JW's- Possible Bible Study tomorrow. Advice?

Question

Last Friday I was working out in Service in the Country (about 30 minutes away). I was doing my regular presentation... simply offering the Bible teach tract. When I asked the guy if he was a Bible reader he said he was and he told me that "the Lord are putting" he and his wife through some trials but he's helping them get through them. I told him he could be comforted and rest assured that "the Lord" wasn't the one placing the trials on him- but Satan- and that it's the Lord that helps him endure. I asked if he'd be interested in a Bible study and he said he definitely would. I asked when would be a good time to come back and demonstrate the study program and he said Wednesday afternoon would be good because his wife would be home then.
Then he started tearing up and told me he prayers for the Lord to take him home because his life is that bad right now.
It just broke my heart.

Should I encourage him to choose from the topics in the Bible Teach book or pick a certain one or both

*hehee* I ran out of room.

I'm thinking about featuring "Why does God allow suffering" seeing how he seems to be in such emotional pain...

Thank you for all the advice and congrats.
We are trained to NEVER go inside someones home alone. Even Jesus sent out his disciples in pairs :) I'll bring one of the brothers or sisters with me (I work mostly with pioneers- but mostly Sisters).
I posted my experience here mostly for encouragement (both yours and mine). I always love to hear about studies and possible studies :)

Wow! Once again, thanks for all the suggestion and encouragement. Unfortunately, they weren't home. But I left the Comfort tract and a letter. I said I'd check back today, but I ended up catching my oldest sons sickness (a short lived stomach bug) so I won't be going anywhere :(
I have to email some of you back... it may be awhile.
Agape.

Answer 1

Isaiah 41:13 might comfort to him. Then perhaps tie in John 17:3 as taking in knowledge of God and and his son are one of the ways that God leads and comforts. After doing this you might show him the illustrations on pages 4 and 5 of the Bible Teach book and ask him which of these promises of God gives him the most comfort. Be quiet for a while to allow him to read the scriptural thoughts that accompany the illustrations. Once he has made a choice, take your cue from this as to how to proceed. Focus on that scripture and keep the discussion short. (10 minutes or so) You also might bring along a Family Life book.
My prayers are with you that you will be successful in handling God's word of truth aright and that Jehovah will bless your effort to bring hope and comfort to this family. (1Timothy 2:15) Please let me know how it goes.

Answer 2

All these stories have inspired me too! I wish I could say that I am baptized, but I am working on that! Having grown up in the Bretheren Faith, (with hell, trinity, rapture) all jumbled up in there. As a child I asked my Pastor, What does Santa have to do with Jesus` birth, and What does the Easter Bunny have to do with his death? Looking back, he never did give me an answer, or it was something along the lines of, "It's a tradtion" which wasn't satisfying at all! But, I remeber distinctly the look in his eyes, and how he seemed perplexed that I had even asked such a thing! lol And like many others, the Trinity did not make ANY sense. It's like MAKE UP YOUR MINDS PEOPLE! Is Jesus God's son? or is He God Himself? But the first and major awakening I had was later as a young adult, when I started a new job in an office. I had the opportunity of meeting and interacting with the first Jehovah's Witness I had ever met. All growing up, I was warned not to talk to JW's, as they were deemed a cult, etc.... When this lady eventually told me that Jehovah's name was in my KJV of the Bible, I was like, "Yeah, right" but then when I went home and looked up the 4 scriptures she told me to see, well, let's just say it was a jaw-dropping moment! lol I immediately thought to myself, if they (the church I attended all of those years) NEVER ONCE mentioned that God had a personal name, and that it just happened to be Jehovah, well then, what else had they lied about? And so, that was the beginning of my search for truth. I often thought, that now it made sense why I never really had a desire to go to Heaven. The idea of floating around up in the sky, when I loved the beautiful earth, just wasn't very motivating to my serving God. I've had the pleasure of meeting many faithful and true servants of Jehovah and Jesus, and look forward to meeting and spending an eternity with them.

Answer 3

I have to say that I agree with our Brothers & Sisters with all the suggestions & scriptures given so far. Chapt. 11 in the Bible Teach book is a great one, also Chapt. 17 is very insightful too. Regarding Rev.21:4, I LOVE that scripture! You might want to include vs. 1-7 as this gives such a wonderful and promising message.
Congrats on your new study, I hope it goes well for all of you, and 2 more sheep hear His voice. My prayers are with you all.

Answer 4

Sounds like you have a good RV, Xyleisha. The fact that he wants you to come back when his wife is home makes it a lot easier.

1. Yip, a pioneer sister would be excellent to accompany you, expecially when you consider that you may have two people to study with.
2. Invite his wife to sit in with the study (but I'm sure you had that in mind anyway).
3. The topic of your choice is a good introduction to the study. He would probably appreciate this because it appears to follow up from your initial call. After completing this topic he - or his wife - can always choose the next.

All the best with your study, Xyleisha, ...
;-)

Answer 5

After talking to THEM for a while you will deduct what you need to discuss allowing him and her time to get some things off their shoulders.Always remember keep it simple as needed ,not going from Gen. to Rev. or in a bombardment of information and scriptures.Along with prayer Jehovah will take care of the rest by watering it if it is on good soil .Again as others suggested take along company. EDIT---Just noticed someone gave Mildred S a thumbs down and I fail to see why,I think her heart was in the right place,I gave him/ her a thumbs up .

Answer 6

Going to YahooAnswers for this is fine but praying about it should be you're main route. I can't think of one passage off-hand at the moment but I do know that the very first thing you need to do when you get to the study is pray with him. He obviously needs reassurance and hope so a passage along those lines would be prudent. Keep the passage somewhat short though, people who are that depressed won't be able to pay attention to a lot of reading. I'd also say, definitely let him do most of the talking. He needs someone to listen.

Answer 7

You know most of the verses to help but I find Psalms 121 to be comforting. We found that Psalm during the time my mother was dying. You can study to the point where you can say to much, during you daily reading ask the Lord to guide you hand to what you should say.

Answer 8

Yikes. Sounds like he's having a really bad time. If it's something specific that's troubling him and he's comfortable talking about it with you, yeah, why not let him pick a topic. You might want to let him read Revelation 21:4. It's so hopeful. It always makes me feel better, maybe it will help him, too.

Answer 9

You need to present this to the brothers in your congreagtion, or perhaps an expierenced publisher like a Pioneer. This is not a question for this community!

Answer 10

I give you my deepest congratulations on your new bible study! I personally think that it would be encouraging for both of you if you showed them a picture or paragraph that talks about what they are going through -- possibly showing them the chapter on "Why God allows suffering".

May Jehovah bless your efforts. :)