Come Follow Me for Teens: "Before I Formed Thee In the Belly I Knew Thee" (Jeremiah 1-20)
“Before I Formed Thee in the Belly I Knew Thee”
This week on Come Follow Me for Teens, we study Jeremiah 1–20 and the theme “Before I Formed Thee in the Belly I Knew Thee.”
Jeremiah begins his calling feeling young, inexperienced, and unprepared. He tells the Lord, “I cannot speak: for I am a child.” But God sees something in Jeremiah that Jeremiah cannot yet see in himself. He reminds him, “Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee,” and promises, “I am with thee.” Pasted markdown
We’ll talk about what it means to have been known and prepared by God before mortality—and why the version of yourself you can see right now may not be the version God sees when He looks at what you can become. God may know things about your preparation, purpose, and potential that you do not presently remember. Pasted markdown
Then we’ll slow down over another part of Jeremiah 1:5 that often gets overlooked:
“I formed thee.”
In a world where teenagers are constantly comparing, evaluating, and criticizing their bodies, Jeremiah gives us another way to see them. Our bodies are sacred parts of God’s plan, even while they remain imperfect in mortality.
Your body does not have to be perfect to be sacred.
We’ll talk about why physical perfection is a resurrection promise, not a mortal requirement, and how learning to see the body as a sacred gift can change the way we think about comparison, appearance, and self-worth. Pasted markdown Pasted markdown
Finally, in Jeremiah 18, the Lord sends Jeremiah to a potter’s house and teaches:
“As the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are ye in mine hand.”
We’ll look at what it means when the clay becomes marred, why a life that needs reshaping is not a ruined life, and how staying close to Christ—the Living Water—can help keep our hearts soft enough for God to continue shaping us. Pasted markdown Pasted markdown
Through all three principles runs one central truth:
God knew you. He formed you. And He is still forming you.
You may not see yet what He sees in you.
You may still be learning to accept the body and mortal experience you’ve been given.
And parts of your life may still be spinning on the Potter’s wheel.
But you are not finished.
And you are still in His hands.
Jeremiah 1–20 | “Before I Formed Thee in the
Belly I Knew Thee”
This week’s Come Follow Me for Teens Study & Teaching Guide gives parents and teachers a ready-to-use way to help youth explore Jeremiah 1–20 without having to build the lesson from scratch.
Through three connected teaching paths, youth will discover what it means to be known by God, formed by God, and still being shaped by God. Pasted markdown (2) Pasted markdown (2) Pasted markdown (2)
In “I Knew Thee,” youth will explore Jeremiah’s calling and the truth that God may know more about their preparation and potential than they can presently see in themselves. Jeremiah felt young and unqualified, but the Lord reminded him that He had known him before birth and promised, “I am with thee.” The lesson also connects Jeremiah with premortal preparation, foreordination, and the confidence that comes from trusting God’s knowledge of who we can become. Pasted markdown (2)
In “I Formed Thee,” youth will look at Jeremiah 1:5 from a different angle and talk honestly about body image, comparison, and the pressure to look a certain way. They’ll learn that our bodies are sacred parts of God’s plan even while they remain imperfect in mortality—and that physical perfection is a resurrection promise, not a mortal requirement. Pasted markdown (2) Pasted markdown (2)
In “As the Clay Is in the Potter’s Hand,” youth will explore Jeremiah’s powerful image of the potter and clay and what it means to stay soft enough for God to continue shaping us. They’ll connect the clay with Christ as the Living Water, consider why the same adversity can soften one heart and harden another, and learn that a life that needs reshaping is not a ruined life. Pasted markdown (2) Pasted markdown (2)
Inside This Guide
3 complete teaching principles
Readiness activities and object lessons
Scripture-based discovery questions
Teacher-friendly explanations
Discussion and journal questions
Teachings from Church leaders
Application questions and actions
Personal testimony/experience prompts
Teach This in 25 Minutes lesson path
Ideas for teaching naturally at home
Designed for parents, Youth Sunday School teachers, Young Men and Young Women leaders, and teens studying independently.
At the center of the entire guide is one beautiful truth:
God knew you. He formed you. And He is still forming you.
Weekly teaching resources for both Come Follow Me and For the Strength of Youth—without hours of prep.
