Ray Pritchard pastored in Los Angeles, Dallas and Chicago. Married to Marlene for 38 years, he enjoys being a husband, a father and a grandfather, riding his bike, and playing with Dudley and Gary, beloved basset hounds.
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April 2010 blog entries
Thursday Video: O Sacred Head Now Wounded
Posted by Ray Pritchard on Thursday, April 1, 2010
Fernando Ortega sings this beautiful version of “O Sacred Head Now Wounded,” a hymn attributed to Bernard of Clairvaux, taken from a poem that first appeared in the 14th century. The hymn comes from an English translation (of the original Latin) made in 1830 by James Alexander, a Presbyterian minister. His translation contains many more...
Sunday Video: Christ the Lord is Risen Today
Posted by Ray Pritchard on Sunday, April 4, 2010
Today’s video features a stirring arrangement of “Christ the Lord is Risen Today.” If you need an infusion of joy on this Easter Sunday, sing along with the video. How can we not rejoice when our Lord has conquered the grave?…
Saturday Video: Were You There?
Posted by Ray Pritchard on Saturday, April 3, 2010
This beloved spiritual transports us back to the time of Christ’s death and burial. We are asked to relive those events as if we had been standing there watching Jesus die on the cross. This particular version is very appropriate for Holy Saturday because it ends with the verse that asks, “Were you there when they laid him in the tomb?&…
Listen to Our Interview With the Author of “Son of Hamas”
Posted by Ray Pritchard on Monday, April 5, 2010
Here’s the radio interview we did with Mosab Hassan Yousef, author of Son of Hamas. He tells the amazing story of his life as of his life as a double agent for Israel and Hamas. You will also hear his similarly remarkable conversion story. What was it about Jesus’ message that first attracted him? His answer may surprise you. &nbs...
Friday Video: How Deep the Father’s Love For Us
Posted by Ray Pritchard on Friday, April 2, 2010
Since this is Good Friday, I wanted a song that focused on the cross. Among the many newer songs, “How Deep the Father’s Love” stands out for its emphasis on the true meaning of death of Christ. You can find a ton of good theology in just these four lines: “Why should I gain from His reward/I cannot give an answer/But this I...
New sermon video: Forgiving the Unforgivable
Posted by Ray Pritchard on Friday, April 2, 2010
Brothers and sisters, what they did that day was unforgivable. That’s the definition of what unforgivable is. When you crucify the son of God you have done that which is beyond forgiveness. It is truly unforgivable....
Check Out Our New Podcasting Page
Posted by Ray Pritchard on Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Recently we redesigned our podcasting page to make it easier to use. When we started podcasting two years, we had only a few podcasts online. Today we have over 100 and the number grows every week as we add sermons, radio interviews, and special Christmas and Easter programming. Here are some of the new features you’ll notice:1. We now list t...
Helping a Christian School in Uganda
Posted by Ray Pritchard on Wednesday, April 7, 2010
In just 24 hours our team leaves for Africa. We’ll be gone 16 days, half of that time in Uganda and half of that time in Kenya. In both countries we’ll be working with Word of Life, the international youth ministry headquartered in Schroon Lake, New York.Several weeks ago Thomas Obunde who heads up Word of Life Uganda asked if we could ...
New sermon audio – Can We Still Believe in Life After Death?
Posted by Ray Pritchard on Wednesday, April 7, 2010
We have a new podcast about a question posed by religious leaders who wanted to trick Christ. This topic that matters just as much today as it did 2,000 years ago when Christ was asked about it: Can we believe in life after death?
No Lay-Up Shot
Posted by Ray Pritchard on Thursday, April 8, 2010
Since the Masters Tournament starts today, I thought I would pass along a story that Jim Elliff told in an article called No Lay-Up Shot. It seems that his older brother was invited to play a round of golf at Augusta National Golf Course, home of the Masters Tournament. He was playing his once-in-a-lifetime round with the required caddy carrying hi...
