Category Archives: Christmas

Hope for the Holidays

Posted on January 7, 2020 by tmrichmond3

  I wonder what Mary and Joseph saw when they look into the eyes of their newborn child. What did they see in the eyes of Jesus? On the one hand, they knew this was a special child, a child … Continue reading →

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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 →

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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 →

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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 →

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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 →

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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 →

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A Very Messy Salvation

Posted on December 31, 2013 by tmrichmond3

HEBREWS 2:10-18 10It was fitting that God, for whom and through whom all things exist, in bringing many children to glory, should make the pioneer of their salvation perfect through sufferings. 11For the one who sanctifies and those who are sanctified … Continue reading →

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The True Meaning of Christmas

Posted on December 25, 2013 by tmrichmond3

This is the Christmas Eve sermon, given during the Service of Lessons and Carols, at First Presbyterian Church in Medford, Oregon, on December 24, 2013.  What is the true meaning of Christmas? I put that on in some online communities … Continue reading →

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