2002 Articles by Ray Pritchard

Two Predictions

December 29, 2002

TWO PREDICTIONS by Ray Pritchard It’s always dangerous to try to predict the future. The Old Testament offers a simple test for anyone claiming to be a prophet of God. If what he says comes true, then he’s a prophet. If it doesn’t, then he’s an imposter and should be stoned to death. That last condition …

Sermon 52 of 53 from the Ponder This - 2002 series

Donahue and Jesus

December 22, 2002

DONAHUE AND JESUS by Ray Pritchard On MSNBC last Tuesday night, Phil Donahue hosted a raucous discussion on the topic: “Is the highway to heaven only open to the Christians? Some say only faith in Jesus will earn you a place beyond the pearly gates. So what about Jews, Muslims, and followers of other faiths?” The …

Sermon 51 of 53 from the Ponder This - 2002 series

The James Ossuary

December 15, 2002

THE JAMES OSSUARY BY RAY PRITCHARD The recent discovery of the “James ossuary” has given the world a close encounter with Jesus and his family. An ossuary was a small limestone box in which the bones of a deceased loved one were placed. This sort of burial was very common among the Jews of the first century. What …

Sermon 47 of 53 from the Ponder This - 2002 series

What Would Jesus Drive?

December 08, 2002

WHAT WOULD JESUS DRIVE? by Ray Pritchard A few weeks ago an organization called the Evangelical Environmental Network began sponsoring a series of newspaper ads with the catchy slogan, “What Would Jesus Drive?” The people behind the ads want to convince all of us to get rid of our gas-guzzling SUVs (too much pollu…

Sermon 46 of 53 from the Ponder This - 2002 series

How Long Should I Pray?

November 24, 2002

HOW LONG SHOULD I PRAY? by Ray Pritchard Last Tuesday I had an hour-long interview with a radio station in Philadelphia. A listener called in with a heart-searching question. He had come to Christ from a Jewish background and has a burden to see his family saved. After years of prayer for them, and many hours of discussion,…

Sermon 44 of 53 from the Ponder This - 2002 series

Sobriety: Knowing When to Say No

November 17, 2002

SOBRIETY KNOWING WHEN TO SAY NO “Wine is a mocker and beer a brawler; whoever is led astray by them is not wise.” Proverbs 20:1 There are a great many references to wine, strong drink, and drunkenness scattered throughout the Bible. The earliest reference is in Genesis, the last in Revelation. The total number of …

Sermon 43 of 53 from the Ponder This - 2002 series

Why You Ought to Pray for Your Enemies

November 10, 2002

WHY YOU OUGHT TO PRAY FOR YOUR ENEMIES by Ray Pritchard I suppose one of the hardest commands in the Bible to obey is the command of Jesus that we should pray for our enemies. It is hard because prayer is the last thing we want to do for our enemies. Mostly, there a lot of things we would like to do to our enemies–like ge…

Sermon 42 of 53 from the Ponder This - 2002 series

Saved in the Nick of Time

November 03, 2002

SAVED IN THE NICK OF TIME by Ray Pritchard Recently I heard about a man in his 80s who came to Christ shortly before he died. It happened like this. For nearly his entire life, the man had lived without any conscious dependence on God. He wasn’t an atheist or an agnostic and he wasn’t an evangelist for his unbelie…

Sermon 41 of 53 from the Ponder This - 2002 series

Preparation: Where Victory Begins

October 27, 2002

PREPARATION: WHERE VICTORY BEGINS by Ray Pritchard “The horse is made ready for the day of battle, but victory rests with the Lord.” (Proverbs 21:31) When the Bible Bus passed through Proverbs 21 earlier this week, a long-forgotten melody rolled through my mind. Over 20 years ago, when Joshua was only two or three…

Sermon 40 of 53 from the Ponder This - 2002 series

Reciting Psalm 119

October 20, 2002

RECITING PSALM 119 by Ray Pritchard Tuesday was one of “those days” for me, a day when I started out behind and never really caught up. As I thought about it later, it seemed like a “disheveled” day, which is a strange word but perfectly describes how I felt. There was one bright spot–and only one–in…

Sermon 39 of 53 from the Ponder This - 2002 series

Gentleness: Power Under Control

October 13, 2002

GENTLENESS: POWER UNDER CONTROL by Ray Pritchard “A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.” Proverbs 15:1 I have a friend who learned this verse the hard way. Whenever she said something in a harsh tone, her mother made her write this verse 50 times on a sheet of paper. It must have worke…

Sermon 38 of 53 from the Ponder This - 2002 series

The Overcoming Series

October 06, 2002

THE OVERCOMING SERIES by Ray Pritchard Everyone has a story to tell, even the people who seem to smile all the time. This is one of the first things a young pastor learns when he graduates from seminary and begins his ministry. Some people look so well-adjusted and happy that you think they don’t have a care in the wor…

