FPC Bellingham

Message by Doug Bunnell, recorded live October 20, 2024 at First Presbyterian Church of Bellingham. Scripture read by Cameron Maddox.

PEOPLE ARE NEVER THE ENEMY

People are never the enemy, evil is the enemy, people are to be loved.

Ephesians 6:10-17

10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his power. 11 Put on the whole armour of God, so that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12 For our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armour of God, so that you may be able to withstand on that evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. 14 Stand therefore, and fasten the belt of truth around your waist, and put on the breastplate of righteousness. 15 As shoes for your feet put on whatever will make you ready to proclaim the gospel of peace. 16 With all of these, take the shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

Message by Matt McCoy - visiting pastor from Spring Church. Recorded live October 13, 2024 at First Presbyterian Church of Bellingham. Scripture read by Ann Hinz.

Living Faith

Even when there is no evidence of God, I will keep faith with the almighty.

Habakkuk 3:1-2, 16-19

3:1 A prayer of the prophet Habakkuk according to Shigionoth.

2 O Lord, I have heard of your renown,

and I stand in awe, O Lord, of your work.

In our own time revive it;

in our own time make it known;

in wrath may you remember mercy.

3:16 I hear, and I tremble within;

my lips quiver at the sound.

Rottenness enters into my bones,

and my steps tremble beneath me.

I wait quietly for the day of calamity

to come upon the people who attack us.

17 Though the fig tree does not blossom,

and no fruit is on the vines;

though the produce of the olive fails

and the fields yield no food;

though the flock is cut off from the fold

and there is no herd in the stalls,

18 yet I will rejoice in the Lord;

I will exult in the God of my salvation.

19 God, the Lord, is my strength;

he makes my feet like the feet of a deer,

and makes me tread upon the heights.

Message by Doug Bunnell, recorded live October 6, 2024 at First Presbyterian Church of Bellingham. Scripture read by Kristen Frankland.

Listen to God and Beware Idolatry

Habakkuk 2:1-4, 18-20

1 I will stand at my watch-post,

and station myself on the rampart;

I will keep watch to see what he will say to me,

and what he will answer concerning my complaint.

2 Then the Lord answered me and said:

Write the vision;

make it plain on tablets,

so that a runner may read it.

3 For there is still a vision for the appointed time;

it speaks of the end, and does not lie.

If it seems to tarry, wait for it;

it will surely come, it will not delay.

4 Look at the proud!

Their spirit is not right in them,

but the righteous live by their faith.

18 What use is an idol

once its maker has shaped it—

a cast image, a teacher of lies?

For its maker trusts in what has been made,

though the product is only an idol that cannot speak!

19 Alas for you who say to the wood, ‘Wake up!’

to silent stone, ‘Rouse yourself!’

Can it teach?

See, it is plated with gold and silver,

and there is no breath in it at all.

20 But the Lord is in his holy temple;

let all the earth keep silence before him!

This episode Doug interviews Mary Lynn Palmer, a long time member of our church - who discusses in more detail her roll with the Faith Community Nurses.

To learn more go to the FPC or Faith Community Nurse Network websites.

Message by Doug Bunnell, recorded live September 29, 2024 at First Presbyterian Church of Bellingham. Scripture read by Diane Tate.

THE DEEP MYSTERY OF GOD AT WORK

God’s ways in our world are completely mysterious,

and sometimes they feel at odds with our hopes for this world.

Habakkuk 1

1 The oracle that the prophet Habakkuk saw.

2 O Lord, how long shall I cry for help,

and you will not listen?

Or cry to you ‘Violence!’

and you will not save?

3 Why do you make me see wrongdoing

and look at trouble?

Destruction and violence are before me;

strife and contention arise.

4 So the law becomes slack

and justice never prevails.

The wicked surround the righteous—

therefore judgement comes forth perverted.

5 Look at the nations, and see!

Be astonished! Be astounded!

For a work is being done in your days

that you would not believe if you were told.

6 For I am rousing the Chaldeans,

that fierce and impetuous nation,

who march through the breadth of the earth

to seize dwellings not their own.

7 Dread and fearsome are they;

their justice and dignity proceed from themselves.

8 Their horses are swifter than leopards,

more menacing than wolves at dusk;

their horses charge.

Their horsemen come from far away;

they fly like an eagle swift to devour.

9 They all come for violence,

with faces pressing forward;

they gather captives like sand.

10 At kings they scoff,

and of rulers they make sport.

They laugh at every fortress,

and heap up earth to take it.

11 Then they sweep by like the wind;

they transgress and become guilty;

their own might is their god!

12 Are you not from of old,

O Lord my God, my Holy One?

You shall not die.

O Lord, you have marked them for judgement;

and you, O Rock, have established them for punishment.

13 Your eyes are too pure to behold evil,

and you cannot look on wrongdoing;

why do you look on the treacherous,

and are silent when the wicked swallow

those more righteous than they?

14 You have made people like the fish of the sea,

like crawling things that have no ruler.

15 The enemy brings all of them up with a hook;

he drags them out with his net,

he gathers them in his seine;

so he rejoices and exults.

16 Therefore he sacrifices to his net

and makes offerings to his seine;

for by them his portion is lavish,

and his food is rich.

17 Is he then to keep on emptying his net,

and destroying nations without mercy?

Message by Doug Bunnell, recorded live September 22, 2024 at First Presbyterian Church of Bellingham. Scripture read by Ozzie Lewis.

DO NOT WEED, GOD WILL

It is not our job to weed or to judge. God will weed, our job is to bear good fruit.

