Jesus’s Parable of the Sower and a 1927 Texas crime—do they have anything in common? I’m going to make the connection in the sermon this Sunday, September 10.
Who can you bring with you to our 10am service this week? Forward this email newsletter to them with a personal invitation.
The 1927 Texas crime I’m referring to is what the Associated Press immediately dubbed “The Santa Claus Bank Robbery.” The ringleader dressed as Santa to hide his identity from his neighbors while he and three others took everything. It was only two days before Christmas, so he thought it was a clever way to disguise himself from people who would have recognized him.
But their easy heist went sideways fast when armed lawmen and citizens assembled to claim a new reward for dead bank robbers. Taking hostages, the gang forced a path through a frenzied and bloody shootout, setting the whole Lone Star state on their trail.
One bandit died in the getaway. One was executed in the electric chair. One swung from a rope in a mob lynching.
The last man found good news that changed his life.
In Jesus’s Parable of the Sower, there were four patches of soil, but only one received the seed and saw the fruit. In the story of the Santa Claus Bank Robbery, there were four bandits, but only one received the gospel and saw the fruit.
The story of this 1927 true crime has been told and re-told for nearly a hundred years. What is never told, however, is the way the gospel changed things for the last surviving bandit. I decided to remedy that by writing a novel closely based on the spectacular story. The book is called The Last Man: A Novel of the 1927 Santa Claus Bank Robbery. It launches on Sunday.
After I tell the story in the sermon Sunday morning, I won’t be selling or giving away copies of my book at church. But I’d love for you to drop by my house for our Launch Party on Sunday afternoon. It’s a come-and-go affair anytime between 3:00pm and 7:00pm. Books will be on sale, but you don’t have to buy anything to just come and share our joy at this finished project. Click here for directions.
Can’t make it to the party but you still want a signed copy of the book? You have 2 options:
If you live in Austin, contact me at tom@hillcrest.church or
If you live in the U.S., find out how to get a signed copy shipped to you at this website.
Also, I have a list of vendors at my website, including Amazon.
By the way, at my website you’ll find out how to get a free booklet called, “The Santa Claus Bank Robbery in Photos.” It’s a beautifully formatted booklet of photos of the real characters and places behind my novel. Find out how to get your copy of the booklet here.
I’ve been fascinated with this true story for 30 years, and I hope I’ve done it justice in my novel. I look forward to telling the tale during the sermon this Sunday, September 10!
--Tom
Sign up here to receive Tom Goodman’s weekly devotional in your email inbox. Tom serves as pastor at Hillcrest Church in Austin, Texas. His sermons are available on YouTube and the HillcrestToGo Podcast and you can find him on Facebook and Twitter.