Awana began in 1950 as a
youth program at the North Side Gospel Center in Chicago, Illinois. Lance
Latham, the church pastor, worked with Art Rorheim to develop a program that
would appeal to young people, reach them with the gospel of Christ and train
them in the Lord’s work. Other churches heard about the success of the Awana
program and asked if they could use it. By 1960, Awana had registered 900
clubs.
Today,
there are more than 9,000 churches in the United States that have Awana Clubs.
There are clubs in all 50 states. Awana can also be found in over 2,700
churches in more than 110 other
countries, from Argentina to Zimbabwe, from Iceland to Australia.
(Who is this man called Jesus
and who are we?)
Scripture
Text:
2Tim
2:11 [It is] a faithful saying: For if we be dead with [him], we shall also
live with [him]: 12 If we suffer, we shall also reign with [him]: if we deny
[him], he also will deny us: 13 If we believe not, [yet] he abideth faithful:
he cannot deny himself. 14 Of these things put [them] in remembrance, charging
[them] before the Lord that they strive not about words to no profit, [but] to
the subverting of the hearers. 15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a
workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
Purpose
of this sermon is to show the importance of Bible Study:
We must study to not be ashamed as God’s workers.
ARE
WE?
Many people don't know what the
Bible really says. It's good to
check up on our knowledge. For
example, which of the following are biblical quotations?
1.
"Cleanliness is next to godliness."
2.
"God helps those who help themselves."
3.
"An honest confession is good for the soul."
4.
"We are as prone to sin as sparks fly upward."
5.
"Money is the root of all evil."
6.
"Honesty is the best policy."
The answer? While some of these statements are truisms, none of them, as
quoted, are found in the Bible! So
before you quote the Bible, make sure it is in the Bible. From Bible
Illustrator.
If
we are going to live our lives every day, so that others can see Christ living
in us, then:
We
must become “approved workmen (that) are not ashamed.”
Mark
8:38 (KJS) Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this
adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed,
when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.
When
I proudly told my 8-year-old granddaughter I'd been attending Bible class for
almost 50 years, she looked at me sympathetically and patted my hand.
"Don't worry, Grandma,"
she said. "Maybe this year
you'll pass."
-- Marlys Huffman, Seattle,
Washington: The Christian Herald
May/June 1990
Why
shouldn’t we not be ashamed?
Rom.
1:16 For I am not ashamed of the
gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that
believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.
We
must know who is this man called Jesus. (He is the one who died,
He is the one who lives again, He is the one who endured the cross, He is the
one who reigns on high, He is the one who calls us to follow him, He is the
one who is always faithful to us.)
We
must know who He wants us to be. He wants us to be like
Him. Christian is Christ like.
We must know what a Christian looks like.
Not Ashamed of who we are and who He is.
How
are we going to get there? He
can we?
Begin
to: Study, Pray, Follow, Obey,
Step out/steps of faith, Commit ourselves to him.
When are we going to become
AWANA? When we start. Will
we start today? Make a commitment
today to know the Lord and learn to become more like Him. He is our Hope.