Adult Sunday School · June 15-21, 2026
A Christ-centered lesson plan to help members gain confidence in accessing the power of Jesus Christ through His atoning sacrifice.
Use this prompt throughout the lesson: what does this reveal about the Savior's power to redeem, strengthen, heal, and change us?
Lesson goal
Keep the conversation anchored in Jesus Christ. David's courage, restraint, repentance, inquiry, and covenant promises all become invitations to trust the Savior more personally.
Text + context study
Authorship and setting
The Bible Dictionary notes that 1 and 2 Samuel were originally one book in the Hebrew Bible. The books cover roughly 130 years, from Samuel's birth nearly to David's death. The author and date are uncertain, and the narrative likely draws on earlier records, including writings associated with Samuel, Nathan, and Gad.
Because the text remembers Israel's failed and faithful kings, ask: why does every imperfect king increase our need for the perfect King?
Historical pressure
Come, Follow Me frames Goliath against Israel's demand for a king who would go before them and fight. Saul is afraid with the army, while David shows that deliverance comes through covenant confidence in the Lord rather than armor, status, or military strength.
When class members name their modern battles, ask: where are we tempted to trust a substitute savior instead of Jesus Christ?
Repeated phrases
Use repeated words as a teaching handle: what does this repeated phrase reveal about the Savior's power and promises?
Goliath defies Israel; David hears and testifies; Saul doubts; David rejects Saul's armor; David testifies again; the Lord delivers. The center is not David's talent but his witness that the battle belongs to the Lord.
David stands between a terrified people and an enemy they cannot defeat, pointing forward to Christ's victory over sin and death.
Jonathan loves David and gives; Saul fears David and grasps. The repeated note that the Lord was with David explains both Jonathan's covenant love and Saul's insecurity.
Jonathan's willing covenant loyalty can point to Christlike love that yields status and seeks another's exaltation.
David has Saul in his hand; refuses to strike the Lord's anointed; declares his innocence; twice leaves judgment with the Lord; Saul finally confesses David's righteousness and future kingdom.
David's refusal to retaliate points to the meekness of Christ, who entrusts judgment to the Father and offers mercy.
Abigail descends, meets David, bows, takes responsibility, offers a gift, and prevents bloodshed. Her words turn David from vengeance toward peace and preserve his future reign from needless bloodguilt.
Abigail's mediation can open a discussion of Christ as the one who takes upon Himself our iniquities and makes peace possible.
David wants to build the Lord a house, but the Lord promises to build David a house. The central reversal moves from David's offering to God's covenant promise.
The promise of an eternal house, kingdom, and throne is fulfilled in Jesus Christ, David's descendant and our Eternal King.
Abigail deep dive
Why this story matters
In 1 Samuel 24 David refuses to kill Saul, the Lord's anointed. In 1 Samuel 26 he refuses again. Between those two restraint stories, 1 Samuel 25 asks a harder question: can David also refuse revenge when the insult is personal, public, and humiliating?
Abigail becomes the Lord's interruption. She sees danger clearly, acts quickly, speaks truthfully, and helps David leave judgment with God. Her contribution is spiritual and practical: she saves her household, protects David from bloodguilt, and models peacemaking that points the class directly to Jesus Christ.
Ask: how does the Savior interrupt our rush toward self-justification and give us power to choose peace before our anger becomes action?
Abigail is introduced as a woman of good understanding. The narrative wants us to compare her discernment with Nabal's folly before anyone speaks.
Christ's power does not only make us brave; it can make us wise, measured, and discerning under pressure.
Abigail does not wait for a perfect committee or ideal timing. She gathers provisions and moves toward the conflict before it becomes irreversible.
Where might Christ be inviting us to act quickly to repair, apologize, protect, or bless?
Abigail bows before David and asks that the iniquity be upon her. The Church Seminary lesson explicitly invites learners to compare her actions with Jesus Christ.
How does this prepare the class to talk about the Savior taking our sins, wounds, and foolishness upon Himself?
Abigail does not merely calm David down. She helps him see the man God is making him into and the regret that revenge would create.
The Atonement gives us a future larger than the offense in front of us. What does Christ help us remember when anger narrows our vision?
The Old Testament Student Manual explains Abigail's imagery as a contrast between a life held precious by God and enemies cast away like a stone from a sling.
What confidence comes from trusting that our lives are held by the Lord, not secured by retaliation?
David blesses the Lord for sending Abigail and accepts her counsel. One mark of spiritual confidence is the humility to be stopped by God.
How does Jesus Christ make it possible to receive correction without shame and change without despair?
Broader research notes
Literary placement
Several scholars read chapters 24-26 as one coherent unit: David spares Saul, Abigail prevents David from shedding innocent blood, and David spares Saul again. The Abigail story tests whether David's mercy is real when anger feels justified.
