DECEMBER 22-28
ISAIAH 11-13
Song 14 and Prayer | Opening Comments (1 min.)
1. What Would the Messiah Be Like?
(10 min.)
He would be a descendant of Jesse through his son David (Isa 11:1; ip-1 159 ¶4-5)
He would have God’s spirit and the fear of Jehovah (Isa 11:2, 3a; ip-1 159 ¶6; 160 ¶8)
He would be a righteous and merciful judge (Isa 11:3b-5; ip-1 160 ¶9; 161 ¶11)
FOR MEDITATION: What makes Jesus superior to any human ruler?
2. Spiritual Gems
(10 min.)
Isa 11:10—How has this prophecy been fulfilled? (ip-1 165-166 ¶16-18)
What spiritual gems from this week’s Bible reading would you like to share?
3. Bible Reading
(4 min.) Isa 11:1-12 (th study 11)
4. Starting a Conversation
(3 min.) HOUSE TO HOUSE. (lmd lesson 2 point 5)
5. Following Up
(4 min.) PUBLIC WITNESSING. Use jw.org to answer a question raised by the person. (lmd lesson 8 point 3)
6. Making Disciples
(5 min.) Help your student prepare to preach with you from house to house. (lmd lesson 11 point 4)
Song 57
7. Do You “Judge With Righteous Judgment”?
(15 min.) Discussion.
Every day we make judgments about people, sometimes subconsciously. Our tendency may be to draw conclusions based on what we see. However, our Exemplar, Jesus, judges differently. (Isa 11:3, 4) Jesus is able to see a person’s heart and to discern his thinking, reasoning, and motives. We do not have this ability. However, we can try our best to imitate Jesus. He said: “Stop judging by the outward appearance, but judge with righteous judgment.”—Joh 7:24.
Our zeal and effectiveness in the ministry could be hindered if we judge others by what we see. For example, do we hesitate to preach in neighborhoods where people belong to a certain ethnicity or religion? What about neighborhoods that are affluent or that are poor? Do we assume that a person will not be interested based on his appearance? It is God’s will that “all sorts of people should be saved and come to an accurate knowledge of truth.”—1Ti 2:4.
Play the VIDEO Lessons From The Watchtower—Do Not Judge by Outward Appearance. Then ask the audience:
What prejudices were mentioned in the video?
If prejudices were allowed to creep into the congregation, how could they have a negative effect?
What helped the Christians interviewed to avoid judging by outward appearance?
What lessons did you learn from the Watchtower article?
8. Congregation Bible Study
(30 min.) lfb lessons 46-47