Saturday, April 17
God recommends his own love to us in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.—Rom. 5:8.
How much should we love God? Jesus told a Pharisee: “You must love Jehovah your God with your whole heart and with your whole soul and with your whole mind.” (Matt. 22:36, 37) We do not want our love for God to be half-hearted. Rather, we want our love for him to grow stronger each day. We need to know God in order to love him. The Bible says: “Whoever does not love has not come to know God, because God is love.” (1 John 4:8) The apostle Paul indicated that our love for God would grow stronger as we gain “accurate knowledge and full discernment” of Him. (Phil. 1:9) When we first studied the Bible, we developed love for God based on a limited knowledge of his wonderful qualities. Then the more we learned about Jehovah, the stronger our love for him became. No wonder we view regular Bible study and meditation on God’s Word as being among the most important things in our life!—Phil. 2:16. w19.08 9 ¶4-5
April 12-18
NUMBERS 20-21
Song 114 and Prayer
Opening Comments (1 min.)
TREASURES FROM GOD’S WORD
“Maintain Your Meekness When Under Pressure”: (10 min.)
Spiritual Gems: (10 min.)
Nu 20:23-27—What lessons can we learn from the way that Aaron reacted to discipline and from the way that Jehovah viewed him despite his mistakes? (w14 6/15 26 ¶12)
What spiritual gems from this week’s Bible reading would you like to share regarding Jehovah, the field ministry, or something else?
Bible Reading: (4 min.) Nu 20:1-13 (th study 2)
APPLY YOURSELF TO THE FIELD MINISTRY
Initial Call: (3 min.) Begin with the sample conversation. Overcome a common objection. (th study 12)
Return Visit: (4 min.) Begin with the sample conversation. Offer a publication from the Teaching Toolbox. (th study 3)
Talk: (5 min.) g 1/15 9—Theme: How Can I Control My Temper? (th study 16)
LIVING AS CHRISTIANS
Speak “What Is Good for Building Up” Others: (7 min.) Discussion. Play the video. Then ask the audience: How does negative or complaining speech affect others? What helped the brother in the dramatization to make adjustments?
Stand Up to Peer Pressure!: (8 min.) Discussion. Play the whiteboard animation. Then ask the audience: What pressure do many experience? What advice is found at Exodus 23:2? What four steps can help us to deal with peer pressure?
Congregation Bible Study: (30 min.) rr chap. 7 ¶16-23
Concluding Comments (3 min.)
Song 129 and Prayer