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 Series: Ponder This - 2002WHEN 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 Series: Ponder This - 2002A 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 Series: Ponder This - 2002NEVER 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 Series: Ponder This - 2002ARE 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 Series: Ponder This - 2002WHY 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 Series: Ponder This - 2002FOR 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 Series: Ponder This - 2002HOLY 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 Series: Ponder This - 2002BEEPERS, 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 Series: Ponder This - 2002TOO 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 Series: Ponder This - 2002