6 ways to get your clubbers thinking about Easter

For Christians, Easter is the most important holiday of the year. Sure, Christmas is important because of the celebration of Jesus’s birth, but if Christ didn’t rise again, then Christmas and Christianity itself would be pointless. Jesus’s resurrection is the crowning moment on a sinless life that sets Him apart from every other person on Earth. If He had stayed dead, then He would have been just like us spending eternity paying our debt of separation from God because of our sin, as per Romans 6:23. Instead, by rising again, Jesus proved that our debt was paid in full, and He made new eternal life with God possible. So with that in mind, here are six ways to help your students celebrate Easter and its significance.

1. Have a “Christmas in Spring” theme night and tie Christmas to Easter

2. Share “The Wordless Book” using jelly beans. Bring extra beans for snacking — and enough for the kids to snack, too

3. Host a “Walk With Jesus” night during club night and have clubbers invite their friends and families. Let them count anyone they bring for the “Bring a Friend” section in their handbooks

4. Replace pins, beanbags, and batons with Easter baskets, plastic eggs, and fake flowers

5. Make a scavenger hunt using Resurrection Eggs (instructions here)

6. Host a “Good News Basket” drive by having the kids bring in stuff to make gift baskets for less fortunate kids. Examples of items include small toys or stuffed animals, new kid-sized clothing items, kid’s books, and of course, candy. Make sure to include some presentation of the Good News in your Good News Baskets, such as a child-focused tract or a salvation bracelet with an explanation card.

What are some things you do to bring Easter into your club?

For more information about Awana, visit the Awana Homepage.
To find a club in your area visit the Club Locator.

Stars and dots

In a previous post, I talked about how it’s nice to have lessons you can “pull out of your back pocket” if your Large Group speaker cancels on you at the last minute, leaving you no time to prepare a replacement.

This week, I want to share with you another lesson from my back-pocket library: a book titled “You Are Special,” written by Max Lucado and illustrated by Sergio Martinez.

The story takes place in a village of small wooden people called Wemmicks. Every day, the Wemmicks stick gold star stickers on other Wemmicks who are pretty or talented. They also stick grey dot stickers on Wemmicks who are not pretty or talented, like Punchinello. And no matter how hard he tries to get gold stars, Punchinello always gets more grey dots instead. But one day, he meets a Wemmick with no stickers at all — whenever someone tries to give her one, it just falls off. When he asks her how she avoids other Wemmicks’s marks, she directs him to their creator, a woodcarver named Eli, who lives on the hill. And when Punchinello visits, Eli helps him realize how special he is, regardless of what other Wemmicks think.

While the book itself doesn’t come with a verse, it pairs beautifully with Psalm 139:14, “I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, And that my soul knows very well.” It can also easily be a springboard into the salvation message by talking about God’s love for us.

The book comes in hardcover, paperback, ebook, and board book (for really young ones) at Christianbook.com. There is also a Spanish version.

Sometimes a candy cane is just a candy cane

“These were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so.” – Acts 17:11

In November, I was looking around on Pinterest for a simple object lesson to teach my Sparks about being thankful. I found one on sundaychidrensfocus.com that used a donut and a rhyme coined by an unknown author, “As you go through life, make this your goal: look at the donut and not at the hole.” The premise was that we should be thankful for what we have — the donut — and not be upset by what we don’t have — the hole.

The lesson was a hit, and now whenever the kids see a donut, they can be reminded of the Biblical truth of gratitude. Now, does that mean the creator of donuts built them specifically to remind people to be thankful for what they have? Unlikely. It makes more sense that many years after donuts were made, someone was eating a donut and thought, “hey, that’s a neat idea. I can use this donut to help people understand gratitude.”

Unfortunately, especially around Christmas, many Christians become confused when meanings are given to objects, and then these meanings are widely shared without question as the historical reason for the existence of the object. It’s like reading somewhere that donuts were created specifically to teach others about gratitude, and just agreeing with it. Or taking it the next step, presenting this donut origin story as historical fact to others.

For a more common Christmas example, consider the origin story of the candy cane — or rather, consider all three stories. Yes, there are three, and none of them have strong historical evidence. In fact, one story completely contradicts history by stating that it was a secret symbol to help oppressed Christians in Europe during a time where Europe was predominantly Christian.

