Service Meeting Schedule
Week Starting March 8
10 min: Local announcements. Selected Announcements from Our Kingdom Ministry. Remind all to bring the new brochure “See the Good Land” to next week’s Service Meeting. Using the suggestions on page 4, demonstrate how to present the March 15 Watchtower and the March 22 Awake!
15 min: Using Tracts to Start Conversations. Audience discussion. Often the most difficult part of giving a witness is getting the conversation started. Tracts can be used to break the ice in door-to-door witnessing, in business territory, and in public places. Briefly review two or three tracts that might appeal to people in the local territory. What introductory comments might be made when presenting these tracts? How may the illustrations be used? What questions might tactfully be raised? Highlight a paragraph in each tract that could be considered if the householder shows interest. Demonstrate how a conversation may be started using a tract. Have the publisher briefly consider one paragraph from the tract and then conclude by offering the Knowledge book.
20 min: “Love Jehovah, All You Loyal Ones.”a When discussing paragraph 3, entertain comments from audience on how they have invited people to the Memorial observance.
Song 131 and concluding prayer.
Week Starting March 15
10 min: Local announcements. Review main points of “Memorial Reminders.” Announce when the Watchtower Study will be held for the week of the Memorial.
15 min: Update on Special Activity During Memorial Season. Audience discussion to be handled by the service overseer. Mention special arrangements that have been made. Relate a few experiences that have been enjoyed. Encourage those who can do so to enroll as auxiliary pioneers for April and May. Briefly review a few points from the February Our Kingdom Ministry insert.
20 min: Benefit From “See the Good Land.” The new brochure can make our reading and study of God’s Word more meaningful. A key is using its index. Read Isaiah 63:1, which describes Jehovah as coming from Bozrah. Invite all to find the entry for Bozrah in the “Good Land” index. Explain what “Bozrah 11 G11” means, using the box on page 34, and find Bozrah and Edom on the map indicated. Using the index, find Jesus’ route from Jerusalem to Sychar. (John 4:3-5) Do the same for the location of the pool of Bethzatha. (John 5:1-3) Select one or two additional examples from the weekly Bible reading for the Theocratic Ministry School. Invite the audience to comment on where those locations can be found in the brochure and how we benefit from consulting the maps. Briefly highlight some of the maps contained in the brochure, noting the periods covered. The map on pages 18-19 presents the greatest number of Bible sites. Urge all to make good use of “See the Good Land.”
Song 63 and concluding prayer.
Week Starting March 22
10 min: Local announcements. Accounts report. Remind all to follow the Memorial Bible reading scheduled for March 30–April 4, as outlined in Examining the Scriptures Daily—2004 and on the 2004 Calendar.
15 min: Local needs.
20 min: “A Cavalry Charge That Involves You.”b Read and discuss cited scriptures as time permits.
Song 181 and concluding prayer.
Week Starting March 29
10 min: Local announcements. Remind publishers to turn in March field service reports. Mention literature offer for April. Using the suggestions on page 4, demonstrate how to present the April 1 Watchtower and the April 8 Awake!
15 min: Make Good Use of the 2004 Yearbook. Talk and audience discussion. Mention highlights of “A Letter From the Governing Body,” outstanding figures from the worldwide report, and a few faith-strengthening experiences. Encourage all to read the entire book during the year.
20 min: The Truth Unites Families. Talk and audience discussion. Interested ones sometimes hold back from serving Jehovah because of opposition from family members. Have some of the following experiences related: January 1, 2002, Watchtower, pages 14-15; December 1, 2000, Watchtower, page 8; September 1, 1999, Watchtower, page 32; January 1, 1999, Watchtower, page 4; and February 22, 1998, Awake!, page 31. Highlight that family life often improves when even one member of the household applies Bible principles.
Song 130 and concluding prayer.
Week Starting April 5
10 min: Local announcements.
20 min: Physical Cleanness Recommends Us. A talk based on the June 1, 2002, Watchtower, pages 19-21. Include a demonstration in which an elder shows a pioneer how tactfully to help a Bible student see the importance of keeping his home and yard clean, using lesson 9, paragraph 5, in the Require brochure.
15 min: Relate experiences enjoyed in connection with the Memorial observance and the increased service activity during March.
Song 25 and concluding prayer.
[Footnotes]
a Limit introductory comments to less than a minute, and follow with a question-and-answer discussion.
b Limit introductory comments to less than a minute, and follow with a question-and-answer discussion.