
  • What does it feel like to start fresh?
  • What can you think about during the sacrament tomorrow?
🧸 Little ones (2–5)Let your little one help pick out and lay out their own Sunday clothes.
📚 Big kids (10–13)Ask your 10–13-year-old to explain how the sacrament is like getting clean clothes every week.
🧑 Teens (14–18)Have your teen read Zechariah 3:1–5 and notice who stands there accusing Joshua (verse 1) and who silences him (verse 2). Ask: what voice tells you you’re too dirty to take the sacrament, and what does the Lord say back?
☕️ For grown-upsIn Zechariah 3:4 the angel, speaking for the Lord, tells Joshua, “I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee, and I will clothe thee with change of raiment.” As you prepare for the sacrament, notice that Joshua doesn’t do the scrubbing; he accepts the clean clothes.

Sticker for today: 👔

Sunday · 6 min · Sabbath

Wounds in His Hands

🙌 What did you learn in Primary today?Look at your hands.What can they do for Jesus?

📖 Read together: Zechariah 13:6 ↗

  1. Ask: “What did you learn in Primary today? What did you build or act out?”
  2. Read Zechariah 13:6 together. Say: “Zechariah saw that the Savior would have wounds in His hands. Jesus was hurt for us because He loves us.”
  3. Look at your own hands quietly for a moment. Have each person say one thing their hands can do for Jesus this week.
  4. End with a quiet testimony: tell your kids why Jesus is your King, and invite anyone who wants to share too.
Talk about it
  • What did you learn in Primary today?
  • What can your hands do for Jesus this week?
🧸 Little ones (2–5)Trace your little one’s hand on paper and draw a heart in the middle for Jesus.
📚 Big kids (10–13)Invite your 10–13-year-old to read Zechariah 13:6 and Doctrine and Covenants 45:51–52 and share what the Lord said His people will see when He comes again.
🧑 Teens (14–18)Invite your teen to read Zechariah 12:10 and John 19:34–37, where John says this prophecy was fulfilled at the cross. Ask them to share how prophecies this specific affect their faith in Jesus Christ.
☕️ For grown-upsIn Zechariah 13:6 the Savior explains His wounds as those He received “in the house of my friends.” Many of us carry hurts from people we love; He understands that kind of pain from the inside.

Sticker for today: ❤️

Family challenge

Lord First on the Calendar

On Monday night, sit down with the family calendar and write one Lord-first thing on each day of the week before anything else goes in: family prayer, a Christmas scripture, a visit to someone lonely, a walk on temple grounds. Check each one off together at bedtime.

Parent Corner

Haggai and Zechariah spoke to exiles who had come home to a ruined Jerusalem. They laid a temple foundation, met opposition, and then let the work sit for years while they built up their own homes and farms. Haggai’s refrain, “Consider your ways” (Haggai 1:5, 7), is less a scolding than an invitation to notice that effort spent everywhere except on the Lord leaves us strangely unsatisfied. Zechariah widens the view: a high priest is cleansed and given clean clothes (Zechariah 3), finishes His work “not by might, nor by power” (Zechariah 4:6), and sends a lowly King riding on a donkey (Zechariah 9:9). His last vision puts “Holiness unto the Lord” on horse bells and cooking pots (Zechariah 14:20–21), a picture of a life where nothing is too ordinary to be dedicated to God. For families in December, the invitation isn’t to add more; it’s to put the Lord first in what is already there.

  • Ponder: If someone looked only at your calendar and bank statement from the last month, what would they say you’re building first?
  • Try this: Before Christmas, put one temple visit on the calendar before anything else gets added. If going to the temple isn’t possible right now, plan an hour of family history or a quiet walk on temple grounds instead.

From general conference

“Our commitment to attend should be at least as strong when the temple is nearby as when it is distant.”

— Elder Dale G. Renlund, “Jesus Christ Is the Treasure,” October 2023

Read with your spouse after Monday’s temple-building story, as you plan a December temple visit.

Read the talk ↗

Dinner-table questions

  • If you could build any room in the Lord’s house, what would it be?
  • What are our family’s “big rocks” that should come first each day?
  • What’s one thing that gets in the way of putting the Lord first?
  • If Jesus rode into our town on a donkey today, what would you do?
  • What makes a place feel holy to you?

Sources

Scripture quotations are from the King James Version, the Bible used by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

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