The Backside of God and Other Sermons

Bishop John S. Thornton is a thoughtful writer and preacher, a man of faith who can both raise attendance at any Episcopal Sunday worship service and flood the church office phones with demand for copies of his rousing sermons. After publishing two collections of sermons-The Backside of God (2013) and Consider the Lilies (2014)-and selling hundreds of autographed copies by hand to his local followers, Bishop Thornton published a third book, Good Seed and Zizania, in 2016, using a different platform and extending its reach to readers on Amazon. This new print-on-demand technology incited the author's willingness, indeed his enthusiasm, to republish The Backside of God. In the process, he decided to lengthen the book by adding, first three, then four, then five new sermons-all preached at Episcopal churches in either Lebanon or Salem, Oregon-as well as another, a sixth, preached at the annual convention of the Episcopal Diocese of Idaho in 1991. All in all, this is another must-have and must-read book by a priest and bishop beloved by many in the Episcopal Church. Order a copy for yourself and a friend. You will be touched and blessed.