Gospel Sparks Join the beta

An Audience of One

Would you still do it if nobody saw, a beam stuck in your own eye, and two houses in the same storm

  • 🔥 Youth 14–16
  • Week 8
  • 📅 Sunday, February 21, 2027
🤔 Forehead Guess🏆 Showdown
💡 The big idea

The Savior teaches me to live for my Father in Heaven, who sees in secret, instead of for an audience, and hearing and doing His words builds my life on a rock that holds in any storm.

I can do good, pray and choose the right for my Father in Heaven instead of for likes or approval, and turn what I hear from Jesus into what I do.

Study it yourself firstRead Matthew 6–7 in Gospel LibraryCome, Follow Me manualOpen this week (Matthew 6–7)
Know the chapters

Matthew 6 opens with a warning that fits the age of social media perfectly: don’t do good things “to be seen of them” (6:1). Jesus names three religious habits, giving to the poor, praying and fasting, and shows how each can become a performance. People who do them for applause “have their reward” (6:2, 5, 16); the applause is all they get. But the Father “which seeth in secret” rewards openly (6:4, 6, 18). The rest of the chapter asks where our treasure and hearts are (6:19–21), says we can’t serve two masters (6:24), and tells anxious people to consider the lilies and the birds, because the Father knows what we need (6:25–34). Be careful with that last part: worry is real, and for some youth anxiety is a health condition that needs care. The Savior’s point is that they are known and loved, not that anxious people lack faith.

Matthew 7:1 sounds like “never judge anything,” but the Joseph Smith Translation clarifies it as judging not unrighteously but with righteous judgment (compare John 7:24). The mote-and-beam image (7:3–5) is almost comic: a man with a plank in his eye trying to pick a speck out of someone else’s. Jesus then invites us to ask, seek and knock (7:7–11), gives the Golden Rule (7:12), and teaches that false prophets are known “by their fruits” (7:15–20), a useful test for the endless claims youth see online. In 7:21–23 the JST changes “I never knew you” to “Ye never knew me”: it’s about knowing Him, not just saying the right words.

The sermon ends with two builders (7:24–27). Both heard the same words. The same rain, floods and wind hit both houses. The only difference was what each did with what he heard. The manual points youth to pages 4–5 of For the Strength of Youth: A Guide for Making Choices, which is about building on Jesus Christ as a foundation, and to Helaman 5:12. The crowd was astonished because He taught “as one having authority” (7:29). For 14–16s, the heart of this week is authenticity: an audience of one, and a faith that is lived, not posted.

Only have 5 minutes?

Read Matthew 6:1–6 and 7:24–27. Do the Would You Still? stand/sit hook, run the Two Houses reader’s theater with the Sound Board, then act out mote and beam with an arm. Close with the “I heard… I will…” reflection and a short testimony.

What to bring3 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. Read Matthew 6–7 once. In the reader’s theater, you read the Savior’s words; no youth plays Jesus.
  2. Text one youth on Saturday and ask them to lead the Matthew 6:6 spotlight. Send them the verse and the steps.
  3. Practice the mote-and-beam bit once in a mirror. It’s funnier if you play it completely straight.
  4. Add your class names in the My Class tab for the Name Spinner.

If your class is wild

  • The rainstorm wiggle gets loud at the stomping stage. Bring it down to silence on purpose; the quiet is the point.
  • Some youth live with real anxiety. When you discuss “take no thought for the morrow,” say plainly that getting help for anxiety is wise and faithful.
  • In Fruit Inspector, don’t let it turn into mocking real influencers by name. Judge the claim, not the person.
  • If the class is quiet, have them answer discussion questions in pairs first, then share.
  • Keep the “I heard… I will…” cards private.

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

Would You Still?

3 min

A quick, honest stand/sit check shows how much of what we do is shaped by who’s watching.

  1. Everyone stands. Say: “Honest answers only. Sit down if you’d be less likely to do this if nobody would ever see or know.”
  2. Read, and let everyone stand back up between each: “A service project with no photos allowed.” “Reading your scriptures with no streak counter.” “Giving a big compliment anonymously.” “Working hard in practice when the coach isn’t looking.” “Praying over your lunch at a table full of friends.”
  3. Point out: the last one is the opposite. Some things are hard because people see, others because they don’t.
  4. Read Matthew 6:1. Say: “Jesus isn’t saying never let anyone see. He’s asking who you’re doing it for.”
🌪️ If someone jokes that they’d do nothing without an audience, laugh with them, then ask, “Seriously, why is that so real?”

Class screen: 👀 Would you still do it if nobody ever saw? · Sit down if you’re less likely · Honest answers only

2. Story

Reader’s Theater: Two Houses, One Storm

5 min

Acting out the parable with a modern layer helps youth see that hearing without doing leaves a life on sand.

  1. Tap Roles in Teach Mode and hand out parts. Everyone else is the Crowd. Say: “I’ll read the Savior’s words.”
  2. The Narrator reads each scene; pause for actions.
  3. At scene 4, ask: “Why can’t you tell the difference on a sunny day?”
  4. At scene 7, make sure the Wise Builder helps the Foolish Builder up. Say: “It’s never too late to dig.”
  5. SAY“Elder David A. Bednar pointed out something about Helaman 5:12: ‘Please note in this verse that the Savior is not the foundation. Rather, we are admonished to build our personal spiritual foundation upon Him.’ Our foundation is what we do. He is the rock we build it on.”
🌪️ The Foolish Builder’s collapse should be slow and dramatic, never a real fall onto anyone.

Class screen: 🏠⛈️ Reader’s theater: Two Houses, One Storm · The teacher reads the Savior’s words · Same sermon. Same storm. Different foundation.

3. Wiggle break

Build the Storm

2 min

The whole class creates a rainstorm with their hands and feet, then stills it, a reminder that storms come and pass.

  1. Everyone stands. Follow the teacher: rub palms together (drizzle), snap fingers (rain), pat thighs (downpour), stomp feet (flood).
  2. Then reverse it back down to rubbing palms, and finally total stillness.
  3. Hold ten seconds of silence. Say: “Both houses got the whole storm. Only one was still standing when it went quiet.”
🌪️ Use the Sound Board rain under the storm if your group is shy about making noise.
🔊 Sound Board (a class game in the Gospel Sparks app)

Class screen: 🌧️👏 Build the storm, then make it disappear · Rub · Snap · Pat · Stomp · Then back to silence

4. Object lesson

Mote and Beam

3 min

A ridiculous visual makes Matthew 7:3–5 stick and opens up how to judge righteously.

  1. Hold the broom handle up to your eye so it sticks straight out. With total seriousness, walk toward a volunteer holding a crumb near their eye and say: “Hold still. I see a speck in your eye. Let me help.”
  2. Let the class laugh as the beam bonks into everything. Read Matthew 7:3–5.
  3. Ask: “What are some ‘specks’ we love pointing out in others at school or online?” and “What might a beam look like in our own eye?”
  4. SAY“The Joseph Smith Translation of verse 1 says not to judge unrighteously, but to judge righteous judgment. John 7:24 says the same thing. We do have to judge situations and choices. What makes a judgment righteous?” (Starting with yourself, not by appearance, with love, trying to help, not to feel superior.)

