Lightbearers for god

1. Lightbearersfor god • John Wesley (1703) • Charles Wesley (1707) • George Whitefield (1714) • William Carey (1761) • Adoniram Judson (1788) • Robert Moffat (1795) • Bonus: George Muller (1805) • David Livingstone (1813) • Ellen White (1827) • Mary Slessor (1848)

2. John Wesley 1703-1791

3. John Wesley • Statue at Asbury Theological Seminary in Kentucky

4. John wesley • Indiana Wesleyan University

5. John Wesley • Savannah, Georgia

6. john wesley • Methodist Central Hall, Westminster

7. Next will be a story about John Wesley, part of which is recorded on pages 258 and 259 of The Great Controversy. So if you have this book, please open to these pages now.

9. The spirit of contention in England just before the time of Wesley was in a great degree the result of teaching that the law was not important and Christians were, therefore, not obliged to obey it. Wesley steadfastly opposed the errors of such teachers and showed that this doctrine was contrary to Scripture. The law also was twisted so that wicked actions were not considered to be sin, as long as they were committed by the elect--a teaching that is the result of believing in predestination. (Adapted from The Great Controversy, pp. 260, 261)

10. “This is the blasphemy clearly contained in the horrible decree of predestination! And here I fix my foot. On this I join issue with every asserter of it. You represent God as worse than the devil; more false, more cruel, more unjust.” John Wesley in a sermon entitled “Free Grace”

11. Wesley declared the perfect harmony of the law and the gospel. . . Thus while preaching the gospel of the grace of God, Wesley, like his master, sought to ‘magnify the law, and make it honorable.’ (The Great Controversy, pp. 263, 264) Please read with me the last paragraph on page 264.

12. Charles Wesley 1707-1788

13. Charles Wesley

14. Charles Wesley

15. Some people consider Charles Wesley to have been the greatest hymn writer of all ages. He produced 56 volumes of hymns in 53 years.

16. He is said to have averaged 10 poetic lines a day for 50 years. He wrote 8,989 hymns, 10 times the volume composed by Isaac Watts, whom others have claimed to be the world’s greatest hymn writer. Wesley composed some of the most memorable and lasting hymns of the church, and yet he is sometimes referred to as the forgotten Wesley. His brother, John, is considered the one responsible for the founding of Methodism, but the hymns of Charles Wesley were almost as important as anything written by John Wesley, who, by the way, wrote only a few hymns (I know of 4) but who did translate many German hymns into English, and, together, he and Charles published at least 4 hymnals. Henry Ward Beecher (brother to Harriet Beecher Stowe) said, “I would rather have written that hymn of Wesley’s, ‘Jesus, Lover of My Soul,’ than to have the fame of all the kings that ever sat on the earth.”

17. Some of Charles Wesley’s hymns are: “Hark, the Herald Angels Sing” #111 “Christ the Lord Is Risen Today” #134 “Love Divine” #142 “I Long to Behold Him” #200 “Soldiers of Christ, Arise” #366 “O God, Mine Inmost Soul Convert” #384 “And Can It Be?” #198 New Hymnal “O for a Thousand Tongues to Sing” #250 New Hymnal “Jesus, Lover of My Soul” #489 New Hymnal

18. Charles’s son, Samuel, wrote the music for “Live Out Thy Life Within Me” #279, which is the same tune for “The Church Has One Foundation,” #433.

19. Remember that Charles Wesley’s hymns are almost as important as the sermons his brother preached? Here is a hymn he wrote. Can you find some important concepts of the Protestant Reformation in it?

20. Where is the holy Heav’n-born child,Heir of the everlasting throne,Who Heav’n and earth hath reconciled,And God and man rejoined in one? (1) Shall we of earthly kings inquire,To courts or palaces repair?The nations’ hope, the world’s desire,Alas! we cannot find Him there. (2) Shall learning show the sinner’s friend,Or scribes a sight of Christ afford?Us to His natal place they send,But never go to see their Lord. (3) We search the outward Church in vain,They cannot Him we seek declare,They have not found the Son of Man,Or known the sacred name they bear. (4) Then let us turn no more aside,But use the light Himself imparts,His Spirit is our surest guide,His Spirit glimmering in our hearts. (5) Drawn by His grace we come from far,And fix on Heav’n our wistful eyes,That ray divine, that orient starDirects us where the infant lies. (6) See there! the newborn Savior see,By faith discern the great I AM;’Tis He! the eternal God! ’tis HeThat bears the mild Immanuel’s name. (7) The Prince of Peace on earth is found,The child is born, the son is giv’n;Tell it to all the nations round,Jehovah is come down from Heav’n! (8) Jehovah is come down to raiseHis dying creatures from their fall,And all may now receive the graceWhich brings eternal life to all. (9) Lord, we receive the grace and Thee,With joy unspeakable receive,And rise Thine open face to see,And one with God for ever live. (10) Charles Wesley Sing to “From Every Stormy Wind” or “Just As I Am”

21. george whitefield • 1714-1770 • Well-known preacher in England and America • Friend of the Wesley brothers

22. george whitefield

23. william carey 1761-1834 Missionary to India

24. Instead of dwelling on the exploits of the Alexanders and Napoleons of history, let the pupils study the lives of such men as the apostle Paul and Martin Luther, as Moffat and Livingstone and Carey, and the present daily-unfolding history of missionary effort. (Education, p. 269)

25. The devoted Carey, who in 1793 became the first English missionary to India, kindled anew the flame of missionary effort in England. In America, twenty years later, the zeal of a society of students, among whom was Adoniram Judson, resulted in the formation of the American Board of Foreign Missions, under whose auspices Judson went as a missionary from the United States to Burma. From this time the work of foreign missions attained an unprecedented growth. (The Great Controversy, 1888 edition, p. 287)

26. Carey, one of the greatest missionaries, was at one time a humble shoe-maker. He felt deeply for a class that he saw were in darkness and knew not the Scriptures. He was obliged to work at his trade, but at the same time he had his dictionary before him, and as he worked he diligently studied. He put his mind to the task with earnest prayer, and, procuring more books, did not cease until he had mastered three languages. He finally became a missionary to a foreign country, and was very successful. (Ellen White, The Review & Herald, May 3, 1887)

27. Adoniram Judson 1788-1850 Missionary to Burma

31. robert moffat • 1795-1883 • Scottish missionary to Africa • Father-in-law of David Livingstone

32. davidlivingstone • 1813-1873 • Missionary to and explorer in Africa

33. david livingstone • Statue at Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe

35. david livingstone • Livingstone shares the plinth with the lion he shot in Mabotsa. Savaged by the enraged animal before it was brought down by a spear, Livingstone lost the effective use of his left arm which was crushed; but his right arm retains the power to extend the Bible.

37. mary slessor • 1848-1915 • Scottish missionary to Nigeria

38. mary slessor

39. George Muller

41. Muller’s tombstone

42. “Muller did a noble work.” (Ellen White, Letter 33, 1900)

43. Credits: Slide 3: Adam Davenport Slides: 4, 5 Public Domain Slide 6: Pete Reed Slide 8: David Muir Slide 14: mira66 at flickr Slide 33: Tim Rogers Slide 34: Uttam h Slide 35: Kim Traynor Slides 2, 12, 13, 21-23, 27-32, 36-41: United States Public Domain