Congregation Book Study, Week of October 10-16, 2022, How can you preach the good news?, Lesson 22, points 1-5, Answers.

Congregation Book Study, 10-16-October 2022, Lesson 22, points 1 to 5, Answers.

Congregation Bible study (30 min.): lff lesson 22.

1. How can you tell your acquaintances what you are learning?

We can look for opportunities to respectfully talk to our family and friends about what we are learning.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS

The Bible says that our words should always be seasoned with salt, that is, when we speak to our relatives, it should always be with respect and seek opportunities to do so. For example, the box shows us several ideas on how to show them the jw.org site.

We are also given the idea that when a friend or family member is sick, we can show them a very admiring Bible text and thus tell them about the wonderful things the Bible teaches us.

All Christians have passed through that stage at some point and we know that we feel within ourselves a need to be able to talk to others about what we have learned, the same thing that happens to us, the disciples of Jesus felt. For in Acts 4:20, we see that they recognized that they could not stop talking about the things they had seen and heard.

If we are feeling that need, we must gain courage and respectfully start talking to the people closest to us, who are our family and friends, in this way we will value more and more the truth that we are learning.

Some ideas to start

• When talking with a family member, start talking about the Bible by saying something like, "This week I learned something very interesting."
• When a friend of yours is sick or worried, show him an uplifting Bible text.
• When your co-workers ask how your weekend went, tell them something you learned in your Bible class or at the congregation meeting.
• Show your friends the jw.org website.
• Invite others to your Bible classes or show them how they can request a Bible course on jw.org.

2. Why is it worth your while to preach with the congregation?

Because by preaching in an organized way, many more people will be able to hear the Good News of the Kingdom. In addition, we will enjoy the beautiful company of our brothers in faith.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS

It is worth it because this organized way of preaching will help us so that many more people hear the Good News. In addition, the disciples felt very happy preaching together and if we do it we will feel the same happiness that the disciples of Jesus felt.

In the previous paragraph we saw that the same feeling that we are experiencing when we learn the truth was also felt by the disciples, but they were not only limited to preaching to their acquaintances. Jesus taught them that they had to go two by two preaching to all the cities.

The same thing they did we can do, if we are learning the truth and we have already shared everything we have learned with our family and friends, we can now preach together with our congregation. Well, if we do it, we will see that this will be worth it, since we will get to know the members of our congregation better and we can also learn from the experiences of the brothers, as well as they will also transmit to us the encouragement that they feel when preaching, which will make us feel happy. .

 LET'S DEEPER INTO THE SUBJECT

3. Jehovah will be with you

Some people who want to preach are worried about people's reaction or what they might think of them.

And you, when you think about talking to others about what you are learning, do you get nervous or not? Why?

Of course yes, despite having years in the truth we still feel nervous when preaching to people. Now let's imagine how those who are just starting out feel, we all go through the same thing, because the reason for our nerves is many times because we start thinking about what people will tell us or how they will react to us.

ADDITIONAL COMMENT

Personally, I think it's normal to feel nervous when you just start sharing what you're learning with others, because maybe we're shy or introverted, but over time those nerves will disappear.

Watch the VIDEO and talk about the following:

VIDEO: I Asked Jehovah to Give Me Courage (4:05)

How did the young people in the video overcome their fears?

In the video we are shown the case of three young people, Ana Bianca and Jonathan. These three young people were going through fears which assaulted them in their daily lives. Ana was afraid to say that she was a Jehovah's Witness for fear of being teased by her friends. Bianca felt pressure but from her teachers, because they spoke ill of the Witnesses and she did not have the courage to defend herself against it. And Jonathan faced what his classmates said about him because he was rumoring things about the Witnesses and he did not know how to defend himself.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS

 These three young men prayed to Jehovah to help them overcome their fears. For her part, Ana, after praying to Jehovah, heard a speech from a brother who read the text of Mark 8:38, which says that we should not be ashamed of following Jesus because if this is the case, Jesus will also be ashamed of us, those words helped her overcome her fear because they touched their hearts.

In the case of Bianca, thanks to the prayer that Jehovah made to her, she found help in her mother, having experience in the subject, helped her to face her fears and on one occasion when they were in biology class, they were speaking of blood he had courage to defend Jehovah's organization.

Jonathan for his part Thanks to the prayer that Jehovah made him, he had the courage to talk to his friends about his beliefs and customs, he says that thanks to this he has earned the respect and admiration of his friends.

For example, they began to pray to Jehovah to ask him for courage, another of the young people says that what helped him a lot was talking to his mother, who is a mature Christian, because this helped him to have courage and not give up.

Read Isaiah 41:10 and discuss the following:

Why should you pray if you are afraid to preach?

Because Jehovah makes it clear to us that he is with us for the help and strength necessary to bear witness to the truth. 

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS

We know that prayer is an important means for our spiritual growth, so if we are afraid to preach to people, we should pray to Jehovah to give us the strength and courage to do it. He gives us the necessary encouragement, since in Isaiah 41:10 in this beautiful text Jehovah reminds us that we should not be afraid, because he is with us and when we need strength and courage to preach, Jehovah promises to give us that strength to move forward That is why it is very important that we pray to Jehovah when we feel afraid to preach.

I knew it?

Many who are Jehovah's Witnesses today thought they would never be able to preach. For example, a man named Sergey felt that he was worthless and found it very difficult to talk to other people. But one fine day he began to study the Bible. He recounts: “Despite my fears, I was encouraged to talk to others about what I learned. To my surprise, this strengthened my self-esteem and engraved the biblical teachings in my heart.”

