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This week we are getting into real life stories of courage and sacrifice

from the tragic shipwreck and sinking of the RMS Titanic on April the 15th of 1912 and how

they align with occurrences from God's word. So today we're going to look at the story of Wallace

Hartley and his band. So Hartley, who was a violinist, was the leader of an eight-man band that was

hired to play aboard the Titanic and entertain the passengers during her voyage to America.

So after the Titanic struck an iceberg at 1140 p.m. on April the 14th, 1912, it quickly became

apparent that the unsinkable ship would actually indeed sing. So Hartley gathered the men of his band and led

them to play music in hopes that it would, you know, keep people calm during the process of evacuation,

you know, kind of sue things over a little bit. Harley in that band had to keep moving around the ship,

you know, throughout this entire process, but they kept playing music to sue the passengers

and to try to maintain some semblance of

order. So even when the ship began to tilt, right, as it was sinking, the band refused to stop playing

music. The last place that they played was actually on the boat deck. So survivors of the shipwreck

reported that the band continued to play, get this, even when the water got up to their ankles.

They didn't stop.

So reports suggest that the band played for over two hours, beginning shortly after midnight, and concluding literally moments before the ship sank at 2.20 a.m.

So all eight of these men, Hartley included, died that night. All their bodies were

recovered. When they actually found Hartley's body on March 15th of 1912, he was still in his uniform,

still clutching his violin case. So reports are a little conflicting on this, but many witnesses

said that the final song that these brave men played was the hymn nearer my god

to thee. Hartley was a devout Christian and in kind of a macabre turn of irony, there are reports

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