E-Flash From Dan LIVE Stream - February 20, 2026

 

Video E-Flash From Dan - July 30, 2021

 

E-Flash From Dan - Thanksgiving Eve, 11/23/16

Dear E-Flash Friends;

Are you experiencing genuine gratitude for the many blessings of life? I hope you are able to say a resounding “yes” in response to that question.

I can think of a great way to celebrate our joy and thankfulness. Yep, you guessed it: Join us at the Thanksgiving Eve service tonight, Wednesday, November 23^rd, at 7pm. The worship team will be leading us in a wonderful time of Thanksgiving praise; we will be celebrating Communion together; and I have a message which I believe will remind us and challenge us to be grateful to the Lord Jesus for His goodness.

Hope you can make it. You will be blessed!

Love and blessings,

Dan

First Church of God

4600 W. 111^th Street

Oak Lawn, IL

E-Flash From Dan, September 2, 2016

Dear E-Flash Friends;

Jesus tells a group of people at a church in a place called Laodicea [my paraphrase], “You’re not hot or cold. You are lukewarm. It’s the lukewarm part that bothers me. In fact, it makes me want to spit you out of my mouth.”

I know. I know. That is a vivid metaphor and it is a pretty unusual thing to say to a church. You might be thinking, “What is He getting at?”

I’m glad you asked! That’s what we will be talking about this Sunday, September 4^th. We are finishing up our series on the 7 messages to 7 churches from the book of Revelation. It is going to be interesting, challenging and helpful. Really!

It is Friday night as I write these words and the worship team rehearsal just ended. So I know from firsthand experience, we will have some terrific music. God will be honored.

You won’t want to miss it!

I realize it is Labor Day weekend but it seems to me the best plan for Sunday morning would be something like this: Get up. Go to church, first. And then do whatever else the day holds.

(…Hey, a guy can express his hopes and desires, right?)

Speaking of expressing my hopes, I hope to see you this Sunday!

Love and blessings,

Dan

First Church of God

4600 W. 111^th Street

Oak Lawn, IL

9am or 11am

E-Flash From Dan, July 16, 2016

Dear E-Flash Friends;

I am glad to be back in Oak Lawn and am really looking forward to worshiping with my church family this Sunday. There is a feeling of enthusiasm I have for speaking and teaching this week that I have not had in a while. I’m not even sure I can explain it. I love to preach God’s word but I have a sort of fresh excitement and anticipation.

Well, whether I can explain this excitement or not (and I can’t) I suppose I should consider it to be a good thing (and I do).

We are starting a new series this Sunday, July 17^th from the book of Revelation. The title of the series is: 7 Letters To 7 Churches. On July 17^th, the first message of the series will present the message Jesus had for the church at Ephesus. It is a message that is relevant, interesting and helpful to our church today!

The worship team has wonderful, inspiring, God honoring music planned and we will be celebrating Communion, as well.

You will want to be here this Sunday! Seriously. God will be honored and we will be blessed!

See you on Sunday!

Love and blessings,

Dan

E-Flash From Dan, June 18, 2016

Dear E-Flash Friends;

What would happen if we would actually put our hope and trust in the Lord?

According to the Bible there is a significant strength which is available to those who trust God. Sounds interesting, huh? Good. That’s what we will be talking about this Sunday, June 19^th. You are invited to come and learn from this tremendously encouraging passage which is found in the book of Isaiah chapter 40!

We will honor our dads tomorrow, as well.

The worship team has a great time planned for us. During the rehearsal, last night, I was caught up in the music at several points and with excitement I thought, “This is going to be a special time of praising God!”

Why not invite dad to come along with you? It is going to be a wonderful day! Really.

Looking forward to seeing you Sunday!

Love and blessings,

Dan

E-Flash From Dan, June 10, 2016

Dear E-Flash Friends;

The prophet Isaiah wrote about Jesus long before He was born and told us some of the titles that would apply to Him, such as, Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father and Prince of Peace.

What do these titles mean?

Glad you asked. We will be addressing that question this Sunday, June 12^th. I hope you are planning to be here. It will be a blessing!

The worship team is planning some tremendous music and we will be taking Communion, as well.

I can’t think of any place I’d rather be.

Hawaii? Nope.

Grand Tetons? Nope.

Paris? Nope.

Oak Lawn? Yes!!!

And I genuinely hope to see you!

Hey I have a great idea. Invite a friend to come along. He or she will be encouraged and inspired by the good news of Jesus, too!

