1. I’m thankful for my life–given to me by God. Every breath is a blessing.  2. I’m thankful for my salvation, purchased for me on the Cross 2,000 years ago by Jesus Christ, secured forever by the Holy Spirit. This gives me the promise of eternal life in Heaven.  3. I’m thankful for my beautiful wife of seven years. Marriage to her is infinitely more blessed than I ever imagined.  4. I’m thankful for my children. Grace Marie is almost five and fills our home with such joy and laughter. Dan Jr. is 1 and is walking and has his…

 When I was a kid, we sang this song, "The Bible Stands." You can find the words to the song here. Its a simple song with profound theology.  This Sunday we’re talking about Why We Believe What We Believe About the Bible. I thoroughly enjoyed this study. Its a powerful study. What do we mean when we say we believe the Bible? Do we believe all of the Bible, part of the Bible, most of the Bible? And do we believe it is really God’s Word? We’re going to dive into some words like verbal, plenary, inspiration, and inerancy.  What…

Its Tuesday and I’m in the office doing the usual pastoral stuff–checking mail, following up with people from Sunday, catching up on church business, etc. But I’m still basking in the glow of a wonderful Sunday this week. As a pastor, I look forward to Sundays, I look forward to preaching, I look forward to the fellowship of the saints.  But this Sunday was especially cool, because we began a new series, "Why We Believe What We Believe." This was a series that I felt God wanted us to do for sometime, rekindling again a focus on the core doctrines…

I’m very excited about a brand-new sermon series we’re calling "Why We Believe, What We Believe." It begins this Sunday, October 4th. This doesn’t mean we are done with John, its just that we’ll be done with John until sometime next year. John is an awesome study and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed preaching through it. We’ll start up in chapter 10 probably in February.  Why stop our study in John? We’ll, I really have sensed God calling us again to what Jeremiah describes as the "old paths." Today in the evangelical church, doctrine is often dismissed as outdated. But doctrine is…

 Its been a while since I updated everyone on some projects I am working on, so here we go: Crash Course, Forming a Faith Foundation for Life – This is my second teen devotional. Like Teen People of the Bible, it will be a 100-day devotional. Crash Course is geared for jr high and high-school students and college freshman. The idea is to give them a "crash course" in the "fundamentals of life." It is divided up into five sections: Doctrine, Decisions, Direction, Devotion and Delight. We almost titled it "5 Big Things" because we boiled all of life down…

 I love preaching. I love to study. I love how the Holy Spirit puts it all together and uses an unworthy messenger like me. I love every Sunday of church. But every once in a while, I really love preaching, which is to say that the message has so totally overwhelmed me. This coming Sunday is one.  The message: Stones of Grace. The text is John 8:1-11. Its the story of the woman caught in adultery. Some don’t believe this was part of the original canon, I do, because its so encapsulates John’s theme of grace. Here’s a short sample…

I haven’t had as much time to read lately, but when I do find time, I’m reading a fantastic book by my good friend, Dr. Bruce Baker, Senior Pastor of Jenison Bible Church in Hudsonville, MI. The book is on a subject that very few seem to have written on. It’s entitled, The Road to Maturity. Its a well-written, easy-to-read, often humorous, sometimes fictionalized treatment of a serious issue. Christian maturity is often a vague concept. What is growth? How do we know we’ve grown? What discplines foster growth? Besides being a solidly biblical and creative pastor, Dr. Bruce is…

 For the first time in almost 7 years, I have been living at home by myself. My wife and two children have spent the last three weeks in Texas. We lost a good friend, Ben Kottwitz and Angela is there trying to help her best friend, Ashli, get thru the initial grief. Even though we know that God is in control, that Ben is in Heaven, it is still a very tough situation that needs the prayers of everyone. We had to make the travel plans quickly so Angela could get down there. Both of us felt it would be…

This year, I’m celebrating the 4th in a most unusual way. My wife and two kids, Grace, and Dan Jr, are out of town. I have quickly realized what a great woman she is and how much I depend upon her. I realize how lonely it is around here without her. She has enriched my life in so many countless ways. I would not be who I am without her. And I miss the noise and conflicts and love of my kids.  The 4th of July is a special holiday, because it forces us Americans to sit back and embrace…