Another story says that in the 1670's, a nameless choirmaster asked a nameless candy maker to create a treat to be given to the choirboys to help keep them quiet during the church’s Christmas service. But the candy needed to be a teaching tool as well so the parents would let the choirmaster give the candy to the kids. The problem with this story is that there is no documentation to support it, and candy canes aren’t referenced by name or associated with Christmas until somewhere in the 19th century, nearly 200 years after the story is said to have happened.

The third story states that a nameless candy maker in Indiana wanted to make it with each element having a Christian meaning, complete as a hard, white cane with three small red stripes and one large red stripe, and that through time, the meaning was lost. The problem with this story is that it also lacks historical documentation. At minimum, the candy cane was pure white when Americans started using it in the 1800's, and stripes weren’t added until the early 20th century.

Does that mean that candy canes can’t be used to remind others about why we as Christians celebrate Christmas? No. In fact, I plan to share the story of God’s gift of eternal life to my Sparks by using candy canes this week. What this does mean is that we should check our facts before sharing stories like the “Origin of the Candy Cane.” And this isn’t limited to just object history and meaning. In Acts 17:10-11, Paul and Silas commended the Jews of Berea for double-checking what the two were saying. “Then the brethren immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea. When they arrived, they went into the synagogue of the Jews. These were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so.”

We want to teach our kids the truth, both Biblical truth and our own post-Biblical history. But to teach it, we have to research it on our own to verify that it is indeed true. And while we can use objects like candy canes and donuts to help children and youth remember God’s gifts and plans for us, sometimes a candy cane is just a candy cane, and sometimes a donut is just a donut.

7 ways to get your clubbers thinking about Thanksgiving

1. Replace pins, beanbags, and batons with pumpkins, apples, and Indian corn

2. Play some harvest or Thanksgiving-themed games (here are some ideas)

3. Have a Pilgrims and Indians theme night

4. Hold a canned food drive for those who can’t afford a Thanksgiving meal

5. Teach a Large Group lesson on the Fruit of the Spirit using a cornucopia as a visual

6. Read “Sparky Shines His Light” by Jack Eggar

7. Have clubbers write what they’re thankful for on feather-shaped pieces of paper, then stick the paper onto a turkey wall decoration

What are some things you do to bring fall and Thanksgiving into your club?

For more information about Awana, visit the Awana Homepage.
To find a club in your area visit the Club Locator.

A little oil and trust

Scripture: Acts 16:31, 2 Kings 4:1-7
Materials needed: Bottle of oil

Have clubbers look up Acts 16:31: “So they said, ‘Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.’” Have a clubber read it, then repeat Acts 16:31b a couple times, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved” (this is a Sparks memory verse).

Pull out the bottle of oil and show the kids. Place it where they can see it through the lesson.

Ask Clubbers:
What do we normally use oil for?
- Baking (cooking)

Tell Clubbers:
Raise your hand if you’ve ever helped your mom or dad bake cookies. Yum! Like us, people in Bible times used oil for baking and cooking.

They also used oil for other things, like lighting their homes after dark. You see, they didn’t have electricity, so they would pour oil into a special container and light it, much like a candle.

Another common use of oil was personal cleaning. Oil was used in soap and as a perfume. If you can’t tell, oil was important to people in Bible times.

Now I want to tell you a story in 2 Kings about a woman. This woman had two sons and was married to a prophet (a man who told people things that God said). Every day, the prophet worked hard to earn enough money to pay what he owed and take care of his family. But one day, the man died.

Without her husband working, the woman had no money to pay off what they owed. To make things worse, the person she owed was coming soon to get his money. If she didn’t have the money to give him, then he would take her two sons and make them his slaves!

Ask Clubbers:
How do you think the woman felt?
- Allow responses. Examples: Scared, worried, afraid

Tell Clubbers:
It just so happened that another of God’s prophets, Elisha, was in town. Elisha had known the woman’s dead husband, so the woman came to Elisha for help. This is what Elisha told her to do.

First, he asked her what she had in her house.

Ask Clubbers:
What do you think she had?
- Oil

Tell Clubbers:
That’s right. In fact, that was the only thing she had left — one single jar of oil.

In 2 Kings 4:3-4, Elisha gave her instructions for using her oil. He told her (in NIV):

“Go around and ask all your neighbors for empty jars. Don’t ask for just a few. Then go inside and shut the door behind you and your sons. Pour oil into all the jars, and as each is filled, put it to one side.”

