Daily Lesson for September 9, 2021

 Today's Daily Lesson comes from Philippians chapter 2 verses 19 through 26:

19 I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, so that I may be cheered by news of you. 20I have no one like him who will be genuinely concerned for your welfare. 21All of them are seeking their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ. 22But Timothy’s* worth you know, how like a son with a father he has served with me in the work of the gospel. 23I hope therefore to send him as soon as I see how things go with me; 24and I trust in the Lord that I will also come soon.

25 Still, I think it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus—my brother and co-worker and fellow-soldier, your messenger* and minister to my need; 26for he has been longing for all of you, and has been distressed because you heard that he was ill. 27He was indeed so ill that he nearly died. But God had mercy on him, and not only on him but on me also, so that I would not have one sorrow after another.

When we think of the Apostle Paul his tenderness and affection are usually not the first things that come to mind. Paul could be gruff, and hard-headed, a prophet in the army of God.

Yet in today's Lesson we see him speaking tenderly and with affection for two others in his Church. Timothy he says is "like a son. And Epaphroditus is a "brother". Paul's love, affection, and appreciation, and concern for them is genuine. And, contrary to the stereotype, he is willing to show it. He writes it, and presumably he speaks it also.

These men matter to Paul. They strengthen him. They encourage him. They worry him! And he loves them. And he says so.

One of the great gifts the Church has given me is the gift of being able to tell other men I love them. It's no small thing. And no one should say the words don't matter. The words are true; and they come from the heart.

Ryon Price is Senior Pastor of Broadway Baptist Church in Fort Worth, Texas.

Daily Lesson for September 8, 2021

 Today's Daily Lesson comes from 1 Kings chapter 17 verses 17 through 24:

17 After this the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, became ill; his illness was so severe that there was no breath left in him. 18She then said to Elijah, ‘What have you against me, O man of God? You have come to me to bring my sin to remembrance, and to cause the death of my son!’ 19But he said to her, ‘Give me your son.’ He took him from her bosom, carried him up into the upper chamber where he was lodging, and laid him on his own bed. 20He cried out to the Lord, ‘O Lord my God, have you brought calamity even upon the widow with whom I am staying, by killing her son?’ 21Then he stretched himself upon the child three times, and cried out to the Lord, ‘O Lord my God, let this child’s life come into him again.’ 22The Lord listened to the voice of Elijah; the life of the child came into him again, and he revived. 23Elijah took the child, brought him down from the upper chamber into the house, and gave him to his mother; then Elijah said, ‘See, your son is alive.’ 24So the woman said to Elijah, ‘Now I know that you are a man of God, and that the word of the Lord in your mouth is truth.’

This is a hard Lesson to speak to this morning.

Yesterday we lost a friend, whose life is too soon gone. A bright and shining light was lost. He will be missed.

I take some solace this morning in Jesus' commentary on this Lesson this morning. "Were there not many other widows?" Jesus asked.

Yes, many other widows, and orphans, and sons, and daughters, and children, and families worried sick for someone they love and care for.

Many. So many. Too many.

Too many for one man of God to save all.

So, the prophet saved one. He healed one. He healed where and whom he could.

There are so many struggling now, beloved. So, so many. So much suffering, and pain, and hurt, and illness. Too much.

Perhaps there is one whom we can love and care for. Perhaps there is one we can help to heal. One we can hold onto.

One is not many. But to this one mother it is everything . . .

Ryon Price is Senior Pastor of Broadway Baptist Church in Fort Worth, Texas.

Daily Lesson for September 7, 2021

 Today's Daily Lesson comes from Philippians chapter 1 verses 27 through 30:

27 Only, live your life in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that, whether I come and see you or am absent and hear about you, I will know that you are standing firm in one spirit, striving side by side with one mind for the faith of the gospel, 28and are in no way intimidated by your opponents. For them this is evidence of their destruction, but of your salvation. And this is God’s doing. 29For he has graciously granted you the privilege not only of believing in Christ, but of suffering for him as well— 30since you are having the same struggle that you saw I had and now hear that I still have.

Earlier in his missionary journeys Paul had visited the city of Philippi, established a church there, and been wrongfully imprisoned and beaten without reason. It was a traumatic event, yet Paul survived, and the authorities in the city were made to publicly admit their wrongdoings.

Now, sometime later -- we aren't quite sure how long -- Paul is in chains again. And he's writing the church back in Philippi, to give them strength and courage to press on in the struggle. He's still fighting the good fight, and he writes to his friends to tell them to continue to do the same.

Yes, they are suffering. But suffering for the sake of the Gospel is a "privilege" Paul says. It is a part of what is necessary amidst the birth pangs of the beloved community.

"[I] know that you are standing firm in one spirit, striving side by side with one mind for the faith of the gospel and are in no way intimidated by your opponents," Paul says. "This is evidence of their destruction, but of your salvation."

We press on. We strive side by side. With one mind and one heart we continue to walk arm in arm for the sake of God's Gospel. The opposition is strong, and Paul is in chains, but we will not be given over to evil. But we shall overcome evil with good.

And we shall overcome.

Rev. Ryon Price is Senior Pastor of Broadway Baptist Church in Fort Worth, Texas.

Daily Lesson for September 6, 2021

 Today's Daily Lesson comes from Philippians chapter 1 verses

3 I thank my God every time I remember you, 4constantly praying with joy in every one of my prayers for all of you, 5because of your sharing in the gospel from the first day until now. 6I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work among you will bring it to completion by the day of Jesus Christ. 7It is right for me to think this way about all of you, because you hold me in your heart,* for all of you share in God’s grace with me, both in my imprisonment and in the defence and confirmation of the gospel. 8For God is my witness, how I long for all of you with the compassion of Christ Jesus. 9And this is my prayer, that your love may overflow more and more with knowledge and full insight 10to help you to determine what is best, so that on the day of Christ you may be pure and blameless, 11having produced the harvest of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ for the glory and praise of God.

Paul is in prison. He can't do much now but pray, and write, and remember.

Yet he holds his hope that all these things matter; and he trusts that the seed he has sown in the hearts and minds of his followers will one day grow up to bear fruit for the sake of God's Gospel -- ARE growing up, in fact.

Things may seem bleak right now, beloved. But do not despair. The earth is full of good seed in good soil growing into its time. The harvest is not yet; and so you can't see much from afar. But pull up close, and you'll see things are happening in small ways that really matter.

Hold your hopes, friends. God is at work; and the beloved community is still worth believing in.

Ryon Price is Senior Pastor of Broadway Baptist Church in Fort Worth, Texas.

Daily Lesson for September 3, 2021

 Today's Daily Lesson comes from Mark chapter 15 verses 29 through 32:

29Those who passed by derided him, shaking their heads and saying, ‘Aha! You who would destroy the temple and build it in three days, 30save yourself, and come down from the cross!’ 31In the same way the chief priests, along with the scribes, were also mocking him among themselves and saying, ‘He saved others; he cannot save himself. 32Let the Messiah, the King of Israel, come down from the cross now, so that we may see and believe.’ Those who were crucified with him also taunted him.

When Jesus was crucified he was mocked and blasphemed and chided by the crowd. Cynically, they said they would believe if only he saved himself from death -- the irony, of course, being that in death he was saving the world, including, I believe, those who mocked him.

It must have been hard for him to swallow his words, and renounce his power. He could have come down. We would have come down. But he stayed. He suffered the insults, and the mocking. He endured the humiliation. He refused retribution. The beady-eyed gleam of the scribes and priests went without challenge. They carried their smirks with them back down the hill of Golgotha.

And He never said a mumblin' word.

And by his silence, he wrought salvation. By his failure, he won victory. And in his humiliation he saved his humanity -- and ours.

It is tough out there right now, beloved. We can easily turn to despair and even violence. But we must remember to not be overcome by evil, but seek to overcome evil with good.

And in the end, we believe, and we work, and we even suffer for goodness' sake.

Some words from James Russell Lowell to conclude:

"Though the cause of evil prosper,

Yet 'tis truth alone is strong;

Though her portion be the scaffold,

And upon the throne be wrong:

Yet that scaffold sways the future,

And, behind the dim unknown,

Standeth God within the shadow

Keeping watch above His own."

Ryon Price is Senior Pastor of Broadway Baptist Church in Fort Worth, Texas.

Daily Lesson for September 2, 2021

 Today's Daily Lesson comes from Mark chapter 15 verses 12 through 15:

12Pilate spoke to them again, ‘Then what do you wish me to do* with the man you call the King of the Jews?’ 13They shouted back, ‘Crucify him!’ 14Pilate asked them, ‘Why, what evil has he done?’ But they shouted all the more, ‘Crucify him!’ 15So Pilate, wishing to satisfy the crowd, released Barabbas for them; and after flogging Jesus, he handed him over to be crucified.

The book of Mark uses the word "crowd" thirty-six times, almost always in suspicion.

In Mark, when Jesus is followed by the crowds he immediately tells the parable of the seed, most of which falls away.

Mark did not believe in crowds. He learned from Jesus not to put his trust in crowds.

Pilate on the other hand was a politician. He needed the crowd to tell him who he was. He needed the crowd stay in power. And, fact of the matter was, so far from home he needed the control of the crowd to stay alive.

How about you? What is your relationship to the crowd?

How much of yourself is in the crowd? Does it tell you who you are? Does it tell your leaders who they are?

In the end, all the crowds deserted Jesus. Pilate, however, had the public's approval -- at least for a day.

But crowds are fickle, and red meat thrown to the lions doesn't last long.

Ryon Price is Senior Pastor of Broadway Baptist Church in Fort Worth, Texas.

Daily Lesson for September 1, 2021

 Today's Daily Lesson comes from Mark chapter 15 verses 1 and 2:

As soon as it was morning, the chief priests held a consultation with the elders and scribes and the whole council. They bound Jesus, led him away, and handed him over to Pilate. 2Pilate asked him, ‘Are you the King of the Jews?’ He answered him, ‘You say so.’

Jesus was probably thought to be playing coy with Pilate, but his answer to the question, "Are you the King of the Jews?" was truthful.

Jesus did not deny his Kingship. He did not deny that he was of royal anointing and authority; yet he knew Pilate could not understand what kind of King he was. For in Pilate's mind a king could only be someone who lords his leadership over his people and conscripts their sons into his army. But it was not so with Jesus.

So, Jesus turned the question, "Are you the king of the Jews?" back on Pilate.

"You say so," he said.

Pilate said that Jesus was the king. And that was the charge he placed over Jesus' head on the cross. "King of the Jews."

Pilate knew that much; but what it meant he could not conceive. Jesus was innocent of the charges, he knew that much. "But all kings are guilty of something," he told himself. So his conscience was assuaged.

Jesus knew that it would be. And that is why in his own defense he said not a mumbling word.

And in his silence Jesus spared Pilate even further guilt -- another sign of a king not of this world.

Ryon Price is Senior Pastor of Broadway Baptist Church in Fort Worth, Texas.