Sermons on Children

Sermons on Children

“God has taken away my friends, and I hate Him.” (8 min)

James Vallance (1931-2020) was born in Bo’ness, Scotland, emigrating to the USA at the age of 16 in 1947 with his family, where he spent the rest of his life. As a youngster, James spent many many days in bomb shelters, seeking refuge from German bombs. Jim wanted to be saved, but he could not admit he was bad enough to deserve hell. He was also angry at God for taking away a number of his friends through illness during…

Where would you be if you died tonight? (5 min)

Tom Novak knew the gospel from childhood, but in 1979 he, for the first time in his life, faced up to the fact that we was going to be in hell if he didn’t get saved. Have you ever faced that reality? In Tom’s case, it led to his salvation. (Testimony given in Cedar Falls, Iowa, USA, in 2018)

I Thought “I’ve Been Left Behind” (7 min)

Abraham Brisuela tells the story of his conversion to Christ. Abraham’s parents were born Roman Catholics in Venezuela, but because they got saved by the grace of God, young Abraham grew up hearing the true gospel. The truth of the coming of the Lord was what God used to awaken Abraham to his need of salvation. Reading: 1 Pet 1:23-26 (Message preached in Highland, Wisconsin, USA).

I Thought I Could Get Saved Whenever I Felt Like It (13 min)

Timothy Green relates the story of his conversion to Christ in Canada in the year 2,000. He grew up imagining he could get saved whenever he felt like it, only to discover when the time came that he was “without strength”. (Message preached in Chalfont St Peter, 27th Nov 2022)

“I feared my parents, and therefore I feared God” (5 min)

Philip Pancake’s parents were saved when evangelist Robert Surgenor brought the gospel to the town of New Creek in West Virginia, USA, in the 1970’s. As they raised Philip in the fear of God, his heart was soft towards the gospel, and the Lord saved him as a child a quarter a century after his parents. Reading: Prov 23:14. (Message preached at Blue River, Wisconsin, USA, 2008)

Matthew McKillen – “Am I saved or am I not saved?” (21 min)

Matthew McKillen (1936-2018) was saved on 30th Aug 1947 as a boy of 10. In this heart-warming testimony he tells how both his mother and father were saved and reveals the fascinating background to his own privileged upbringing in a godly home. Matthew and his wife Margaret were associated for many years with the Gospel Hall in Cambridge Avenue, Ballymena (formerly Wellington Street). Though a busy businessman, Matthew devoted his life to the local assembly, to the visitation of the…

“I thought the Lord had come” (30 min)

Willie Fenton and his brother were both saved on the same night in the summer of 1963. Willie had known the gospel all of his life, but the urgency of the matter had never really gripped him; until one night, when he realised that, if the Lord returned, he would be left behind for judgment. This is a touching story, full of interest and weighty spiritual import. Readings; Heb 12:25, Matt 24:38-42, John 3:16 (Story originally told in Northern Ireland)

“I would have given anything to get God’s salvation” (26 min)

Bert Joyce (1927-2017) was raised in a Christian family under the sound of the gospel. He knew the Scriptures from his earliest days and sat under the preaching of mighty men of God like his uncle Albert Joyce, and Herb Harris. However, Bert, like many children brought up in such privileged circumstances, wanted to get away from the gospel and enjoy the world. But God visited Bert with a sickness that nearly took his life. He sobered up and sought…

Allen McCandless’s Testimony (23 min)

After some helpful comments about John 6:37, including details of how this verse was pivotal in no less than John Bunyan’s conversion, Allen McCandless (Sussex, New Brunswick, Canada) relates the story of his own conversion to Christ on July 29th 1979 – in which God again used this powerful verse: “Him that cometh unto Me, I will in no wise cast out” (John 6:37). (Testimony given at Pugwash Junction conference, Nova Scotia, Canada, 2016)

“I Tried to Solve the Puzzle of Salvation” (25 min)

Born in Trinidad, West Indies, Andrew Ussher grew up as a child of missionary parents, familiar with the gospel message. During a year’s furlough in Northern Ireland, Mr & Mrs Ussher took young Andrew to gospel meetings. In one of them Andrew heard about the final judgment from Revelation Ch 21 and for the first time in his life realised he was sinner who deserved God’s judgment – but the impression made didn’t last. The following year (1973) Andrew moved…

How I Was Saved Through Luke 19:10 (12 min)

Murray McCandless relates the story of his conversion. Raised in St Thomas, Ontario, in a Christian family, he grew up learning memory verses in Sunday School. As a child he would often ask his parents to tell him how they were saved. He was awakened to his own need of salvation at the age of 12 under the preaching of Oswald McLeod at the Sarnia Conference. He tried to get saved, but could not understand what he needed to do.…

Saved as a boy of 12 (8 min)

In this recording, made in 1961, Eric McCullough (1925-2020) tells how God saved him in Bangor, Northern Ireland, as a boy of 12, the day after a series of gospel meetings with David Craig had finished. Eric’s father, James McCullough, was a preacher of the gospel who had moved from the UK to Nova Scotia, Canada, to preach the gospel. It was on a visit back to Ireland in 1938, young Eric was saved. Back in North America Eric was…

Norman Crawford – How God Saved Me (16 min)

Norman Crawford (1927-2013), from North America, was saved on Friday 1st April 1938. 58 years later, in 1996, standing in the pulpit of the Gospel Hall in Cambridge Avenue, Ballymena, Northern Ireland, he told how the gospel had reached his family in a previous generation not a mile from where he was standing. Returning all these years and generations later, he testified to the grace of God in saving his soul as a young man. It’s clear from this recording…

John Fleck’s Testimony of Salvation (30 min)

John Fleck relates his story of conversion as a boy growing up in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. In addition to hearing the gospel regularly preached, John was spoken to by a number of events, including the funeral of a neighbour, and a dream about the Lord’s coming. He sought salvation and found rest and peace in Christ one cold February night alone in his room pondering the work of the Saviour on the cross for him (Testimony given 5th Jul…

“Should not perish” (25 min)

Frank Sona didn’t grow up in a Christian family. Being born and raised in a Jewish area of the state of New Jersey, USA, Frank developed a childhood fascination with Judaism and sometimes attended the local synagogue. Frank’s parents decided to take him to Sunday School where he finally heard about the Lord Jesus Christ for the first time. During a special week of children’s meetings Frank discovered his need of salvation – “my sin became real to me” –…

Scott Dunn’s Testimony of Salvation (22 min)

Scott Dunn relates how he was saved in Brisbane, Australia, at the age of 15 and how the very same night another soul was saved after hearing of Scott’s salvation (Message preached 22nd June 2008) (Photo: Brisbane)

Paul Didcott’s Testimony of Salvation (30 min)

Paul Didcott relates his conversion in Bristol, England, as a child of 10 back in 1976 and how he struggled with the issues of the simplicity and assurance of salvation (Message preached in 2004) (Photo: Clifton suspension bridge, Bristol)