Come, Follow Me for Teens

Josh Downs
  • 5.0 (197)
  • Christianity
  • Updated Weekly

Come, Follow Me for Teens is a weekly podcast built around the Come, Follow Me curriculum and designed especially for teenagers, parents of teenagers, youth leaders, and teachers. Each episode takes the week’s scripture study and focuses on three clear gospel principles, using stories, questions, experiences, and practical application to help teenagers understand not only what the scriptures teach, but how those teachings can make a difference in their own lives. Episodes are intentionally shorter, engaging, and easy to use for personal study, family discussion, youth lessons, or class preparation. Most importantly, the goal of Come, Follow Me for Teens is to help young people come closer to Jesus Christ, recognize His influence in their lives, and discover how the gospel can help them navigate the experiences and challenges they face every day.

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  1. 3d ago ·  Bonus • Subscribers Only

    Teaching Tips | Psalms 102–150

    Teaching this week’s Psalms lesson? This short bonus episode walks through how I would approach Psalms 102–150 with teenagers in about 25 minutes. We’ll look at which principles I would prioritize, the questions I think are most likely to create meaningful discussion, how to help youth discover truth for themselves, and a few things I would be careful not to overcomplicate. This week’s teaching ideas include helping students see Jesus Christ throughout the Psalms, using the map vs. lamp comparison from Psalm 119, and helping youth understand why Psalms can end in praise even after so much grief, uncertainty, and struggle. Simple teaching help. Better questions. More meaningful conversations with teenagers. I think that last line could become a nice recurring closer for these Teaching Tips descriptions.

    Teaching Tips | Psalms 102–150

  2. 4d ago

    Psalms 102–150 | Let Every Thing That Hath Breath Praise the Lord

    This week’s episode finishes our study of Psalms 102–150 and the theme: “Let Every Thing That Hath Breath Praise the Lord.” We begin in Psalms 110 and 118 by looking at passages written centuries before the Savior’s mortal ministry that Jesus Christ and His Apostles later connected directly to Him. Psalm 118 declares: “The stone which the builders refused is become the head stone of the corner.” We’ll explore how the Old Testament continually points toward Jesus Christ through prophecy, symbolism, ordinances, deliverance, and the experiences of God’s people—and why one of the most important questions we can ask while studying scripture is: What does this teach me about Jesus Christ? The more we learn to look for Him, the more we begin to recognize that He has been at the center of God’s plan all along. Next, we’ll return to one of the most familiar verses in Psalms: “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.”—Psalm 119:105 We studied this verse earlier while learning how to find the Psalm we need, but this time we’ll go deeper into what the image of a lamp can teach us when life itself becomes difficult. Sometimes what we want from God is a map. We want Him to show us where the road is going, why something is happening, and how everything will eventually work out. But a lamp may only give enough light to take the next step. We’ll talk about how God’s word can provide direction, comfort, hope, reassurance, and truth during grief, illness, unanswered prayers, uncertainty, and other experiences that may not come with immediate explanations. Sometimes faith is not seeing the whole road. It is trusting the light God has already given us enough to take the next faithful step. Finally, we’ll come to the closing chapters of Psalms. After 150 Psalms filled with fear, repentance, grief, questions, deliverance, gratitude, joy, worship, and hope, the final five repeatedly declare: “Praise ye the Lord.” We’ll explore why praise is deeper than simply thanking God when life goes the way we hoped. Drawing on President Dieter F. Uchtdorf’s teachings about gratitude in every circumstance, we’ll discuss how gratitude can become an act of faith and testimony—something rooted in what we already know about God and Jesus Christ even when our present circumstances are difficult to understand. Over time, praise becomes less about what happened today and more about what we have learned about God through everything that has happened. So as we finish Psalms, maybe the final question is not simply: What did I learn? Maybe it is: What do I now have to praise God for? This week’s episode helps teens learn to see Jesus Christ more clearly in scripture, rely on God’s word when they cannot see the entire road ahead, and develop the kind of faith that can still say: “While I live will I praise the Lord.”—Psalm 146:2 https://joshdowns.com/cfm-resources/p/psalms-102-150-come-follow-me • Join the Come Follow Me for Teens membership for full access to weekly lessons, early episodes, teaching guides, devotionals, and resources:https://joshdowns.com/cfm-membership

