I really take New Year’s seriously. I love this time of year, because it gives me an opportunity to reflect on what God has done in the last year and to set new goals for the next year. I know that by February most of us ditch our resolutions, but I don’t think that means we shouldn’t ever set goals. So here are mine:  Make a concerted effort to lose a significant amount of weight. Time to put the fork down.  Spend more and better time in the Word.  Serve my wife and kids with less eye-rolling and more of…

My wife of seven years, who, besides my relationship with Christ, is the greatest gift God has given me.  My children: Grace Marie, 4, who is a delight, a joy, and whose infectious personality lights up our home, Dan Jr, who at 15 months is a one-man wrecking crew, but whose curiosity is so cute, Emma Rose, who as of this writing is still "in the oven" but is ready to make her entrance into the world.  My church, filled with the most loving, wonderful, Christlike people in the world. In our two years here, you have become family. I…

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…

 I just finished a fantastic novel by my friend, Tricia Goyer. Here is my review:  "This is a time for war, not love," says Gabi Mueller, an unlike heroine in a time of war. Hitler’s crusade had encroached upon her village and so her courage, Christian faith, and competence led her into a cooperative role for the Allies.  This is a well-crafted, first-rate novel, each page sparkling with action, dialogue and rich character development. I found myself knee deep into the lives of the characters and the drama of the times. I was overwhelmed, at times, by the historical and…

The Bible says it like this: "Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends." – John 15:13. In other words, if you want to see real love in action, look at a man who gives himself for his friends. When I think of that verse, I think of the brave men and women throughout history who have set aside their lives, donned the military fatigues, and went to battle to fight for the interests of our great country. Many didn’t come back. They spilled their blood on the battlefields all over the world. …

What do you believe exactly? I get that question a lot as I’m out and about in the community. People ask me what our church believes, what we teach, what we do. Most people, especially those who don’t attend church and don’t consider themselves too religious have a kind of vague notion as to what churches do. I typically give them this answer. "Check our middle name." We’re Gages Lake Bible Church. That is to say Gages Lake preaches, teaches, and applies the Bible to life. We believe the Bible to be the written revelation of God to man. We…

 So  my job on Sunday is really easy. Explain the Trinity in a 40-minute sermon.  Actually, no, I won’t explain the Trinity, because the Trinity is unexplainable. But what we will do is explore the Trinity as we continue our series, Why We Believe What We Believe.  Why do we talk about the Trinity? Isn’t that one of the boring, dusty doctrines of old? Well, this is why we should explore what the Bible says about the Trinity.  Because this is what the Bible says about our God. And its very important that we know who God is, what 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 just finished a powerful, powerful book by Kevin DeYoung and Ted Kluck. I read a ton of books. Sometimes I read books that I can’t wait to recommend. This is one. I am a big fan of the church, amidst a growing evangelical culture that is pooh-poohing the church. Every other day there is a book saying "The church must change." etc.  Kevin and Ted are young people who should be a part of this emergent crowd–but they’re not. They’re solid church people. And they’re book is wonderfully readable. Here’s the review I wrote on amazon:  A powerful, powerful…

 The doorbell rang today and awaiting me was a beautiful new delivery of some books. One I had been anticipating for a while, by Kevin DeYoung, a thoughtful new voice in the evangelical world. The book is Just Do Something, A Liberating Approach to Finding God’s Will.  Its a short book, but one loaded with powerful wisdom on finding God’s will. The truth is that Christians make this much, much harder than it is. I’m not sure if its a conscience wracked by guilt in pinpointing exactly what God’s will is (red Subaru or Yellow Nissan?), laziness that we gloss…

 For my generation—I’m 31 years old—9/11 was as seminal moment. I still remember that day and following weeks exactly as they happened. I was working on staff at Victory In Grace Ministries. But really “working” is a bad word, because for several days were glued to the TV as the rest of America was.  I still remember the feelings I felt on 9/11. It was as if a giant protective bubble over America had burst and now were like everyone else on the planet: vulnerable, scared, angry. We had thought that two oceans could protect us and that we could…

Sunday is going to an awesome day of worship at Gages Lake. We’re going to have a baptism and communion service. And our text in the Gospel of John fits so perfectly with communion. My sermon is "Return to the Cross."   Here is a little snippet of the sermon:    As a Christian, we return to the cross, because that is where life makes sense again. Nothing God asks us to do makes sense without the cross:   He asks us to take up our cross, because He took up His. Its only our reasonable service. He asks us to…

 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…