Class screen: 🪵👁️ A speck in your eye… and a beam in mine · Matthew 7:3–5

No supplies? Do this instead

Instead of: Something long and straight for the “beam”: a broom handle, yardstick or paper towel tube, A single crumb or tiny scrap of paper for the “mote”

Arm Beam

  1. Hold one arm straight out from your eye like a long plank. With total seriousness, walk toward a volunteer and say: “Hold still. I see a speck in your eye. Let me help.”
  2. Let the class laugh as the “beam” bonks into things. Read Matthew 7:3–5.
  3. Ask: “What are some ‘specks’ we love pointing out in others at school or online?” and “What might a beam look like in our own eye?”
  4. SAY“The Joseph Smith Translation of verse 1 says not to judge unrighteously, but to judge righteous judgment. John 7:24 says the same thing. What makes a judgment righteous?” (Starting with yourself, not by appearance, with love, trying to help.)
5. Scripture

Youth-Led Spotlight: Matthew 6:6

3 min

A youth teaches the key verse and leads a real conversation about private prayer.

  1. Invite the youth you asked ahead of time to lead. Put Matthew 6:6 on the screen.
  2. They read it, teach the motions, and the class says it together once.
  3. They ask: “What’s the ‘closet’ for people our age? Where can you actually be alone with God?” (Car, shower, a walk, earbuds out, before your phone in the morning.)
  4. They read Matthew 7:7 and ask: “Ask, seek, knock. Which one is hardest for you, and why?” Take two answers.

Class screen: 🚪🙏 Shut the door. Talk to the One who sees in secret. · Matthew 6:6

6. Talk it over

Treasure, Worry and Fruit

4 min

Youth apply Matthew 6–7 to attention, anxiety, judging and what they believe online.

  1. Sit in a circle. Say: “Pick the question you actually care about. We don’t have to do them all.”
  2. Show one question at a time. Let two or three people answer; skip freely.
  3. Share your own honest answer to at least one question.
💬 Ask the class
  • “Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” If someone looked at your screen time, what would they say your treasure is?
  • Jesus said to consider the lilies and not worry about tomorrow. How is that different from telling someone with anxiety to “just stop worrying”?
  • “Ye shall know them by their fruits.” How can you test whether an idea you see online is true? What fruit does it produce in people’s lives?
  • The JST changes “I never knew you” to “Ye never knew me.” What’s the difference between knowing about Jesus and knowing Him?
  • What’s something you do for an audience that you’d like to start doing for God instead?
🌪️ If the anxiety question gets heavy, thank whoever shared, remind everyone that getting help is faithful, and follow up with that youth privately after class.

Class screen: 💎💬 Treasure, worry and fruit · Real answers only

7. Game

Fruit Inspector

3 min

Teams practice Matthew 7:16 by judging viral-sounding claims by the fruit they produce.

  1. Split into two teams. Say: “I’ll read a claim you might see online. Your team has 15 seconds to decide: good fruit or bad fruit? Then name the fruit: what does believing it do to people?”
  2. Claims: “You’ll finally be happy when you hit 10K followers.” “Apologizing first makes you look weak.” “Serving someone when you’re sad actually helps you feel better.” “You’ve messed up too much to be forgiven.” “Real friends tell you hard things kindly.” “Everyone else has a perfect life; just look at their posts.”
  3. Use the Name Spinner to pick who gives each team’s verdict. A point for the best explanation of the fruit.
  4. Say at the end: “You don’t have to win every argument online. Just check the fruit.”
🌪️ Keep it to claims, not names. If someone brings up a real person, steer back: “What’s the claim?”
🎡 Name Spinner (a class game in the Gospel Sparks app)

Class screen: 🍇🔍 Fruit Inspector: good fruit or bad fruit? · Matthew 7:16 · What does believing it do to people?

8. Game

Scripture Showdown: Matthew 6–7

4 minBONUS

A fast team quiz reviews the second half of the Sermon on the Mount.

  1. Keep the same teams. Tap Scripture Showdown.
  2. Ten seconds to confer on each question.
  3. The losing team picks whether the last question is worth double.
▶ Play Scripture Showdown on the web

Class screen: 🏆 Scripture Showdown: Matthew 6–7

9. Game

Forehead Guess: Sermon on the Mount, Part 2

4 minBONUS

A quick Heads Up–style review of the images in Matthew 6–7.