Ask Clubbers:
How many jars of oil did the woman say she had?
- One

Tell Clubbers:
And Elisha’s telling her to fill up as many jars as she can get with that one jar of oil.

Ask Clubbers:

How many of you would think Elisha was crazy? How many would think, “That will work!”

Tell Clubbers:
Well, the woman decided to try, trusting that God would provide. So she gathered the jars, went into the house with her sons, and started pouring. Soon a jar was full, and there was still some oil left in her original jar, so she asked her sons, “bring me another.” Then that jar filled. It was working! “Bring me another!” “Another!” She kept pouring and pouring as her sons kept bringing empty jars until finally, “Bring me another!”

“There are no more!”

Every jar in her house was filled with oil. Elisha then told her to sell the oil and use the money to pay their debt, then she and her sons could live on what was left. Because she trusted God and followed His instructions through Elisha, she and her two sons were saved.

Maybe there’s someone here tonight who has never trusted Jesus before. If that’s you, then you’re just like the woman with no money, and the collector’s coming. You’re stuck with a debt of sin (anything you think, say, or do that breaks God’s laws). You’re stuck with a debt of sin, and there’s nothing you can do on your own to pay it off. Without God, her price would have been her sons. Without Jesus, the price of your sin is death — separation from God forever.

But just like God provided oil for the woman to give her family enough to live on, He also provided His Son Jesus Christ to give you life. Just like the oil took the place of her sons, Jesus Christ died in our place for our sins. All you have to do is trust that He paid your debt. I encourage you to talk to one of your leaders, your pastor, your parents, or your friends here at club about trusting Jesus.

For those here tonight who have already trusted Jesus, trusting God doesn’t stop after you’re saved from sin. Even after we’re saved, sometimes we face things that make us afraid, just like the woman with the oil. She was afraid of losing her two sons.

Raise your hand if there’s something you’re afraid of, like spiders, or the dark, or going to a new school. I bet we’re all afraid of something.

But when the woman trusted the Lord and followed His instructions, God took care of her. And just like we read in Acts 16:31, when we “believe on the Lord Jesus Christ,” He will take care of us, too.

Awana GO shows clubbers Awana clubs around the world, teaches missions

Awana recently introduced a new missions program called Awana GO, and it replaces Adopt-a-Club. The goal of the program is to help clubbers in the United States learn about and become involved in mission work that impacts fellow clubbers in other countries.

“We want this program to disciple kids in missions,” Awana GO Western Coordinator Jennifer Henning said.

When Awana Commanders register for Awana GO, they gain access to material such as short video prayer requests from other countries and to a Facebook discussion group, and they receive newsletters with information about how Awana clubs are doing around the world.

Awana GO also provides many discipleship resources, including enough Large Group lessons to use intermittently throughout the club year. Lessons teach Bible truths through telling stories of clubbers or leaders from other countries. These stories show clubbers in the United States how kids just like them are living and sharing the Gospel in other parts of the world. The goal is to inspire clubbers in the United States to become active in missions, too.

“Awana GO shows kids what Acts 1:8 looks like,” Henning said.

Other resources offered through the program include information booklets about other countries, testimonies from clubbers, testimonies from pastors and leaders, and promotional tools.

The program has a fundraising component as well, though it is completely optional. For those who do want to fundraise, Henning is partial to short-time-focus approaches, such as Awana GO’s Verse-a-Thon.

“We went from barely raising $360 in a whole club year to raising $3,250 in a single night,” she said about using the Verse-a-Thon at her club. “The Verse-a-Thon allows the kids to drive the fundraising. Because of the Awana GO lessons, they’ve seen these kids in other countries, and they know what they’re supporting — that they love Awana and hope to bring Awana to these other kids. Our clubbers also had a blast.”

Instructions for the Verse-a-Thon can be found with other fundraising ideas on the Awana GO website. Money raised and submitted through Awana GO is used to train leaders in other countries and provide them with all the materials they need to start a new club, including a four-year chronological curriculum called Truthseekers. For one child to be reached with the Gospel and to attend an Awana Truthseekers club indefinitely, the cost is only $10. 

Henning and the creators of Awana GO are excited to see clubbers engage in missions by learning from and supporting other clubs across the globe. They look forward to clubbers discovering a world outside their own clubs, churches, and lives, and finding chances to share the Gospel in new places and ways.

“We want clubbers to know how to share their faith with not only the kids in their hometown,” Henning said, “but also around the world.”

