Sunday, October 31, 2010

Week of October 25th - 31st

Congregation Bible Study:
(song 2)
"Come Be My Follower"
(chapter 12, pgs 120-124, ¶8-14)

Theocratic Ministry School:
Bible reading: 1 Chronicles 12-15
~Theocratic Ministry School Review~

Service Meeting:
(song 14)
Announcements "If You Need Foreign Language Literature Quickly" (8 min.)
(talk)
Our International Unity Honors Jehovah (12 min.)
Talk based on od pg 165 ¶2 to the subheading on pg 168. Have some in the audience relate published experiences in which our unity and love resulted in a witness)
Be Self-Sacrificing (15 min.)
(Luke 9:23) Discussion based on the 2010 Yearbook, pg 45 ¶1; pg 56 ¶2; and pg 58 ¶1 - pg 59 ¶1. After discussing each experience, invite audience to comment on the lessons learned.)
(song 66)

Watchtower Study Lesson:
Earnestly Seek Jehovah’s Blessing
(pgs 7-11 -September 15th study edition)
(songs 95 & 38)

book abbreviations:
* od (Organized To Do Jehovah's Will)

Monday, October 18, 2010

Week of October 18th - 24th

Congregation Bible Study:
(song 45)
"Come Be My Follower"
(chapter 12, pgs 118-120, ¶1-7)

Theocratic Ministry School:
Bible reading: 1 Chronicles 8-11
No. 1: 1 Chronicles 11:1-14
No. 2: In What Ways Do the Spirit and the Bride Say, "Come"?
(Revelation 22:17)
No. 3: Do Jehovah's Witnesses Believe That Their Religion Is the Only Right One?
(rs pg 203 ¶4-5)

Service Meeting:
(song 65)
The Importance of Visual Contact in the Ministry (10 min.)
(discussion based on be pg 124 ¶1 - pg 125 ¶4)
"New Brochure to Be Offered!" (20 min.)
(Q&A. When considering ¶1, briefly outline the contents of brochure. After discussing ¶2-3, have the sample presentations demonstrated. After discussing ¶4, demonstrate how to start a Bible study on the return visit)
(song 114)

Watchtower Study Lesson:
Who Can Deliver Those Crying for Help?
(pgs 28-32 -August 15th study edition)
(songs 68 & 23)

book abbreviations:
* rs (Reasoning From the Scriptures)
* be (Benefit From Theocratic Ministry School Education)

Monday, October 11, 2010

Week of October 11th - 17th

Congregation Bible Study:
(song 50)
"Come Be My Follower"
(chapter 11, pgs 114-117, ¶15-21, box on pg 117)

Theocratic Ministry School:
Bible reading: 1 Chronicles 5-7
No. 1: 1 Chronicles 6:31-47
No. 2: Are Jehovah's Witnesses a Sect or a Cult, and How Old Is Their Religion?
(rs pg 202 ¶1 - pg 203 ¶3)
No. 3: How Can Imperfect Humans Be Holy?
(1 Peter 1:16)

Service Meeting:
(song 81)
How Should You Answer? (10 min.)
(discussion based on be pg 69 ¶1-5) Include demo of a pioneer answering a Bible student who has to a make a personal decision. Bible student asks pioneer: "What would you do in my situation?"
Physical Cleanliness Glorifies God (10 min.)
(talk based on od pg 137 ¶1 - pg 138 ¶2) Invite audience to relate how the clean, neat, and modest appearance of Jehovah's Witnesses attracted them to the truth.
"Do Not Be Afraid" (10 min.)
(Q&A)
(song 67)

Watchtower Study Lesson:
Let “the Law of Loving-Kindness” Safeguard Your Tongue
(pgs 21-25 -August 15th study edition)
(songs 77 & 79)

book abbreviations:
* rs (Reasoning From the Scriptures)
* be (Benefit From Theocratic Ministry School Education)

* od (Organized To Do Jehovah's Will)

Monday, October 4, 2010

Make Disciples, Teaching Them

This is the info we'll be covering from (pgs 8-10 of the 2010 Yearbook) in the Service Meeting part: "Make Disciples, Teaching Them" this week.