  1. Tap Forehead Guess. One person holds your phone or tablet on their forehead facing the class.
  2. Everyone else gives clues without saying the word. Tilt down for got it, up to pass. 45 seconds each.
  3. Hard mode: act it out, no talking.
▶ Play Forehead Guess on the web

Class screen: 🤔 Forehead Guess: Matthew 6–7

10. Testimony

I Heard… I Will…

2 min

A private moment to turn one thing heard today into one thing done this week.

  1. Hand out cards. Say: “Write ‘I heard…’ and finish it with one thing from today. Then write ‘I will…’ and finish it with one thing you’ll actually do. Nobody sees this.”
  2. SAY“That second line is the digging. It’s the difference between the two houses.”
  3. Share a brief testimony of a storm in your life when your foundation on Jesus Christ held.
  4. Point to the challenge and invite a youth to give the closing prayer.

Class screen: 🪨✍️ I heard… I will… · Private. Nobody sees it.

No supplies? Do this instead

Instead of: Index cards or scrap paper and pens, one per person

  1. SAY“Look down or close your eyes. In your head, finish ‘I heard…’ with one thing from today. Then finish ‘I will…’ with one thing you’ll actually do.”
  2. SAY“That second line is the digging. It’s the difference between the two houses.”
  3. Share a brief testimony of a storm in your life when your foundation on Jesus Christ held.
  4. Point to the challenge and invite a youth to give the closing prayer.

Class screen: 🪨 In your head: I heard… I will…

Story drama

Two Houses, One Storm

Matthew 7:24–29 ↗

Parts to hand out

  • NarratorReads each scene from the shared screen while the teacher reads the Savior’s words.
  • Wise BuilderDigs slowly down to rock, builds and stands firm when the storm hits.
  • Foolish BuilderBuilds fast on the sand, shows off the view and collapses (slowly) in the storm.
  • Rain CrewThree or four youth who make the rain with fingers, then hands, then feet.
  • Wind CrewTwo youth who whoosh and push the air toward both houses.
  • Sound TechRuns the Sound Board: rain, thunder, wind, crash.
  • The CrowdEveryone else: the listeners on the mountain who are astonished at the end.

Scenes

  1. ⛰️👂 Two people heard the same sermon

    At the end of His sermon, Jesus told a story about two builders. Here’s the key: both of them heard the same words. Same sermon, same seats, same seminary class, same general conference. What they did next was different.

    🎬 The Wise Builder and the Foolish Builder sit side by side, nodding, listening to the same thing.

  2. 🏖️⚡ One built fast on sand

    Picture the first builder picking the beach: easy digging, great view, done by the weekend. In real life, it looks like hearing the lesson, saying “so true,” maybe even posting the verse, and never doing anything different.

    🎬 The Foolish Builder mimes building quickly, then poses for an imaginary selfie in front of the house.

  3. 🪨⛏️ One dug all the way down to rock

    The second builder dug. And dug. Slow, sweaty, boring work nobody sees. In real life, it looks like praying when no one knows, apologizing first, reading because you want to know Him, serving without telling anyone.

    🎬 The Wise Builder mimes digging, slowly and seriously, then lays heavy stones.

  4. ☀️🏠 On sunny days, nobody could tell

    Imagine that for a long time the two houses looked the same. Maybe the beach house even looked better. Foundations are invisible when the weather is nice.

    🎬 Both builders stand proudly next to their houses. The Crowd gives both a thumbs-up.

  5. 🌧️🌊 Then the rain descended

    Then the storm came, and it hit both houses. The rain fell, the floods came, the wind beat on the walls. For a teenager, it might be a friendship blowing up, a family crisis, a scary question about faith, a week where everything goes wrong. Following Jesus doesn’t mean the storm skips you.

    🎬 The Rain Crew starts with finger taps, then pats, then stomps. The Wind Crew whooshes at both houses.

