December 27, 2015 at Dakota Community Church

Please join me at DCC this Sunday morning to close out the year with an important message from the Book of James on the relationship between faith and works.

There is a lot of talk in the Church these days about the importance of emphasizing deeds over creeds. The popular idea is that there is far to much “talking the talk” in Christian circles and no where near enough “walking the walk.” 

Is this a legitimate concern? 

Can these two categories even be rightly separated from one another?

What value is there in a faith that demonstrates no corresponding works — then again; what good are works that do not spring from saving faith? 

I hope to see you all this Sunday morning 

- Pastor Dan

Christmas Eve at Dakota

Please join me in the upstairs sanctuary this Thursday evening at 5:30 as we light the final Advent Candle, share communion and celebrate the birth of Christ with Christmas carols and fellowship around the Word of God.

My message this year is entitled “Christmas Rush” and is a simple call to stop for a moment in the middle of all the seasonal excitement to reflect on Who this story is really all about.

Have you seen? Have you heard?

Have you responded appropriately?

I hope to see you all Christmas Eve!

Pastor Dan

December 20, 2015 at Dakota

Please join me at DCC this Sunday morning for what is sure to be a wonderful time in fellowship and in the Word of God.

The morning begins at 9:30 with pre-service prayer and then coffee time.

The service will begin at 10:30 during which we will enjoy our usual time of worship, fellowship, and finally, Pastor Dan Van De Laar will be continuing the sermon series he has entitled; A Study Through the Epistle of Hebrews. 

If you’ve missed either of the first two messages in the series they are available on our website at www.dakotacommunitychurch.com

Hope to see you all there! 

- Pastor Dan 

Sunday Morning Preview - December 13, 2015

 We have a busy weekend planned at DCC:

On Saturday at noon we have the Sunday School Christmas Pageant practice. Pizza will be provided and pick-up is at 1:30pm

Sunday morning we will start things off at 10 with a Pre-Concert Pot Luck Brunch followed by the Sunday School Presentation, a time of worship and a brief message from Pastor Dan C. on the importance of not falling into the practice of comparing and judging one another in the Body of Christ.

Please remember to bring along some brunch type goodies to share, beverages will be provided. 

Sunday Morning Preview - December 6, 2015

I hope you will join me this Sunday at DCC as we continue our journey through the Epistle of James with Part 7 of “Pure Religion”.

Last week we continued our examination of what James meant when he said that Christians are to keep themselves “Unstained from the world” and Sunday I am planning to wrap this series up with a closer look at 1 John 2:15-17 (See Below).

Notice that worldliness is expressed here in sinful tendencies that come from within us.

• Desires of the flesh 
• Desires of the eyes
• Pride of life  — which is literally pride in possessions 

This is what John says characterizes the evil world we are commanded not to love and that James warns us not to become stained by.  Notice also that these fleshly failures set the agenda for our entire world system. 

Join me this Sunday for another sober look at worldliness; and what it means to avoid it. - Pastor Dan 

Sunday Morning Preview - November 29, 2015

I hope you will join me this Sunday at DCC as we continue our journey through the Epistle of James with Part 6 of “Pure Religion”.

The last time I spoke (at the beginning of November) we began to examine what James meant when he said that Christians are to keep themselves “Unstained from the world”. This week I want to try to further define our understanding of this concept by viewing it in light of 1 John 2:15-17.

Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. 17 And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.

Notice that worldliness is expressed here in sinful tendencies that come from within us.

• Desires of the flesh 
• Desires of the eyes
• Pride of life  — which is literally pride in possessions 

This is what John says characterizes the evil world we are commanded not to love and that James warns us not to become stained by.  Notice also that these fleshly failures set the agenda for our entire world system. 

Join me this Sunday for another sober look at worldliness; and what it means to avoid it. - Pastor Dan 

Sunday Morning Preview - November 15, 2015

Please join me at DCC this Sunday morning for what is sure to be a wonderful time in fellowship and in the Word of God.

The morning begins at 9:30 with pre-service prayer and then coffee time.

The service will begin at 10:30 during which we will enjoy our usual time of worship, fellowship, and finally, Pastor Dan Van De Laar will be continuing the sermon series he has entitled; A Study Through the Epistle of Hebrews. I advise everyone to bring notepaper and pen for this one! If you missed week one it is available on the revamped website at www.dakotacommunitychurch.com 

Hope to see you all there!

Sunday Morning Preview - November 1, 2015

I hope you will join me this Sunday morning at DCC as we continue our journey through the Epistle of James with Part 5 of “Pure Religion”.

