Priceless Lessons from Dr. Price • Barry's Bureau

Don't Just Claim the Plan —
Commit to the Process

Dr. Richard Price • Schrader Lane Church of Christ • April 26, 2026

Three Core Truths from This Sermon

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Formation First

God spoke Jeremiah 29:11 to people in exile. His promise doesn't skip hard seasons — it works through them.

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Costly Hope

Your future was secured by Christ's once-for-all sacrifice. Your hope is not casual — it cost Jesus everything.

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Finish Together

At the Boston Marathon, runners carried a fallen competitor across the finish. Your finish is my finish.

Key Quotes — Dr. Richard Price

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God will develop you before He delivers you.

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Your future is not cheap. Your hope is not casual. Your access to God cost Jesus everything.

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It's not about how strong you are — it's about how consistent you are.

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Isolation will make you forget what God promised.

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If you really believe Jeremiah 29:11, you'll live in Hebrews 10:23–25.

The "Let Us" Commands — Hebrews 10:22–25

How to Unlock God's Promise

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Draw Near — Hebrews 10:22 Go to God with sincere hearts, fully trusting Him. Make your faith personal and daily — seek first His kingdom.

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Hold Fast — Hebrews 10:23 Hold tightly without wavering to the hope you affirm. Be consistent — not sporadic. God can be trusted to keep His promise.

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Show Up — Hebrews 10:24–25 Do not neglect meeting together. Motivate one another. Isolation leads to drift; community keeps the promise alive.

"Do you just want to claim the plan, or are you ready to commit to the process?"
— Dr. Richard Price

Don't Just Claim the Plan — Commit to the Process

Barry's Bureau | Inspired by Dr. Richard Price's sermon at Schrader Lane Church of Christ

📖 1,148 words | ⏱ 5 min read

Jeremiah 29:11 is one of the most quoted verses in Scripture — but Dr. Richard Price reveals that claiming God's promise is only the beginning. Committing to the process of drawing near, holding fast, and staying connected is what actually unlocks what God has prepared for you.

You know the verse. You have seen it on graduation cards, typed it in a text message to a struggling friend, and watched it scroll across social media on a Monday morning. Jeremiah 29:11 — "For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope." We quote it when we are excited. We lean on it when we are uncertain. We whisper it when we need reassurance about what comes next. But this Sunday at Schrader Lane Church of Christ, Dr. Richard Price brought the honest, necessary question before every believer in the room: Do you just want to claim the plan, or are you ready to commit to the process?

These are not the same thing. And for far too many of us — young and not-so-young alike — we have been collecting the promise while quietly avoiding the process that delivers it.

The Promise Is Real — But It Was Never Easy

Before we go any further, Dr. Price asked us to slow down and read Jeremiah 29:11 the right way — in its full context. He was careful to remind us that God was not speaking to a people who were comfortable, celebrating, or settled. He was speaking to a people in exile. They had been removed from home, placed under the consequences of their own disobedience, and forced to build a life in a land they never would have chosen. And into that hard and humbling place, the great God of heaven spoke these words: "I know the plans I have for you."

That context changes everything. God's promise is not reserved for comfortable seasons. It coexists with discipline, with exile, with waiting that feels like it has no end. In fact, God told the exiles in verse 10 that they would remain in Babylon for seventy years. The hard season was not a signal that God had abandoned His plans. It was the environment in which God was carrying out those plans.

As Dr. Price declared with unmistakable conviction: "God will develop you before He delivers you."

If you are in a season you did not choose — a difficult circumstance, a painful transition, a situation that feels more like exile than opportunity — hear this: the uncomfortable place you are standing in right now is not a detour from God's purpose. It is often the very ground on which He is building it. He shapes you in places you would not have picked, to produce a future you could not have created on your own. Formation precedes fulfillment. Always.

Your Hope Is Not Cheap — Honor the Price That Was Paid for It

Hebrews 10:10 and 14 anchor this truth with something staggering: the future God promised in Jeremiah only became accessible because of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Hebrews 10:14 declares, "For by that one offering He forever made perfect those who are being made holy." Not a partial sacrifice. Not a temporary one. A once-for-all offering that tore the curtain, opened the way, and gave every believer bold access to God's presence.