  6. 🏠💪 “And it fell not”

    The house on the rock took a beating. But it didn’t fall, because it was founded on a rock. The Wise Builder was soaked and tired, but still standing.

    🎬 The Wise Builder braces, sways and stays standing. The Rain Crew keeps going.

  7. 🏚️💥 “And great was the fall of it”

    The house on the sand fell, and great was the fall of it. But here’s what the parable doesn’t forbid: the builder can start over. Anyone can dig down to the rock, even after a collapse.

    🎬 The Foolish Builder collapses in slow motion. Then the Wise Builder walks over and offers a hand up.

  8. 😮📜 “As one having authority”

    When Jesus finished, the people were astonished. The scribes quoted other teachers. He taught like someone with the right to say how life works, because He is the Rock.

    🎬 The storm goes silent. The Crowd sits up, amazed. Hold the silence for three seconds.

Key verse

Matthew 6:6 ↗
“But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.”
In plain words: Your most important audience is One. Pray where only He can hear, and He will answer in ways that show.
🙌 “Enter into thy closet”: step through an invisible door. “Shut thy door”: mime closing it. “Pray to thy Father”: fold arms. “Seeth in secret”: point to your eyes, then up. “Reward thee openly”: open both hands wide.

More verses

Matthew 6:1 ↗
“Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven.”
In plain words: If you do good just for the likes, the likes are all you get.
Matthew 6:21 ↗
“For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”
In plain words: What you spend your time and attention on is where your heart ends up.
Matthew 7:3 ↗
“And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?”
In plain words: It’s easy to spot someone else’s speck and miss the plank in your own eye.
Matthew 7:24 ↗
“Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock”
In plain words: Hearing isn’t enough. Doing is what builds on the rock.

Forehead Guess words17 words

  • 🎺 Trumpet
  • 🚪 Closet
  • 🎭 Hypocrite
  • 💎 Treasure
  • 🦋 Moth and Rust
  • ⚖️ Two Masters
  • 🌸 Lilies of the Field
  • 🐦 Birds of the Air
  • 🔹 Mote
  • 🪵 Beam
  • ✊ Ask, Seek, Knock
  • 🤝 Golden Rule
  • 🚧 Narrow Gate
  • 🐺 Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing
  • 🍇 Fruit
  • 🪨 Rock
  • 🏖️ Sand
Clues for each word
  • Trumpet: Don’t sound one when you give to the poor
  • Closet: Where Jesus said to go pray
  • Hypocrite: Does good just to be seen
  • Treasure: Where it is, your heart is too
  • Moth and Rust: They ruin treasures on earth
  • Two Masters: No one can serve both
  • Lilies of the Field: They don’t toil or spin
  • Birds of the Air: Your Father feeds them
  • Mote: The tiny speck in your brother’s eye
  • Beam: The plank in your own eye
  • Ask, Seek, Knock: Matthew 7:7
  • Golden Rule: Do to others what you’d want done to you
  • Narrow Gate: Strait is the gate, few find it
  • Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing: What false prophets look like
  • Fruit: How you can know a tree
  • Rock: The wise man built on it
  • Sand: Great was the fall of the house on it
▶ Play Forehead GuessFull screen, 60-second timer, works on any phone.

Scripture Showdown10 questions

  1. Why did Jesus warn against doing good works before men?
    • A. It takes too long
    • B. To be seen of them
    • C. It’s against the law
    Show answer

    ✅ B. To be seen of them Matthew 6:1. If applause is the goal, applause is the only reward.

  2. Where did Jesus say to go when you pray?
    • A. Into thy closet
    • B. To the synagogue
    • C. To the street corner
    Show answer

    ✅ A. Into thy closet Matthew 6:6. The Father sees in secret.

  3. Where will your heart be, according to Matthew 6:21?
    • A. In heaven
    • B. With your family
    • C. Where your treasure is
    Show answer

    ✅ C. Where your treasure is What we value most pulls our hearts toward it.