For more information about Awana GO, visit awana.org/go, or contact Henning at jenh@awana.org or 206-619-1885. Henning will also be discussing Awana GO Sept. 14 at 8 p.m. during a Google Hangout on Air. Watch the live stream here.

For more information about Awana, visit the Awana Homepage

To find a club in your area visit the Club Locator.

Encouraging leaders to teach Large Group

At the Awana club where I serve, most of my Sparks leaders are in high school or college. Many of them are still uncomfortable when speaking to a crowd — a circumstance they will likely face many times not only in school, but also once they enter the workforce.

So to help them gain more confidence, I encourage them to give Large Group presentations to the Sparks. Below are four reasons why encouraging leaders to teach Large Group is beneficial.

Practice with less pressure

Sparks are between the ages of 5 and 8. They’re still learning both Biblical and social basics and won’t care if leaders get a bit tongue-tied or forgetful. Because Sparks don’t care about the quality of the presentation, leaders can make mistakes with no fear of being graded or scored. Leaders may also find standing in front of a bunch of kindergartners is a bit less intimidating than standing in front of a bunch of peers or adults.

Practice clarity

Sparks don't understand big words like sanctification or atonement, so leaders need to learn how to fit their presentation to their audience. I encourage beginning presenters to use canned lessons so they experience what a well-organized, age-appropriate lesson is like.

Leaders who have presented more than twice before have an option to challenge themselves to create their own lesson to present God’s truth in a clear, age-appropriate way.

In school and at work, teens and adults need to be able to present ideas in a clear manner, often to people who know nothing about a topic or the topic’s jargon. An English teacher may require a student to give a presentation about an author to the class, or an employee may need to articulate an idea to a committee or project team. So why not practice now by presenting a lesson to a group of kids?

Practice precision

Sparks not only have a limited vocabulary, but they also have a limited attention span of about 5 to 8 minutes. So leaders have to both speak clearly and prepare and present a lesson that is engaging and to-the-point. Again, this is a good skill to have for school and other areas when there are time or attention-span constraints.

Practice presenting the Gospel

The purpose of Awana, or of any kids’ ministry for that matter, is to teach children to know, love, and serve the Lord. To fulfill this purpose, Awana volunteers need to understand the core of the program — the Gospel.

But knowing the Gospel and sharing the Gospel can be two very different things, and unless the leaders get opportunities to practice clear Gospel presentations, they may not be as confident, clear, or precise when children ask questions. An unprepared leader could actually make for a more confused child. By giving the leaders a chance to present the Gospel in Large Group, not only do they gain more confidence in sharing, but the clubbers get to hear God’s salvation plan frequently.

And maybe, as leaders gain more confidence speaking to a crowd, a Spark in that crowd may take to heart the leader’s message and make the decision to trust Christ.

For more information about Awana, visit the Awana Homepage.
To find a club in your area visit the Club Locator.

4 tools for presenting the Gospel

The Gospel is at the core of everything Awana does, and it’s important to be able to share the salvation message in different ways to reach different people. It’s also important to find a presentation method that makes the presenter comfortable, confident, and clear when sharing.

A high school student from West Coast Honor Camp explains the
Gospel Bracelet to two children in Redding, Calif.

Discovering new tools and figuring out which ones work for you can be daunting. So at West Coast Honor Camp, we help Journey students get started in their search. Each year, the high school campers receive and learn how to use a different tool to share the Gospel. Then on Wednesday of the camp week, they use the tools to share the Gospel with people around Redding, Calif. After camp, they take the tools home to share in their own communities. Some may even use them as Large Group messages at their Awana clubs.

But these resources aren’t restricted to the high school campers; below are four of the tools provided by West Coast Honor Camp over the years. And if any of your Journey students (or former Journey students) attended camp, maybe they can teach you how to use theirs.

EvangeCube – This is a cube made of eight smaller cubes. The cubes are joined together in a specific way so they can be unfolded to show 7 different images that illustrate the salvation message. Cubes come in different sizes depending on the desired presentation.

Gospel Bracelet – This is a leather or rope bracelet containing colored pony beads. Each color represents a part of the Gospel. The bracelet is so easy to make that the presenter can have the audience members make their own as they talk about the meanings of the colors.

Gospel Glove – This is a two-sided plastic glove. One side presents the Gospel with verses, images and symbolic colors; the other presents a message about obedience and growth for those already saved.