Love and blessings,

Dan Marler

First Church of God

4600 W. 111^th Street

Oak Lawn, IL

Service times: 9am and 11am

P.S. All Wednesday evening programming—for both adults and children—is now on a summer break. We will resume on Wednesday, August 3^rd.

E-Flash From Dan - June 3, 2016

Dear E-Flash Friends;

More than 600 years before Jesus was born a prophet wrote about some of the details of His life with surprising insight and accuracy. And believe it or not what this prophet wrote is very relevant to our lives today. We are going to look at the writings I’m talking about—writings by the prophet Isaiah—this Sunday, June 5^th.

We will also be having a prayer time with the elders in between the two services. If you have a need for which you would like prayer please feel free to come. The prayer time will begin around 10:15 a.m.

I hope you can join us! I know you will be blessed. Invite a friend to come along. He or she will be blessed by the good news we read in the book of Isaiah, too!

I’m looking forward to Sunday. And I’m looking forward to seeing you!

Love and blessings,

Dan Marler

First Church of God

4600 W. 111^th Street

Oak Lawn, IL

Service times: 9am and 11am

P.S. All Wednesday evening programming—for both adults and children—is now on a summer break. We will resume again on Wednesday, August 3^rd.

P.P.S – Click on the link and check out the latest edition of the Minute And A Half of God Stuff Podcast. It is quick and inspiring!

Link…    http://visitusonline.org/scmedia.php?type=mediaplayer&loc=visitusonline.org/media/media/mediaplayer.php&id=2016060210063734F7AA

E-Flash From Dan - May 27, 2016

Dear E-Flash Friends;

As a teacher, I love to deal with areas of faith in which confusion exists and attempt to bring clarity. (Okay sure, sometimes this does not work as well as I would like but that’s another discussion for another day… Lol!)

This Sunday, May 29^th, we will be dealing with a passage of scripture and an aspect of the Christian faith in which there is much confusion. I am looking forward to addressing this subject. In the passage, we find this line: “When we display our righteous deeds, they are nothing but filthy rags.” (Isaiah 64:6)

You might be thinking, “What?!? What in the world is that supposed to mean?!? Is that really in the Bible, Dan?”

Good. I’m glad you asked. Yes, it is in the Bible. Come this Sunday and we will dive in.

I’ve been chomping at the bit regarding this message. I am fired up!

We will also take a moment to think about the significance of Memorial Day and remember those who have died for our freedoms. If you come, you will be blessed!

In fact, I have a great idea. Invite a friend to come along. Your friend will be blessed, too!

See you on Sunday!

Love and blessings,

Dan Marler

First Church of God

4600 W. 111^th Street

Oak Lawn, IL

Service times: 9am and 11am

P.S. All Wednesday evening programming—for both adults and children—is now on a summer break. We will resume again on Wednesday, August 3^rd.

E-Flash From Dan, March 23, 2016

Dear E-Flash Friends;

We are geared up and excited here at the church. We’ve been having rehearsals in the evenings, people are praying, invitations are being extended, I’m still tweaking and honing an Easter message I pray will be interesting, helpful, inspiring, challenging and used by God. The time has almost arrived for our Easter services.

 

I know most of you are aware but I’ll mention the schedule again:

Good Friday service, March 25, 7pm

Easter services, Saturday, March 26, at 5pm and Sunday March 27 at 9 and 11am.

I’m already thanking God for the good things I know He is going to do!

Can you think of someone you might invite? Why not take a little risk and make an invitation. The worst that could happen is the person would say “no thanks.” The best that could happen is a person could potentially have a life-changing encounter with the risen Lord Jesus. Who knows?

I’m looking forward to seeing you this weekend.

He is risen!

Love and blessings,

Dan

P.S. We created an Easter invitation video. It’s humorous and fun. Click on the link to watch. Perhaps you could pass this along to a friend.

                         LINK: Click Here!

E-Flash From Dan, February 26, 2016

Dear E-Flash Friends;

One of the most wonderful and important truths of Christianity is the truth of victory. We are overcomers in Christ Jesus.

“…Because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.” 1John4:4

I have been reminded of the inspiring truth of victory in Jesus as I have been reading, studying and preparing this week. We have some terrific services coming this Sunday. We are starting a new series on Spiritual Warfare. It is going to be interesting, challenging and encouraging!

Also, we will be celebrating baptisms this Sunday. Our baptism services are always some of our most exciting times together in the course of the year. Watching our brothers and sisters in Christ make a public profession of their faith will be a great time of celebration and spiritual victory.

“…[F]or everyone born of God overcomes the world.” 1John 5:4

This is definitely going to be a Sunday you won’t want to miss!

