Voices in My Head Podcast – Episode 605: Christmas Cards - A Christmas Sermon by Rick Lee James
Voices in My Head (The Rick Lee James Podcast)
Episode 605: The God Who Lets Us Carry Him
In this special Advent/Christmas episode, chaplain, songwriter, and host Rick Lee James shares a chapel message from Springfield Regional Medical Center titled “The God Who Lets Us Carry Him.”
Drawing from Jeremiah 10:5 and Matthew 2:13–18, Rick explores the tension between:
Idols that must ...
Voices in My Head Podcast – Episode 605: Christmas Cards - A Christmas Sermon by Rick Lee James
Voices in My Head (The Rick Lee James Podcast)
Episode 605: The God Who Lets Us Carry Him
In this special Advent/Christmas episode, chaplain, songwriter, and host Rick Lee James shares a chapel message from Springfield Regional Medical Center titled “The God Who Lets Us Carry Him.”
Drawing from Jeremiah 10:5 and Matthew 2:13–18, Rick explores the tension between:
-
Idols that must be carried because they are lifeless
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And Jesus, God in the flesh, who chooses to be carried as a vulnerable baby
Rather than the soft, sentimental scenes we see on many Christmas cards, Rick invites us into the real world Jesus was born into—a world of:
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A small, ordinary village (Bethlehem)
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Roman occupation and political fear
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Herod’s brutality and the Massacre of the Innocents
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Refugee families fleeing in the night
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Grieving mothers and real human sorrow
From there, he proclaims the hope of Christmas:
that God does not wait for a perfect world to show up, but enters the world as it actually is—vulnerable, dependent, “carry-able” in human arms. This is a God who walks at three miles an hour, slowing down to move at human speed, to stop, to touch, to weep, to heal, and even to entrust Himself to us.
Along the way, Rick reflects on:
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Jeremiah’s image of idols as “scarecrows in a cucumber field”
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How idols only gain “power” when we give them our imagination
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Historical background on Herod the Great and Bethlehem’s likely size
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The courage and defiant hope of a God who lets Himself be carried by Mary and Joseph
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The contrast between Hallmark-style Christmas and the raw honesty of the Gospel
The episode concludes with Rick’s original song “Christmas Cards,” a musical meditation on the parts of the story we don’t usually see on our mantels—the fear, the flight, the soldiers in the streets—and the deeper hope that God is greater than the version of Christmas our cards describe.
Scriptures referenced in this episode:
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Jeremiah 10:5 – “Their idols are like scarecrows in a cucumber field; they cannot speak; they have to be carried because they cannot walk. Do not be afraid of them, for they cannot do evil, neither is it in them to do good.”
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Matthew 2:13–18 – The flight into Egypt and the Massacre of the Innocents
Highlights:
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Why a God who chooses to be carried is the opposite of a powerless idol
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How the first Christmas speaks hope into fear, grief, and injustice
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“A God small enough to be carried is a God big enough to save the world.”
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Closing performance of Rick’s original song “Christmas Cards”
Connect with Rick Lee James:
-
Website: RickLeeJames.com
-
Music & merch: search “Rick Lee James” on your favorite music platform
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Subscribe, rate, and review Voices in My Head wherever you listen to podcasts.
Hosted by: Rick Lee James — Voices in My Head Podcast
Get the Audiobook, Out of the Depths: A Songwriter’s Journey Through the Psalms by your host, Rick Lee James, on Audible: https://www.audible.com/pd/B0F45G6KWH?qid=1744142727&sr=1-1&ref_pageloadid=not_applicable&pf_rd_p=83218cca-c308-412f-bfcf-90198b687a2f&pf_rd_r=KEDVV78ASDMS52WQFD7W&plink=3YmaWg4y0HJ0Cjfc&pageLoadId=IaamycyuJR519uYD&creativeId=0d6f6720-f41c-457e-a42b-8c8dceb62f2c&ref=a_search_c3_lProduct_1_1%20
----more----
Don’t forget about our music sale on Bandcamp.
Use the code “10off” on RickLeeJames.Bandcamp.com to get 10% off your purchase.
Blessings,
Rick Lee James
Email: Rick@RickLeeJames.com
Don’t forget about our music sale on Bandcamp.
Use the code “10off” on RickLeeJames.Bandcamp.com to get 10% off your purchase.
Blessings,
Rick Lee James
Email: Rick@RickLeeJames.com
Blessings,
Rick Lee James
Get the new song - Whatever You Do
VINYL SALE
THUNDER by Rick Lee James
ONLY $9.99. (Plus you get a free digital download of the album)
VINYL SALE -
“KEEP WATCH, DEAR LORD” BY RICK LEE JAMES 🎸🎹
Available On ALL STREAMING PLATFORMS
https://show.co/Lz0h35H
https://show.co/Lz0h35H
Thank you for listening!