U-Turn Cards – This set follows the Roman Road. The tool uses 9 double-sided road sign-themed cards with letters and images that allow for an interactive, fast-paced presentation.

For more information about Awana, visit the Awana Homepage.
To find a club in your area visit the Club Locator.

Billy the Pumpkin

Scripture: James 2:10, Ephesians 2:8-9, Titus 3:5, Romans 6:23, John 8:12

Materials:
1 Pumpkin
1 Tea candle
1 Lighter
Wax paper or saran wrap or newspaper- something to cover a table for easy cleanup.

Prep:
The night before or the day of the lesson, carve a simple happy or goofy face on the pumpkin, save 2-3 handfuls of the internal goop in a bag or plastic container.

Right before the lesson, cover the area with wax paper and return the goop to the inside of the pumpkin. Wear short sleeves and nothing on your wrists, as you will be reaching inside the pumpkin. Also, have a leader stand near the room’s light switch, ready to turn it off on your cure.

Tell the clubbers a story similar to the following. Disclaimer: This is a narrative I created to address Sparks. There may be others available online, or you can create your own.

Hi everyone! I'd like you to meet Billy. Billy comes from a Christian home, and as such, he does a lot of good things. He goes to church every Sunday and Awana every Wednesday, and he was baptized when he was six. He also donates some of his toys every year, and is respectful to his teachers.

But, Billy has a problem (remove the top of the pumpkin). You see, even though Billy does all sorts of good things, he still has all this icky stuff called sin. This (pick up a little bit of the goop) is from when he complained to himself when teacher asked him to help Jake put the art supplies away. This (pick up a little more of the goop) is from when Billy took just a little peek at Stephanie's spelling test because the only word he couldn’t remember was “cracker.” And this (pick up a little more of the goop) is from when his mom asked if he had finished his homework and he said yes, even though he had only done half of the math problems.

(Present your handful of goop to the kids) That doesn’t look like a lot of goop. I mean, none of those were big sins, right? Nobody heard him complain, he got all the other spelling words right on his own, and he would get the homework done before class tomorrow. And he’s done all those other good things, too. So all those good things make this small pile of icky sin unimportant, right? (Put handful back inside pumpkin).

The fact is that to God, sin is still sin, no matter how small we may think it is. In James 2:10, we’re told that "Whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble at one point, he is guilty of all." We’re also told in Ephesians 2:8-9 and Titus 3:5 that there’s nothing we can do to make that sin disappear on our own. So all those good things that Billy does — having Christian parents, attending church, getting baptized, being respectful, giving to the poor — none of it can make that icky sin go away.

What’s worse is that tiny amount of sin has a giant, terrible consequence. Romans 6:23a tells us, “For the wages [or consequence] of sin is death.” Death means being separated from God forever. Poor Billy!

Fortunately, even though Billy can’t do anything, God can. The rest of Romans 6:23 tells us that “the Gift of God is Eternal Life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” In Titus and Ephesians, we’re told that God’s mercy and grace are what save us. Mercy means not punishing us even though we deserve it, and grace means that instead of punishing us, He wants to give us a gift we don’t deserve. God loves us so much that He sent His son Jesus Christ to face that consequence of sin so that we wouldn’t have to.

When Billy trusts that Jesus Christ died on the cross, taking the punishment Billy deserves, God cleans out all that nasty sin. (Remove the remaining goop from the pumpkin as you talk). Now does that mean we won’t sin anymore? No, we’re still not perfect, and we’ll still make mistakes. But once we’ve trusted Christ, God cleans out not only the sins we already did, but ALL our sins, even the ones we haven’t done yet!

And that’s not all God does! When we trust Christ, not only does God remove all our sin, He also promises to walk with us and help us to not sin. Once we trust Jesus, we’ll want to follow Him, and we’ll want to be obedient and do the right things to please Him. And He’ll help us to do those right things.

When we are obedient and follow His commands with His help, something happens. (Forewarn the clubbers that it will get dark, and ask them to not scream or yell). In John 8:12, Jesus said, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.” (Put the candle inside the pumpkin and light it. Have your helper turn off the light).

Can everyone see God’s light in Billy? When we trust Jesus and follow God’s commands, we show God’s light and God’s love to others, just like Billy.