Looking forward to seeing you!

Love and blessings

Dan

First Church of God

4600 W. 111^th Street

Oak Lawn, IL

Service times: 9am and 11am

E-Flash From Dan, February 5, 2016 - Super Bowl 50 Edition

Dear E-Flash Friends;

I just saw the results of a large nationwide survey which indicated that a significant majority of Americans said the best way to start the day, on Super Bowl Sunday, was to go to church. In fact, many of them expressed a strong desire to hear a sermon in order to really get the day rolling properly.

What a fantastic finding, huh? That information makes me feel terrific!

Um…

Hold on…

Wait a minute…

…Okay, I admit I just made up those survey results. I’m sorry. There was no such study conducted. This is just another example of my wishful thinking hard at work. But hey, can you blame a guy for trying to be optimistic and hopeful?

The truth is I’m hoping you will be at church this Sunday, Feb. 7^th, because we are going to have some terrific services. I have been preparing diligently and am excited to be talking about the truth that God provides for us. Our awareness of this important reality can genuinely make a difference in our lives.

And the worship team has some wonderful music planned.

I was talking with a friend today who told me that when the worship team leads us in the services it is a time of joy! I agree.

You won’t want to miss this great chance to be joyful!

By the way, in all seriousness, the Super Bowl has a later start time this year. It starts at 5:30 p.m., Central time. So you could come to either the 9am or 11am service and still watch the game; the pre-game programming; the pre-pre game programing; and have plenty of time to eat tons of chicken wings. (Just trying to offer some helpful info.)

Hope to see you this Sunday!

Love and blessings

Dan

P.S. Coming to the services this Sunday will not result in any conflict if you are planning to watch Downton Abbey either.

E-Flash From Dan, 12/23/15

Dear E-Flash Friends;

Christmas Eve is always one of my favorite services of the year. Beautiful candlelight, lovely Christmas carols and a celebration of the birth of the Lord Jesus.

“Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.’” Luke 2:13&14

We will be joining in with the great angelic rejoicing which first occurred on that night long ago!

I hope you can be with us. At the worship team rehearsal we all walked away feeling like the service is going to be special. The service time is 9pm.

Love, blessings and Merry Christmas!

Dan

First Church of God

4600 W. 111^th Street

Oak Lawn, IL

E-Flash From Dan, December 17, 2015

Dear E-Flash Friends;

I was on the C.S. Lewis Institute website yesterday and was reminded that Lewis referred to the Incarnation [the coming of Jesus] as the “Grand Miracle.” Lewis calls the Incarnation the Grand Miracle because all of the other miracles of Jesus’ life—including the resurrection—were only possible because of the Incarnation.

“…[A]ll the well-established Christian miracles are part of it [the Incarnation]… they all either prepare for, or exhibit, or result from the Incarnation.” C.S. Lewis

The fact that the Lord Jesus would set aside His divine privileges and enter into His creation as a humble, defenseless, human baby is so staggering that it is impossible for us to even grasp the full implications of this extraordinary event. According to the Bible, He did this because of His great love for us. That makes it even better!

We will be celebrating this wonderful event—the birth of Jesus—at the services this Sunday, December 20^th, 9am or 11am.

The worship team is planning a terrific program for us and I am working diligently on a message which will express the Joy of this Good News! I am praying the joy spoken of by the angel to the shepherds on that momentous night long ago will be communicated in such a way that it will come alive in you and me.

You won’t want to miss our time together this Sunday! It will truly be a blessing.

Hey, I’ve got a great idea. Why not take a risk and invite someone? People who may not typically go to church are likely to go to church at Christmas time if they are invited. Let’s invite and see what God does.

I’m looking forward to seeing you!

Love and blessings,

Dan

E-Flash From Dan, September 17, 2015

Dear E-Flash Friends;

I’m sitting here working on my message for this weekend and I’m getting excited. This happens from time to time. Occasionally, I’ll get so pumped up that I have to leap to my feet, walk a few laps around the church, and fire off an E-Flash… like I’m doing right now.

You won’t want to miss the Fall Kick-Off service this Sunday, September 20^th. We will be launching a new series titled: “Experiencing Freedom!” The Bible tells us there is freedom in Christ. We will be talking about that encouraging and liberating reality.

The guys will be leading the music. If you’ve been here when the guys lead the music you know it is inspirational, exciting, passionate and fun!

We’ve even made a video invitation to the Fall Kick Off. That’s when you know we’re serious! Click on the link to watch the brief video.

Link...   Click here for video!