  3. Aug 23

    Come Follow Me for Teens | I Will Declare What He Hath Done for My Soul

    This week’s episode continues our study of Psalms 49–86 and the theme: “I Will Declare What He Hath Done for My Soul.” We begin in Psalm 49 by looking at the things we often trust to give us happiness, security, and a sense of worth—money, friendships, accomplishments, popularity, possessions, work, and other people. Many of those things can be good, but every mortal support eventually reaches the limit of what it can do. We’ll explore why Jesus Christ is not simply one foundation among many, but the only sure foundation and the only One who can ultimately redeem us. We’ll also connect this principle with President Boyd K. Packer’s parable of the mediator and the need for Someone who is both willing and able to do what we cannot do for ourselves. Next, we’ll turn to Psalm 51 and David’s plea: “Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.” We’ll talk about repentance as more than simply wanting guilt or consequences to go away. Through Jesus Christ, we can be forgiven, cleansed, healed, and changed. Our past does not have to determine who we become next. Finally, we’ll study Psalm 77 and what to do when God feels distant, answers seem delayed, or faith feels harder than it once did. The psalmist asks honest questions, then makes a deliberate choice: “I will remember the works of the Lord.” We’ll discuss the importance of remembering previous answers to prayer, spiritual experiences, and truths we already know about Jesus Christ when our current circumstances make Him harder to see. Sometimes faith is simply being able to say: I may not understand what God is doing right now, but I remember enough about Him to keep trusting Him. This week’s episode helps teens see that when everything else changes, Jesus Christ remains; when we need cleansing, He can change us; and when God feels far away, remembering what He has already done can give us enough faith to keep moving forward. https://joshdowns.com/cfm-resources/p//come-follow-me-for-teens-psalms-49-86 • Join the Come Follow Me for Teens membership for full access to weekly lessons, early episodes, teaching guides, devotionals, and resources:https://joshdowns.com/cfm-membership

  4. Aug 16

    Come Follow Me for Teens | The Lord is My Shepherd

    This week’s episode begins our study of Psalms 1–46 and the theme: “The Lord Is My Shepherd.” We’ll talk about how to read Psalms in a way that helps teens discover meaning for themselves, beginning with Psalm 1 and the image of a person who delights in the law of the Lord becoming like “a tree planted by the rivers of water.” We’ll explore why God’s laws can bring stability, protection, peace, and lasting happiness, and how noticing contrasts, images, and repeated ideas can help us better understand what a psalm is teaching. Next, we’ll turn to Psalm 23 and the declaration, “The Lord is my shepherd.” We’ll discuss what it means to make Jesus Christ our personal Shepherd, how to recognize His voice among all the other voices competing for our attention, and why following Him can bring peace, restoration, direction, and strength even when the path leads through difficult valleys. Finally, we’ll study Psalm 119:105: “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.” We’ll talk about how scripture and the words of living prophets can provide enough light to help us take the next faithful step, even when we cannot see the entire road ahead. This episode also introduces a special “Find the Psalm You Need” resource that helps teens search Psalms for themselves when they feel afraid, alone, in need of direction, in need of forgiveness, grateful, surrounded by opposition, unsure whether God hears them, or simply want to praise Him. This week’s lesson helps teens do more than understand a few familiar psalms. It helps them learn how to open the scriptures, discover truth for themselves, and find words from God that can speak directly to what they are experiencing. https://joshdowns.com/cfm-resources/p/psalms-1-46-the-lord-is-my-shepherd • Join the Come Follow Me for Teens membership for full access to weekly lessons, early episodes, teaching guides, devotionals, and resources:https://joshdowns.com/cfm-membership

  5. Aug 9

    Come Follow Me for Teens | Yet Will I Trust in Him

    This week’s episode focuses on the book of Job: “Yet Will I Trust in Him.” We’ll talk about why bad things can still happen to good and faithful people, what Job’s story teaches about mortality as a test, and how Jesus Christ can strengthen us when we face things we cannot immediately solve. We’ll also study Job’s powerful declaration, “For I know that my redeemer liveth,” and connect it with Peter walking on the water to see how focusing on Christ can bring peace and strength even while the wind and waves are still present. Finally, we’ll explore Job’s testimony, “When he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold,” and what trials can teach us about refinement, growth, compassion, and becoming more like the Savior. Along the way, we’ll connect Job’s experience with Joseph Smith in Liberty Jail, Francis Webster and the Martin Handcart Company, and personal experiences that show how Jesus Christ can help us survive what we cannot yet solve and redeem even the hardest parts of our story. The book of Job helps teens understand that suffering is not always punishment, unanswered questions do not have to destroy faith, and even when we cannot see what God is doing, He still knows the way we take. • Get this week’s Study & Teaching Guide:https://joshdowns.com/cfm-resources/p/come-follow-me-job-for-teens-yet-will-i-trust-in-him • Join the Come Follow Me for Teens membership for full access to weekly lessons, early episodes, teaching guides, devotionals, and resources:https://joshdowns.com/cfm-membership

