Before We Lead, We Listen. Before We Ask Others to Give, We Show Them How.
Last week closed the ten-week summer program with Standing Tall Together. This week begins the 2026–27 Creeker Seminary year. The calendar changes, but the lessons continue: integrity, responsibility, communication, comprehension, service, leadership, awareness, accountability, hospitality, courage, and standing tall together now become practices carried through forty-two weeks.
Our opening lesson is “Give,” Said the Little Stream. A stream does not give by announcing how important it is. It gives by moving, noticing where life needs water, and continuing forward. That is the kind of leadership this program asks us to practice: listen, notice, respond, serve, and lead by example.
Listening is not waiting for another person to stop speaking so we can take over. Listening is making room for comprehension. It means hearing the child, the parent, the teacher, the returning member, the person asking for help, and the person whose silence may not mean understanding. Christlike leadership does not whisper an answer into someone’s ear and demand repetition. It says, follow my lead, then demonstrates love, truth, repentance, patience, reverence, and service.
The official Creeker Seminary schedule begins Monday, August 3, 2026, and continues for forty-two Monday-through-Sunday weeks through Sunday, May 23, 2027. Our programming rhythm moves Wednesday through Monday so the testimony, scriptures, questions, and service of one Sabbath can be carried into the next week’s work.
Prelude & Listening
Enter with reverence. Listen for the sounds, words, memories, and promptings already present in the room.
Welcome Back, Creeker
- Welcome back, Sherri Lynn. Sometimes a familiar voice brings the sound of an auntie back into the room.
- Today’s hymns and testimonies become notes for the first week of the new program.
- The 42-week Seminary schedule begins Monday, August 3, 2026.
- This week’s work is listening, following Christ’s example, and giving what genuinely helps.
Hymns Heard Today
Hymn 139 — Gathering often to pray and speak together concerning the welfare of souls.
Hymn 172 — Christ’s sacrifice answers the law for those who bring a broken heart and a contrite spirit.
Hymn 243 — A home-run reminder of protection, deliverance, and standing firm.
Opening Hymn
“Give,” Said the Little Stream
The stream teaches service through movement: give where you are, with what you have, and let the giving continue downstream.
Scripture Anchor
Mosiah 2:17
“When ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God.”
Service is not control. It does not replace another person’s agency. It listens well enough to learn what would actually help.
Gathering in Christ’s Name
Moroni 6:5
The Church meets together often to fast, pray, and speak with one another concerning the welfare of souls.
Thank you, Jason, for recognizing the value of gathering in Christ’s name. Gathering becomes gospel family when people listen to one another rather than merely occupying the same room.
Take Stock of Beliefs
2 Nephi 2:7
Jesus Christ offered Himself as the sacrifice that answers the ends of the law for those with a broken heart and a contrite spirit.
Taking stock means asking: What do I believe? What do my actions teach? Am I following Christ, or only repeating familiar words?
Follow the Leader
Jesus Christ is the Leader of this program.
- He teaches through example.
- He notices individuals.
- He asks questions and allows agency.
- He serves without humiliating the learner.
- He corrects with truth and invites repentance.
- He gathers people without erasing their individual worth.
Listening Practice
STOP • HEAR • COMPREHEND • RESPOND
Stop: Do not prepare your rebuttal while another person is still speaking.
Hear: Listen to the actual words, not merely the role you assigned the speaker.
Comprehend: Ask what the person means before assuming.
Respond: Give the answer, action, support, boundary, or silence the situation truly needs.
Primary Lesson
A Sharpie can leave a mark, but God’s work is greater than the mark. Repentance, repair, forgiveness, and Christ’s grace teach children that mistakes need not become permanent identities.
The pool noodle that “stumped the missionaries” also becomes a memory bridge—to youth, water, the Green River, protection, and lessons received long before their meaning was understood.
Gospel Family
A gospel family is not produced by whispering the correct words into someone’s ear and requiring repetition. A gospel family grows when parents, grandparents, leaders, teachers, and children live in a way others can faithfully follow.
We teach that the Book of Mormon is true by reading it, living its principles, honoring agency, serving one another, and testifying that Jesus Christ ministered to His other flock after His Resurrection and Ascension.
Week One Assignment
MONDAY: Write one thing you need to hear more clearly this year.
TUESDAY: Notice one need without being told.
WEDNESDAY: Give one useful act of service.
THURSDAY: Ask one honest question instead of pretending to comprehend.
FRIDAY: Follow through on one promise.
SATURDAY: Prepare your heart, space, links, books, and schedule for the Sabbath.
SUNDAY: Gather, listen, take stock of beliefs, and record what the Spirit taught you.
Weekly Questions
- What did I hear because I stopped and listened?
- Did my help honor the other person’s agency?
- What did my example teach?
- Where did I follow Christ rather than the crowd?
- What can I give that will keep flowing after I leave?
Closing Thought
Get with the program does not mean surrender your mind to a crowd. It means become conscious of the program your actions are already teaching.
Follow the Leader does not mean follow every loud human voice. It means follow Jesus Christ closely enough that others can recognize His pattern in the way you listen, give, speak, protect, repent, forgive, and continue.
“Give,” said the little stream—and the stream kept moving.
Closing Hymn
“Give,” Said the Little Stream — reprise or children’s arrangement.
Closing Prayer
By invitation, with gratitude for the beginning of a new forty-two-week season of learning.