Sermons on Historical Life Stories

Sermons on Historical Life Stories

W.J. Nesbitt – How I Was Saved (28 min)

William John Nesbitt (1927-2017) was born into a farming family in Northern Ireland, the seventh in a family of ten. After School he joined the Police. When he was sent to serve in a Police Station in Rosslea, Co Fermanagh, he met sergeant John Thompson who was mightily used of the Lord at that time to see several of his colleagues saved including Mr Nesbitt, who he took to hear the gospel preached by Harold Paisley (to hear the “Rosslea…

Harry Wilson – My Salvation and Call (16 min)

Harry Wilson (1929-2023) grew up a respectable religious lad, believing he was going to heaven on the basis of his good life. But attending gospel meetings in his teens, Harry learned he was a sinner who needed to be saved, and on 1st March 1945 he trusted alone in Christ for salvation. 7 years later, on 13th Feb 1952, he left the UK for the land of Brazil to preach the gospel. 60 years later, at the Larne conference in…

Memorising Whole Books (53 min)

Sam Jennings (1928- ) was saved in 1944. You can hear that story here. Now, in this recording, Mr Jennings tells the rest of the story: how he and other young men memorised the New Testament epistles, how he was called to the Lord’s work and how the Lord guided and blessed him over 50 years of service in the UK and in various other parts of the world. Reading: Acts 16:16-23. (Message given in Kingsmoss, Northern Ireland).

Gordon Williams – “What am I doing with my life?” (35 min)

Gordon Williams (1942-2018) was saved in 1973. At that time, he was a 31 year old scientist who had issues with creation, evolution and the accuracy and reliability of the Bible. Then two ladies from the local Gospel hall in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, knocked on the WIlliams’s door. Gordon’s wife Doreen was soon saved, but Gordon was a “terrible sceptic” and it took him a long time to be convinced. God worked in his heart and he was eventually brought…

“When I read the book of Acts I was shaken” (21 min)

Alexander Lyttle (1912-1976) was the youngest of 13 children. Saved at 22, Mr Lyttle credits his praying mother and a godly Sunday School teacher with laying a foundation that God later used in his salvation. After his conversion, on 16th Jan 1934, Mr Lyttle was associated with the Baptist Church. After 12 years, he became a Baptist Pastor and for 8 years looked after three Baptist congregations in his homeland of Northern Ireland. However, as he read and studied his…

Uel Ussher – My Conversion, and Call to Venezuela (49 min)

To leave the UK and head to Venezuela in the 1960’s was a big move for a 25 year old young man and his wife. How were Uel and Rae Ussher to know that this was really the will of God for them? How could they be sure? Listen to the wonderful way God is able to guide those who are open and ready to obey His call to serve, even in far off lands. Uel Ussher tells of his…

Revival at Rosslea – When God saved 4 policemen (60 min)

John Thompson (1921-2008) was saved on 22nd February 1937. He joined the Police as a young man and, on being promoted to sergeant in 1945, moved to Rosslea in Co Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. What happened over the next few years was nothing less than a remarkable work of the Spirit of God. Sergeant Thompson witnessed to his colleagues, resulting in four R.U.C. constables getting saved. First John Rowe, then Norman Workman, and finally, on the same night – 17th May…

Jim Martin – 51 Years in the Lord’s Work (39 min)

Jim Martin (1925-2017) was saved in Banbridge on 1st April 1941 in the 5th week of gospel meetings being held by evangelist David Craig. In this recording, given in Ballymena in 2002, shortly after the homecall of his dear wife Elizabeth, Mr Martin tells both his testimony and how the Lord called him to preach the gospel. In 1951 he went out full time and in this message he recalls many interesting and encouraging stories from 51 years of service.…

The Influence of a Godly Mother (19 min)

Frank Tornaquindici (1934-2019) was saved as a teenager on March 8th 1948. In a recording from 1998 he tells of the remarkable influence of his godly mother in his conversion and his life. The godly influence of Frank’s parents is told here with warmth and effectiveness, an influence that no doubt served as the foundation for a truly well-rounded effective life as a Christian, husband, father, assembly elder and businessman. Reading: 2 Tim 1:5. (Message preached in Larne, Northern Ireland).

“Man Overboard!” – Stories of the Sea (51 min)

Deep sea fisherman Alex McLean (1932-2019) recounts how he was saved in Stornoway, Scotland, in 1954 in his early 20’s. He had tried boxing, dancing, smoking and drinking, but discovered that life is empty without Christ. John Noble Steven showed kindness to Alex and shared the gospel with him. Taken to a gospel meeting the Lord saved Alex the very first time he heard the gospel preached. There follows an incredible account of Alex’s life at sea, which includes the…

Tom Bentley and Bob Neill – Reminiscences (52 min)

After labouring faithfully for the Lord in Africa for 50 years, Mr Bob Neill (1920-2006) was invited to a meeting in Northern Ireland (Mr Neill’s homeland) to speak about his 5 decades of missionary service. Before Mr Neill spoke, one of his close friends, another missionary called Tom Bentley (1924-2011) – who served the Lord for over 50 years in Malaysia – stood to his feet and reminisced about “the early days” both men had enjoyed in Ebenezer Gospel Hall…

