Saturday, January 26, 2013

Week of January 28th - February 3rd

official jw.org link:
http://wol.jw.org/en/wol/dt/r1/lp-e/2013/1/28

Congregation Bible Study:
(song 29 and Prayer)
"God's Word For Us Through Jeremiah"
(chapter 4, pgs 50-53, ¶15-20)

Theocratic Ministry School:
Bible reading: Matthew 16-21
No. 1: Matthew 17:22—18:10
No. 2: What "Good Words" of Jehovah Did Joshua See Come True? 
(Joshua 23:14)
No. 3: What Are Some of the Outstanding Bible Prophecies That Are Yet to Be Fulfilled? (rs pg 296, ¶2 - pg 297, ¶3)

Service Meeting:
(song 134)
(5 min): Start a Bible Study on the First Saturday.
(Using the sample presentation on page 4, demonstrate how a study may be started on the first Saturday in February. Encourage all to have a share.)
(25 min): "Have Love for the Whole Association of Brothers."
(Question and answers. Use the information in the first and last paragraphs for a brief introduction and conclusion.)
(song 53 and Prayer)

Watchtower Study Lesson:
"Find Real Success in Life"
(pgs 4-8 - December 15th study edition)
(songs 115 & 45)

book abbreviations:
* rs (Reasoning From the Scriptures)

Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Week of January 21st - 27th

official jw.org link:
http://wol.jw.org/en/wol/dt/r1/lp-e/2013/1/21

Congregation Bible Study:
(song 61 and Prayer)
"God's Word For Us Through Jeremiah"
(chapter 4, pgs 47-50, ¶9-14)

Theocratic Ministry School:
Bible reading: Matthew 12-15
No. 1: Matthew 14:23—15:11
No. 2: If Someone Says, 'Pray With Me First, Then Give Me Your Message' (rs pg 295 ¶4-5)
No. 3: What Can We Learn From Isaac's Example as a Peacemaker?
(Genesis 26:19-22)

Service Meeting:
(song 32)
(10 min): Declare the Good News Without Letup (Acts 5:42)
(Interview one or two publishers who are known as zealous evangelizers. What helps them to view the ministry as a priority? What do they do to prepare for the ministry? How has the ministry strengthened them spiritually?)
(10 min): Our Fine Conduct Gives a Witness. (1 Peter 2:12)
(Discussion based on the 2012 Yearbook, page 106, ¶1; page 133, ¶2; and page 146, ¶3. Invite audience to comment on the lessons learned.)
(10 min): "Would You Benefit From Having a Personal Territory?"
(Question and answers.)
(song 96 and Prayer)

Watchtower Study Lesson:
"Forgive One Another Freely"
(pgs 26-30 - November 15th study edition)
(songs 77 & 118)

book abbreviations:
* rs (Reasoning From the Scriptures)

extra publications to bring this week:
* 2012 Yearbook

Monday, January 14, 2013

Week of January 14th - 20th

official jw.org link:
http://wol.jw.org/en/wol/dt/r1/lp-e/2013/1/14

Congregation Bible Study:
(song 52 and Prayer)
"God's Word For Us Through Jeremiah"
(chapter 4, pgs 43-47, ¶1-8)

Theocratic Ministry School:
Bible reading: Matthew 7-11
No. 1: Matthew 10:24-42
No. 2: Be Discerning, and Avoid Following Unrealities
(1 Samuel 12:21; Proverbs 23:4, 5)
No. 3: What Are Proper Matters About Which to Pray?
(rs pg 294 ¶4 – pg 295  ¶3)

Service Meeting:
(song 73)
(10 min): Give Practical Assistance.
(Talk based on be, page 188, ¶4, to page 189, ¶4. Briefly interview someone who was helped to make progress because of the personal interest shown by others.)
(10 min): What Do We Learn?
(Discussion. Have Matthew 4:1-11 read. Consider how this account can help us in our ministry.)
(10 min): "Give a Thorough Witness."
(Question and answers.)
(song 92 and Prayer)

Watchtower Study Lesson:
"What Does Jehovah's Forgiveness Mean for You?"
(pgs 21-24 - November 15th study edition)
(songs 67 & 91)

book abbreviations:
* rs (Reasoning From the Scriptures)
* be (Benefit From Theocratic Ministry School Education)

Tuesday, January 8, 2013

Week of January 7th - 13th

official jw.org link:
http://wol.jw.org/en/wol/dt/r1/lp-e/2013/1/7

Congregation Bible Study:
(song 104 and Prayer)
"God's Word For Us Through Jeremiah"
(chapter 3, pgs 38-42, ¶13-19)

Theocratic Ministry School:
Bible reading:  Matthew 1-6
No. 1: Matthew 5:21-32
No. 2: What Could Make a Person’s Prayers Unacceptable to God?
(rs pg 293 ¶3 – pg 294 ¶3)
No. 3: What It Means to Have Jehovah as “Your Share”
(Numbers 18:20)

Service Meeting:
(song 38)
(10 min): Ideas for Offering the Magazines in January.
(Discussion. Take 30 to 60 seconds to relate why the magazines will have appeal in your territory. Then, using the cover subject of The Watchtower, invite the audience to give suggestions on an interest-arousing question to ask and then invite suggestions on a scripture to read. Do the same for Awake! and, if time allows, for one other article from either magazine. Demonstrate how each issue may be offered.)
(10 min): Local needs.
(10 min): A Clean Kingdom Hall Honors Jehovah.
(Talk by an elder. Jehovah is a holy God, so physical cleanness should be a priority among his people. (Exodus 30:17-21; 40:30-32) By keeping our place of worship clean and in good repair, we bring Jehovah glory. (1 Peter 2:12) Relate local or published experiences showing how the appearance of a Kingdom Hall resulted in a witness to the community. Interview the brother who coordinates cleaning and maintenance regarding local arrangements. Encourage all to share in the upkeep of the Kingdom Hall.)
(song 127 and Prayer)

