Service Meetings for July
Week Starting July 7
10 min: Local announcements. Selected Announcements from Our Kingdom Ministry. Comment on April field service report for the country and the local congregation.
15 min: “Faithfulness Is Rewarded.” Questions and answers. Include example related in the January 22, 1993, Awake!, pages 18-21.
20 min: “Help Others Find Comfort.” Audience discussion. Have one or two presentations demonstrated. Invite audience to relate other ways they have started conversations, using the same brochures. Encourage using simple, well-chosen words to stimulate interest. (See School Guidebook, page 7, paragraphs 9-11.) Mention the other brochures that might be offered and that the congregation has in stock. When placing brochures, do not hesitate to make positive mention of the donation arrangement.
Song 70 and concluding prayer.
Week Starting July 14
12 min: Local announcements. Accounts report. Review “We Will Study the Family Happiness Book.”
18 min: “Witness Wherever There Are People.” A talk. As time permits, additional experiences may be shared from the 1997 Yearbook, pages 43-6.
15 min: Parents—Teach Your Children From Infancy. Elder discusses Scriptural principles outlining need for parents to teach their children from infancy. (Prov. 22:6; 2 Tim. 3:14, 15) Some parents feel that serious Bible education for children should not be provided until they are old enough to make their own decisions. In such cases many children have been lost to the world. Spiritual instruction should begin in infancy. (g97 3/8 26-7; w88 8/1 12-13) Interview married couple who show concern about the spirituality of their children. Show how father takes the lead but that both parents do their part in providing a consistent, thorough program for teaching their children. Couple relate what they have been doing in an effort to teach their children the truth, applying suggestions the organization has provided on having a good, practical program for teaching at home. Elder emphasizes importance of applying what God’s Word exhorts parents to do.—w85 4/1 23; Eph. 6:1-4.
Song 71 and concluding prayer.
Week Starting July 21
12 min: Local announcements. Review “New Circuit Assembly Program.”
13 min: “Who Will Go for Us?” A positive talk. Include the encouragement to regular pioneer and the experience found in the February 1997 Our Kingdom Ministry insert, paragraphs 16-17. Those who cannot be regular pioneers may wish to plan which month(s) to auxiliary pioneer during the coming service year.
20 min: Be Prepared to Do Informal Witnessing. Every day, we encounter opportunities to witness to people we meet. When an opening occurs, we may find we have no Bible or publications to use. Plan ahead. At home, keep some literature accessible near the door where you greet visitors. Put a variety of literature items in a case or purse, and keep it with you or in your car, at your workplace, or in your locker at school. Carry something with you when you ride public transportation. Pack some literature when you take a business trip, travel to a convention, or go on vacation. Discuss additional suggestions in the School Guidebook, pages 80-2, paragraphs 11-16. Briefly demonstrate several ways to approach a salesman, a workmate, a schoolmate, another traveler, or a vacationer.
Song 72 and concluding prayer.
Week Starting July 28
12 min: Local announcements. Remind all to turn in field service reports. Review literature offer for August. Concentrate on following up brochures placed in July with return visits in August, trying to start Bible studies. Using the March 1997 Our Kingdom Ministry insert, point out some of the essentials for an effective return visit. Studies should be started in the Require brochure or the Knowledge book.
15 min: Local needs.
18 min: Fully Accomplish Your Ministry. Talk by service overseer based on Our Ministry book, pages 5-8. Emphasize the importance and urgency of the preaching work, stimulating all to take their responsibility as ministers seriously.
Song 75 and concluding prayer.