What does James mean when he says Christians are to keep themselves “Unstained from the world”?

Most of us are personally acquainted with at least one believer who has taken this verse as the foundation to support all kinds of legalistic nonsense.

Are Christians meant to understand this verse to mean that we are not to:

• Watch television, go to movies, or listen to the radio?
• Attend sporting events or view cultural displays such as art exhibits, opera, or the theatre?
• Frequent dining establishments that serve liquor or feature live music?
• Participate in politics, public education, or the market place?

Join me this Sunday for a sober look at worldliness; and what it means to avoid it.

Sunday Morning Preview - October 25, 2015

I hope you will join me this Sunday morning at DCC as we continue our journey through the Epistle of James with Part 4 of “Pure Religion”.

Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world. (James 1:27)

When you see the helpless, the poor, the destitute; when you encounter the sojourner, the immigrant, the addict, the sick of mind or body, do you typically ignore their plight? Is it your usual practise to simply make excuses to justify consuming all you have on yourself?

Do you count your intelligence, your strength, and your position in life as something of your own doing; or do you recognize that you are a mere steward of all that belongs to God?

I hope to see you Sunday for a frank discussion regaurding worthless religion.

Thanksgiving 2015 at Dakota Community Church

As you may have gathered from the picture above I have decided to change my sermon plans for the next few weeks. 

Although I had previously announced a special Thanksgiving sermon followed by a couple of weeks in our Judges series I have instead decided not to interrupt the flow we are on in the Book of James in order to complete the “Pure Religion” series.

We are just getting into the characteristics James lists as evidences of pure religion as opposed to “worthless religion.” These include: a bridled tongue, caring concern for the helpless, and the avoidance of “worldliness".

In this first of the three characteristics we are looking to see if James is teaching us that Christians have “creative power” in their words and that we are to be making positive declarations and/or avoiding negative confessions in order to fulfill our God given dream destinies… or if these passages, (James 1:19-20, 26; 3:1-12; 4:11-12) taken in context, are actually revealing something entirely different?

I hope to see you all Sunday!

October 4, 2015 at Dakota Community Church

I hope you will join me this Sunday morning at DCC as we continue our journey through the Epistle of James with Part 2 of a message I have entitled “Pure Religion”.

How are we to conduct ourselves around weaker brothers and sisters who have overly developed sensitivities regaurding various rules and regulations that do not actually apply to christians in light of the freedom that we have received in Christ?

What are the marks of “true religion” according to James 1:26-27?

Is James teaching that Christians have “creative power” in their words and that we are to be making positive declarations and/or avoiding negative confessions in order to fulfill our God given dream destinies… or are these passages, (James 1:19-20, 26; 3:1-12; 4:11-12) taken in context, revealing something else?

I hope to see you all Sunday! 

Sunday September 27, 2015 at Dakota

I am really excited to be getting back into our series on the Book of James this week with a message I have entitled “Pure Religion.” 

In the light of a correct understanding of the division between “Law” and “Gospel," what does James mean when he instructs us that we must be doers of the Word of God and not hearers only? 

Having embraced the doctrine of salvation by faith alone is James now telling us to return to some kind of works based righteousness? 

Is it possible to hear the Word of God, to be saved and yet to remain in a lifestyle of unrepentant sin? 

Can any one be a regular church attender, a Bible school student, or even a Pastor and not be “in Christ?” 

Are the deceived James speaks of in verse 22 (below) actually blinded to the reality of their true spiritual state; thinking themselves to be right with God, when in fact they are not?

Food for thought… and great sermon fodder! 

I hope to see you all Sunday! 

“But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.” James 1:22

Sunday’s Key Scripture: 

James 1:21-27 
Colossians 3:1-10 
Matthew 15:1-20

Sunday Morning Preview - September 13, 2015

Since 2002 I have been sharing many of my sermons on the internet at a website called Sermon Central as a way of blessing other ministers in their times of preaching preparation. Once a sermon is ready to present to a congregation it can be very helpful to look at what other pastors have had to say on the same topic or passage of scripture. My sermons at SC have been viewed over 400,000 times and I receive requests for powerpoint presentations from all over the world, almost every week. The problem is that since 2002 I have undergone a complete theological transformation and many of the sermons from those earlier days in the ministry are; to put it nicely, “A little off.” 

In order to at least partially remedy this situation I am presenting a series entitled; Sermon “Do-Over” in which I will select an old sermon and theologically point out and correct the errors it contains.

