Jon Brodhagen continues the series on the book of Ephesians with a sermon titled “The Holy Spirit,” focusing on Ephesians 1:11-21.

For our next episode of our Core Values series at Christ Church Bellingham, Jon Brodhagen sits down with Pastor Nate Walker and Pastor Matt Boffey to discuss the topic of Formation.

They explore questions like: What do we mean when we talk about formation? Why is formation a core value at Christ Church? Why is it essential that the Holy Spirit forms Christ in us, rather than us trying to form ourselves? They also consider why we focus on the Word, the sacraments, and prayer as the primary means through which Christ is formed in us. The conversation touches on why we view baptism and the Lord’s Supper differently as means of grace, and why we practice the sacraments only in worship services rather than at home.

The discussion also highlights how prayer shapes us spiritually, what helps sustain a life of prayer, and the value of written prayers like those found in The Book of Common Prayer. They explore where Christian education fits into formation, the importance of joining a home group or discipleship group, and what Christ Church is currently working on in the area of spiritual formation.

Peter Leithart continues his series on cultivating a thriving church community through four main elements: a leader, a book, a song, and a table. Today, he focuses on the third element—a song.

Peter explores the question, “Why do we sing?” and offers five reasons:

• We sing because we are imitating a God who sings.
• We sing to be filled with the Spirit—and because we are filled with the Spirit.
• We sing because we are a temple of the living God.
• We sing to offer the sacrifice of praise.
• We sing so that we may become faithful disciples of Jesus—faithful witnesses, even unto death.

Through singing, we participate in the mission of Christ and take hold of the land he has given us.

Pastor Nate Walker continues the new series on the book of Ephesians with a sermon titled “Predestination,” focusing on Ephesians 1:3-10.

In this episode of our Core Values series at Christ Church Bellingham, Jon Brodhagen sits down with Pastor Nate Walker to discuss Hospitality. 

Together, they explore questions such as: Why is hospitality a core value at CCB? How can a biblical vision of hospitality be shaped into something that a church truly embodies? What does it look like to extend hospitality to the stranger while remaining faithful to the gospel? How can we structure the church to be welcoming to unbelievers? How do we live out a theology of hospitality in our homes and as committed members of the church? And how does practicing hospitality help us become more like Christ?

American author, minister, and theologian Peter Leithart explores the mission of the church and outlines key themes that shape its character, drawing primarily from the book of Deuteronomy. According to Leithart, a thriving church community is marked by four essential elements: a leader, a book, a song, and a table. These talks were originally given at our church’s annual men’s retreat. This episode is the second in a four-part series, focusing on the book and how it can be used to protect the church community.

Pastor Nate Walker begins a new series on the book of Ephesians with a sermon titled “Introduction to Ephesians,” focusing on Ephesians 1:1–2.

In this episode of our core values series at Christ Church Bellingham, Jon Brodhagen sits down with Pastor Nate Walker to talk about Truth.

They consider questions like: What happens when we stop preaching hard truths? How does the Bible define truth? How should the church handle truth in a world that often resists it? They also talk about how we preach and teach truth to men, whether confrontational truth-telling is actually appealing to men, and how we can communicate truth well to both men and women. From there, they explore how we grow in our knowledge of the Bible, and what it really means to live the truth out together in community.

American author, minister, and theologian Peter Leithart explores the mission of the church and outlines key themes that shape its character, drawing primarily from the book of Deuteronomy. According to Leithart, a thriving church community is marked by four essential elements: a leader, a book, a song, and a table. These talks were originally given at our church’s annual men’s retreat. This episode is the first in a four-part series, focusing on the leader.

Pastor Matt Boffey concludes a series on peacemaking with a sermon titled “Peacemaking, Part 5: Shalom,” focusing on Isaiah 11.