Message by Pastor Doug Bunnell, recorded live at First Presbyterian Church on December 15, 2024. Scripture read by Cindy Palmer (and Linus van Pelt).

Shepherds are People in Your Nativity

Shepherds pay attention, check it out, and tell others. Do the same.

Luke 2:8-20

8 Now in that same region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for see, I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: 11 to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord. 12 This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger.” 13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying,

14 “Glory to God in the highest heaven,
    and on earth peace among those whom he favors!”

15 When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go now to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us.” 16 So they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph and the child lying in the manger. 17 When they saw this, they made known what had been told them about this child, 18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them, 19 and Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart. 20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, just as it had been told them.

Pastor Doug talks about what we are doing together in 2025 - reading the New Testament. Listen to the podcast to learn more about this exciting journey. Join us!

Learn more about The Bible Project here.

Message by Pastor Doug Bunnell, recorded live at First Presbyterian Church on December 8, 2024. Scripture read by Gini Bunnell.

Joseph is a Person in Your Nativity

Joseph is one of the great unseen and unheard disciples who shows up and does the right thing, whether anyone sees or not.

Matthew 1:18-25

23 ‘Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,

and they shall name him Emmanuel’,

which means, ‘God is with us.’ 24 When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took her as his wife, 25 but had no marital relations with her until she had borne a son; and he named him Jesus.

Message by Doug Bunnell, recorded live November 3, 2024 at First Presbyterian Church of Bellingham. Scripture read by Hunter Berard.

Angels are in Your Nativity

Angels bring messages that we matter, we have a role, and we can trust God.

Be people who live out good news.

Luke 1:26-38

26 In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, 27 to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28 And he came to her and said, ‘Greetings, favoured one! The Lord is with you.’ 29 But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. 30 The angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favour with God. 31 And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. 32 He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David. 33 He will reign over the house of Jacob for ever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.’ 34 Mary said to the angel, ‘How can this be, since I am a virgin?’ 35 The angel said to her, ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God. 36 And now, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month for her who was said to be barren. 37 For nothing will be impossible with God.’ 38 Then Mary said, ‘Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.’ Then the angel departed from her.

First Presbyterian Church will be providing an opportunity for those interested to join us in an exploration of holy habits that will allow us to better receive grace. In today's podcast, Pastor Doug provides some reflection on our upcoming Rhythms of Grace journey.

 “Listen to your life. See it for the fathomless mystery it is. In the boredom and pain of it, no less than in the excitement and gladness: touch, taste, smell your way to the holy and hidden heart of it, because in the last analysis all moments are key moments, and life itself is grace.”

Frederick Buechner (Now and Then: A Memoir of Vocation)

Learn more on our website.

Each Thanksgiving our Sunday service is transformed as members of our congregation share a deeply personal Thanksgiving reflection. This year we are blessed by John and Gisela Anderson, Nathan Buri, and Diane Murtha.

Special music by Kaden Schmidt, Susan Schmidt, Dan Schmidt, Shon Schmidt, and Jamison Drake.

Discussion Questions

Psalm 105:1-5

1 O give thanks to the Lord, call on his name,

make known his deeds among the peoples.

2 Sing to him, sing praises to him;

tell of all his wonderful works.

3 Glory in his holy name;

let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice.

4 Seek the Lord and his strength;

seek his presence continually.

5 Remember the wonderful works he has done,

his miracles, and the judgements he has uttered,

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

16 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

In this special podcast episode, Pastor Doug interviews Pastor Becca and they reflect on the theme of the fall church retreat : Story Camp.

Message by Chris Hoke, founding director of Underground Ministries, recorded live November 10, 2024 at First Presbyterian Church of Bellingham. Scripture read by John Freal.

God brings life, we roll away the stone and help remove the graveclothes.

John 11:33-44

33 When Jesus saw her weeping and the Jews who came with her also weeping, he was greatly disturbed in spirit and deeply moved. 34 He said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to him, “Lord, come and see.” 35 Jesus began to weep. 36 So the Jews said, “See how he loved him!” 37 But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?”

38 Then Jesus, again greatly disturbed, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone was lying against it. 39 Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, “Lord, already there is a stench because he has been dead four days.” 40 Jesus said to her, “Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?” 41 So they took away the stone. And Jesus looked upward and said, “Father, I thank you for having heard me. 42 I knew that you always hear me, but I have said this for the sake of the crowd standing here, so that they may believe that you sent me.” 43 When he had said this, he cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” 44 The dead man came out, his hands and feet bound with strips of cloth and his face wrapped in a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.”

Message by Doug Bunnell, recorded live November 3, 2024 at First Presbyterian Church of Bellingham. Scripture read by Brad Day.

Listen to Jesus

Jesus speaks using metaphor and simile. Read with humility and curiosity.

Mark 9:2-10

The Transfiguration

2 Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and John and led them up a high mountain apart, by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, 3 and his clothes became dazzling bright, such as no one on earth could brighten them. 4 And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, who were talking with Jesus. 5 Then Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; let us set up three tents: one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” 6 He did not know what to say, for they were terrified. 7 Then a cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud there came a voice, “This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him!” 8 Suddenly when they looked around, they saw no one with them any more, but only Jesus.

The Coming of Elijah

9 As they were coming down the mountain, he ordered them to tell no one about what they had seen, until after the Son of Man had risen from the dead. 10 So they kept the matter to themselves, questioning what this rising from the dead could mean.

Message by Kerrie Bauer, recorded live October 27, 2024 at First Presbyterian Church of Bellingham. Scripture read by Ozzie, Felix, Sarah, and Andy Lewis.

In the Face of Fear

Through wrestling with God in the face of fear, we open ourselves to see the Face of God.

Genesis 27, 32:7-12