Dan Warlow is an Australian Christian children’s music artist and entertainer who performs at schools, churches, and community events. His albums feature catchy tunes that are rich in biblical truth, making them a great resource for churches, ministries and families wanting to point young hearts towards God.
Dan loved music from a young age. He started learning drums when he was 12 and played in music shows. He even toured the US with a jazz band. In university, he learned to play guitar, later moving to London. It was there that realised that music and working with youth would be a big part of his future.
Dan has since returned to Australia where he lives with his wife, Sarah. Together they are busy raising three beautiful daughters.
Dan recently shared a special five minute sermon with us on Sunday Morning Together, emphasising the importance of recognising that we all make mistakes and fall short of God’s glory, and that Jesus is the only path to salvation.
Listen to Dan’s full message below:
‘Let me tell you a story, because I know Jesus spoke in stories when He had crowds listening. And stories have a way of sticking in our hearts and minds. My prayer right now is that maybe from this story, you will see a new side of God’s love that you’ve never seen before.
This is my favourite story to tell, and it’s about two guys, Robbo and Jim, and they were best friends in school together. From first grade all the way through to the end of school they were best mates. They did everything together. They were on the same footie team. They went on weekend adventures away together. But when they finished school, they didn’t see each other for a very long time.
They made very different decisions. Jim became a judge. He went on to study law. And he had his courtroom where he would decide if people were guilty or innocent. Robbo, he didn’t actually do anything with his life at all. In fact, one day he was caught robbing a bank and the police were waiting for him. They were ready for him.
Robbo’s story started way back when he started to make the choice to steal. It happened from his first day in school. He didn’t have a pencil. He saw one on the desk next to him, and he took it. And the next day he forgot his lunch. But he saw some money in someone’s bag and he thought, oh, I can take that. And he thought that no one was looking.
He didn’t realise that God saw everything he ever did, everything he ever said and everything he ever thought. And what happened is this got worse and worse. He would start to steal bikes. He started to break into homes until one day he robbed the bank. And who do you think came in to Jim’s courtroom one day? Well, it was his old friend Robbo.
And the moment he stepped in, Jim recognised him. He thought to himself, I know that guy. He’s my best mate from school. What’s he doing here in this courtroom today? This is terrible. And the moment Robbo walked in, he saw the judge and he said, I recognise him. He’s my best mate from school. What’s he doing here today in this courtroom? This is terrible.
Robbo stepped up and he said, Your Honour, I’ve got to confess, I did do it. Everyone was shocked. No one confessed. Everyone would normally say I didn’t do it. And the judge looked at his friend and said, I remember you, Robbo. I remember you didn’t make some good choices, but you also made some great choices. You are a very good friend of mine.
Do you realise that the consequence for robbing this bank is to pay a fine of $100,000? And if you can’t, you’re going straight to jail. And it’s my turn to decide. And my decision is that you are guilty. And the hammer came down with a bang.
That’s what everyone expected the judge to do because he was a good judge. We wouldn’t want a judge just to send their friends free just because they knew them. That would be corruption. So everything went as planned until the judge stood up out of his chair and everyone looked at him and he walked around out side to a side room and everyone started murmuring, what’s he doing? What’s going on?
This wasn’t part of the plan, and if you were there, you’d be able to hear some cupboard doors opening and drawers closing. And in a moment Jim stepped out and he looked very different. He wasn’t wearing his judge’s wig. He didn’t have his judge’s hammer, and he wasn’t wearing his judge’s gown. He was just wearing his normal clothes. He didn’t look much like a judge anymore, and he had something in his hand.
And he walked down to his friend and he looked him in the eye, and he said, Robbo in this bag is $100,000. It’s my money and I’m giving it to you. You did the wrong thing, but I’m going to pay the price. You’re guilty. But here is your freedom. And he held it out, and the story freezes there.
Because I’ve got a question for you. What would you do if you were Robbo and your friend was the one paying for your crime? You’ve got two choices. You say yes or you say no. The thing is, a price has to be paid. That’s not the question. The only question is who will pay it? Is it going to be Robbo or is it going to be Jim?
What’s amazing is that the Bible says very clearly that we are like Robbo. And you might say, but Dan, I haven’t robbed the bank. And, that’s good. I’m glad. Maybe you have. Does it matter? We’ve all fallen short of God’s standard of perfection. In Scripture it says that there’s only one way to be saved, and that’s Jesus and no one else. There’s no other way.
In Romans 6:23, it says, the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord. So that’s our choice. Sin which costs, or life which is a gift. And my question to you today is what will you choose?
Let’s pray. Lord, thank you for your gift to us. Thank you for your grace. Thank you that you are like that good judge. You came down. You paid the price for us so that we could be free. Thank you Lord, for your love shown to us today. In Jesus name, Amen.’
Listen to Dan’s full message below:
