COMPECE CONVERSATIONS

Duration: 3 minutes
In: Informal preaching
Objective: Tell the person something he learned recently at a meeting
Lesson: Naturality
Biblical text: Luke 14:28

Scenification

Elena (Publisher): Good morning. Lately it gives the impression that everything has gone up quite a price. Every time you come to buy, you notice it right away.

Marta (Person): Yes, it’s true. In fact, we’re noticing it a lot too. Because of the increase in costs, we have had to raise prices a little, and many people tell us that they are increasingly having a hard time filling the basket.

Elena (Publisher): Yes, it is perceived right away. Today almost everyone has to think much more about how they organize their expenses.

Marta (Person): Exactly. People compare more, look calmer and often end up wearing only the essentials.

Elena (Publisher): It’s normal. Look, as you know from my beliefs, we saw something very interesting this week at the meeting, and it made me think about that.

Marta (Person): Ah, yes? What was it?

Elena (Publisher): It was a counsel from Jesus which, although given a long time ago, is still very practical today. He’s in Luke 14:28. He says: Which of you who wants to build a tower doesn’t sit first to calculate the expenses to see if you have enough to finish it?

Marta (Person): Yes, the truth is that it is very logical advice.

Elena (Publisher): I thought so. Because deep down Jesus was teaching a very simple idea: before undertaking something, before he spent or making a decision, it is advisable to stop, think and calculate well.

Marta (Person): And today that’s very necessary, of course.

Elena (Publisher): Exactly. At the meeting we commented that this principle does not only serve someone who wants to build something. It also serves daily life. For example, to check well on what money goes, not to act on impulse and to distinguish between what you really need and what you can expect a little.

Marta (Person): Yes, because many times the money does not go into a single big thing, but in small expenses that one hardly receives.

Elena (Publisher): Exactly. And that’s why I liked that comment so much. Because she didn’t stay in a nice idea, but played a very real situation. With prices as they are, stopping for a moment to calculate expenses can avoid many concerns afterwards.

Marta (Person): Yeah, the truth is, it’s a good start.

Elena (Publisher): And that’s something I really like about the Bible. Sometimes people think they only talk about past issues or very general issues, but then you find advice like that, so practical for everyday life.

Marta (Person): Yes, seen like this, it has a lot of application.

Elena (Publisher): Yes. That’s why I remembered you when that comment came out, because here you see every day how this issue affects so many people and I thought it was a very current reflection.

Marta (Person): Well, yes, it fits perfectly with what we’re seeing.

Elena (Publisher): I’m glad I talked about it. Sometimes a single useful idea, said at the right time, already helps a lot.

Marta (Person): Yes, that’s true.

Elena (Publisher): Another day, if you like, I tell you another brief thought that we also saw and that seemed very useful to me for the times we live.

Marta (Person): Sure, anytime.

Elena (Publisher): Perfect.

DISCURSO

Duration: 5 minutes
In: Auditorium
Title: Is it necessary to belong to a religion?
Lesson: Be edifying and positive

Speech

Many people today say, “I believe in God, but not in religion.” Others think: The important thing is to be a good person; you don’t have to belong to any religion. And, being honest, we understand why some people feel that way. Sometimes they’ve seen divisions, hypocrisy or bad examples. But the important question is not what disappointments false religion or what does the majority think. The important question is: what does the Bible say?

The Bible’s answer is balanced and very positive. Yes, God wants people to come together to worship him. Jehovah did not think of his servants as isolated persons, each with his faith separately and unrelated to each other. He wants those who worship him to be united, encouraged and worked together.

Therefore in Hebrews 10:24 and 25 we are told, “We are watching one of another to motivate us to show love and to do good works, while we are not meeting.” Let’s look good at the idea. Meeting is not just a convenient custom. It’s part of Christian worship. Why is that? Because when we get together we learn, we strengthen and cheer each other up. Jehovah knows we need that support.

Jesus also made it clear that his followers would form a recognizable group. In John 13:35 He said, “In this way you will all know that you are my disciples: if you have love one another.” That love could not be fully demonstrated if every Christian lived his faith completely alone. For Christian love to be seen, it was necessary to live together, organization, mutual help and regular meetings. The followers of Christ would have to meet, support themselves and worship God together.

And that’s exactly what happened in the first century. Christians were not dispersed people with no link to each other. They formed congregations. They’re meeting. They were helping each other. They felt part of the same spiritual family. The Bible even speaks of a world sorority. What a nice idea. Jehovah not only gives us truths to believe; he also gives us brothers and sisters to serve him.

However, an important point should be highlighted here: belonging to a religion alone is not enough. The Bible never says that a person pleases God simply for being part of a religious group or for attending meetings without having to influence his way of life. Jehovah wants something deeper and more sincere.

Therefore James 1:27 says: The pure and unpolluted religion is this: to take care of orphans and widows in their difficulties and to remain without spots of the world. That text makes it clear that true religion is not just a label. It is not just about saying: I belong to such a religion. It has to be noticed in conduct, compassion and moral cleansing. It has to influence life.

So the biblical answer is not extreme in any sense. He doesn’t say, whether or not they met. But it also says: “To belong to a religion everything is already done.” The teaching is this: God wants us to worship him with others, and he wants that worship to transform our life.

