A Glimpse of the Kingdom by David W. Pendergrass, Ph.D.

Hey DP, This was very interesting to me. I found some truths in it, but question some of it. Let me know what you think. http://www.singlematters.com/why-pregnancy-before-marriage-isnt-sin/ Friend Hey Friend, This article was interesting. It reminds me of something an ex-girlfriend of mine said once about her pregnancy by her boyfriend: “I am happy! Every child is a gift from God!” Here are my thoughts in blue: We tend to use words like “unwanted” for a pregnancy that is unplanned. But every baby is wanted by God. He/she is knitted together in a womb, and Jesus has died for that child. We should not use “unwanted” and “unplanned” interchangeably. This paragraph is confused. When a parent says the child is “unwanted” it has nothing to do with whether or not the child is wanted by another human or by God. When a person says a child is “unwanted,” it is typically short-hand for “unwanted by the parent(s),” not “unwanted by every being who exists.” The po...

I've been thinking a lot lately with the culture and trend changes in society about God's opinion of marijuana usage. It seems it's popularity is on the rise due to celebrity promotion and individual state legalization…. My curious question is, again, how does God feel about this?               There are certain factors of morality versus illegality that I have considered. For example, women didn't always have the right to vote, it was illegal but it was not immoral. That law has since changed. Can we say the same for marijuana?          Does consuming marijuana equate the likes of caffeine which is Americas most abused substance? Since our bodies are temples, if you have a yoga instructor, vegetarian who smokes everyday is that person taking better care of themselves than someone who works a desk job and eats McDonalds everyday? Hey Friend! This reminds me of someth...

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In my experience, there is often a profound confusion among church leaders about why people don’t, or do, go to church. Here are some necessary points of clarity. First , God designed humans with primal, basic needs. This was the main thesis of much of Abraham Maslow’s work several decades ago. You need to embrace this fact. Really. This is the most important fact of this essay. Understand this: people—you and me—Christians and non-Christians—are constantly making choices in life because it meets at least one need. Why don’t people come to your church? Because you don’t meet their needs. Why do people stay in your church? Because you are meeting their needs . I absolutely guarantee it. How do I know it? Because that’s how humans are wired by God. I didn’t design humans; I didn’t make this up. What is so shocking is how overwhelmingly oblivious church leaders can be concerning this fact of human behavior. We humans make choices every single day to get our n...