Part 2 – The Rest of Peter Orasuk’s Life Story (49 min)

Parties, drugs, violence, debt, jail…”then Jesus came and bade his darkness flee”. Peter Orasuk’s (1948-2005) remarkable story of conversion has gone all around the world and been used by God to bless many people. But what happened next? How did life turn out for the former conman and chronic addict from Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada? Is God’s salvation real? Does it really change people from the inside out? Does it last? In this recording, from October 1997, Peter tells…

Norman Mellish – How I Learned the Truth of the Assembly (38 min)

Norman Mellish was saved as a teenager. You can hear him tell the story of his conversion here. In this recording, he tells the story of his life after God saved him, and how he learnt the truth of the local assembly. In his 20’s Norman got caught up in the Pentecostal movement, and in a dramatic meeting one evening he had an experience of “speaking in tongues”. He then spend 5 years mixed up in charismaticism. However, one day,…

The 1859 Revival – with Photos (21 min)

Wilbert Crawford (1928-2018) tells the story of how the “1859 Revival” in Ulster (Northern Ireland) led to the formation of numerous assemblies in the area where he lived (Co Antrim). He tells how the Lord gathered believers together as churches of God in Kells, Clonkeen, Crosskeys and Ballybolan in those early days of gospel blessing late in the 19th century. One of the 4 young men who met to pray in the Old Schoolhouse in Kells, Northern Ireland, where the…

Alex McLean – The Gospel to Russian Fishermen (33 min)

Alex McLean (1932-2019) from Peterhead, on the North East coast of Scotland, spent his life at sea catching fish. In the 1990’s, after the fall of communism in Eastern Europe, opportunities opened up for Alex to take the gospel to Russian fishermen whose boats were frequenting Scottish ports like Peterhead and Fraserburgh. In the mercy of God, Alex started to catch men – men who had never heard the gospel or seen a Bible in all of their lives. In…

John Grant – How I Found the Assembly (35 min)

John Grant (1942-2020) was from Scotland and travelled widely preaching the Word of God with clarity and energy. A wonderful character, John had a strong sense of humour that was never far away even in the pulpit! Here in this message/testimony John tells the story of his early years, how he was saved and how he found his way to an assembly gathered to the name of the Lord Jesus. (Message preached April 2008)

Harold Paisley – 50 Years in the Work (57 min)

Harold Spurgeon Paisley (1924-2015) tells his testimony elsewhere on this site (HSP testimony) but here in this recording he recalls 50 years of labour in the gospel and in the ministry of the Word. Starting in 1945, the year after he was saved, in Carnlough, Enniskillen and Fivemiletown, Mr Paisley launched out in gospel work. In the early days he worked with men like Thomas Campbell, Joe Stewart and Thomas Wallace. He tells how in 1949 he preached in Mullahara,…

Albert McShane – Men Who Influenced Me (22 min)

Mr Albert McShane (1914-2002) was a mighty expositor of the Word of God and a much used gospel preacher. Awakened to his need of salvation in a prayer meeting in January 1929, he sought salvation at once. After a struggle that same evening, his thoughts finally turned to John 3:36 “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life”. Considering the death of Christ he realised, “Now if the Son has satisfied God for me, and what He has done…

Jim Hutchinson – 50 Years in the Lord’s Work (45 min)

Mr James G. Hutchinson (1920-2011), known to most as ‘Jim’, was an evangelist who laboured for the Lord for over 60 years mainly in Northern Ireland. In 1996, before a crowd of hundreds in Cambridge Avenue Gospel Hall, Ballymena, he related the Lord’s dealings with him during 50 years in the Lord’s work. This is a recording of Mr Hutchinson speaking on that occasion. Saved at the age of 14 in 1934 in Banbridge while attending Tent meetings conducted by…

Norman Crawford – 50 Years in Gospel Work (39 min)

Mr Norman Crawford (1927-2013) relates the story of 50 years of gospel labour in Canada and the USA. Saved on Friday 1st April 1938 soon after the tragic death of his older brother, Mr Crawford became heavily involved from his earliest days in open air preaching and tract distribution in his home city of Toronto, Canada. Launching out at the age of 19 into full time service for the Lord, he joined with older evangelists like Lorne McBain and Louis…

A.M.S. Gooding – How the Lord Led Me (21 min)

A.M.S. Gooding (1915-1999) relates how he responded as a young man to Romans 12:1, “Present your body as a living sacrifice”. Saved at 14 in 1929, Arthur Gooding immediately gave himself to the study of Scripture. He began preaching the gospel at 16, and took his first conference at 18! For many years he used his skills as a printer, working for John Ritchie Ltd. in Kilmarnock, Scotland, printing and distributing gospel literature. In 1974, at the age of 59,…

A History of North American Assemblies – Norman Crawford (35 min)

Norman Crawford (1927-2017) served the Lord in evangelism and Bible teaching for several decades, mainly in the USA and Canada. He edited the Truth and Tidings magazine for many years, as well as authoring the book Gathering Unto His Name. In the course of his life he researched the history of New Testament assemblies in North America and in this fascinating (given in Livonia, Michigan, USA) he relates their origin and history. God moved in Scotland during the nineteenth century…