And that’s very edifying. Why is that? Because it shows that Jehovah does not seek empty formalities. He doesn’t want people who just perform a routine. He wants sincere people, united by love and willing to live according to what they learn. He wants clean, warm, practical worship.

Let’s think about how much we need that today. We live in a world where loneliness, mistrust and individualism abound. Many people feel disconnected. That is why it is so valuable to be part of a congregation where the Word of God is taught, where one breathes Christian love and where one can find true mood. Rejoining to worship Jehovah is not a burden. It’s a help. It’s a protection. It is a sign that God is interested in us.

Moreover, belonging to true religion helps us not to fall into a very common idea today: to think that one can be spiritual in his own way, without being accountable to anyone and without letting the Bible shape its behavior. That may sound comfortable, but it is not the way Jesus taught. He did not call his disciples to live an isolated faith. He called them to form a united people, recognizable for their love.

So when someone asks, is it necessary to belong to a religion?, the Bible responds: yes, it is necessary to meet with others to worship God. But he adds something essential: that religion must be true and must be reflected in the way of life.

How reassuring it is to know that Jehovah does not leave us alone to look for him. He gives us his Word, gives us a congregation and gives us a brotherhood. And when we take advantage of those provisions, we not only learn more from him, but we also feel closer to him and closer to each other.

Therefore, rather than asking ourselves if you need to belong to a religion, the real question is: am I worshipping God the way he wants? If the answer is based on the Bible, on love and on a clean life, then we are on the right track.

HAGA DISCUPLOS

Duration: 4 minutes
In: Biblical course
Target: Lesson 19 point 4 plus video
Lesson: Simplicity
Texts: Daniel 12:4 and Proverbs 4:18

Scenification

Elena (Publisher): Martha, now we go with point 4 of lesson 19: We base our beliefs in the Bible. The main idea here is very nice: we don’t believe something just because a religion says it or because it’s always been taught that way. We want to believe what the Word of God really teaches.

Marta (Person): Yeah, I really like that. Because in the end it is one thing to follow a tradition and another very different is to make sure that what you believe comes out of the Bible really.

Elena (Publisher): Exactly. That’s why we’re first invited to read Daniel 12:4. There it was prophesied that true knowledge would become abundant. So, with that idea in mind, the question is: what would be done, abundant, among the servants of God as they examine the Bible?

Marta (Person): I understand that true knowledge would be abundant. That is, as the servants of God were further studied in the Bible, they would understand more clearly what God wanted to teach them.

Elena (Publisher): Very well. Oh, that’s it. It did not mean inventing new doctrines, but better understanding what was already written. And what did you think of the video in that regard?

Marta (Person): I liked it because it looked like Charles Russell and the others didn’t want to accept things blindly. They had sincere desire to find the truth. And they weren’t content to repeat what they’d heard. They wanted to check every teaching directly in the Bible.

Elena (Publisher): Exactly. Remember how they analyzed it?

Marta (Person): Yes. As I understood, they chose a topic, they looked for all the biblical texts related to that subject and then compared them to each other. That is, they let the Bible itself explain the Bible. They did not begin with a preconceived idea to force the texts, but the other way around: they first examined the texts and then drew conclusions.

Elena (Publisher): Very well explained. That method was very honest and very simple. And that fits very well with today’s lesson. The basis was not: What does such a church teach? or What does tradition say? The basis was: What does the Bible really say?

Marta (Person): Yes, and that gives a lot of confidence. Because so beliefs do not depend on someone’s opinion, but on what is written. I think it’s a very clean way to look for the truth.

Elena (Publisher): That’s the same. Now, the section Did you know?Do you say that sometimes some beliefs have been changed. Why do you think that’s going on?

Marta (Person): I would say that because Jehovah is helping his people to understand their Word little by little. It is not that the Bible changes, but that understanding becomes clearer over time.

Elena (Publisher): Exactly. And to explain it is used Proverbs 4:18, where light is compared with dawn. At first you don’t see all the details of the landscape, but little by little the light increases and everything looks more clearly.

Marta (Person): I liked that comparison very much, because it’s very easy to understand. Sometimes one would like to understand everything right away, but Jehovah does not always reveal things like this. It’s gradually giving light. And that also shows humility on the part of their people, because if they understand something better, they are willing to correct themselves.

Elena (Publisher): Very well seen. That’s important. It is not about defending an idea out of pride, but of adjusting to what the Bible teaches when understanding becomes clearer.

Marta (Person): Yes, and that really seems like a good sign to me. Because it would be more worrying if someone clearly saw that something needs to be corrected and still not want to change it. On the other hand, here you can see the desire to faithfully follow the Word of God.

Elena (Publisher): Exactly. So, if you had to sum up this point with your words, how would you say it?

Marta (Person): I would say that you base your beliefs on the Bible and not on human traditions. And also that, as Jehovah gives understanding little by little, when they see more clearly what their Word teaches, they are willing to adjust their beliefs. That seems to me to be a sincere and very respectful attitude towards the Bible.

Elena (Publisher): Very good summary. That’s exactly the idea. And it also teaches us something: when we study the Bible, we not only want to learn data, but let Jehovah shape our way of thinking.

Marta (Person): Yes, because in the end studying the Bible is not only knowing more, but getting closer to Jehovah and letting him teach us.Elena (Publisher): Exactly. Very well said.