Tithing, the subject no preacher likes to talk about. The subject nobody wants to discuss. I thought this article was particularly interesting: http://www.crosswalk.com/spirituallife/11578198/. This writer talks about tithing in tough economic times. I wholeheartedly agree.

Why am I excited? I'm excited because we've got a baptism on Sunday. Everytime someone gets baptized it signals new life. Another soul that has been transformed by the gospel and is added to the kingdom. Why do we baptize? We baptize because Jesus commanded us to do this. It doesn't get us into Heaven. It has no bearing on our salvation. But it is a living witness to the believing world that we are a believer. Going down into the water and rising up again symbolizes Christ going into the grave and rising again in three days. We are crucified with Christ and are raised again in newness of life by the power of the Ressurrection.

On Friday I had a great discussion with the managing editor of the Lake County Journals, part of The Northwest News Group. These folks publish the local papers like Round Lake Journal, Grayslake Journal, Gurnee Journal, etc. Joe asked me if I'd be interested in writing a bi-monthly column. I agreed. I'm very excited about this. As many of you know--or maybe you don't--I have a background in writing. I was a writer/editor for almost 10 years and have written a book and thousands of articles.

This column will be exciting as it will allow me to dig into the community more, I think, and therefore serve Gages Lake and the community better as a pastor. Plus, I hope it will shine a light on what God is doing in Gages Lake thru GLBC. My first column will be about my grandfather in time for 4th of July. My grandfather was a tank commander in the Pacific in WW2. It will appear in the paper Thursday.

Pastor Dan

I'm deep in study right now as we begin our study series in the book of John. Last week we looked at the whole of the book, its historic nature, and its uniqueness. Now this week we'll actually delve into John. And by "delving" I mean we're diving into some of the riches, deepest theology in all of Scripture. Unlike the other gospel writers, John begins with the eternality of Jesus. Wrap your minds around these enormous truths:

• Jesus not only is God, but was God--meaning Jesus Christ always was God.
• Jesus Christ is the Creator of the Universe, every bit as much as God.
• Jesus Christ isn't the author of life, the originator of life--Jesus Christ is life itself.
• Jesus Christ is distinct from the Father and yet He is God. John says Jesus was not only God, He was with God.

What does this mean for you and me? It means:

• Doctrine is important.
• Jesus Christ being God is central to our faith.
• The exclusivity of Christianity, however contraversial, is central--we give up Jesus Christ being the only way, we give up everything.
• Jesus Christ isn't a god. He is God.
• Jesus Christ wasn't a nice way, a good way, a commendable way to reach God. He is the only way to God. Because He is God.
• This is what separates us from the cults, false rellgions, everything else.

This week we're going to explore some rich truths. Deep truths. And yet in its depth, John has a simple way of bringing those truths to bear in the everday recesses of our lives.

This is the first entry in my blog as Pastor of Gages Lake Bible Church, hopefully the first of many entries. I'd like this to be a space for us to talk about what we learned on Sunday or even just observations God is teaching us thru His Word. I've got a few things i'm excited about at Gages Lake:

1) VBS is coming and I think this year God is going to move in this community and bring many kids to hear the Gospel at Gages Lake. How fortunate we are to be an instrument to share the Good News. If you know of any children who haven't yet signed up--please take some cards from the lobby and get them signed up! Also, we have posters you can post in your favorite area establishment.

2) I'm excited about the upcoming sermons series. We began Sunday with a study of the book of John, Divine Intervention. We took an overview of this incredible, rich, unique gospel and what its implications are for today and for our faith. Honestly, this gospel is the pivot point of our faith, affirming the deity of Jesus Christ--a still-contraversial tenet of our faith.

3) I'm also excited about our upcoming evangelism series based on Evantell's "Seeds" series. I'm titling ours, "Too Scared to Share." I'd like to see us become a people who are passionate about sharing the clear gospel.