  4. What did Jesus say to consider instead of worrying about clothes?
    • A. The lilies of the field
    • B. Solomon’s robes
    • C. The stars
    Show answer

    ✅ A. The lilies of the field Matthew 6:28–29. Even Solomon wasn’t dressed like one of them.

  5. What’s in your own eye while you point at someone’s mote?
    • A. A tear
    • B. A beam
    • C. Sand
    Show answer

    ✅ B. A beam Matthew 7:3–5. Deal with your own beam first.

  6. How does the JST clarify Matthew 7:1?
    • A. Never judge anything
    • B. Only leaders judge
    • C. Judge not unrighteously; judge righteous judgment
    Show answer

    ✅ C. Judge not unrighteously; judge righteous judgment We do judge choices, but righteously.

  7. How can you know false prophets?
    • A. By their clothes
    • B. By their fruits
    • C. By their followers
    Show answer

    ✅ B. By their fruits Matthew 7:16, 20. Look at what their message produces.

  8. What did both houses in the parable face?
    • A. The same storm
    • B. Different storms
    • C. No storm at all
    Show answer

    ✅ A. The same storm Matthew 7:25, 27. Following Jesus doesn’t mean the storm skips you.

  9. What made the wise builder different from the foolish one?
    • A. He heard more
    • B. He had better tools
    • C. He did what he heard
    Show answer

    ✅ C. He did what he heard Matthew 7:24, 26. Both heard; only one did.

  10. Why were people astonished at the end of the sermon?
    • A. It was very long
    • B. He taught as one having authority
    • C. He quoted the scribes
    Show answer

    ✅ B. He taught as one having authority Matthew 7:28–29. Not like the scribes.

▶ Play Scripture ShowdownTeams take turns on one screen.

From general conference

“Please note in this verse that the Savior is not the foundation. Rather, we are admonished to build our personal spiritual foundation upon Him.”

— Elder David A. Bednar, ““Be Still, and Know That I Am God”,” April 2024

Read at the end of the Two Houses reader’s theater, to explain what the rock and the foundation each stand for.

Read the talk ↗

Songs

  • How Firm a Foundation Hymns, no. 85

    The manual suggests this hymn for the wise and foolish builders. Find it ↗

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

    Pairs with Matthew 6:6 and “ask, seek, knock.” Find it ↗

This week’s challenge

The Secret Week

Do three good things this week that nobody will ever know about: no posting, no telling, no hinting. And once a day, find your “closet” and pray where only your Father can hear. Notice how it feels to have an audience of One.

Text the parents

This week in class we talked about doing good for God instead of for an audience, acted out the wise and foolish builders facing the same storm, and laughed at a beam stuck in someone’s eye while trying to fix a speck. Your teen is trying a “secret week”: three good deeds nobody knows about. A good question to ask: “What’s one thing you heard from Jesus this week that you’re actually doing?”

📝 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?

🧱 Rock or Sand Habits · 5 min

  1. Read pages 4–5 of For the Strength of Youth: A Guide for Making Choices together, about building on Jesus Christ.
  2. Pairs list habits that are “digging to rock” and habits that are “building on sand.”
  3. Read Helaman 5:12 and ask: “What storms does it name, and what does it promise?”

🙏 The Lord’s Prayer, Slowly · 5 min

  1. Read Matthew 6:9–13 slowly, one phrase at a time, with a pause after each.
  2. Ask youth to pick the phrase that stands out to them and say why.
  3. Ask: “If the Savior were reading this with you, what would He want you to notice?”

🚪 Ask, Seek, Knock Stories · 4 min

  1. Read Matthew 7:7–11.
  2. Invite youth to name scripture examples of God answering a sincere prayer (for example, Joseph Smith—History 1:11–17 or 1 Nephi 11:1).
  3. Ask anyone willing to share a time they asked and received, or sought and found.

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