Your Service Meetings
WEEK STARTING DECEMBER 4
10 min: Song 95. Announcements. Branch Letter.
15 min: “Are You Prepared to Talk on the Bible?” Talk and audience participation on Watchtower article, in issue of November 1, 1977.
20 min: “Are You Instructing Your Family?” Cover the material with questions and answers. To be handled by a brother who sets a fine example in assisting his family. Include brief demonstration or two, using topic for conversation or as outlined in paragraph six. Encourage parents to share in the field service with their teenage children as well as younger ones.
15 min: Why Do They Auxiliary-Pioneer? Interview brothers and sisters who have served as auxiliary pioneers. Ask: What motivated you? How were you able to be of help to others or how were you helped by others?
Some, asked why they auxiliary-pioneered, answered: ‘Out of love for Jehovah.’ ‘The fact that others were doing it was encouraging; I found it enjoyable to work with others doing the same thing.’ ‘I was encouraged when the elders enrolled as auxiliary pioneers. They were not just talking about it from the platform but were setting an example. If they could do it with their busy schedule, so could I.’ ‘I knew that the more who did it the easier it would be, so I did it, hoping it would encourage someone else.’ ‘I enjoy field service and this meant more service and more joy for me.’
One elder said: ‘I could not regular-pioneer but I enjoy field service and so arranged to auxiliary-pioneer. I found it best to do this when school children in the congregation were on vacation. When they learned that an elder was going in the service each day, a number of them arranged to auxiliary-pioneer too. It was stimulating, resulting in starting new studies, and others expressed appreciation for my working with them in this special activity.’
Encourage all who can do so to auxiliary-pioneer during the holiday period. Encourage parents to share in the work with their children.
Encourage all to read the book of Jonah before the service meeting next week. Song 13. Prayer.
WEEK STARTING DECEMBER 11
12 min: Song 56. Accounts Report. Local announcements.
28 min: “Can You Benefit from Jonah’s Experience?” There is much we can learn from what happened in Jonah’s day. Audience participation:
Read Jonah 1:1-3. What assignment of service was Jonah given? (verse 2) (Much like our’s today) Who sent him? (verse 1)
Ask audience to turn to the map on the front endsheet of the bi12 Bible and locate the city of Joppa. Where was Nineveh? Where was Tarshish? How many times farther would it be to Tarshish than to Nineveh? Do you think it was foolish for Jonah to leave Jehovah’s people and to try to go so far away, without Jehovah’s blessing, to get away from his assignment? Why?
Why would it show a wrong motive to schedule other activities for ourselves in a deliberate effort to avoid having a full share in the work of preaching and disciple-making that Jehovah has given us?
What happened to Jonah because he tried to get away from the assignment that Jehovah gave him? (Jonah 1:4, 10, 12, 17)
Read Jonah 2:1, 2, 9, 10. What did Jonah do to get help? (verse 1) Did Jehovah hear his prayer? (verse 2) What did Jonah promise Jehovah? (verse 9) According to verse 10, what happened to Jonah? What can we learn from those verses?
Read Jonah 3:1-4. How big a territory was Nineveh? (verse 3) What was the message that Jonah proclaimed? (verse 4) Do you think it was easy for Jonah to preach that message?
Read Jonah 3:5, 8, 10. Why did Jehovah show mercy to the people of Nineveh? Do you believe that Jehovah will show mercy to people now if they put faith in him and change from their bad ways? How does this emphasize the urgency of the disciple-making work today?
Read Jonah 4:1, 3, 4. What was Jonah’s attitude when Jehovah did not destroy Nineveh at the time that Jonah expected it? Was that the right attitude?
Read Jonah 4:11. How does verse 11 indicate that Jehovah desires people to repent and live? How did Jonah describe Jehovah in verse 2? What should be our attitude over the fact that Jehovah is having the preaching work continue and people are still learning the truth? Invite expressions from one or two publishers who have learned the truth in the past two years and who appreciate Jehovah’s patience in having the preaching continued.