 4. Be respectful

Before preaching to someone, think not only about what you are going to say, but also about how you are going to say it. Read 2 Timothy 2:24 and 1 Peter 3:15 , and discuss the following:

How could you apply what these verses say when you talk about the Bible with others?

Both the second of Timothy 2 24 and the first of Peter 3:15 give us the necessary advice to take into account when preaching to people, which we can put into practice. We can do it when we find someone who treats us badly in the preaching, we should not act in the same way, but we should avoid fighting with people, because our reputation as Jehovah's Witnesses would be affected.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS

For example, I can put these verses into practice if you spoke kindly, also if I am prepared in advance and spoke to you with great respect.

Another way to put into practice what these verses say is when perhaps someone is not having a good day and asks us to leave, because they do not want to listen to us, since we must respectfully accept their words and leave the place, if we do so. We will create a good image not only for the people who serve us, but also for others. That way people are interested in knowing more about Jehovah and us.

Perhaps some family members or friends disagree with you. What can you do? And what shouldn't you do?

The first thing we can do is respect their opinion and not react badly or get upset with them, because if we do it, the way they think towards us will be worse.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS

If we respect his way of thinking and act according to Jehovah's principles and let our lives be guided by him, our family and friends will see the change in us, which will cause their opinions to begin to change.

What I can do is show you what the Bible says about the point where they don't agree and if they are still reluctant, then I shouldn't insist, what I shouldn't do is get into an argument.

Why is it better to talk to them with respect instead of telling them what to believe?

Because if we try to forcefully impose our beliefs on our family and friends, we can never make them listen to us, what's more, they will create a bad image of Jehovah's Witnesses in general due to our behavior. Therefore, we must always speak to them with respect and also respecting their way of thinking, we will gain their trust and we will be able to talk at ease at any time about any specific topic that we want to share with them.

ADDITIONAL COMMENT

Because that way they themselves will realize that we don't want to force them or change their beliefs. 

A Bible student talking to a family member about something he has learned in the Bible.

5. Talking about the good news makes us happy

Jehovah gave Jesus the task of preaching the good news. How did Jesus see that work? Read John 4:34 and discuss the following:

Eating nutritious food keeps us alive and happy. Why did Jesus say that doing God's will, which includes preaching the good news, is like eating?

Because just as we eat to be strong and healthy in a physical sense, preaching the good news is part of eating. Spiritual nourishment that we need which helps us to stay strong and vigorous in a spiritual sense.

ADDITIONAL COMMENT

By doing the will of God we feed ourselves in a spiritual sense and only in this way can we stay spiritually alive, if we stopped doing it our faith would gradually begin to die.

In your opinion, what joys can you get if you talk about the good news?

In my opinion, one of the joys that came from talking about the Good News with people is the satisfaction of seeing how people pay attention to the message and confidently speak with us about the things they think and feel about God.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS

Another joy that we experience is sharing moments with our brothers or preaching companions, since we share very encouraging anecdotes and experiences with them.

And finally, the greatest joy we can feel is to be recognized by our creator as his witnesses, that is the greatest joy that all Christians experience.

Well, seeing how I make Jehovah happy, some people we talk to over time may accept the truth. 

Any ideas

• During the midweek meeting, look for a few ways to start conversations.
• Talk to your teacher about what you need to do to be included in the midweek meeting schedule. The interventions assigned to him will help him feel more prepared to talk with others about what he is learning.
• Use the “What Some Say” and “What Some Ask” sections of this course to rehearse how you would respond to common questions and objections.

WHAT SOME ASK: “How are you doing? What you've been doing lately?".

How could you use this opportunity to share what you have learned in your Bible course?

If someone asks us how we are doing or what we have been doing lately, we can take advantage of telling them what we have learned in our Bible course, we can tell them what we are studying the Bible and what we have learned about Jehovah and tell them how this is helping us to change our personality and way of being, and thus also take advantage of preaching to teach them what we have learned so far.

In the case of students, they can begin to tell what they have learned that week in their Bible course and how it is helping them in their daily lives to study the Bible more deeply.

 ABSTRACT

Talking about the good news makes us happy, and getting started may be easier than you think.

Review

What can motivate you to preach the good news?

Talking to our family and friends can motivate us to talk to more people about the good news. Also, thinking about how Jesus taught his disciples to go two by two to bring the good news will also motivate us to preach.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS

In the case of students, they can begin to tell what they have learned that week in their Bible course and how it is helping them in their daily lives to study the Bible more deeply.

What can motivate us is that we want the rest to also learn about the truth that leads us to be truly happy and the same love that we come to have for the word of God will lead us to bear witness.

How can you do it respectfully?

We can do this by not trying to impose our beliefs on the people we know. In addition, we preach respecting the opinion of other people and if they react badly to us, we avoid acting in the same way.

ADDITIONAL COMMENT

Well, not trying to impose my beliefs, and if someone does not agree, do not start arguing. 

How can nerves be overcome?

We can overcome our nerves by praying to Jehovah and asking him to give us strength to overcome our fears. As well as meditating and remembering the words of Isaiah 41:10 will help us keep in mind that Jehovah is with us in every moment we need him.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS

Praying to the Lord to give you strength, talk to the brothers with more experience and ask about their and be prepared in advance.