Children’s Pastor Who Tried to Murder Entire Family Given 30 Year Sentence, Reads Psalms 51 to Judge
A former children’s pastor who was charged with attempting to murder his wife and five children wept openly in court after being given a 30-year sentence, apologizing to his family while pledging to be like a contrite and repentant David as he read Psalm 51 in its entirety.
Matthew Lee Richards used to be the children’s pastor at Crossroads Christian Church in Shawnee, KS, until he attempted to take out his whole family by stabbing them to death and then burning down their family home.
As far as the motive for the crime, Richards was distraught over being evicted from their home, which had been foreclosed. According to court documents:
“Richards said memories of the incident came in flashes from there, but he remembered thinking that he was a monster and that he’d thought it would be better if they all died rather than waiting for his kids and wife having to deal with the trauma of finding out the truth (about the evictions and losing the home.)
Speaking to the judge at his sentencing, Richards read a prepared statement:
“Through my actions I brought disgrace, shame humiliation and dishonor on myself, my family…and my community. This came from my own shame that kept me from revealing my faults and sins, because I was afraid of the truth. I was afraid to ask for help.
The shame and fear led me further down a path that brought out not only disgrace but also violence into the lives of my family. Your honor, I will live everyday knowing I caused that trauma and disgrace. That punishment is far worse than any physical or length of time in a prison I can be in.
To my wife and kids and the rest of my family, I’m sorry for the multiple levels of destruction and pain that will take a lifetime to overcome.”
He later added:
In the past 18 months while incarcerated, I’ve been given time to look back and admit my failures to myself and to God but no one else. And I sought change to improve myself. Because of that, it’s hard to put into words, but the words of David in Psalm 51 have repeatedly been my prayer. So I wish to read them today because David put it into words the words of my repentant heart, better than I ever could have..
Have mercy on me, O God,
according to your steadfast love;
according to your abundant mercy
blot out my transgressions.
Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,
and cleanse me from my sin
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Churches should be honest and STOP teaching Psalm 51 in its entirety as a model prayer of repentance. It contains a lie to God’s face.
“4 Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest.”
No David, you sinned against Bathsheba and the child too. And this guy who tried to murder his whole family sinned against his family not just against God.
Churches need to teach that if you want to pray this you need to leave off verses 4 and 5. Those verses are David making excuses. We should not emulate them.
Verse 5, of course, taken by Papists and Calvinists (Papists Lite) as teaching original sin (Which is an excuse for sin), but which in reality is David blaming his own mother’s adultery for his adultery:
“5 Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.”
Leave off verses 4 and 5 and stop making excuses.
Go away and calm down.