Watchtower Study Lesson:
"Cultivate the Spirit of a Lesser One"
(pgs 15-19 - November 15th study edition)
(songs 26 & 68)

book abbreviations:
* rs (Reasoning From the Scriptures)

Tuesday, January 1, 2013

2013 Yeartext - Joshua 1:9

2013 Yeartext
“Be courageous and strong. . . . Jehovah your God is with you.”
(Joshua 1:9)
 
(pgs 3-4 of the 2013 Examining the Scriptures Daily booklet)
 
There was a feeling of excitement in the air! Finally, after 40 years of wandering through a succession of wilderness areas, the Israelites were getting ready to enter the land that Jehovah had promised their forefather Abraham. It was Canaan, “a land good and spacious . . . a land flowing with milk and honey.” Once there, they would “lack nothing.”—Exodus 3:8; Deuteronomy 8:7-9.
 
There must also have been some feeling of fear and anxiety. Why? Because 40 years earlier, when under the leadership of Moses, the previous generation of Israelites had been in the same situation and had refused to enter the Promised Land. Their spies had reported: “The people who dwell in the land are strong, and the fortified cities are very great. . . . All the people whom we saw in the midst of it are men of extraordinary size.” Next to them, they felt that they looked “like grasshoppers.” Filled with fear, they thought it would be “better” to return to the oppression of Egypt and were on the verge of pelting the two faithful spies, Joshua and Caleb, with stones!—Numbers 13:28, 31-33; 14:3, 4, 10.
 
Were the Israelites justified in their fear? From a human standpoint, it would seem so. The reports of strong and fortified cities and giantlike men had been verified. It is also quite possible that Israel’s journeying in the wilderness and their intent to invade the land were known by the nations that inhabited Canaan. And some of them vastly outnumbered the Israelites! (Numbers 14:13-16; Deuteronomy 7:1, 7) Not to be overlooked is the fact that the Israelites, as slaves in Egypt, had not been trained in warfare or in military strategy. Now they were to face superior forces of trained, battle-hardened warriors. Also, after so many years, the miraculous nature of their deliverance from Egypt was a faded memory—events that the younger generation had not experienced.
 
Jehovah was aware of the situation. So he told Joshua: “Moses my servant is dead; and now get up, cross this Jordan, you and all this people, into the land that I am giving to them, to the sons of Israel. . . . Nobody will take a firm stand before you all the days of your life. . . . Be courageous and strong, for you are the one who will cause this people to inherit the land that I swore to their forefathers to give to them.” Twice more God urged: “Be courageous and strong.” (Joshua. 1:2-7, 9) Acting on Jehovah’s instructions, Joshua told the Israelite warriors to prepare to cross the Jordan River in three days. How did they react? They affirmed their support of Joshua’s command and repeated to him the words: “Be courageous and strong.”—Joshua. 1:10-18.
 
Do you see any parallels between the situation of the Israelites back then and that of Jehovah’s people today? We too are poised to enter a land that Jehovah has promised—a new world where “righteousness is to dwell.” (2 Peter 3:13) We too face formidable foes—“the wicked spirit forces in the heavenly places” and their earthly cohorts—all bent on stopping Jehovah’s people from attaining their goal. (Ephesians 6:12) Still to come is a “great tribulation such as has not occurred since the world’s beginning until now” and the “great and very fear-inspiring” day of Jehovah. (Matthew 24:21; Joel 2:11, 31) Although we have not personally witnessed any of Jehovah’s miraculous “saving acts,” we have full faith in his ability to preserve his people and bring them into the promised new world of righteousness.—Psalm 68:20; 2 Peter 2:9; Revelation 7:14-17.
 
How appropriate, then, are the words of our yeartext for 2013: “Be courageous and strong. . . . Jehovah your God is with you.” (Joshua 1:9) May we keep these words in mind as we preach the “good news of the kingdom” and fulfill Jesus’ command to “make disciples of people of all the nations.” (Matthew 24:14; 28:19, 20) Indeed, “if God is for us, who will be against us?”—Romans 8:31; Hebrews 13:6.

Week of December 31st - January 6th

official jw.org link:
http://wol.jw.org/en/wol/dt/r1/lp-e/2013/1/1

Congregation Bible Study:
(song 60 and Prayer)
"God's Word For Us Through Jeremiah"
(chapter 3, pgs 36-38, ¶7-12)

Theocratic Ministry School:
Bible reading:  Malachi 1-4
~ Theocratic Ministry School Review ~

Service Meeting:
(song 72)
(10 min): "New Series to Appear in The Watchtower ."
(Talk. Use the sample presentation on page 8 to demonstrate how we can use the magazines to start a Bible study on the first Saturday in January.)
(10 min): What Do We Learn?
(Discussion. Have Luke 10:38-42 read. Consider how this account can help us in our ministry.)
(10 min): The Literature Offer for January and February
(Discussion. Consider features of the literature being offered, and have two presentations demonstrated.)
(song 134 and Prayer)

Watchtower Study Lesson:
"Jesus Set the Pattern of Humility"
(pgs 10-14 - November 15th study edition)
(songs 84 & 82)