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…

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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…

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 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…

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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…

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 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…

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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…

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 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…

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I just finished my Good Friday sermon and boy am I juiced for Friday. A few nuggets to chew on: What put Jesus on the cross? Was it the religous authorities? Was it the Romans? Was it our sin? Or was it something else? Find out on Friday. Some quotes and verses to meditate on: Horatio Spafford wrote: My sin, not in part but the whole, Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more, Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul   Paul wrote:  “Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which…

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I have a really cool story about my book, Teen People of the Bible. Several months ago, a Pakastani church-planter was in Rochester, New York, preaching at a church and raising funds for his mission. He is a native Pakistani pastor who conducts revival meetings and plants churches across Pakistan. While he was in Rochester, New York, he stayed in the home of a family. The man, whom I’ve yet to meet, had somehow got his hands on a copy of my book, Teen People of the Bible. He showed it to this Pakistani missionary and said, "You’ve got to…

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Today is election day in Lake County, Illinois. And Gages Lake Bible Church is privileged to offer our facility to the county as a polling place. I’m always encouraged every election day by the dozen or so dedicated men and women who serve as election judges. These are folks who took time off from work or school and sit for over 12 hours, making sure we have a fair election. We Americans tend to take this for granted, as if every person on the earth has the opportunity to voice their opinion on who leads them, but it is a…

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    That was my reaction to the news, delivered in an email from a friend while I was driving to Indiana yesterday (I don’t recommend the email/driving combo, nor does my wife, the nervous passenger). The email said, "Bears Got Cutler." Here’s the deal. I’m a huge Bears fan. I’ve always loved their teams. They’ve always prided themselves on defense and an okay, usually bad, offense. I’ve never liked that. Why can’t we have a really good quarterback like other teams? It always seemed the Bears were destined for mediocrity at that position. I mean we’re talking about Sid…

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Ahh, the best laid plans of men. We had a terrific Sunday planned yesterday, with a focus on one of our missionaries, Linda Johnson in Brazil, and special number by our kids and other really important things. But God had other plans. The huge snow day left most people stranded at home. But for those who came, we had a wonderful time, about 20 of us hardy folks showed up. Even one lady whose car had gotten stuck in a ditch. You can look at the snow in two ways. You can be like me and see it as a…

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    In my personal devotional time I’ve just begun a study by Henry Blackaby called, Called and Accountable. This week I’m studying thru the book of Esther. Today I was in chapter 3 where Haaman, angered by the refusal of Mordecai to bow down to him, hatches his secret plot to exterminate the Jewish people. Foolish thing to do, considering that God famously said that those who bless Israel will be blessed and those that curse Israel will be cursed. Also foolish considering God promised that Israel would always remain a people and a nation. But you knew that…

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    Here are things they generally don’t share with you as you contemplate having children. They are things you can only discover after your children are alive and kicking: You may have a child who has such a creative mind that she gets up frightened at 4am because of the spiders she thinks are crawling all over her. Grace literally screamed last night and was pounding her bed at the "spiders." Love the creativity, but don’t always love the time in which she displays that creativity! You may have a child, who in the middle of your potluck at…

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So, here we are in the midst of an economic meltdown. Depending on which overheated news anchor you watch, this meltdown is either catastropic, epic, and/or the greatest recession since the Great Depression. Either way, times are really tough right now. But what is so interesting is how the media and our culture is spinning the causes of the meltdown. In random order, here are the various alleged culprits: George Bush. Why not? He caused everything from Hurricanes to wars to global warming to famine in third-world countries. Why not blame Bush, its just easier that way. Greedy Wall Street…

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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…

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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…

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As I write this, I’m in the throes of Sunday’s message in John 5. This is the third of probably 5 sermons in this chapter. This week we come face to face with Jesus Christ’s bold claims. The fact is this: you can’t look at Jesus and be neutral. A theology that says Jesus is a good man, a nice teacher, but not Almighty God is not logical. Because Jesus didn’t allow you that option. He was the most polarizing figure in the history of the world. You either embrace Him and give your life for him as the disciples…

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Over the last few days I’ve received a plethora of emails and forwarded emails about President Obama and his policies. They are from friends who are rightly concerned with the direction our country is taking. Like many Christians, I’m concerned about his policies. I’m troubled by the excessive spending and what it means for future generations. I’m appalled by abortion policies that degenerate God-given life. I’m troubled by a seeming indifference to Biblical values. But here is the big, "however." However, we as Christians must think and live and act as Christ would have us act. What does this look…

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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…

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