If you haven’t trusted that Jesus faced the consequences for your sin and you want to, talk to your parents, your handbook leader, another leader here, your pastor, me, or your Christian friends. God loves you and wants to clean away all that icky sin. If you have trusted Christ, awesome! You can ask God to help you show His love and light to others.

Have leader turn lights back on. Ask for a couple of clubber volunteers to help close in prayer.

For more information about Awana Clubs International, visit the Awana Homepage.
To find a club in your area visit the Club Locator.

Three trees in your back pocket

It's the time of year when clubs celebrate with winter-themed games and Large Group lessons about Jesus's birth.

Unfortunately, it's also the time of year when people travel or leaders call in last minute because they or someone in their family are sick. And most likely, the one calling in sick is the one scheduled to teach the Large Group lesson tonight.

On club nights like those, I like having what I call a "back-pocket lesson" — a lesson that I know so thoroughly and needs so few props that I can teach it on the spot if needed. The following is one of my favorite Christmas-time back-pocket lessons: "The Legend of the Three Trees."

This folk tale tells the story of the dreams and aspirations of three trees and how, as they grow, God shows that His plans and His love for them go far beyond what they imagined.

I personally enjoy the storytelling approach, with few to no visual aids, engaging with the kids and having them help me by yelling "timber!" or asking them what they think will happen next. If you're comfortable telling stories from memory in front of children, you can find a simple version of the story here.

For those not as comfortable going from memory, the story also comes in picture book form and video form. You can store these in the kidmin closet or with other Awana stuff for short-notice access as well.

Do you have any back-pocket lessons? Feel free to share!

Enjoy, and have a Merry Christmas!

For more information about Awana Clubs International, visit the Awana Homepage.
To find a club in your area visit the Club Locator.

Getting JOY through Service: Jesus First, Others Second, You Last

For the last few years, Good Shepherd Wesleyan Church Awana Club has had a theme for the year. This year's theme is Service. In Sparks, we're focusing on how to get JOY through service. In this post, I will share an outline for the Large Group Time message I used to kick off the theme. This was actually a message I remember from when I was a clubber.

Scripture: Matthew 22:36-40

Materials:
3 large squares of construction paper

• Square 1: "J" on one side, "Jesus" on the other
• Square 2: "O" one one side, "Others" on the other
• Square 3: "Y" on one side, "You" or "Yourself" on the other

Have three clubbers come hold the three letters, showing the audience “J O Y.”

Ask Clubbers:
What is JOY?
– Allow Responses. Examples: Happiness, excitement, delight, etc.

How do we get JOY?
– Allow Responses.

Tell Clubbers:
In the book of Matthew, there were some people who had a similar question. Let’s see what Jesus had to say.

Matthew 22:36-38
“Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?”
Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.
This is the first and great commandment."

Tell Clubbers:

In these verses, we are given the first step to having JOY: Love Jesus First, before anything else. 

Have the clubber with the letter “J” turn his letter around, showing the audience “Jesus.”

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment."

Tell Clubbers:
Jesus is the first step to having JOY.

Ask Clubbers:
How can we love Jesus first?
– Allow Responses. Examples: Pray, spend time with God each day, work on handbooks, memorize verses, obey God, etc.

Tell Clubbers:

Those are all great ways to love Jesus first. Now what about the second step in JOY? Let’s look back and see.

Matthew 22:39
And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’

Tell Clubbers:

In this verse, we learn that the second step in getting JOY is Loving Others Second, after loving Jesus.

Have the clubber with the letter “O” turn his paper around, showing the audience “Others.”




Ask Clubbers:
How can we love others second?
–Allow resopnses. Examples:Be kind, share, say please and thank you, keep God’s commandments, serve (our theme this year), etc.

Tell clubbers:

Those are all great ideas for how to love others. So our second step to JOY is serving others. Now we have Jesus first and others second in our steps to getting JOY. What about the last step?

Matthew 22:40
“On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”

Tell clubbers:

Hmm. Well, here we see that all the other laws rest on Jesus first and others second. So, by placing Jesus and others before yourself, that means the last step in JOY would be You Last. So our third step to JOY is serving You last.

Have the clubber with “Y” turn her paper around, showing the audience “You.”


Ask Clubbers:
Now that we’ve seen what the Bible says, how do we get JOY?
– Correct Response: Jesus first, Others second, and You last.

Let’s pray that God help us to find JOY this next week.

For more information about Awana Clubs International, visit the Awana Homepage.
To find a club in your area visit the Club Locator.