Anytime a politician falls, it is a terrible and sad disgrace, not a time for gloating or "I-told-you-so’s." The last two weeks have seen two promising conservative politicans, professing believers, who have admitted to extramarital affairs. As a guy who has been in and around politics, I have a few thoughts:  We evangelicals belief in the inherent sinfulness of man. Anyone can fall. Nobody is immune to moral failure. Nobody nowhere. That’s why preachers and Christian leaders especially must set up boundaries and guidelines. From all accounts Mr. Sanford was a model husband and father. And yet the seemy culture…

 Except for holidays, we’ve been going thru the Gospel of John on Sunday mornings. Its an incredibly wonderful study of Jesus’ life and mission. John has some of the most profound theology in all the Scriptures. It answers the question: "Who is Jesus?"  Last week we wrapped up chapter 6 and I was all ready to go with the first of a few messages in Chapter 7. But as this week progressed, I felt that God wanted me to go in a different direction. I must say that I rarely do this. I’ve never liked it when preachers say, "God…

About a year ago, I went to an Awana training meeting to get more aquainted with the Awana leaders in our area. I also needed to brush up on basic Awana stuff, since it had been several years since I led an awana group. At the meeting the leader discussed a new ministry called, "High Power Soccer." It took me back and I went home thinking that we could do this at Gages Lake and reach kids in our area with the love of Christ. I toyed with the idea for a couple of weeks. Then, one Sunday, we had…

 On the way down to South Carolina, we stopped in Knoxville, TN. There we found a fantastic Christian bookstore. As I was browsing the shelves, I saw the book, Same Kind of Different As Me, a book I’ve wanted to read for some time. Lynn Vincent, the collaborater, is a good friend of mine.  I’ve read this book throughout our vacation and have thoroughly enjoyed it. Its one of those books that has the capacity preconceived notions you might have about certain people or groups. This book definitely challenged my view of homeless people.  The book is unique in that…

It was Mother’s Day last year that God brought me to Gages Lake Bible Church. I preached my candidating message and was blessed to have my mother and my mother-in-law (all the way from Texas–she refuses to miss a single big moment of our lives). I shared a message from the life of Hannah, whose struggle with infertility and faith in God is one of the most poignant stories in all the Bible. Its been a year and I’m profoundly grateful on many fronts.  First of all, I’ve been blessed with an incredible mother. Now that I’m a father, I’m…

 There are a few stories swirling around in the culture, especially the Christian culture that raise a whole host of issues about who and how we as as evangelicals choose to represent our values. The stories about Sarah Palin’s family and the ever-shifting tempest over Miss California raise a whole host of issues. A few thoughts I’ve had:  Sometimes Christians are so intent on scoring political points that we lose sight of what we believe. When I first heard about Carrie Pragean, Miss California, who made a bold declaration for traditional marriage and lost the contest, I was very proud…

On Mondays at the Darling house, we try to "go dark." This just means that I have a day off and we try to spend time with the kids. Doesn’t always work because there are pressing needs at the church or a conference or meeting I have to attend. Pastoring is 24/7, I believe, so my cell phone is always on. But generally, we try to go dark on Mondays. Which is hard for me to do, because I really love church work. Sometimes too much. This Monday Grace and I opened up the play-doh. Our family has an interesting…

I’m ready for my Sunday Sermon on John 5:17-24. Here are some quotes I’m using: I love this famous C.S. Lewis quote from Mere Christianity: "I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: “I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept His claim to be God.” That is the one thing we must not say. A man who said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic — on a level with the…

Today the world is celebrating two giants of history: Charles Darwin and Abraham Lincoln. There have been many great commentaries on both men. I’ll start with Darwin. If you want a convenient excuse to ignore the truth claims of Jesus and render the Bible as nothing more significant and factual than The Canterbury Tales, then today you’re toasting Darwin. His legacy is that he has convinced millions down thru history to reject Genesis 1:1 and reject the authority of the Bible. But here is the rub. If God is wrong, then no big deal. Christians are as doomed and hopeless…