Meetings for Field Service

FEBRUARY 5-11

Using the “Family Life” Book

1. Discuss points from Presenting the Good News (pars. 1-4) on how you might offer the “Family Life” book.

2. Have someone in the group demonstrate use of the current Topic for Conversation.

3. What additional ways have you found helpful to get people into a discussion of points in the book?

FEBRUARY 12-18

Working with One’s Own Family

1. When offering “Family Life” book, why could it be beneficial to work with your marriage mate?

2. How can parents involve their children so that they enjoy working in the field service?

3. How can children profit from working with their parents?

FEBRUARY 19-25

Laying Groundwork for Return Visit

1. How can you lay the groundwork for a return visit on your first call?

2. What are some questions you might bring up for consideration on a return visit?

3. How do you determine which subject to select for a particular householder?

FEBRUARY 26–MARCH 4

Effective Use of House-to-House Record

1. What notations might you make regarding an interested person? How can these various observations be of real value on the return visit?

2. Why is it good not to postpone making your various notations regarding an interested person?

3. How do you determine the best time to make a return call?

How Does God’s Kingdom Affect Your Family?

¹ For centuries Christians have prayed, “Let your kingdom come. Let your will take place, as in heaven, also upon earth.” (Matt. 6:9, 10) We eagerly look forward to the many blessed changes God’s kingdom will bring following the “great tribulation.”

² But even now, since the installing of Jesus as God’s heavenly King in 1914, millions of persons have made changes in their lives to conform with the Kingdom’s direction. As more people take their stand for God’s kingdom by conforming their lives to its laws, God’s will is being accomplished more and more on earth. Happily, the time will soon come when all the opposers of that kingdom are vanquished.

³ Does your family indicate by its actions and way of life that it recognizes the headship of Christ, our heavenly King? If so, how can one tell? Families may vary considerably in many respects; individual preferences may differ. But if God’s Kingdom rule really does affect your family, there is one common denominator. You will be making every effort to follow the lead that Jesus gave, his way of life, his teachings, his service to Jehovah.

IN YOUR FAMILY LIFE

⁴ Since Christ’s rule is one of peace, should not peace be reflected in our families? Surely bickering, faultfinding and displays of temper should be rare, if they exist at all. (Eph. 4:26, 31, 32) Husbands, do the ways that you deal with your wives give evidence that you are subjects of the King, who is “mild-tempered and lowly in heart”? (Matt. 11:28-30) You wives, are your actions toward your husbands and your children an evidence of submission to Christ, who is your husbands’ head? (1 Cor. 11:3; Eph. 5:22, 23) You children, do you honor your parents in a way that shows that you are imitating Christ, who always does the will of his Father? (John 8:29) The answers to these questions indicate the extent to which your family is responding to Kingdom rule.

⁵ It takes time and effort to break away from worldly attitudes and patterns of speech. If even one member of the family makes the effort, there will be a blessing. When the husband sets a fine example, this encourages the wife to respond. And a submissive attitude on the part of the wife may encourage the husband to imitate the example of Christ, the one who is his head. Even the good example of children has helped parents to become subjects of God’s kingdom.

⁶ But how can this be achieved? Spirituality on the part of family members is needed in order to make such changes. How is the spirituality of your family? Could there be improvement? The Kingdom rule provides the finest in practical education from the Scriptures. How may we benefit most fully from it? Really, it is by your family’s making an effort to read and study together, and to prepare for meetings and service. Parents need to encourage their children to pay close attention at meetings and to participate. When a family does these things, the beneficial results can soon be seen.

AS TO FIELD SERVICE

⁷ Just as Christ’s followers were commissioned to preach the good news of the Kingdom, so Christians in our time show they are loyal advocates of the Kingdom by preaching. Do the members of your family make an effort to help one another to serve in the field as disciples of Christ? How many in your family could be publishers? Appreciating the reality of the Kingdom, we want to help all, especially those close to us, to enjoy eternally the privilege of rendering Jehovah sacred service.—Rev. 7:14, 15.

⁸ Consider the example of the family of Philip mentioned in Acts 21:8, 9. Philip is here called “the evangelizer,” which indicates he must have been very active in sharing the good news with others. But Philip was not content to serve God by himself. He must have done much to build up the spirituality of his household and to encourage his family to share in honoring Jehovah, for the account tells us of his four virgin daughters who “prophesied.” So the question is, Are you fathers, like Philip, taking the lead in the service and helping others in your family to enjoy a share in this service?

⁹ Certainly if we accept Jehovah’s kingdom as a reality, we will want to speak about it to others. What a fine thing when we make it our goal, as a family, to accept the direction of the Kingdom in our lives. Not only does it bring blessings to us now in a happy, united way of life, but it also provides a wonderful and secure hope for the future. As we look forward to the yet future blessings that the rule of Christ will bring for our family, we can pray with confidence: “Let your kingdom come. Let your will take place, as in heaven, also upon earth.” And by Jehovah’s undeserved kindness we will have the assurance that not only our families but also others whom we help may live to see God’s will accomplished world wide.

Do You Prepare as a Family?

¹ What are the benefits of a family’s reading the Bible together, or preparing together for meetings and for field service? As one young brother from Delaware put it: “We learned self-discipline, to sit still, and to study for a period of time. More important, we learned the value of personal study. We kept up with the weekly meetings, getting more out of the information than we ever would have on our own.”

² This young man later went into full-time service. His zeal and devotion in the field service, as well as that of many other young people like him, reflect favorably upon the parents for their efforts to prepare their children for a life of service to God.

FINDING THE TIME

³ What comes to your mind as a parent when family preparation is mentioned? Do you think: “As valuable as it is, when will I find time for it?” Have you tried to make some time for it? How persistent have your efforts been? Each person’s situation is different. But it would be helpful to see what some are doing.

⁴ One family in New York takes advantage of the evening meal together to discuss spiritual matters. On different evenings, they discuss the day’s text together and talk about points from the weekly Bible reading. At times they prepare for the service meeting or Theocratic School while at the supper table. In addition, they regularly schedule part of an evening each week for a systematic study of The Watchtower or some other publication. Of course, something has to go, so they limit their TV viewing. The mother, having more time with their son, works with him to prepare