The sermon I have selected for this second instalment is one I originally preached on January 11, 2004. If you would like to review it in advance - Kill Your Giant - can be seen here: 

http://www.sermoncentral.com/sermons/kill-your-giant-dan-cormie-sermon-on-addiction-67622.asp?page=0

I hope to see you all Sunday!

Sunday August 9, 2015 at Dakota Community Church

A blind man has been given sight on the Sabbath, oh the controversy! Don't worry, Jesus is there to settle the squabble by clearly explaining things in a way everyone will understand… not really. Jesus launches into an allegorical teaching about folds, sheep and shepherds leaving some people even more confused than before.

Continuing on in the "I Am"series, this week at Dakota we'll see Jesus make the claim, "I Am The Good Shepherd." We'll hear that His true sheep are able to distinguish between Him and all the other shepherds by hearing His voice. And we'll see that the Good Shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.

Hope to see you there for communion and a great time in God’s word. 

August 2, 2015 at Dakota Community Church

This Sunday morning at Dakota we welcome the Renaissance Church family who are joining us for the first of two long weekend joint services this summer. DCC will take the lead in word and worship this month and Renaissance will return the honour September long.

My sermon for this Sunday is entitled “The Door” and is another in the “I Am” series in which we are looking into the specific claims Jesus made regaurding who He is and what he came to accomplish. On August 9 Joel will be preaching on “I Am the good shepherd” which is closely related to this weekend’s topic. I hope I don’t cover ALL the good points! (LOL)

Also I just want to remind every one of our Beach day and baptism planned for Monday, August 3 at Grand Beach - come for great day of fun and fellowship. The baptism is scheduled for 1 pm.

July 12, 2015 at Dakota

This Sunday morning at Dakota we will share communion and continue our summer series on the “I am” statements of Jesus from the Gospel of John.

After feeding his 5,000+ crowd of followers Jesus has to take evasive action to prevent them from taking him by force and declaring him their king. The problem is that they are not so much interested in the dominion of God over their lives as they are in securing an ongoing supply of free bread. 

In order to stem the fervency that is running in opposition to his plans, Jesus culls the crowd by serving up some theology that was just as hard to swallow then as it is today.

I hope you will all join me for what I’m sure will be a wonderful time in the Word of God.

July 5, 2015 at Dakota Community Church

I hope everyone had a wonderful Canada Day and that you are all enjoying the great summer weather.

This Sunday morning at Dakota we are planning to kick off our 2015 eight week summer sermon series on the “I Am” statements of Jesus from the Gospel of John. 

Pastor Dan Van De Laar will get things started with an overview of the topic emphasizing the important truth that Jesus is not half man/half God, but that He has clearly revealed Himself to be the God of the Old Testament, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, fully God and at the same time fully human.

I hope to see you all this Sunday.

Welcome - June 28, 2015

Welcome to Dakota Community Church

Grace, Freedom, Laughter

Thank-you for joining us for our service this morning.

Please enjoy the service and follow along in the scriptures using the links below.

Scripture for today's sermon:

Psalm 24:1; 1Timothy 6:6-7; Deuteronomy 8:17-18; Hebrews 13:5; Luke 16:10-13; Matthew 6:19-21; Galatians 6:6-7; 1 Corinthians 9:13-14; 1 Corinthians 16:1-2; 2 Corinthians 8:7; 2 Corinthians 9:6-8

Quotes from today's sermon:

Martin Luther 

"I have held many things in my hands and I have lost them all. But whatever I placed in God's hands, that I still possess." 

St. Augustine 

"Tithes are required as a matter of debt, and he who has been unwilling to give them has been guilty of robbery. Whosoever, therefore, desires to secure a reward for himself, let him render tithes, and out of the nine parts let him seek to give alms." 

C.S. Lewis 

"I do not believe one can settle how much we ought to give. I am afraid the only safe rule is to give more than we can spare. In other words, if our expenditure on comforts, luxuries, amusements, etc., is up to the standard common among those with the same income as our own, we are probably giving away too little. If our charities do not at all pinch or hamper us, I should say they are too small. There ought to be things we should like to do and cannot do because our charitable expenditure excludes them." 

