(These are my notes for my sermon, Jan. 24) When we think about the story of Jonah, We think about Jonah and the whale. That’s not the important part of Jonah. That’s not what the story is about. I’m going to try to read it quickly, but I want to tell the whole story of Jonah. Notice how little attention is actually paid to the whale. There are several points that need to be made, so let’s look at Jonah…... Read more
So much happened in 2020 that we couldn’t imagine. The virus and the hundreds of thousands of deaths. The economy is in shambles. We’re afraid to be around others – strangers and family, for fear we might transmit or get Covid. 2020 was a hard, difficult year. Surely, 2021 would be better, right? On January 6, not even a week into the new year, a mob stormed the United States Capitol building. People died. Other were hurt. Property was damaged.... Read more
Here are the notes of the sermon I delivered the third Sunday of Advent, 2020 Advent 3 – Dec. 13 What is Christmas all about? Isaiah 61:1-4, 8-11 61:1 The spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me; he has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed, to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and release to the prisoners; 61:2 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor,... Read more
Mark 8:27-38 27Jesus went on with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi; and on the way he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that I am?” 28And they answered him, “John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets.” 29He asked them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered him, “You are the Messiah.” 30And he sternly ordered them not to tell anyone about him. 31Then he began to teach... Read more
On March 19, 1945, Adolf Hitler issued an order to destroy German infrastructure to prevent their use by the Allies. The order came to be known as the Nero Decree and was intended to leave nothing but scorched earth in the wake of the retreating German army. The decree was deliberately disobeyed by high ranking German officers. Hitler committed suicide 42 days after issuing the order. In the weeks between the election of Joe Biden and the presidential inauguration on... Read more
My new novel is 70,000 words. The way I write, each chapter is its own document. So, for 29 chapters, 29 different documents. Any given time, I can have 10 to 20 different documents open. Some chapters, I’ve been revising for more than a year. Today, I put them all together to create my second novel, and it’s 70,000 words. My debut novel was released in June 2020. Four months later, my second novel is nearly finished. I’m astonished. Writing... Read more
Garrett Brown invented the Steadicam. He invented it for and used it first on the movie The Shining. He used it to great success for the stairs scene in the movie Rocky. During the fight sequence you can see Garrett Brown in the audience with his new Steadicam. Rocky was released before the Shining, so it was the first movie people saw with such magical camera work… part of the reason Rocky won best picture was because of Garrett Brown.... Read more
“The American people should have a voice in the selection of their next Supreme Court Justice. Therefore, this vacancy should not be filled until we have a new president.” – Mitch McConnell, 2016 Sen. Mitch McConnell’s high school government teacher would be appalled by the senator’s hypocrisy concerning the appointment of Supreme Court justices. I would know, because my grandfather, E.V. Purnell, was the student government academic advisor to young Mitch when McConnell was the student government president of Manual... Read more
I watched the movie The Curious Case of Benjamin Button for the first time the other night. Then I read the short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald. In both versions, Benjamin Button is born an old man who gets younger as he ages. When he looks old, he’s actually young and when he’s older, he has the body of a child. He had a few short years in between where he looked and felt the same age. Isn’t this the... Read more
There’s an axiom in advertising: “Half of all advertising is wasted – you just don’t know which half.” The same can often apply to time. How much of our time is wasted? How much time do we invest in rest and relaxation, which can often appear to be spent “doing nothing?” Do we use our time efficiently, or do we allow our time to pass by, unnoticed? There are: 86,400 seconds in a day. and 8,760 hours in a year.... Read more
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