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.

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 Philip

Using the Archive:

Sermons have been sorted into series which are each given a code corresponding to the Bible book order (from 01-66) and the year in which the sermon series began. Thematic series are sorted by year and named according to the thematic topic which is covered. You can search by series using the 'Series' dropdown list or the 'Series' Tab at the top.

The 'Explore' tab gives an overview of all of the sermons preached by James Philip throughout his ministry at Holyrood Abbey Church. Each square corresponds to a chapter of the Bible. The darkness of the colour corresponds to the number of available sermons on that chapter. This page shows visually the remarkable breadth of James Philip's ministry, covering almost the whole Bible across a 35 year period.