A Day for Remembering

 I am thinking today of all the Gold Star families I have had the honor to pastor and befriend.

I think of the woman who lost two brothers — one in Iraq and one in Afghanistan. 

I think of the dear friend who lost his dad in the early days of Vietnam, and then a decade later went to fight there himself. 

I think of the photos and flags that have hung in so many homes where I’ve paid pastoral visits.

I think also of so many whose fathers, and brothers, and now sisters have also died by suicide after serving in combat theaters. 

Memorial Day is a day for remembering. Beloved ones, know may the LORD of all remembrance continue to bring you strength and peace. 

On the Cult of Death

 The NRA goes on with its meeting today, and that is because worship in any religion must always go on -- no matter what.

It is a religion, baptized in the blood of 21 more just Tuesday.

It is a death cult, sharing the same characteristics of any other death cult in any time, place, or culture:

1. The human-made invention of idols whose worship promises to deliver a people from death. All cults of death are based upon the anxiety and fear of death and the ability to control it.

2. The socio-religio-economic-political complex which profits off of the cult and assures the election of its Temple priests. This is why there is so much power in gun industry -- because a supermajority in the Senate can never get elected without its money.

3. The myth that the cult is synonymous with the nation and its god(s). To be a good worshiper is to be a good citizen. To refuse to worship is to be accused of refusing to be a good patriot and atheist.

This is the power of death at work in America.

Yet, I sense this week also the power of life.

I sense the power of Resurrection - a word which the ancients had which meant "uprising".

May there be an uprising against the idols of this nation; and may the power of resurrection life rebaptize an America which is dead in its sins under the powers of the cult of death death.

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

Kissing Them Goodbye

 Last night we told our 9-year-old what happened to the children in Uvalde.

"You know, how you practice getting under the desks at school?" we said. "This is why you do that."

"Did they not practice getting under their desks at their school?" he asked.

And that is when the innocence was lost, the charade was over.

We want so badly to tell our children we adults will keep them safe. But last night, our nine-year-old exposed that for the lie it is.

I am a preacher. I've taught people to pray all my ministry. But we don't need anymore prayers now. We know what is necessary.

Sadly, however, we won't do what is necessary. We aren't ready yet. Not enough blood has been shed yet.

So, for now, we keep our children practicing hiding under tables and behind chairs. And as we drop them off at the curb we tell them we love them and keep kissing them goodbye.

It really would be better for this nation if a millstone were tied around our necks and we were thrown into the bottom of the sea.

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

Daily Lesson for May 24, 2022

 Today's Daily Lesson comes from Matthew chapter 13 verses 18-23:

18 ‘Hear then the parable of the sower. 19When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what is sown in the heart; this is what was sown on the path. 20As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; 21yet such a person has no root, but endures only for a while, and when trouble or persecution arises on account of the word, that person immediately falls away.* 22As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the lure of wealth choke the word, and it yields nothing. 23But as for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.’

Last night I was with a group from church working on issues of social justice in the community. We were talking about sustainability and how important it is to really dig down and root our efforts so it has the chance to be something significant, rather than just fleeting and/or performative.

It's easy to sprout up quick and be seen. But in the end, it's a lot more important to grow down deep than it is to grow up fast.

What we are doing today should not be judged by what is seen today. It's what's happening beneath the surface that matters most.

It's the underground where the real action is.

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

Daily Lesson for May 20, 2022

 Today's Daily Lesson comes from 2 Thessalonians chapter 2 verses 9 through 12:

The coming of the lawless one is apparent in the working of Satan, who uses all power, signs, lying wonders, 10and every kind of wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. 11For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion, leading them to believe what is false, 12so that all who have not believed the truth but took pleasure in unrighteousness will be condemned.

What a scripture for the times in which we are living.

There is indeed a profound refusal to love the truth and so be saved as a nation.

But God sends a powerful delusion? How could that be?

Augustine said something that is helpful here. Reflecting on the Scripture that says God hardened Pharaoh's heart, Augustine noted that the sun hardens clay, yet it melts wax. The same sun, but acting on very different properties.

The truth is a delusion to some, and delusion the truth; all determined by the hardness of the heart.

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

Daily Lesson for May 19, 2022

 Today's Daily Lesson comes from Matthew 6 verse 34:

"So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today’s trouble is enough for today."

Jesus did not say don't worry; he just said don't worry about tomorrow.

By that I think he meant we are to be concerned, but only over the things which are within our reach.

What will Russia do? Where will our kids go to college? How will the market do next year? Will inflation continue to rise?

These are questions and worries we can't do much about right now.

So, let's take a deep breath, recognize the things that are within our control, and focus our time and energy there.

We can only take on so much. Let's not borrow trouble, but let today's worries be enough for today.

They're plenty, in fact.

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

Daily Lesson for May 18, 2022

 Today's Daily Lesson comes from Matthew chapter 6 verses 19 through 21:

19 ‘Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal; 20but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.'

We have to hold the things of this world loosely.

There are objects of beauty and status and some which really bring us a lot of happiness.

But we have to hold them loosely. We can't allow ourselves to treasure them too much. We can't become overly attached to them.

Moths eat out favorite coats. Rust corrodes old Corvettes. Jewelry gets lost or stolen. Something inside us wants to scream when these things happen.

But they will happen; so let us not hold on to any of these things too tightly.

They are things; and no "thing" lasts forever.

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