Matthew 13:24-30

24 He put before them another parable: ‘The kingdom of heaven may be compared to someone who sowed good seed in his field; 25 but while everybody was asleep, an enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and then went away. 26 So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared as well. 27 And the slaves of the householder came and said to him, “Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? Where, then, did these weeds come from?” 28 He answered, “An enemy has done this.” The slaves said to him, “Then do you want us to go and gather them?” 29 But he replied, “No; for in gathering the weeds you would uproot the wheat along with them. 30 Let both of them grow together until the harvest; and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, Collect the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.”’

Matthew 13:36-43

36 Then he left the crowds and went into the house. And his disciples approached him, saying, ‘Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field.’ 37 He answered, ‘The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man; 38 the field is the world, and the good seed are the children of the kingdom; the weeds are the children of the evil one, 39 and the enemy who sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels. 40 Just as the weeds are collected and burned up with fire, so will it be at the end of the age. 41 The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will collect out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all evildoers, 42 and they will throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Let anyone with ears listen!

Message by Doug Bunnell, recorded live September 15, 2024 at First Presbyterian Church of Bellingham. Scripture read by John Freal.

DO NOT TRUST IN KINGS

Do not trust in mortals that will perish, trust in God.

Psalm 146

1 Praise the Lord!

Praise the Lord, O my soul!

2 I will praise the Lord as long as I live;

I will sing praises to my God all my life long.

3 Do not put your trust in princes,

in mortals, in whom there is no help.

4 When their breath departs, they return to the earth;

on that very day their plans perish.

5 Happy are those whose help is the God of Jacob,

whose hope is in the Lord their God,

6 who made heaven and earth,

the sea, and all that is in them;

who keeps faith for ever;

7 who executes justice for the oppressed;

who gives food to the hungry.

The Lord sets the prisoners free;

8 the Lord opens the eyes of the blind.

The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down;

the Lord loves the righteous.

9 The Lord watches over the strangers;

he upholds the orphan and the widow,

but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin.

10 The Lord will reign for ever,

your God, O Zion, for all generations.

Praise the Lord!

Matthew 27:15-17

15 Now at the festival the governor was accustomed to release a prisoner for the crowd, anyone whom they wanted. 16 At that time they had a notorious prisoner, called Jesus Barabbas. 17 So after they had gathered, Pilate said to them, ‘Whom do you want me to release for you, Jesus Barabbas or Jesus who is called the Messiah?’

In this episode Pastor Doug interviews Isis Marks. Isis has been member of our church for many years, and is currently being trained as a Spiritual Director. Isis shares about her life, and what it was like coming to American after spending her first 18 years in Honduras.

Message by Doug Bunnell, recorded live September 8, 2024 at First Presbyterian Church of Bellingham. Scripture read by J.J. Blue.

DO NOT FEAR

Do not fear, resist the urge to flee or fight, stay and love

Isaiah 41:1-10

1 Listen to me in silence, O coastlands;

let the peoples renew their strength;

let them approach, then let them speak;

let us together draw near for judgement.

2 Who has roused a victor from the east,

summoned him to his service?

He delivers up nations to him,

and tramples kings under foot;

he makes them like dust with his sword,

like driven stubble with his bow.

3 He pursues them and passes on safely,

scarcely touching the path with his feet.

4 Who has performed and done this,

calling the generations from the beginning?

I, the Lord, am first,

and will be with the last.

5 The coastlands have seen and are afraid,

the ends of the earth tremble;

they have drawn near and come.

6 Each one helps the other,

saying to one another, ‘Take courage!’

7 The artisan encourages the goldsmith,

and the one who smooths with the hammer encourages the one who strikes the anvil,

saying of the soldering, ‘It is good’;

and they fasten it with nails so that it cannot be moved.

8 But you, Israel, my servant,

Jacob, whom I have chosen,

the offspring of Abraham, my friend;

9 you whom I took from the ends of the earth,

and called from its farthest corners,

saying to you, ‘You are my servant,

I have chosen you and not cast you off’;

10 do not fear, for I am with you,

do not be afraid, for I am your God;

I will strengthen you, I will help you,

I will uphold you with my victorious right hand.

This week we are offering you two messages: the first is a children's message, Circle of Worship, by Pastor Kerrie Bauer, and the second by Doug Bunnell. Both messages are recorded live on September 1, 2024 at First Presbyterian Church of Bellingham.

The gifts are about order and respect, not chaos, Live “chaordically”

1 Corinthians 14:26-40

26 What should be done then, my friends? When you come together, each one has a hymn, a lesson, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation. Let all things be done for building up. 27 If anyone speaks in a tongue, let there be only two or at most three, and each in turn; and let one interpret. 28 But if there is no one to interpret, let them be silent in church and speak to themselves and to God. 29 Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others weigh what is said. 30 If a revelation is made to someone else sitting nearby, let the first person be silent. 31 For you can all prophesy one by one, so that all may learn and all be encouraged. 32 And the spirits of prophets are subject to the prophets, 33 for God is a God not of disorder but of peace.

(As in all the churches of the saints, 34 women should be silent in the churches. For they are not permitted to speak, but should be subordinate, as the law also says. 35 If there is anything they desire to know, let them ask their husbands at home. For it is shameful for a woman to speak in church. 36 Or did the word of God originate with you? Or are you the only ones it has reached?)

37 Anyone who claims to be a prophet, or to have spiritual powers, must acknowledge that what I am writing to you is a command of the Lord. 38 Anyone who does not recognize this is not to be recognized. 39 So, my friends, be eager to prophesy, and do not forbid speaking in tongues; 40 but all things should be done decently and in order.