https://joelssermons.files.wordpress.com/2014/12/201412072sermon.mp3
Texts: Isaiah 40:1-11, Mark 1:1-11
One of the things I like to notice when I read a book is the opening lines. I’m interested in how writers choose to introduce what they have to say. How does it set up the rest of the story? How does it draw us in as a reader and make us a part of what follows? What clues does it give about what we’re about to read?
One of the books that will forever be on my ‘pick up anytime and be delighted’ list is Annie Dillard’s Pilgrim at Tinker Creek. It’s one of the few books I’ve handled so much that the cover has torn off. It’s best read in small portions and digested over long periods of time. It starts this way: “I used to have a cat, an old fighting tom, who would jump through the open window by my bed in the middle of the night and land on my chest. I’d half awaken. He’d stick his skull under my nose and purr, stinking of urine and blood. Some nights he kneaded my bare chest with his front paws, powerfully, arching his back, as if sharpening his...