John Piper 

"The issue of money and lifestyle is not a side issue in the Bible. The credibility of Christ in the world hangs on it." (John Piper, Don't Waste Your Life, 109) 

Randy Alcorn 

"Show me your chequebook, your VISA statement, and your receipts, and I'll show you were your heart is." (Randy Alcorn, The Treasure Principle, 2001, 44) 

"He who lays up treasures on earth spends his life backing away from his treasures. To him, death is loss. He who lays up treasures in heaven looks forward to eternity; he's moving daily toward his treasures. To him, death is gain." (The Treasure Principle, 2001, 45)

"God's money has a higher purpose than my affluence. Giving is a joyful surrender to a greater person and a greater agenda. Giving affirms Christ's lordship. It dethrones me and exalts Him. It breaks the chains of mammon that would enslave me." (The Treasure Principle, 2001, 59) 

"When people tell me they can't afford to tithe, I ask them, "If your income was reduced by 10 percent would you die?" They say, "No." And I say, "Then you've admitted that you can afford to tithe. It's just that you don't want to." (The Treasure Principle, 2001, 67) 

"If you cannot trust God for temporals, how dare you trust Him for spirituals? Can you trust Him for your soul's redemption, and not rely upon Him for a few lesser mercies?" (Money, Possessions, and Eternity by Randy Alcorn, 336) 

A.W. Tozer

"The man of pseudo faith will fight for his verbal creed but refuse flatly to allow himself to get into a predicament where his future must depend upon that creed being true. He always provides himself with secondary ways of escape so he will have a way out if the roof caves in. What we need very badly these days is a company of Christians who are prepared to trust God as completely now as they know they must do at the last day."

Sunday Morning Preview - June 28, 2015

The plan for this Sunday morning at Dakota is to take an honest look at the state of affairs financially at this, the mid-way point of 2015. 

The topic of giving is always a sensitive matter for some believers but it is very important that we understand what is expected of us especially in light of the correct distinctions between law and gospel.

The Law of God is the way He wants us to live, His commandments, principles, and injunctions. As such, the Law of God always "Shows Our Sin" because we can never perfectly keep God's Law. The Gospel is the Good News that though we can never earn God's favour with our works, merit, or worthiness, God has provided salvation for us free of charge in Jesus.

So how does this wonderful good news effect our finances and the support of the local church?

I hope you will all join me for this mid-year “State of the Church Address”

Welcome & Happy Father's Day!

Welcome to Dakota Community Church

Grace, Freedom, Laughter

Thank-you for joining us for our service this morning.

Please enjoy the service and follow along in the scriptures using the links below.

Scripture for today's sermon:

Judges 6:1-32; John 9:1-3; Luke 13:1-5; Isaiah 29:16; Isaiah 45:9-10; Luke 9:23-24; 2 Peter 1:3-4; Matthew 10:34-38

Sunday Morning Preview - June 21, 2015

We have a great morning planned for this Sunday at DCC. We will be dedicating the newest member of our family to the Lord and praying together for her parents. 

As a special gift from myself to all the dads in the congregation; I will NOT be preaching a father’s day sermon — instead we will be wrapping up our look at the life of Gideon with special focus on the use of this passage as a support for the idea of positive confession theology. A couple of ideas for you to chew on in preparation:

God spoke the world into being, and we are created in His image; does that mean that our words are a creative force to be used or misused in shaping our lives?

Is the angel of the Lord trying to get Gideon to change his confession about himself in Judges 6:12?

Is the LORD in need of human co-operation in order to accomplish His purposes here on earth?

I hope to see you all Sunday!

Welcome - June 14, 2014

Welcome to Dakota Community Church

Grace, Freedom, Laughter

Thank-you for joining us for our service this morning.

Please enjoy the service and follow along in the scriptures using the links below.

Scripture for today's sermon:

Judges 6:1-32; 2 Corinthians 7:10; Zephaniah 1:1 - 2:3

Sunday Morning Preview - June 14, 2015

The plan for this Sunday morning at Dakota is to return to our journey through the Book of Judges with a further look at the life and calling of Gideon. Last time we were considering the important differences between repentance and regret and now I want to go on from there to contrast the righteousness of God to the continually rebellious heart of His people.

I think most of us would agree that life on this fallen planet is not fair, justice here is exceedingly rare.

It is not fair that you and I were born here in a land of plenty and other wonderful children are born in abject poverty in third world nations. It is not fair that some but not all face childhood disease. It is not fair that some get 100 years of life while others die in the womb. We could go on indefinitely! 

Do any or all of these harsh realities mean that God is either unloving or lacking power? 

I hope to see you all Sunday morning for “Gideon 3”. 