Sermon 37 of 53 from the Ponder This - 2002 series

Broken, Then Blessed

September 29, 2002

BROKEN, THEN BLESSED by Ray Pritchard The story I'm about to tell comes from a friend who has been going through a very hard time. The precise details don't matter except to say that this friend has struggled in his job for a long time and hasn't been able to take care of his family the way he would like. He tried and tried…

Sermon 36 of 53 from the Ponder This - 2002 series

God's Wrapping Paper

September 22, 2002

GOD’S WRAPPING PAPER by Ray Pritchard Not long ago I had lunch with a man who said he was trying to “recover from God’s goodness.” That statement is so unusual that it arrests the mind. What did he mean, to “recover” from God’s goodness? We usually speak of “recovering” from sick…

Sermon 35 of 53 from the Ponder This - 2002 series

It's Hard to Let Go

September 15, 2002

IT’S HARD TO LET GO by Ray Pritchard The man and the woman involved in this story don’t know each other and will almost certainly never meet each other. They have nothing in common except that the woman sent me an e-mail (she lives in another country) and the man dropped by to see me this week. Here is part of wha…

Sermon 34 of 53 from the Ponder This - 2002 series

Faith and Doubt at Ground Zero

September 08, 2002

FAITH AND DOUBT AT GROUND ZERO by Ray Pritchard Researchers tell us that one of the central questions arising out of the ashes of 9/11 is a spiritual one: Where was God when those planes crashed into the World Trade Center? Sometimes the question is put in terms that are agonizingly personal, such as the father who lost his…

Sermon 33 of 53 from the Ponder This - 2002 series

Knowing Less and Knowing More

September 01, 2002

KNOWING LESS AND KNOWING MORE by Ray Pritchard It is no secret that in less than a month I will celebrate my 50th birthday. Even as I write these words, I think to myself, “Is celebrate the right word?” But I'm smiling to myself as I ask the question. Yes, of course, celebrate is the right word. Outside the sun is…

Sermon 25 of 53 from the Ponder This - 2002 series

Remembering September 11

August 25, 2002

REMEMBERING SEPTEMBER 11 by Ray Pritchard Sometimes you know an idea is right the first time you hear it. That happened to me in June when someone suggested we ought to hold a public service on the anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks. Since then we’ve been working behind the scenes to make it happen. Firs…

Sermon 21 of 53 from the Ponder This - 2002 series

The Way of Love

June 16, 2002

THE WAY OF LOVE by Ray Pritchard A few days ago the “Bible bus” came rumbling through the Upper Room Discourse (John 13-16). This is the final message Jesus gave to his disciples before his crucifixion. While reading John 15, I was struck by the difference between the first half and the last half of the chapter. I…

Sermon 24 of 53 from the Ponder This - 2002 series

The Crisis in the Catholic Church

June 09, 2002

THE CRISIS IN THE CATHOLIC CHURCH by Ray Pritchard All of us, I am sure, have been shocked and saddened by the repeated revelations of serious sexual misconduct (and an apparent cover-up in many cases) by priests inside the Catholic Church. How should those of us outside that particular church respond? A recent editorial in…

Sermon 23 of 53 from the Ponder This - 2002 series

Silence: A Fool's Best Friend

June 02, 2002

SILENCE: A FOOL’S BEST FRIEND by Ray Pritchard “Even a fool is thought wise if he keeps silent, and discerning if he holds his tongue.” Proverbs 17:28 This certainly is one of the most encouraging proverbs. It offers hope for all of us who basically make our living with words. Here are a few other verses on t…

Sermon 22 of 53 from the Ponder This - 2002 series

When God Says No

May 26, 2002

WHEN GOD SAYS NO by Ray Pritchard This week the Bible Bus passed through the early chapters of II Samuel where we followed David as he rose to the throne and captured the city of Jerusalem. Second Samuel 7 tells the fascinating story of his desire to build a beautiful temple for the Lord. David felt it was wrong for the kin…

Sermon 49 of 53 from the Ponder This - 2002 series

A Lesson from the Cave

May 19, 2002

A LESSON FROM THE CAVE by Ray Pritchard This week the “Bible Bus” has taken us on a bumpy ride through the early years of David’s rise to power in Israel. It was a hard road because Saul envied David and repeatedly tried to kill him. At one point David spent several years in the desert, on the run, hiding fro…

Sermon 20 of 53 from the Ponder This - 2002 series

Never Alone

May 12, 2002

NEVER ALONE by Ray Pritchard The woman sat in my office and unfolded a sad story. Barely holding back the tears, she spoke of how difficult it is to raise a child as a single mother. Her parents live hundreds of miles away, the baby’s father doesn’t want to help, she doesn’t have a job, her money is just abou…

Sermon 19 of 53 from the Ponder This - 2002 series

Are We All Going to Look the Same When We Get to Heaven?