10% Off Everything Rick Lee James on Band camp
Instructions
-
Visit
https://rickleejames.bandcamp.com
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At checkout use code: 10off
https://rickleejames.com
-
SongSelect: https://songselect.ccli.com/Songs/6152291/advent-hymn-watching-waiting-longing
-
Downloadable Charts and More available from LIFEWAYWORSHIP.COM: https://worship.lifeway.com/findAndBuy/songPage/AdventHymn(Watching%2CWaiting%2CLonging)?versionId=93901&rowNum=0&searchString=Advent%20Hymn%20(watching,%20Waiting,%20Longing)#song-Parts
-
Loop Community: https://loopcommunity.com/en-us/songs/advent-hymn-(watching%2C-waiting%2C-longing)-by-rick-lee-james-3892
Endorsements:
“A perfect and needed addition to any Christmas playlist this year. Rick Lee James bringing home the Advent Message.”
-CCM Magazine https://www.ccmmagazine.com/music-video/rick-lee-james-advent-hymn-watching-waiting-longing/
“I love Advent Hymn (Watching, Waiting, Longing), which gives newness to the phrases of Isaiah. Watching, waiting, and longing is what we do now, and these songs help us do that in confidence. I anticipate that this album will be received as a great gift by many who will find their faith nourished and awakened by it.”
–Walter Brueggemann (Professor Emeritus of Old Testament at Columbia Theological Seminary)
"I've watched Rick grow as an artist and songwriter for many years. Congratulations brother on an excellent independent release."
-Paul Baloche (Dove Award Winning Songwriter)
"Rick Lee James is a poet and singer. You will not only enjoy listening, you'll be drawn into the source –Jesus."
-Mike Harland
RICK LEE JAMES INFO
Web Sites:
https://www.rickleejames.com
Get The Single:
https://rickleejames.hearnow.com/halls
More from Rick Lee James
Shine A Light In The Darkness
Get The Single: https://rickleejames.hearnow.com/shine-a-light-in-the-darkness
Music Video:
Rick Lee James Playlist on Spotify:
https://t.co/S7nCRl0xqa
----more----
Don’t forget about our music sale on Bandcamp.
Use the code “10off” on RickLeeJames.Bandcamp.com to get 10% off your purchase.
Blessings,
Rick Lee James
Email: Rick@RickLeeJames.com
Don’t forget about our music sale on Bandcamp.
Use the code “10off” on RickLeeJames.Bandcamp.com to get 10% off your purchase.
Blessings,
Rick Lee James
Email: Rick@RickLeeJames.com
Blessings,
Rick Lee James
Get the new song - Whatever You Do
VINYL SALE
THUNDER by Rick Lee James
ONLY $9.99. (Plus you get a free digital download of the album)
VINYL SALE -
“KEEP WATCH, DEAR LORD” BY RICK LEE JAMES 🎸🎹
Available On ALL STREAMING PLATFORMS
https://show.co/Lz0h35H
https://show.co/Lz0h35H
Thank you for listening!
10% Off Everything Rick Lee James on Band camp
Instructions
-
Visit
https://rickleejames.bandcamp.com
-
At checkout use code: 10off
https://rickleejames.com
-
SongSelect: https://songselect.ccli.com/Songs/6152291/advent-hymn-watching-waiting-longing
-
Downloadable Charts and More available from LIFEWAYWORSHIP.COM: https://worship.lifeway.com/findAndBuy/songPage/AdventHymn(Watching%2CWaiting%2CLonging)?versionId=93901&rowNum=0&searchString=Advent%20Hymn%20(watching,%20Waiting,%20Longing)#song-Parts
-
Loop Community: https://loopcommunity.com/en-us/songs/advent-hymn-(watching%2C-waiting%2C-longing)-by-rick-lee-james-3892
Endorsements:
“A perfect and needed addition to any Christmas playlist this year. Rick Lee James bringing home the Advent Message.”
-CCM Magazine https://www.ccmmagazine.com/music-video/rick-lee-james-advent-hymn-watching-waiting-longing/
“I love Advent Hymn (Watching, Waiting, Longing), which gives newness to the phrases of Isaiah. Watching, waiting, and longing is what we do now, and these songs help us do that in confidence. I anticipate that this album will be received as a great gift by many who will find their faith nourished and awakened by it.”
–Walter Brueggemann (Professor Emeritus of Old Testament at Columbia Theological Seminary)
"I've watched Rick grow as an artist and songwriter for many years. Congratulations brother on an excellent independent release."
-Paul Baloche (Dove Award Winning Songwriter)
"Rick Lee James is a poet and singer. You will not only enjoy listening, you'll be drawn into the source –Jesus."
-Mike Harland
RICK LEE JAMES INFO
Web Sites:
https://www.rickleejames.com
Get The Single:
https://rickleejames.hearnow.com/halls
More from Rick Lee James
Shine A Light In The Darkness
Get The Single: https://rickleejames.hearnow.com/shine-a-light-in-the-darkness
Music Video:
Rick Lee James Playlist on Spotify:
https://t.co/S7nCRl0xqa