Mercy is not complete until Christ can reach both public discipleship and private offense.
Character contrast
Research on the chapter highlights the sharp contrast in 1 Samuel 25:3: Abigail has discernment; Nabal is harsh and foolish. Her wisdom exposes the danger in both Nabal's selfishness and David's revenge.
Ask where the Savior is inviting us to become less like Nabal, less reactive like David, and more peaceable like Abigail.
Historical texture
Sheep-shearing was a feast setting where generosity would be expected. Nabal's refusal is more than stinginess; it publicly denies David's identity and service.
How does Christ help us when another person's refusal to see us clearly feels unbearable?
Archaeology context
Archaeological work at Tell es-Safi/Gath helps modern readers picture the Philistine setting behind Goliath and David's later movements. The lesson can acknowledge that David's trust in the Lord happened in a complicated political world, not a simple storybook setting.
The Savior's power is not abstract; it works in real families, real pressures, real politics, and real fear.
Teach in the Savior's Way
Ask how each account reveals His power, mercy, titles, roles, and covenant promises.
What does this teach us about who He is?
Make space for quiet struggles. Confidence grows when people feel safe enough to be honest.
How would the Savior see and help this person?
Pause after questions. Let reflection do some of the teaching before you add commentary.
What might the Spirit be helping us feel about Him?
Use the scriptures and latter-day prophets to show what Christ's power makes possible.
How does His atoning sacrifice make this doctrine living?
End with one personal action: how will I reach for Christ's power this week?
What invitation would help me act in faith in Him?
Suggested class flow
Read 1 Samuel 17:32-37, 45-47. Explore the difference between self-confidence and confidence in the living God.
Open 1 Samuel 17When someone shares a challenge, ask: what power does Jesus Christ offer beyond our own courage?
Read 1 Samuel 25:23-35 with special attention to Abigail's humility, urgency, doctrine, and courage. Christ gives power not only to face enemies, but to refuse revenge and receive healing.
Open 1 Samuel 25If the discussion turns to hurt or unfairness, ask how Jesus Christ can stand between us and the harm we are about to do with our pain.
Use 2 Samuel 5:19, 23-25 to show that spiritual confidence keeps asking the Lord, even after prior success.
Open 2 Samuel 5Ask how His atoning power changes prayer from seeking approval for our plan to receiving strength for His way.
Read 2 Samuel 7:12-16. Move from David's imperfect reign to Jesus Christ's perfect and everlasting reign.
Open 2 Samuel 7Invite class members to name what changes when they trust a perfect King who has already overcome sin and death.
Inspired questions
What do you notice about David's confidence that is different from self-confidence?
How does faith in Jesus Christ create confidence that is deeper than personality or preparation?
When has remembering a past deliverance helped you trust Christ in a current challenge?
What did that experience teach you about His power to succor you now?
What “armor” do we sometimes try to wear that may not fit the way the Lord works with us?
What would it look like to rely more on His grace than on our usual defenses?
How can Christ help when the battle is not outside us, but inside us?
Which part of His atoning sacrifice gives you hope for inward change?
What does David's restraint with Saul teach you about the Savior's power?
How can He give us power to choose mercy when anger feels justified?
How can forgiveness require just as much divine power as courage?
Where do you see the Savior offering both healing for hurt and power to forgive?
What does Abigail teach us about Christlike peacemaking?
How does her intercession point us to the Savior standing between us and spiritual harm?
What do you learn from David's willingness to receive Abigail's correction?
How does the Savior make correction feel like rescue instead of rejection?
Abigail helps David see the future God has for him. Who has done that for you?
How does Christ's Atonement restore our ability to imagine a holier future?
How does the Savior help us receive correction or interruption as rescue?
How might His love change the way we respond when He redirects us?
Where might past spiritual success tempt us to stop asking the Lord what He wants now?
How does the Savior's ongoing grace invite us to keep depending on Him?
How do covenants give us confidence without making life easy?
What strength flows from being bound to Jesus Christ through covenant?
What helps you recognize Christ's strengthening power while you are still in the battle?
How can we notice His enabling power before the problem is fully solved?
This week, what is one small way you can reach for Christ's power?
What invitation would help you act on His atoning power, not just admire it?
Short quote library
“The battle is the Lord's.”
Come, Follow Me“The Lord can give me direction.”
Come, Follow Me“Jesus Christ is my Eternal King.”
Come, Follow Me“The gospel of Jesus Christ is filled with His power.”
President Russell M. Nelson“Covenant confidence through Jesus Christ.”
Elder Ulisses Soares“Jesus Christ's atoning power can flow into our lives.”
Sister Kristin M. Yee“The Savior can strengthen us in our weaknesses, fears, and challenges.”
Elder Mark A. Bragg“His grace will enable us to change.”
Elder Kevin S. HamiltonScripture passages
Source library