This is where Dr. Price's message cut deepest: "Your future is not cheap. Your hope is not casual. Your access to God cost Jesus everything."

Jesus gave His body. He shed His blood. He stood in your place. He paid the price so that you could have a future, a hope, and a living walk with God. When that reality truly settles into your spirit, you cannot treat the promises of God like a casual convenience — pulling out Jeremiah 29:11 when life feels good and sliding it away when the process gets hard. A promise secured at that cost demands a sincere and wholehearted response.

And Hebrews 10:19–25 tells us exactly what that response looks like.

Three "Let Us" Commands That Unlock God's Promise

After explaining what Christ has done, the writer of Hebrews shifts tone and introduces three commands — each beginning with the phrase "Let us." Dr. Price was clear: this language is not a soft suggestion. It is an expected response for every believer who claims to believe the promise of God.

1. Draw Near — Hebrews 10:22 calls believers to "go right into the presence of God with sincere hearts, fully trusting Him." This relationship cannot be inherited or borrowed. It cannot be the faith of your parents, or the faith of Sunday morning habit alone. Dr. Price challenged the young people — and the entire congregation — directly: "It's got to be Jesus in the morning, Jesus at lunchtime, Jesus in the extracurricular. You've got to wake up with your mind settled on Jesus." Faith must be personal. It must be prioritized. It must be pursued.

2. Hold Fast — Hebrews 10:23 commands believers to "hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep His promise." If God's plan is steady, your faith cannot be seasonal. Not strong on Sunday and lost by Wednesday. Not committed when things are good and absent when things are hard. Dr. Price said it plainly: "It's not about how strong you are — it's about how consistent you are." Consistency is what shows God — and the world — that your faith is real.

3. Show Up — Hebrews 10:24–25 calls the whole community to action: "Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works, and let us not neglect our meeting together." Isolation is where the drift begins. When you disconnect from the community of faith, you disconnect from the very environment where God's promises are affirmed and your faith is sustained. Dr. Price said it without hesitation: "Isolation will make you forget what God promised."

"If you really believe Jeremiah 29:11, you'll live in Hebrews 10:23–25." — Dr. Richard Price, Schrader Lane Church of Christ

At the Boston Marathon, Dr. Price shared a powerful illustration: a runner who had endured miles of pain collapsed within sight of the finish line. Two other runners stopped. They lifted him. They put his arms around their shoulders and walked him, step by step, across the finish line together. That, Dr. Price said, is what the church is called to be. "Your finish is my finish. Your completion is also my completion." Don't fall alone — and don't let anyone in your community fall alone either.

4 Ways to Commit to the Process — Starting This Week

Read Jeremiah 29:11 in its full context. Don't skip the exile to get to the promise. Understanding where God spoke these words will deepen how you receive them.
Build your own personal, daily prayer habit. Not borrowed faith from your parents or your church attendance — a relationship that is yours. Start with five intentional minutes every morning.
Be consistent in worship and church community. Show up — not just when it is convenient, but steadily and without wavering. Consistency is the signal that you are serious.
Stay connected, and lean in when someone drifts. If you see a young person disengaging or withdrawing, check in. And if you are the one struggling, don't close the door — let someone in.

🎙 Listen, Watch & Learn More

Watch the full sermon by Dr. Richard Price at Schrader Lane Church of Christ on YouTube: Watch Now (41:22). Then visit BarrysBureau.org to test your understanding with the Priceless Lessons interactive quiz and study game created for this message.

💡 Reflection & Challenge

Here is the question Dr. Price left ringing in the room — and the one worth sitting with this week: Are you claiming the plan without committing to the process? Where is God forming you right now in a season you would not have chosen for yourself?

Don't quit. Don't slow down when the finish line is in sight. And don't try to finish alone. The promise is real. The process is hard. And both belong to you. Leave a comment below, share this post with someone in your circle, and visit BarrysBureau.org for more resources to help you go from spiritual milk to meat — and finish strong.

Join us for worship at Schrader Lane Church of Christ or visit BarrysBureau.org for more resources to grow in your faith.

Barry's Bureau — Inspiring Excellence in Christian Living | www.BarrysBureau.org

Priceless Lessons from Dr. Price • Barry's Bureau