There’s still time to invite someone. I hope you will take a risk and make an invitation. You could even send a link of the invitation video. Who knows what might happen?

I do know that God is going to do some great things this weekend.

You say, “How do you know He’s going to do great things?”

Because He’s God and everything He does is great! That’s why we gather together to honor Him.

I’m looking forward to seeing you.

Love and blessings,

Dan

E-Flash From Dan, Feb. 21, 2015

E-Flash From Dan;

What is one of my favorite topics to talk about? That’s easy: Love!

And that is what we’ll be talking about this Sunday as we conclude our series titled, “Putting First Things First.”

In fact I’m so excited about what is coming this Sunday that I even created a quick video invitation to the services. I invite you to take a moment to click on the link and watch this brief video. Come on, it is only about a minute long.

Link…    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LyKSPnLmRBY

I’m really looking forward to seeing you this Sunday. And why not take the risk and invite someone? It will be a blessing!

See you on Sunday.

Blessings,

Dan

E-Flash From Dan, March 22, 2014

Dear E-Flash Friends;

Baptism services are among my favorite services of the year.  Think about witnessing people stepping forward in faith and obedience to Christ, and participating with Him in His death and resurrection.

“…having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through your faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead.”  Colossians 2:12

It’s extraordinary, encouraging, exciting and inspiring!

That will be happening in our services tomorrow, March 23^rd, 9am and 11am.  And guess what?  You’re invited!

Click on the link and you can check out a brief video invitation.

Link…   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LAkS3_Ua4Ks

We’ll have some wonderful worship music and I am bringing a message on the topic of “Telling The Good News.”  I’m fired up about it.

Hope to see you tomorrow!

Love and blessings,

Dan

E-Flash From Dan, February 22, 2014

Dear E-Flash Friends;

I’m sitting here doing some editing of my message for the services on Sunday and I’m feeling so enthusiastic that I felt compelled to let you know about my eagerness.  We’ve just begun a new series on what it means to be the church and tomorrow the message is titled, “The Church Is The Body of Christ.”

Hey, I’ve got a great idea.  Why not click on the link below to see a brief video invitation to the services?

Link…    http://youtu.be/50j9OK0L3Qc

I really hope you’re planning to be here!  I know God is going to be present.

Love and blessings,

Dan

E-Flash From Dan, February 7, 2014

Dear E-Flash Friends;

Hope you’ve had a great week and you are doing well.

I’m excited about the services coming up this Sunday.  (I know, I’m always excited about the services.  I can’t help it.  But, hey, it’s better that I’m excited about the services than tired and apathetic, right?)

Lisa Roule, Stephanie Chiocca and Kevin Durr joined me for a podcast that we hope you will take a moment to enjoy.  It’s the “What’s Coming 2/9/14 Podcast.”  Click on the link below to check it out!

Link…   http://visitusonline.org/scmedia.php?type=mediaplayer&loc=visitusonline.org/media/media/mediaplayer.php&id=_{201402070902058F281E}

We are offering a baptism class this Sunday, in between the two services, if you are interested please feel free to attend.  (Participation in the class does not obligate you to be baptized.  You can attend the class simply for informational purposes.)

Hope to see you on Sunday!

Love and blessings,

Dan

E-Flash From Dan, January 9, 2014

Dear E-Flash Friends;

Guess what?  We are supposed to have a high temperature of 40 degrees this Sunday!  Wow!  Can you believe it?  There’s a heat wave coming.  No kidding.  I just looked it up on weather.com.  And everyone knows that weather forecasters have to get their predictions right or they are in big trouble!  I may dig out the inflatable pool, fill it up, and have a little swim party after the morning services.

Speaking of the morning services, we are going to be continuing with our Exodus series this Sunday, January 12^th.   I haven’t only been playing around in the sun the past few days, I have been working on the message, too.  Really.  I have been writing a little bit every day for the past 5 days and most of it is written.   I promise to have all of the message ready by Sunday!  J

And I’m looking forward to talking about one of the great stories of the Old Testament: the story of Moses leading the people of Israel as they escape through the Red Sea.  It’s a great tale of God’s power, protection and activity.  It prompted “awe” from God’s people.  I’m believing that we’re all going to be blessed and I’m hoping we will be awestruck by our great God, too.  You won’t want to miss it!

If that’s not enough, the worship team is planning some great music to help us give praise to God, as well.  Sounds great, doesn’t it?

I’m guessing that since we had such terrible weather last week, this will be the first Sunday of the new year at church for many of us.  Hope to see you Sunday.

Love and blessings,

Dan