DOING MORE TO OFFER BIBLE STUDIES
Beginning in January 2009, congregations were urged to designate one Saturday or Sunday each month to focus on offering Bible studies. The result? Many publishers have been experiencing surprise and great joy—surprise because offering a study is easier than they had expected and joy because of the variety of people who have accepted a study in the book What Does the Bible Really Teach? Traveling overseers report that congregations are enthusiastic about this new arrangement, and early results are very promising. For example, in the first five months, over 8,000 new Bible studies were started in Italy.

Publishers who have never conducted studies are now making return visits and starting studies. Carolina, in Peru, said: "Before this arrangement I did not conduct any Bible studies, but the suggestion of concentrating one day a month on this made me see the need to strive to start a Bible study. I have been able to show householders that a Bible study is simple and does not take much time. Thanks to Jehovah, by applying the suggestions we have been given, I have had good results; now I conduct two Bible studies."

Satya, a pioneer sister in Britain, was apprehensive about offering a Bible study on the first call. But on the day set aside for offering Bible studies, she determined not to return home without trying this method. She was delighted when a lady immediately accepted her offer. It was much easier than Satya had expected!

Luca, a young brother in Palermo, Sicily, regularly left our magazines with a widow who was afraid to let anyone into her house. One Saturday afternoon, on the day to offer Bible studies, Luca approached the widow with the Bible Teach book open, and he read an excerpt from the book. The lady was intrigued by the book and took some time to talk to Luca. He told her that he had in his hand the answers to her questions—including the one about whether she would ever see her husband again. Luca opened the book to page 72, which explains who will be resurrected. The lady was touched by this Bible hope and accepted a Bible study. She now has a regular study, inviting the Witnesses into her home without fear.

"From the start," reported a circuit overseer in Peru, "this arrangement has helped most congregations increase the number of Bible studies they conduct. One congregation in Chiclayo reported 25 new studies in one month, and in Chepén, 24 new studies were started."

Young publishers have also had success offering Bible studies. Eleven-year-old Giovanna in São Paulo, Brazil, relates: "One Saturday afternoon I was working door-to-door with my mother, offering Bible studies in the Bible Teach book. At the first door, I asked the householder, a well-known businessman, if he believed that the Bible is inspired by God. He said yes. Then I showed him 2 Timothy 3:16. He said that he was moved to see a young girl telling him such beautiful things, and he accepted the book.
"When I called back on the man, I took my grandfather because he is an acquaintance of the householder. The man asked us in, and I invited him to look at the table of contents in the Bible Teach book and choose the subject that interested him the most. He chose chapter 11, 'Why Does God Allow Suffering?' After reading the first two paragraphs, he and his wife asked many questions. They were so happy to find all the answers in the Bible, and they agreed to a regular study. How happy I was to start a study at the first door we called on!"

Of course, not everyone will accept a Bible study, and not all those who start will continue. But as God's fellow workers, we keep offering Bible studies to as many people as possible, knowing that Jehovah is drawing sheeplike ones into his organization before the destruction of Satan's system of things.—John 6:44, 1 Corinthians 3:9.

Week of October 4th - 10th

Congregation Bible Study:
(song 10)
"Come Be My Follower"
(chapter 11, pgs 111-114, ¶8-14)

Theocratic Ministry School:
Bible reading: 1 Chronicles 1-4
No. 1: 1 Chronicles 1:1-27
No. 2: What It Means to Be Peaceable
(1 Peter 3:10-12)
No. 3: Are Jehovah's Witnesses an American Religion, and How Is Their Work Financed?
(rs pg 201 ¶1-6)

Service Meeting:
(song 11)
Why We Report Our Field Service (10 min.)
(talk by the secretary based on od pg 88 ¶1 - pg 90 ¶1)
Local needs (10 min.)
Make Disciples, Teaching Them (10 min.)
(Matthew 28:19, 20) Discussion based on the 2010 Yearbook, pg 8 ¶3 - pg 10 ¶2, after discussing each experience, invite audience to comment on the lessons learned
(song 112)

Watchtower Study Lesson:
How the Ransom Saves Us
(pgs 12-16 -August 15th study edition)
(songs 62 & 99)

book abbreviations:
* rs (Reasoning From the Scriptures)
* od (Organized To Do Jehovah's Will)