May 05, 2002

ARE WE ALL GOING TO LOOK THE SAME WHEN WE GET TO HEAVEN? by Ray Pritchard Last Thursday night I was the special guest for “Ask the Pastor” night for our Allied Force high school ministry. Before my visit the students turn in questions they want me to answer. That night I answer those questions first, then I take q…

Sermon 18 of 53 from the Ponder This - 2002 series

Why I Support Israel

April 28, 2002

WHY I SUPPORT ISRAEL by Ray Pritchard A week ago I received a letter inviting me to join the Board of Governors of an organization called Churches United With Israel. The letter said that I had been nominated to become one of 120 evangelical leaders on the board, and that the list already included Tim LaHaye, Pat Robertson,…

Sermon 17 of 53 from the Ponder This - 2002 series

For Sinners Only

April 21, 2002

FOR SINNERS ONLY by Ray Pritchard Last Wednesday night I listened as Von Matthews taught an excellent class on the virtue of humility. Somewhere near the beginning he commented that humility is hard to define. Then he asked the group sitting around each table to come up with a definition of humility. The struggle (and the s…

Sermon 16 of 53 from the Ponder This - 2002 series

Holy Discontentment

March 31, 2002

HOLY DISCONTENTMENT by Ray Pritchard Last Sunday I mentioned in my sermon that living by faith requires a certain kind of “discontentment” with the way things are. The next day I received the following e-mail: “I had a question regarding your message on Sunday morning. Paul writes in Philippians chapter 4 tha…

Sermon 48 of 53 from the Ponder This - 2002 series

Beepers, Cell Phones & Crying Babies

March 24, 2002

BEEPERS, CELL PHONES & CRYING BABIES by Ray Pritchard Technology can be a mixed blessing. Take cell phones, for instance. Or pagers. Or beepers. Each can be a timesaver that enables you to get your messages quicker and your work done faster. And these days, getting things done faster is what life is all about. All of us are…

Sermon 13 of 53 from the Ponder This - 2002 series

Too Much Sugar for a Dime

March 10, 2002

TOO MUCH SUGAR FOR A DIME by Ray Pritchard “He who rebukes a man will in the end gain more favor than he who has a flattering tongue” (Proverbs 28:23). The key to understanding this verse lies in the phrase “in the end.” Some things that seem good at first leave a bitter taste later, and some things that…

Sermon 11 of 53 from the Ponder This - 2002 series

Self-Pity: Your Worst Enemy

February 17, 2002

SELF-PITY: YOUR WORST ENEMY By Ray Pritchard The story I am about to tell is true but the details have been changed. Once upon a time there was a man who had a great job as a high-school English teacher. He knew his subject inside and out and enjoyed working with his students. A few years ago he was voted Best Teacher by th…

Sermon 8 of 53 from the Ponder This - 2002 series

Plan B Living

February 10, 2002

PLAN B LIVING by Ray Pritchard Some time ago I heard the following statement on the radio and thought it was worth passing along: “The key to success in life is how well you adapt to Plan B.” There is a world of truth in that simple sentence. So many of us go through life frustrated because we're still working on …

Sermon 7 of 53 from the Ponder This - 2002 series

WMBI Commentaries

February 07, 2002

Sermon 27 of 36 from the Miscellaneous series

Why Extra Temptation Can Be Good For You

February 03, 2002

WHY EXTRA TEMPTATION CAN BE GOOD FOR YOU by Ray Pritchard Since we started the campaign to read through the Bible this year, I have received a number of e-mails from people both locally and around the nation who have written to testify about the personal blessings they have already received. I think the most interesting com…

Sermon 6 of 53 from the Ponder This - 2002 series

Your Church Hath Need of You

January 13, 2002

“YOUR CHURCH HATH NEED OF YOU” by Ray Pritchard Last Sunday, January 6, I used the phrase in my title as a way to encourage many of our people to sign up to serve in our new four worship service format that begins on February 10–just four weeks from now. Some people probably recognized the phrase from their read…

Sermon 3 of 53 from the Ponder This - 2002 series

Jabal and Jubal

January 06, 2002

JABAL AND JUBAL by Ray Pritchard As I write these words, I have just finished reading about Cain and Abel and the fascinating story of two other brothers named Jabal and Jubal. We all know that Cain murdered Abel, but who were Jabal and Jubal? What exactly did they do to merit a special mention in the Bible? It turns out th…

Sermon 2 of 53 from the Ponder This - 2002 series