Uganda, Here We Come
Posted by Ray Pritchard on Friday, April 9, 2010
By the time you read this on Friday, we’ll be either in the Amsterdam airport or we’ll be in the air heading south to Uganda. At the moment four of us have made it from Tupelo to Atlanta. In a couple of hours Jim and Colleen King will arrive from Columbus, Ohio. We’re meeting MaryAnn Spiegel in Amsterdam. If all goes well, we shou...
Uganda Picture Gallery
Posted by Ray Pritchard on Monday, April 12, 2010
Here are the first pictures from our trip to Uganda.
More Pictures From Uganda
Posted by Ray Pritchard on Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Here are more pictures from Uganda. Enjoy!
Uganda Pastors Conference
Posted by Ray Pritchard on Thursday, April 15, 2010
“Pastor Ray, do you mind if I ask you a question?""Not at all.""What should we do if a Muslim man with four wives converts to Christianity and wants to join our church? We know what the Bible says about marriage, but we want to minister to all his wives and his children too. How do we do that and still be true to the B...
Uganda in Pictures
Posted by Ray Pritchard on Friday, April 16, 2010
These pictures are from our last couple of days in Uganda.
Monkey Business in Mombasa
Posted by Ray Pritchard on Saturday, April 17, 2010
It’s late Saturday afternoon here in Mombasa. We got here in the middle of the night, after a long day sitting in the Kampala airport. We arrived in Mombasa at 11 PM, took a ferry across the inland passage, then rode across the island, arriving at Word of Life around 1 AM. We got to bed at 1:30 AM, totally fried. Up at 7:30 AM for 8 AM breakf…
Kenya Pictures
Posted by Ray Pritchard on Sunday, April 18, 2010
Here are the first pictures from Kenya. On Monday we’re going on a safari so stayed tuned for more pictures on Tuesday....
Safari Pictures
Posted by Ray Pritchard on Tuesday, April 20, 2010
On Monday we spent the entire day on a safari to the Tsavo East National Park in southern Kenya. To get there we drove about 2 1/2 hours from Mombasa. The park itself is larger than the entire country of Wales.Our genial guide Archie is also a member of Word of Life Fellowship Church. As a professional tour guide, he knows the many red dirt roads t…
Miracle at Kwale Prison
Posted by Ray Pritchard on Wednesday, April 21, 2010
On Tuesday Peter took us to Kwale Prison to minister there. On this particular day 100-150 men voluntarily came to the meeting while many others who could not come listened from a nearby building. We brought soap and toilet paper, two items the prisoners desperately need. After Peter introduced our team, Jim King gave a spirited testimony. Then Pet...
Hope’s Journey
Posted by Ray Pritchard on Saturday, April 24, 2010
On our flight from Amsterdam to Atlanta I listened to the audio of a sermon called “Hopes’ Journey” that Bryan Chapell gave at Southern Baptist Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky. I think it’s one of the finest sermons I’ve ever heard. Chapell makes a compelling case that it’s not enough to teach people doctrine an…
My Favorite Books on Preaching
Posted by Ray Pritchard on Tuesday, April 27, 2010
As a follow-up to my message on What I’ve Learned About Preaching, I decided to rummage through my library to find the most helpful books I own regarding preaching. Over the years I’ve read quite a few books on the topic, though not nearly enough to make me any sort of specialist. My standard of evaluation for books on preaching is…
Should I Pray for the Job I Really Want?
Posted by Ray Pritchard on Wednesday, April 28, 2010
A friend sent an email asking a question that many people have wondered about when facing big decisions. At the moment he is looking for a job, having been laid off as a result of the recession. After many years building a fine career in his chosen field, he now stands at a crossroads. Here is part of what he wrote, with some of the identifying det...
Trivia Time Q &A
Posted by Ray Pritchard on Friday, April 30, 2010
Every Friday on “Today’s Issues,” we devote the second hour to “Trivia Time.” After a long week of discussing serious issues, it’s fun to end the week on a lighter note. The format is very simple. We throw out a few questions, then invite the callers to either answer one of the questions, or try to stump the pane...
