By Lesley Barker
Each week, we post about a famous Kentucky Christian whose
life can be used as an aspirational example for today’s Kentucky children and
youth. Each blog gives a small glimpse of the life of the featured Kentuckian
along with a suggested approach that a children’s ministry or youth group
leader can use in a two-minute presentation or, as this post suggests, for a
more in-depth discussion. This week’s famous Kentucky Christian is William P.
Alexander, an early missionary to the South Pacific islands of Hawaii and the
Marquesas.
He was born in Paris, Kentucky in 1805. As a boy, he watched
his father model a Christian life-style. He attempted to emulate this, but even
praying three times a day, he felt no change. Perhaps some of your students
have been trying to copy what they see adult Christians do, thinking that the
behaviors will make them close to God. By showing that this famous missionary was
frustrated by an inability to connect with God when he was a young boy, you may
be able to expose the hearts of some of your students who may be in a similar dilemma.
By the time William was 15 when his father died, he gave
himself “up to the power of sin
restrained only by the pride of character”[1].
Members of your youth group may be able to relate to this decision. This was a
teen boy’s decision in 1820 but it is one that many teens resort to today. What
do the youth in your group think led him to give up on God? What do they think
will happen to him next? Tell them that by the time William was 22, just seven
years later; he had dedicated himself to serve Jesus Christ as Lord, been called
to foreign missions, attended theology school and been ordained. What do the
youth in your group think may have happened to shift his attitude?
William was an enthusiastic student. He kept a journal since
he was a young boy in which he recorded his thoughts about math. He studied
Latin and Greek at the Bourbon Academy in Paris, Kentucky. When he was just 19,
he was hired by Centre College in Danville to
“take charge of the mathematical department”[2].
Obviously William was very intelligent and gifted in math. Yet, he became a
missionary to the islands of the South Pacific. Do your students think this
makes sense?
William’s brother, Samuel, gave his life to Jesus Christ
about this time which had a serious effect on William. He “tried to get [out] from under the power of sin, in order that [he]
might with more face apply to the Saviour for help; for still my proud heart
was unwilling to renounce everything and to receive salvation without price”[3].
Ask your students if they have experienced frustration in trying to approach
God. Discuss how the Bible frames the exchange between God and people. Have they
encountered anyone who tried to reach God on their own terms? What could
William mean by linking his salvation to a commitment to renounce everything?
How do the students understand William’s assessment that there is no price that
we must pay for salvation? Can your students clearly explain the Christian
message of salvation?
Back in Paris, William heard a series of sermons about the Holy
Spirit which changed his approach to God. He “abhorred [himself] on account of sin, and the truth that ‘the blood of
Jesus Christ cleanseth from all sin’ was very precious to me. I recognized God
as my Father, reconciled through His dear Son”[4].
Here William shows that he understands that the Christian doctrine of salvation
begins with the recognition that, apart from the blood of Jesus Christ, there
is no remedy for sin. With a confession of sin, he realized, there is a way to
both approach and become reconciled and accepted by God. The Christian
understanding is that this way is through the death and resurrection of Jesus
Christ.
On New Year’s Day 1825, when William was 20, he wrote a
personal dedication to God in His journal. He said, “Now Jehovah, I give myself to Thee, body and soul, and all that Thou hast
given me. I place all in the hands of a Faithful Creator. Help me ever to act
for Thee, not for myself”[5].
Have any of the students in your youth group made this kind of commitment to
God? What led them to do it? How did they specifically dedicate themselves to
God? Do any of them keep a spiritual journal that their children and
grandchildren may read in years to come? William signed this dedication
prayerfully: “Give me humility, whilst I
subscribe my worthless name, Wm. P. Alexander”[6].
No one would have predicted that this gifted math student
who studied Latin and Greek and was teaching college math by the time he was 19
years old would be one of the early missionaries to the South Pacific, avoiding
cannibals and riding on whaling ships. But, once he gave his life to Jesus
Christ, he relinquished the rights to predetermine his own path. The path he
followed according to his faith in God led him on adventures that no one could
have imagined. Are your students ready to trust the adventures that may ensue
if they make a similar personal commitment and full dedication to God?
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