Author Archives: tmrichmond3

Unknown's avatar

About tmrichmond3

I am the pastor at the First Presbyterian Church in Medford, Oregon. I believe that faith should be able to sustain us, not oppress us.

Love Your Enemies

Posted on February 26, 2019 by tmrichmond3

      Joseph There is the idea that the Old Testament is the book of Law, and the New Testament is all about grace. That is broadly true, but there are large elements of grace and forgiveness in the … Continue reading →

Posted in Community, Compassion, Forgive Your enemies, forgiveness, Jesus, Joseph, Love, Spiritual Growth, spirituality | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Total Depravity and Redemption

Posted on February 23, 2019 by tmrichmond3

I have a Facebook friend who regularly posts about the inner peace he finds by avoiding the news like a plague. He has a kind of evangelical fervor about it (you too can enjoy this serenity, and all you have … Continue reading →

Posted in A River Runs Through It, Compassion, Current Events, Evil, Growth, Hope, ministry, News, Social Justice, Social Ministry, Spiritual Growth, Theology | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Spiritual Politics and other Rare Breeds

Posted on January 2, 2019 by tmrichmond3

  Writing almost 50 years ago, Thomas Merton, a Trappist monk in Kentucky, wrote about what he called political principles spiritualized by the Gospel. In his book Conjectures of a Guilty Bystander, Merton’s reflections on society at large, he starts … Continue reading →

Posted in Community, Compassion, Hope, Musings, Poor, religion and politics, Social Justice, Social Ministry, Uncategorized, Virtue, Wealth | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Growth in Grace

Posted on December 31, 2018 by tmrichmond3

    Parenting, as most parents know, can be a terrifying experience. Rewarding, yes, but also terrifying. Somehow you know, that when you hold that little bitty baby in your arms, that you are going to provide a good living … Continue reading →

Posted in Church, Compassion, forgiveness, Growth, Jesus, Jesus Boyhood, ministry, Musings, Salvation, Social Justice, Social Ministry, Spiritual Growth, spirituality, Transformation, Virtue | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Silent Night

Posted on December 29, 2018 by tmrichmond3

The First Silent Night On Christmas Eve, 1818, in the small Austrian village of Oberndorf bei Salzburg, the members of the Catholic church gathered for the Christmas Eve mass. The priest, Joseph Mohr, had just recently come to the church. … Continue reading →

Posted in Advent, Advent Carol, Advent Sermon, Christmas, Christmas Carol, Christmas Eve, Hope, Incarnation, Jesus, Peace, Preaching, Silent Night, Spiritual Growth, spirituality | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

O Little Town of Bethlehem

Posted on December 29, 2018 by tmrichmond3

In 1865, after the civil war, after Lincoln’s tragic death, a Philadelphia Episcopalian priest visited the Holy Land. While he was there he took a horseback ride from Jerusalem to Bethlehem on Christmas Eve, so he could attend Christmas Eve … Continue reading →

Posted in Advent, Advent Carol, Advent Sermon, Christmas, Christmas Carol, Church, Incarnation, Jesus, O Little Town of Bethlehem, Preaching, Sermons, Spiritual Growth, spirituality, Transformation | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Joy to the World

Posted on December 27, 2018 by tmrichmond3

Introduction A young child was once chastised by his minister father, for keeping his eyes open while he prayed. The boy said to his father,  A little mouse for want of stairs ran up a rope to say its prayers. … Continue reading →

Posted in Advent, Advent Carol, Advent Sermon, Christmas, Christmas Carol, Isaac Watts, Joy, Joy to the World, Psalms, Sermons, Spiritual Growth, spirituality, Theology, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

O Come, O Come, Emmanuel

Posted on December 26, 2018 by tmrichmond3

  Introduction I love Christmas for many reasons, but one is that during Christmas we get to see, very clearly, the link between the Old and the New Testaments. On the whole there two mistakes people make in trying to … Continue reading →

Posted in Advent, Advent Carol, Advent Sermon, Christmas, Christmas Carol, Church, Incarnation, Jesus, O Antiphons, Old Testament, Sermons, spirituality | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

That REAL Old Time Religion

Posted on December 5, 2018 by tmrichmond3

  This is one of the oldest hymns that is still sung today, and one of the few hymns sung by Eastern Orthodox, Roman Catholic and Protestant churches. It has a depth of meaning, and here I am just scratching … Continue reading →

Posted in Advent, Advent Carol, Advent Sermon, Athanasius, Christmas, Christmas Carol, Incarnation, Jesus, Musings, Preaching, Sermons | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Heart of Thanksgiving

Posted on November 21, 2018 by tmrichmond3

This sermon was given the day we celebrated the work of our organist, Ginni Peterson, who has been the organist at First Presbyterian Church in Medford for 57 years. She still has her chops! But, she is retiring at the … Continue reading →

Posted in Gratitude, Magnificat, Sermons, Thanksgiving | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment