Daily Lesson for October 29, 2021

 Today's Daily Lesson comes from Revelation chapter 6 verses 12 through 17:

12 When he opened the sixth seal, I looked, and there came a great earthquake; the sun became black as sackcloth, the full moon became like blood, 13and the stars of the sky fell to the earth as the fig tree drops its winter fruit when shaken by a gale. 14The sky vanished like a scroll rolling itself up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place. 15Then the kings of the earth and the magnates and the generals and the rich and the powerful, and everyone, slave and free, hid in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains, 16calling to the mountains and rocks, ‘Fall on us and hide us from the face of the one seated on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb; 17for the great day of their wrath has come, and who is able to stand?’

I grew up in the last vestiges of the Southern revival culture and so heard a lot of hell, fire, and brimstone preachers as a kid. In fact, it was my experience, that along with hell, fire, and brimstone, these guys (always guys) also served up a whole lot of spit. As a kid, it was all very scary to hear -- and watch.

I am not a hell, fire, and brimstone, preacher. Though occasionally some spit may make its way off my tangled tongue. Nevertheless, I do recognize that the fear of the Lord has its place. And if it wasn't but for fear I don't know that I would have ever surrendered.

Fear -- a sense of great moral accountability turned around the direction of my life. I can't say where I'd be without that great sense that I would one day stand before the judge of all history and hearts and at least say I ran the race. That was the most important moment in my adult life because I realized -- as Marney would say -- it was too late to be innocent, so then necessary to learn to be "responsibly guility".

Walter Brueggeman (I'm thankful to Ken Sehested for pointing it out) that the "Fear of God" is "liberating and not restrictive, because it gives confidence about the true shape of the world . . . 'Fear of God' is a summons to disengage from modes of social relationships than not only alienate from Yahweh, but also from neighbor."

I am grateful for that kind of fear.

John Donne once wrote:

"The love of God begins in fear

And the fear of God ends in love"

For me, they came at the same exact time. There was an overwhelming sense of both fear and love, conviction and release. It bound me and it freed me at the same time.

I thank God for it all.

John Newton wrote:

'Twas grace that taught mine heart to fear

And grace my fears relieved

It is the sweet terror of God's grace that drives us to grace. And how precious is that grace the hour we first believe and finally know that God is love, always, in both summons and sentence.

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

Daily Lesson for October 28, 2021

 Today's Daily Lesson comes from Revelation chapter 6 verses

9 When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slaughtered for the word of God and for the testimony they had given; 10they cried out with a loud voice, ‘Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long will it be before you judge and avenge our blood on the inhabitants of the earth?’ 11They were each given a white robe and told to rest a little longer, until the number would be complete both of their fellow-servants and of their brothers and sisters, who were soon to be killed as they themselves had been killed.

We grow closer and closer to All Saints and the Lessons speak more vividly of our hope for them all.

They rest now in robes of white. Their clothes and bodies tattered and scattered upon the earth, they are dressed and made whole in heaven.

Now, they wait.

Two years ago this week the Washington National Cathedral hosted a Service of Thanksgiving and Remembrance for Matthew Shepard, the young gay man who was beaten and murdered in Wyoming in 1998. The brutality of his death sparked a public outcry, and in October 2009, the United States Congress passed the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act (commonly the "Matthew Shepard Act" or "Shepard/Byrd Act" for short), which was then signed into law that same month.

In the 2019 service, the Right Rev. Mariann Edgar Budde, Episcopal Bishop of Washington, and the Right Rev. V. Gene Robinson, the first openly gay man elected a bishop in The Episcopal Church, presided. The ashes of Matthew, a life-long Episcopalian, were then interred in the Cathedral for the sake of remembrance.

He waits.

They all wait.

In white robes, they wait.

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

Daily Lesson for October 27, 2021

 Today's Daily Lesson comes from Revelation chapter 5 verse 8:

8When he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell before the Lamb, each holding a harp and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.

Almost every Tuesday morning throughout the pandemic I have gathered by phone with five or six women from the church to pray four congregation, community, and world. These ladies are so faithful to pray, and they teach me so much about faithfulness, the release of judgment, and turning things over to God.

It is an inherently humbling act to set aside an hour of "work" and devote oneself to asking someone else for help. But the fact is there is so much work to be done, we have to have help.

The discipline of daily and weekly prayer reminds us that we can't do this on our own -- and don't have to. God is here to help. And it pleases God when we ask and give thanks.

Today's Lesson tells us the prayers of the saints are incense in the worship of heaven. A long time ago most Baptists gave up incense. But the Tuesday morning prayer group still knows how to make it.

They're teaching me how to make it too.

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

Daily Lesson for October 26, 2021

 Today's Daily Lesson comes from Revelation chapter 4 verses 2 through 5:

2At once I was in the spirit, and there in heaven stood a throne, with one seated on the throne! 3And the one seated there looks like jasper and cornelian, and around the throne is a rainbow that looks like an emerald. 4Around the throne are twenty-four thrones, and seated on the thrones are twenty-four elders, dressed in white robes, with golden crowns on their heads. 5Coming from the throne are flashes of lightning, and rumblings and peals of thunder, and in front of the throne burn seven flaming torches, which are the seven spirits of God . . .

