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Service Meeting Schedule

Week Starting December 12

Song 32

10 min: Local announcements. Selected Announcements from Our Kingdom Ministry. Use the suggestions on page 8 (if appropriate for your territory) to demonstrate how to present the December 15 Watchtower and the December 22 Awake! Other realistic presentations may be used. After each demonstration, comment on how easily a scripture can be included in the presentation.

15 min: “A School That Helps Us Make Practical Application.” Talk by the school overseer. Include comments from the October 2005 Our Kingdom Ministry insert.

20 min: “Education That Leads to Life.”a Arrange in advance for one or two to comment on how they have benefited from divine education.

Song 101 and concluding prayer.

Week Starting December 19

Song 160

5 min: Local announcements. Outline special field service arrangements for December 25 and January 1. Remind all to bring the January 2006 issue of Awake! to next week’s Service Meeting.

15 min: “Show Personal Interest​—By Being Adaptable.”b Include a brief demonstration showing how a publisher can adjust his approach based on the comments of the householder.

25 min: “Could Your Child Make a Mature Decision?”c To be handled by an elder. Have each paragraph read aloud by a brother who is a capable reader. Discuss all cited scriptures. After considering paragraph 2, contrast the situations of the two youths mentioned in paragraphs 16-17 and in the box on pages 16-17 of the June 15, 1991, Watchtower. In conclusion, encourage parents to review that entire article in The Watchtower and to follow through immediately by having discussions and practice sessions with their children about the Bible-based command regarding blood, equipping them to express their beliefs with conviction. Family heads should be sure that each baptized child is carrying a DPA card and that each unbaptized child is carrying an Identity Card. Whenever one is being hospitalized and blood transfusions are an issue, the elders should contact the local Hospital Liaison Committee for assistance.

Song 56 and concluding prayer.

Week Starting December 26

Song 85

10 min: Local announcements. Read accounts report and donation acknowledgments. Remind publishers to turn in field service reports for December. If your congregation will change meeting times for the new year, announce the new times. Mention the literature offer for January, and point out where suggested presentations can be found.

15 min: Local needs.

20 min: New Features of Awake! Talk and audience discussion. Mention the adjustments to Awake! announced in the March 2005 Our Kingdom Ministry, page 1, paragraphs 5-6. Include comments on “To Our Readers” in the Awake! of January 2006, pages 3-4. Point out examples of how the magazine straightforwardly directs readers to the Bible. Invite the audience to comment on the new feature on page 31. We will continue to offer The Watchtower and Awake! as a set on the initial call. Of course, we will place only one copy of each issue of Awake! with those on our magazine route and with others who accept the magazines regularly. Using the suggestions on page 8 (if appropriate for your territory), demonstrate how to present the January 1 Watchtower and the January Awake! Other realistic presentations may be used. The January issue of Our Kingdom Ministry will include a second presentation for the January Awake! featuring one of the secondary articles. Both presentations may be used throughout the month.

Song 222 and concluding prayer.

Week Starting January 2

Song 5

Note: Congregations are not to move their Service Meeting for the week of January 2 to an earlier night unless the circuit overseer is visiting. In every congregation, the convention insert should be considered on the Service Meeting as scheduled. If there is a circuit assembly this week, book study overseers should announce the convention location and dates at their regularly scheduled book studies. A copy of the Recommended Lodging List should be made available by the Congregation Book Study overseer so that those in attendance can write down the hotel phone numbers for making their reservations. However, copies of the list should not be made for publishers.

5 min: Local announcements.

15 min: “Make Wise Use of Our Bible-Based Literature.”d Include comments on the September 2002 Our Kingdom Ministry, page 1.

25 min: “2006 ‘Deliverance at Hand’ District Convention of Jehovah’s Witnesses.”e To be handled by the congregation secretary. After considering paragraph 1, read the December 15, 2005, convention assignment letter. Encourage all to make their convention arrangements as soon as possible.

Song 48 and concluding prayer.

[Footnotes]