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“What does AWANA stand for?”

Big Idea

AWANA helps us do God’s work better.

Materials Needed:

1. Printed out picture of Vincent Van Gogh’s painting “Starry Night.”

2. Poorly drawn picture of a starry night using crayons.

Setup:

None

Lesson

1. Ask, “How many of you know what AWANA means?” Explain the following to the children:

Before I tell you what AWANA means, let’s talk about a couple of things AWANA doesn’t mean. First, it’s not some sort of language little kids use. (”AWANA cheeseburger!” or “I don’t AWANA go to bed!”) Second, it’s not something you’d yell out while doing some sort of martial arts (Hi-AWANA!). It’s actually a word made up of the first letter of a bunch of different words. And those words come from a verse in the Bible.

2. Write “AWANA” on the chalk/wipe board vertically in large letters. Write out the words to the acronym next to the corresponding letter: “Approved Workmen Are Not Ashamed.” Have the children read through the sentence once with you. Explain the following:

This sentence comes from a verse in the Bible: 2 Timothy 2:15. He’s talking about working for God, doing things that God wants us to do, being a WORK-MAN (or woman) for God. Things like talking to him and being kind to other people. But what do these other words mean, approved and not ashamed?

3. Hold up the poorly drawn picture of a starry night. Explain the following:

Here’s a picture I worked on. I call it “Night of Stars.” Now, I’m not a professional artist and I’ve never taken lessons. I drew it about as fast as I could. I really didn’t take my time. And you know what? It’s not very good. It’s not something I’m really proud of. In fact, I’m a little ashamed of it! I could’ve done better, especially if I took the time to learn a little bit about drawing.

4. Hold up the printed picture of Van Gogh’s “Starry Night.” Explain the following:

This picture is a print of a painting by Vincent Van Gogh called “Starry Night.” It’s definitely a lot better than my picture. You can tell he put a lot of work into it. You can tell that he knows a lot about painting and has spent time doing it. You can see his skill in the specific style he painted the city at night, giving us a different look at a starry night. This is something to be proud of. I certainly wouldn’t be ashamed of it!

This is exactly what that verse in Timothy is talking about. When we do good work, we aren’t ashamed or embarrassed by it. We’re proud of it! It’s the same with working for God. If we do a good job, if we’re “approved workmen” for God, then we won’t be ashamed.

And that’s why we come to AWANA each week: to learn how to become better workers for God.

5. Teach the motions below to help the children memorize the acronym for AWANA. Several times, say the full acronym with the children while doing the motions.

Approved: Thumb’s up sign

Workmen: Mime hammering in a nail

Are not: Waggle finger back and forth in front of you with one hand on your hip.

Ashamed: Cover your face with your hands.