There is a lot of debate about what the seven Spirits of God are, just like there is a lot of debate about a whole lot of the symbolic references in the book of Revelation. Watch out when you hear a preacher tell you they've cracked the code. There is no code, and those who say there is are usually trying to sell books and tickets.

So with that said, let me give you one way some of the church fathers and mothers interpreted the meaning of the seven spirits. They read it through the lens of Romans 12, where Paul writes:

"We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully."

They may not have been what John the Revelator had in mind when he had his vision. But what he did have in mind is often impossible to know.

Nevertheless, the seven gifts Paul lays out are as a good a guess as anything, and its nice to consider them before the throne of God: prophecy, service, teaching, encouragement, giving, leadership, mercy.

These are indeed powerful gifts from God, and they surely flow from the throne of God.

May the spirit of these gifts flow through us, and may it strengthen us, our families, our friendships, and the church universal.

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

Daily Lesson for October 25, 2021

 Today's Daily Lesson comes from Revelation chapter 1 verse 8:

"‘I am the Alpha and the Omega’, says the Lord God, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty."

We are nearing the last days of the Liturgical Calendar and it will soon be All Hallows' Eve, followed by All Saints Day, and the Daily Office turns to the last book of the Bible as we wind down the year and make our way towards Advent.

What was begun began in God. From the foundations of the earth God was. And God is. And in whatever is waiting for us at the end of this road God will be.

Alpha and Omega.

Author and Finisher.

Do not be afraid, beloved. Do not faint from foreboding. God is, and was, and will be. So do not fear.

This is the last leg of the liturgical journey. We pass by the place of the dead come Sunday. In the following days we remember all the saints and all the souls departed. They speak to us.

And what do they say?

". . . neither death nor life, neither angels nor principalities, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

And as it was in the beginning, it shall also be in the end. Amen.

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

Daily Lesson for October 22, 2021

 Today's Daily Lesson comes from 1 Corinthians chapter 16 verses 14 and 15:

13 Keep alert, stand firm in your faith, be courageous, be strong. 14Let all that you do be done in love.

What beautiful benedictory words written at the end of Paul's long and loving, and sometime chiding, letter.

"Keep alert, stand firm, be courageous, be strong. Let all you do be done in love."

My soul is heartened by the power of the words from two thousand years ago, yet still so relevant today.

We need to alert, because it is a dangerous world out there.

We need to be firm, because the truth matters.

We need to be courageous, because God is the strength of our hearts, always.

We need to do everything out of and in love, because love is the greatest of all things and the measure of everything.

I don't know that I've ever really, fully taken in these verses in a conscious way. But clearly somewhere along the way they shaped my own benedictory words which I give at the end of the service every Sunday, and now share with you at the end of this work week and entering into the Sabbath:

"Depart now, beloved,

with Spirit of God in Christ in you.

For the world needs your light,

and your hope,

and your deep, deep, courage.

So go;

and be brave,

be strong,

be kind,

and be love.

Always be love.

Amen."

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

Daily Lesson for October 21, 2021

 Today's Daily Lesson comes from Matthew chapter 12 verse 20:

"He will not break a bruised reed

or quench a smoldering wick

until he brings justice to victory."

I am praying this morning for gentleness.

It is a not a natural disposition -- especially for West Texans.

But it is a fruit of the Spirit. It is a quality and characteristic of the personhood of Jesus.

Yes, He took a whip and drove out the money changers. And by God they had it coming. It was an act of justice.

But He could also be so soft and so gentle that not even a single molecule of water would burst as walked across.

Today, I pray for gentleness. I pray to walk the earth lightly. And I hope not to break any further even the most bruised reed I see and meet.

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

Daily Lesson for October 20, 2021

 Today's Daily Lesson comes from 1 Corinthians chapter 15 verse 58:

Therefore, my beloved, be steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the work of the Lord, because you know that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.

We need to be strong today. We need to be brave.

We need to believe that the work that is given for us to do right now matters. The witness that has been given unto us for just this very time is necessary, and important, and does have consequence.

Paul wrote the words of today's lesson in the context of the shadow of death and despair. Everyone was so optimistic. But then optimism turned to pessimism. The Lord did not return like they thought. Loved ones died. Disillusionment set in. Everything was so disappointing and so disheartening.

But Paul reminded them. They were to be steadfast and immovable. They were to keep the faith.

We are to keep the faith. We are to hold out. We are to hold on. And even if it doesn't seem to matter, it does matter. What we do does have consequence -- even if we won't live to see what kind of difference is being made.

"You know that in the Lord your labor is not in vain," Paul says.

Do we know it? Do we believe it?

Lord, I believe; but help me in my unbelief.

Me, and all others who labor on this hard, hard earth also.

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

Daily Lesson for October 19, 2021

 Today's Daily Lesson comes from Matthew chapter 11 verses 28 through 30:

28 ‘Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. 29Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.’

In the carpenter's shop Jesus learned from Joseph how to craft a yoke.

It had to be sized right. It had to be sanded smooth. The contours had to have the right shape and feel. The yoke had to fit.

"Come . . ." he says. "Take my yoke upon you." His yoke is the right yoke for us. It's made with our size and strength in mind. It's made for the load we are supposed to bear.

Is your burden too much? Is the load you are carrying to heavy? Does it pain every time you step? If so, you may be hitched to the wrong yoke.

For the carpenter's yoke is gentle, and even while carrying it, you can find rest for your soul.

I said rest, for your weary soul.

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