Welcome - May 31, 2015

Welcome to Dakota Community Church

Grace, Freedom, Laughter

Thank-you for joining us for the service this morning and Part 2 of; "The Word of God." 

Please enjoy the service and follow along in the scriptures using the links below.

Scripture for today's sermon:

2 Timothy 4:1-4; Mark 7:6-9; Jeremiah 17:9; Romans 3:10-18; Galatians 1:6-9; Romans 7:18-19; Galatians 2:11; Matthew 24:24; Acts 20:28-30; 2 Corinthians 11:3-4

Sunday Morning Preview - May 31, 2015

The plan for this Sunday morning at Dakota is to wrap up our look at what we mean when we say that the Word of God is authoritative in a Christian Church.

Last Sunday we established that the Bible does claim to be the authoritative Word of God and that the sinless Son of God treated it as such and rebuked those who placed their own traditions and preferences above it.

Now we will turn our attention to some of the various other voices that Christians often mistakenly take as authoritative. Just like the Pharisees of Jesus’ time, many believers in our time hold to traditions and practises that contradict scripture. I hope you will join me as we expose and correct a few of these all too common errors.

Sunday May 3, 2015 at Dakota

We have been taking an extended look at the instruction from James in James 1 to, “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.”

Our goal as believers is to know God; not to merely gain information about Him, however we have all met people with some pretty strange ideas that they claim have come out of their experience of God. We want to know the one true God as He is, as He has revealed Himself, not as we imagine or presume Him to be.

The text we are looking at now in James reveals an important truth about God that is vital for us to know in the face of hardship and/or trials of faith. Our God is immutable, He does not change — not ever, not even a little bit. That is good news indeed! I hope I’ll see you this Sunday morning.

Welcome - April 26, 2015

Welcome to Dakota Community Church

Grace, Freedom, Laughter

Thank-you for joining us for the service this morning and Part 3 of; "Discovering God's Goodness." 

Please enjoy the service and follow along in the scriptures using the links below.

Scripture for today's sermon:

James 1:13-18; 2 Corinthians 5:10; Deuteronomy 32:3-4; Exodus 3:14-15; Psalm 119:89-90; Jeremiah 31:3; Psalm 100:5; Romans 11:34-36; 1 Peter 5:5; 1 Samuel 15

Sunday Morning Preview - April 19, 2015

The plan for this Sunday morning at Dakota is to continue our journey through the Book of Judges with a further look at the life and calling of Gideon. Last week we spend time considering the important differences between repentance and regret and now I want to go on from there to contrast the righteousness of God to the continually rebellious heart of His people.

I think most of us would agree that life on this fallen planet is not fair, justice here is exceedingly rare.

It is not fair that you and I were born here in a land of plenty and other wonderful children are born in abject poverty in third world nations. It is not fair that some but not all face childhood disease. It is not fair that some get 100 years of life while others die in the womb. We could go on indefinitely! 

Do any or all of these harsh realities mean that God is either unloving or lacking power? 

I hope to see you all Sunday morning for “Gideon 2”. 

Welcome to Dakota Community Church - April 12, 2015

Welcome to Dakota Community Church

Grace, Freedom, Laughter

Thank-you for joining us for our service this morning.

Please enjoy the service and follow along in the scriptures using the links below.

Scripture for today's sermon:

Judges 6:1-32; Romans 1:18-25; 2 Corinthians 7:10; Zephaniah 1:1 - 2:3

Sunday April 12, 2015 at Dakota

I hope you will join me this Sunday morning as we celebrate communion together and return to the Book of Judges for the next few weeks.

You may recall that there is a repeated cycle throughout this book — a cycle of sin, bondage, repentance, and devotion, followed by sin and bondage again. Israel would follow the Lord when there was a leader who reminded them of the ways in which they should walk, but with his death they again wandered off into idolatry. We are now up to Gideon, the fifth Judge, so the cycle is becoming familiar. This time however; something new occurs, God sends an unnamed prophet to let the people know why these things keep happening to them.

The plan is to look at several foundational truths, including the difference between repentance and regret, as we lay the ground work for understanding this famous and complicated Champion of Israel.

Welcome - He Is Risen!

Welcome to Dakota Community Church

Grace, Freedom, Laughter

Thank-you for joining us this morning for our Easter Sunday Service.

Please enjoy the service and follow along in the scriptures using the links below.

Scripture for today's sermon:

Mark 16:1-8; Acts 2:22-24; Romans 6:9-10; Romans 6:3-7; 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18; 1 Corinthians 15:14-19