ScriptureParty › Lesson Helps › Week 24, 2026

1 Samuel 8–10; 13; 15–16: The Lord Looketh on the Heart

Come Follow Me · Week 24 · June 8–June 14, 2026 · 1 Samuel 16:7, 15:22, 8:7, 10:9

Discover why God rejected King Saul and chose a shepherd boy named David — because the Lord looks on the heart

Play this lesson as a family game

This week's lesson is ready to play as a live group game — 30 questions across 12 game types, built from these exact chapters. Everyone plays from their phone; the game shows on your TV. Free for up to 5 players, no account needed.

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Family discussion questions

Use these around the dinner table, in Sunday School, or for companionship study — each comes from this week's chapters.

  1. In what ways do we tend to judge people by outward appearance? How can we learn to see others the way God sees them?
  2. What would change in your life if you truly believed God looks at your heart, not your outward appearance?
  3. Why is partial obedience sometimes more dangerous than outright disobedience?
  4. When have you been tempted to 'improve' on what God asked you to do?
  5. Is it comforting or challenging to know that God sees your heart completely? Why?
  6. Why do you think David was out tending sheep while his brothers were presented to Samuel? What does that tell you about David?
  7. Has God ever surprised you by choosing someone unexpected for a big role?
  8. What's the biggest lesson you take from Saul's story? How can you avoid making similar mistakes?

Sample questions from this week's game

True or False: God told Samuel, 'Man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart.'

1 Samuel 16:7

Show answer

True — True! When Samuel saw Jesse's tall, impressive firstborn son Eliab, he thought, 'Surely the Lord's anointed is before him.' But God corrected him: appearances don't matter to God — the heart does. This is one of the most quoted and powerful principles in all of scripture.

Like Saul in 1 Samuel 15, you've been asked to do something specific by God, but you see what seems like a better way to do it. What do you do?

1 Samuel 15:22-23

Show answer

Obey exactly as God asked, trusting that His way is best even if yours seems smarter — Saul's downfall teaches that partial obedience isn't really obedience at all. He followed God's command mostly, but changed the parts he disagreed with. The lesson is that God's instructions aren't suggestions we can edit — they're directions from someone who sees the full picture when we can only see a small part.

Read the lesson

This week covers 1 Samuel 16:7, 15:22, 8:7, 10:9. Read the chapters at churchofjesuschrist.org.

← Week 23: Ruth; 1 Samuel 1–7: My Heart Rejoiceth in the Lord · Week 25: 1 Samuel 17–18; 24–26; 2 Samuel 5–7: The Battle Is the Lord's →