20 min: “What Would You Say?” To be handled by an elder who does well in the field service. Ascertain beforehand from hard-working publishers and pioneers some of the objections that are most common in your territory. Have audience comment on how they would answer the objections. Consider also common holiday greetings and how to handle these.
Spend most of the time entertaining suggestions from the audience. Use one or two capable publishers or pioneers to demonstrate briefly how they handle these objections in the field.
Encourage families to share in field service together on the weekend. Song 33. Prayer.
WEEK STARTING DECEMBER 18
10 min: Song 34. Announcements.
25 min: A Closer Look at the Jubilee and Its Provisions.
(2 min.) Chairman: What was the liberty that Jehovah’s people inhabiting the land of Israel were to enjoy on the 50th year, the Jubilee? It was deliverance from indebtedness and from servitude. It was a time for handing back property lost because of economic problems. Also, if an Israelite had fallen into debt and, if in order to pay his debt, he had sold himself or members of his family into servitude, then on the Jubilee (even if the customary six years of servitude had not been completed) he and the members of his family were to be set free, his debt was to be canceled and he was to be given enough provisions to start a free life again. (Lev. 25:13-33, 39-43, 53, 54) The Jubilee was a restoration of the condition that Jehovah established for his people when they entered the promised land. Of what value is this information to us today?
(23 min.) Discuss with audience:
1. What is the symbolic Jubilee? (w 8/1/76, page 454)
2. What evidences do we see to indicate that our deliverance is near? (Luke 21:26, 28)
3. How do the Jubilee and God’s incoming new system of things show that Jehovah is a compassionate God?
4. How do they prove that Jehovah recognizes man’s need for land and income? (Isa. 65:21)
5. Just as Jehovah promised Israel, what can his people confidently look forward to in the coming new order? (Isa. 25:6-8)
6. Since debts were canceled during the Jubilee, does this mean that we can go into debt and wait for the “great tribulation” to cancel our debts? (Rom. 13:8; 2 Kings 4:7)
7. What do the Scriptures encourage us to do for our brothers when they have a need and when we are able to help? (Jas. 2:15-17; Lev. 25:35)
8. What view should be taken of those who persist in not putting forth the effort to help themselves? (2 Thess. 3:10)
9. What does all of this help us to appreciate about our loving heavenly Father? Our responsibilities? And our hope for the future?
The entire arrangement of the Jubilee should draw us closer to our heavenly Father and give us confidence in his interest in us. He is proving that he is our God just as he proved to be to the nation of Israel.
15 min: “Presenting the Good News—On Holidays.” Questions and answers. Demonstrate points in paragraphs two and three, or an approach that would be particularly appropriate for your territory.
Include announcement of arrangements for group witnessing during holiday period. Encourage all who can have a greater share than normal to do so.
10 min: Entertain experiences of publishers and pioneers who have had pleasant experiences in witnessing to others. Remind brothers to bring the October 15 issue of The Watchtower with them to the service meeting next week. Song 19. Prayer.
WEEK STARTING DECEMBER 25
8 min: Song 112. Announcements.
20 min: “How Christians Are ‘No Part of the World.’” Talk based on article in October 15 issue of The Watchtower. Include audience participation.
20 min: “How Many Can You Reach?” Questions and answers. Invite audience to look up the scriptures cited in paragraphs five through seven. After the scriptures are read, ask the questions appearing in these paragraphs.
Emphasize the need for tactfulness and discretion when evangelizing informally.
Interview one or two publishers who do well in this.
Encourage the brothers to take the initiative in speaking informally to people who are away from home. Encourage those who would like to get started in this activity to go along with brothers and sisters who are already successful in the work or who, like themselves, would like to develop abilities along this line.
12 min: The offer. Discuss and demonstrate the offer of the Watchtower subscription (with any 384-page book free to new subscribers), for $2.00. The Watchtower and Awake! subscriptions (with two 384-page books free to new subscribers), for $4.00 can also be offered. Encourage the brothers to prepare to present the new offer from house to house. Song 80. Prayer.