Meetings to Help Us Make Disciples
Note: No service meeting is being planned for the week of July 15 to allow an open week for attending a district convention. This open week can be shifted to the actual week you attend a district convention in June, July or August. The program during the week you attend a convention should be transferred to the week of July 15. The week of July 22 is set aside for reviewing the highlights of things learned at the district convention. This program may be shifted to the appropriate week.
WEEK STARTING JULY 1
Theme: Helping One Another.
7 min: Introduction. Song 19 and general announcements.
18 min: “We Need to Help One Another!” Talk, with audience participation. Discuss three-point goal for coming months. Clearly show Scriptural responsibility to help one another. Get comments on how we can participate and benefit by sharing in this arrangement.
15 min: “Special Issue of The Watchtower to Feature 100th Anniversary.” Question-and-answer discussion with audience. Get expressions from brothers and sisters on how they have benefited from The Watchtower since learning the truth.
15 min: “Presenting the Good News.” Discuss with audience suggested presentations. Ask for comments on how the publishers have used verses in Psalm 146 while witnessing in local territory.
5 min: Song 45 and prayer.
WEEK STARTING JULY 8
Theme: Youths, Have a Real Purpose in Life!
10 min: Introduction. Song 48 and local announcements, including announcements on page 4 that apply; also accounts report.
25 min: Life with a Purpose Is Not Boring. Elder discusses with group of young folks practical points from chapter 9 of Youth book, “Are You Bored at Home?” (See also w76 9/1 p. 519.) Not only at home, but are you bored at meetings, in field service, at school? Why? What is remedy? The following questions may be used or adapted in conducting the discussion: (1) What natural factors in growing up contribute to being bored at times? (2) How does one’s own attitude determine to a large extent whether one becomes bored or not? (3) What can you do personally to improve the spirit in your home? (4) When you get assignments at home, at school or otherwise, why is it helpful to see how such assignments may affect your life now and in the future? To relieve boredom, why can it make a difference if you do things for others? (Phil. 2:3, 4) (5) Why does preparing for and commenting at meetings help to make them more interesting? (6) How will keeping in mind the reasons why we share in the preaching work help you have joy in the service? (7) Why is the complaint, “There’s nothing to do,” not a valid one? (8) Why are endurance and faith important in conquering boredom? Elder concludes with admonition to youth in congregation to fight boredom by being active in Jehovah’s service, including also commendation for what is being done by young ones to serve Jehovah and keep strong in faith despite the allures of this world and problems “incidental to youth.”—2 Tim. 2:22.
20 min: Experiences of Christian youth who have a purpose in life. Brief introduction, using main points in w75 8/1 p. 463. By briefly relating the experiences in the following issues of The Watchtower and Awake!, show how each youth had as his or her goal in life the pleasing of Jehovah by decisive action and zealous service: (1) g71 4/8 p. 23 ¶4, 5 (2 experiences); (2) w71 6/15 p. 368 ¶6; (3) w75 3/15 p. 185 ¶7; (4) w73 3/15 pp. 187, 188 (last experience); (5) w75 7/15 p. 440 (2 experiences); (6) w76 5/15 p. 292 ¶1; (7) w76 10/1 p. 588. (All experiences need not be used. Select those that might be most beneficial and encouraging to your congregation. You may wish to include several experiences of youths in your congregation or have some of the young publishers relate the experiences above.) Conclude by inviting all youths, as well as others in the congregation, to give full support to service arrangements.
5 min: Song 52 and prayer.
WEEK STARTING JULY 15
Week for attending district convention. (See note at top of page.)
WEEK STARTING JULY 22
Week for reviewing highlights of things learned at district convention. (See note at top of page.) Assignments of book study groups to report on certain days of the convention should be made as mentioned under “Announcements” in June 1979 Our Kingdom Service.
WEEK STARTING JULY 29
Theme: Helping One Another Produce Good Fruitage.
7 min: Song 49 and local announcements.
15 min: “Helping One Another (Part I): In the Field.” Service overseer will explain to and discuss with congregation how the practical suggestions for helping one another in the field service will be implemented in the book study groups.
18 min: Planting Seed with Hope that Much of It Will Fall on Good Soil. Read and discuss each verse of Jesus’ parable at Matthew 13:18-23, with emphasis on how we want our hearts personally to prove to be good soil, as we also preach the “word of the kingdom” with the hope that many more will hear the word, get the sense of it and produce good fruitage. (See w76 4/1 pp. 220-222; or p. 108, 109.)
1. Read verses 18, 19: What is the seed sown? Why is it said to be sown in the heart? Who are represented by the one where seed was sown alongside the road?
2. Read verses 20, 21: Who are represented by the ones where seed was sown upon the rocky places? How do they receive the word, but what causes them to stumble?
3. Read verse 22: Who are represented by the ones where seed was sown among the thorns? What makes them unfruitful? Why is this a warning even to Christians who are now producing fruitage?
4. Read verse 23: What is it that makes one’s heart “fine soil”? (Contrast with three previous conditions.) Why is it important not only to hear the word but also to get the sense of it? Define good fruitage that is produced. Why did Jesus show that one would produce a hundredfold, another sixty, and still another thirty? (or p. 109)
Conclude with encouragement to share to the fullest extent of our circumstances in sowing seeds of the Kingdom, hoping that many will fall on good soil.
14 min: How Can We Use What We Have Learned? Review of practical things learned at the service meetings in July. Suggest that brother handling this part meet in advance with a group of brothers and sisters to talk over specific things that have benefited them; these points can be shared with the congregation. This part should be well thought out so that it will be of real value. They can tell how they have used or plan to use the suggestions given.
6 min: Encourage all to support the special day for house-to-house witnessing on Sunday. Song 68 and prayer.