If there was ever an individual who fit the description of being a wretch, it was John. From the age of eleven he sailed the high seas, picking up every depraved behavior that an 18th century deckhand was willing to share. He was an insubordinate and disrespected member of the English Navy, twice charged with desertion. His active participation in the African slave trade and his horrific treatment of them was abhorrent. On top of all this, his complete and utter disregard for the God of the Bible, a love for which his mother desperately tried to instill in his childish mind before her untimely death, justly deserved a thunderous bolt of lightning hurled from the heights of heaven to devour his puny frame and dispatch him into the charred walls of the damned. 

But instead of a blazing judgment, this maligned God of heaven unexpectedly reached out and touched the heart of John with a hand of grace and mercy. And in doing, so impacted the lives of Christian believers not only of his generation, but for centuries to come. 

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The post Special Series – Wretched John – Trailer appeared first on Forgotten.

The Mad Queen of Madagascar’s first draught of martyr’s blood, which without doubt brought upon her a continuous thirst for more, was from of a young woman named Rasalama; a peasant girl in the poor village of Manjakaray in Madagascar. The queen’s intent was to either cause the girl to beg for her life, casting aside her Christian faith. Or the empress would use her gruesome execution to send a chill of fear upon all that might be persuaded to heed the words of this Jesus. In the end, it did neither.

The post Episode 43 – Rasalama of Madagascar appeared first on Forgotten.

Burrage Lane made sure his hunting rifle was loaded with dry shot, then he slid the weapon into his saddle. Anger boiled within him, as he looked at the gun. The man he was there to find had to be stopped at all costs because what he was spouting from behind that pulpit was poison, as far as he was concerned. But he did promise his wife that he would go and hear what he had to say one time.

The post Episode 42 – Dutton Lane appeared first on Forgotten.

The series of personal tragedy and suffering that Elizabeth Payson Prentiss encountered is hard to fathom. Stories of lesser personal loss that caused individuals to completely shut out even the idea of a loving, personal almighty God are numerous and easy to find. So what would become of Elizabeth, this heart-broken mother, wife of a respected Presbyterian pastor, and daughter of arguably the most beloved and powerful pastor’s of 19th century New England?  More. She would plead to God for more.

The post Episode 41 – Elizabeth Payson Prentiss appeared first on Forgotten.

John quickly kissed the forehead of his daughter and handed her to the crewman, who then handed her to Jesse. When Nana saw that her daddy was not following, she began to cry and scream, “Daddy! Daddy! No! Don’t leave me!” Through the blur of tears in her eyes, she saw her daddy, turn and disappear into the crowd. As the life boat lurched down toward the cold waters of the North Atlantic, Nana could hear her father’s booming voice over chaotic crowd, “Women and children and the unsaved into the lifeboats! Women and children and the unsaved into the lifeboats!”

The post Episode 40 – John Harper appeared first on Forgotten.

With his heart filled by the joy of the Christmas story, and the gift of a Saviour, Jim Elliot (as well as his four friends) had no idea that a few days hence they would pay the ultimate price for their desperate attempt to make the good news known to all people.

Sound track list:

The post Episode 39 – Jim Elliot’s Last Christmas appeared first on Forgotten.

There are some for whom the Christmas season only magnifies more their sorrow than their joy. The stringing of lights, the gifts under the tree, and the arrangement of the Christmas dinner table are only stinging reminders that someone who was once there is gone. The great evangelist D.L. Moody was no stranger to such heartache. But in his last moments, God gave him the most astounding gift that anyone could ever receive: The Gift of Hope.

The post Episode 38 – The Deaths of DL Moody appeared first on Forgotten.

The LORD ruleth over all. He is able to control the seas, the storms and the sparrows of life; its rains, its rivers, and its routes. He is even able to guide the steps of a condemned servant running for his life and the paws a wilderness dog to intersect into an encounter of astounding providential supply.

The post Episode 37 – John Craig and the Black Dog appeared first on Forgotten.

Even though David Marks was not much more than a child, he knew that what was to be prized above all, was not to be found in this life but in the life to come. So on January 1, 1821, with a single one dollar bill in his pocket and the promise of God to meet all of his needs, 15 year-old David left his father and mother behind to preach the good news of Jesus Christ to all that would hear.

The post Episode 36 – David Marks appeared first on Forgotten.

Sickness and suffering, pain and plague seem to be question that many default to: If there is a God, then why is there so much suffering in the world? But we can be assured that our wounds are not wasted; that our suffering is never senseless. And as in the case of Charlotte Elliott, we can take all the questions and the resentments that our pain may distill from deep within the heart and bring them to God. Despite my inner conflict and doubt, I can come to Jesus…just as I am.

The post Episode 35 – Charlotte Elliott appeared first on Forgotten.