  6. Aug 2

    Come Follow Me for Teens | Thou Art Come for Such a Time as This

    This week’s episode focuses on the book of Esther: “For Such a Time as This.” We’ll talk about how the many seemingly ordinary events in Esther’s life reveal the quiet work of an all-knowing God; how fasting helped Esther place faith above fear and receive spiritual strength to do something difficult; and how the Lord completely reversed Haman’s plan so that what was intended for destruction was “turned to the contrary.” We’ll also connect Esther’s story with Joseph of Egypt, Bart Millard and the story behind “I Can Only Imagine,” and other examples of how Jesus Christ can take painful experiences and turn them toward growth, compassion, service, and eventual good. The book of Esther helps teens see that God may be preparing them long before they understand why, that prayer and fasting can strengthen them when the next step feels frightening, and that in the hands of Jesus Christ, their worst days do not have to become wasted days. • Get this week’s Study & Teaching Guide: https://joshdowns.com/cfm-resources/p/come-follow-me-esther-for-teens-study-teaching-guide • Join the Come Follow Me for Teens membership for full access to weekly lessons, early episodes, teaching guides, devotionals, and resources:https://joshdowns.com/cfm-membership

  7. Jul 26

    Come Follow Me for Teens | I am Doing a Great Work

    Study & Teaching Resources This week’s episode focuses on Ezra 1–7 and Nehemiah 1–8: “I Am Doing a Great Work.” We’ll talk about how God worked through Cyrus, a Persian king outside the covenant faith, to help His people return to Jerusalem and rebuild the temple; how Jesus Christ can rebuild testimony, hope, trust, worthiness, and other holy things that may feel weakened or broken; and how Nehemiah protected the work when opposition, fear, distraction, and pressure came. We’ll also compare Nehemiah’s declaration, “I am doing a great work, so that I cannot come down,” with Lahonti being drawn away from safety and poisoned “by degrees.” These chapters help teens see that God is working through more people than we may realize, that no life is too damaged for Christ to restore, and that when He helps us rebuild something holy, we must be prepared to protect it and remain faithful. • Get this week’s Study & Teaching Guide: https://joshdowns.com/cfm-resources/p/come-follow-me-for-teens-ezra-nehemiah-study-teaching-guide • Join the Come Follow Me for Teens membership for full access to weekly lessons, early episodes, teaching guides, devotionals, and resources:https://joshdowns.com/cfm-membership

  8. Jul 20

    Come Follow Me for Teens | Our Eyes Are upon Thee

    Study & Teaching Resources This week’s episode focuses on 2 Chronicles 14–30: “Our Eyes Are upon Thee.” We’ll talk about Asa trusting the Lord when Judah faced an overwhelming army and how we must keep relying on God even when pressure increases; Micaiah standing for truth when 400 other voices told the king what he wanted to hear; and Jehoshaphat’s powerful prayer, “Neither know we what to do: but our eyes are upon thee.” These chapters help teens see that faith does not always mean having every answer. Sometimes faith means turning our fear toward God, trusting His prophets, standing for truth with courage and compassion, and keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus Christ when the battles of life feel bigger than we are. • Get this week’s Study & Teaching Guide: https://joshdowns.com/cfm-resources/p/2-chronicles-14-20-26-30-our-eyes-are-upon-thee • Join the Come Follow Me for Teens membership for full access to weekly lessons, early episodes, teaching guides, devotionals, and resources:https://joshdowns.com/cfm-membership

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5
out of 5
197 Ratings

About

Come, Follow Me for Teens is a weekly podcast built around the Come, Follow Me curriculum and designed especially for teenagers, parents of teenagers, youth leaders, and teachers. Each episode takes the week’s scripture study and focuses on three clear gospel principles, using stories, questions, experiences, and practical application to help teenagers understand not only what the scriptures teach, but how those teachings can make a difference in their own lives. Episodes are intentionally shorter, engaging, and easy to use for personal study, family discussion, youth lessons, or class preparation. Most importantly, the goal of Come, Follow Me for Teens is to help young people come closer to Jesus Christ, recognize His influence in their lives, and discover how the gospel can help them navigate the experiences and challenges they face every day.

Information

  • Creator
    Josh Downs
  • Years Active
    2023 - 2026
  • Episodes
    193
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Copyright Josh Downs LLC. 2026
  • Show Website
    Come, Follow Me for Teens
  • Provider
    Gregory Joshua Downs

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