We are delighted to announce that the James Philip sermon and daily Bible reading archives are now available on thetron.org.
This archive contains the bulk of the expository sermons from the ministry of my father, James Philip, of Holyrood Abbey Church, Edinburgh, where he served for 40 years until his retirement in late 1997. His ministry was one of the most far-reaching in Scotland in the 20th Century, and though my father died in 2009, his influence and fruitfulness continues to be manifest in many places, and countless ways, today.
Recordings of weekly expositions began to be made in the early 1960s, on reel-to-reel machines (later on cassette tapes) through financial help given from gospel-loving and visionary friends who were far-sighted enough to want to see expository biblical preaching promoted far and wide.
Thus a systematic tape ministry began, led by Holyrood members David and Mary Stay. Helped by a dedicated team of volunteers, for many decades regular recordings were sent every few weeks to a growing list of missionaries, preachers and others right across the world for whom, in the days long before the internet era, the arrival of a Holyrood Tape in a Jiffy bag was a cherished blessing.
These recordings have been systematically digitised, as a labour of love, from the original tapes - in real time! - by Vincent and Ruth Wake, similarly dedicated members of the Tron. The quality is inevitably a little bit variable given the age of some of the recordings, but nonetheless remarkably good overall.
The recordings are presented by series (and year), and include files of the reading, the sermon, (Bible Readings are included with Sunday sermons up to 1983) and 'full recordings' which in most cases recorded a couple of hymns and also one or more prayers. For those who were ever part of the Holyrood Congregation, hearing James Philip praying will be as wonderfully moving as listening again to the preaching which so touched and shaped their lives. If you find a recording that you find to be too poor to hear properly, please contact media@thetron.org with details of the sermon concerned.
I am immensely grateful to Vincent and Ruth Wake, Dorothy Campbell, Archie Fergus and others for their wonderful dedication to this project and also for the technical help of one of our current Tron missionaries, David Rowbory. Through their partnership in the gospel we are glad to be able to bring to a new generation what must be one of the richest collections of passionately earnest, warmly pastoral, biblical expository preaching in existence anywhere.
Our hope is that through the use of this archive of preaching, James Philip's ministry will continue to serve the the living and enduring word of God, for the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.
William J U Philip
Minister