Jesse Mercer

Jesse Mercer (1769-1841) was a prominent Baptist minister and namesake of Mercer University in the U.S. state of Georgia.

Early life

Born in North Carolina on December 16, 1769, he was the son of Silas Mercer, a Baptist minister who moved his family to Wilkes County, Georgia in the early 1770s. Silas Mercer founded several pioneer churches and convinced his son to follow him into the ministry.

Entering the Ministry

Jesse Mercer was baptized by his father at the age of 17, married Sabrina Chivers of Wilkes County at age 19, and was formally ordained into the ministry at age 20. Sardis Church, originally called Hutton's Fork, was his first charge. In 1796, Mercer succeeded his father as pastor of the Phillips' Mill Church, which he served for 37 years. He also served as pastor of Bethesda Church (1796-1827), Powell's Creek Church, in Hancock County, Georgia (1797-1825), and the Baptist Church at Eatonton, Putnam County, Georgia (1820–26). Mercer was president of the Georgia Baptist Convention for 19 years, from its founding in 1822 until his death in 1841.

Jesse

Jesse /ˈdʒɛs.iː/,Isai or Yishai (Hebrew: יִשַׁי, Modern Yishay, Tiberian Yīšáy, meaning "God exists" or "God's gift"; Arabic: يَسَّى‎ Yassa; Syriac: ܐܝܫܝ‎ Eshai; Greek: Ἰεσσαί Iessai; Latin: Isai, Jesse) is the father of David, who became the king of the Israelites. His son David is sometimes called simply "Son of Jesse" (Ben Yishai).

Jesse was the son of Obed and the grandson of Ruth and of Boaz. He lived in Bethlehem, in Judah, and was of the Tribe of Judah, he was a farmer, breeder and owner of sheep. He was a prominent resident of the town of Bethlehem. Jesse is important in Judaism because he was the father of the most famous King of Israel. He is important in Christianity, in part because he is in the Old Testament and mentioned in the genealogy of Jesus. Later rabbinic traditions name him as one of four ancient Israelites who died without sin, the other three being Benjamin, Chileab and Amram.

Jesse (picture book)

Jesse (1988) is a children's picture book written by acclaimed Australian author Tim Winton and illustrated by Maureen Prichard. It is the story of a small boy exploring the wild countryside beyond his garden gate - all alone.

Footnotes

Valotte

Valotte is the debut pop studio album by singer-songwriter Julian Lennon. The album was produced by Phil Ramone and recorded at several studios from February to August 1984. It was released in October 1984 on Charisma and Atlantic. The album was first certified gold in the United States, in the new year, then shortly afterwards being certified platinum. From the album, four singles were released, each with a music video, charting at various positions on the singles charts in both the United Kingdom and US. "Too Late for Goodbyes", the second US single, and "Valotte", the first US single, were both US Billboard Top 10 hits, the former reaching number 5 and the latter reaching number 9. The album peaked at number 17 and 20 in the US and UK, respectively. In early 1985, a few months after the release of the album, Lennon went on tour around the US, Australia, and Japan from March to June 1985.

Background