Psalm 77 - Lamenting unanswered prayer
Sermons from Aberdeen Christian Fellowship
Release Date: 05/04/2026
Psalm 100 - Praising God with our whole being, James Mackenzie
Sermons from Aberdeen Christian Fellowship
James' main theme is that Psalm 100 calls God’s people to praise Him with their whole being. Psalm 100 is a “doubly perfect” psalm because it contains two sets of seven: seven encouragements to praise God and seven reasons to praise Him. The sermon first walks through the calls to worship: shout joyfully, serve gladly, sing, give thanks, praise, be thankful, and bless the Lord’s name. Praise is presented as something expressive, joyful, grateful, and active—not just singing, but the whole life of worship and service. The second half gives the reasons for praise: Yahweh...
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Sermon Summary — Psalm 121: The Lord Who Keeps His People
Sermons from Aberdeen Christian Fellowship
Speaker: Vijay Main Bible passage: Psalm 121 Theme: Trusting God to keep us through the whole journey of life. Vijay closes the Psalms of Trust section of the series by preaching from Psalm 121, one of the Songs of Ascents sung by pilgrims travelling to Jerusalem. He frames life as a pilgrimage: we move through changing seasons, uncertainty, weakness, ageing, and eventually death. Psalm 121 speaks to travellers who know the road may be long and difficult, but who are promised that the Lord will keep his people all the way home. The sermon gives four reasons why the Lord can be trusted on...
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Psalm 62: Trusting the Lord Our Refuge
Sermons from Aberdeen Christian Fellowship
Speaker: James Main Bible passage: Psalm 62 Theme: God is completely trustworthy as our refuge in every circumstance. James continues the church’s series through the Psalms, moving through the theme of trust. After Psalm 23 showed the Lord as shepherd and Psalm 27 showed the Lord as protector, Psalm 62 presents the Lord as our refuge. Trust, James says, is not optional for Christians; it is part of the whole journey of faith from beginning to end. He explains that Psalm 62 is not abstract theology. David wrote it out of real experience: enemies, danger, betrayal, and pressure. David had...
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Psalm 27: The Lord Our Protector
Sermons from Aberdeen Christian Fellowship
Speaker: Cheri Main Bible passage: Psalm 27 Theme: Trusting God when we feel under attack. Cheri presents Psalm 27 as a prayer and song for those who feel afraid, accused, misunderstood, mistreated, or under threat. The Psalms are described as the prayer book and songbook of God’s people, giving us words to pray when we do not know what to say. The sermon focuses on God as light, salvation, and stronghold. Because the Lord is our protector, we do not need to fight our battles in our own strength or react out of fear. Cheri uses images of ancient fortresses, Scottish hill forts, and historic...
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Psalm 23: Trusting the Lord as Shepherd
Sermons from Aberdeen Christian Fellowship
Main Bible passage: Psalm 23 Theme: Trusting God reshapes our inner life. Vijay introduces this sermon as the beginning of ACF’s move from Psalms of Lament into Psalms of Trust. He explains that trust is central to the whole life of faith, even in lament, because lament brings suffering towards God rather than turning away from him. The sermon defines biblical trust as placing yourself in the care of God. Unlike mechanical trust, such as trusting a car to work, trusting God is personal: it means becoming vulnerable before him because of who he is. Psalm 23 is then explored as a...
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Psalm 77 - Lamenting unanswered prayer
Sermons from Aberdeen Christian Fellowship
Sermon summary Florence preaches on Psalm 77 as part of a series on lament, trust, and praise, focusing especially on lamenting unanswered prayer. She begins by naming the “noise inside our heads” — worry, doubt, distress — and explains that the Bible does not sugarcoat painful realities. Biblical lament is presented as a faithful practice: crying out to God, bringing complaints honestly, asking God to act, remembering what he has done, and ultimately reaffirming trust. Psalm 77 shows Asaph in deep distress. He cries out to God, prays through the night, cannot sleep, and asks raw...
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Psalm 58
Sermons from Aberdeen Christian Fellowship
Derek’s sermon on Psalm 58 explores how Christians should respond to widespread injustice, corrupt rulers, and evil actions in the world. He explains that lament is biblical: believers do not need to pretend everything is fine, but should bring suffering, injustice, and wrongdoing honestly before God in prayer. He distinguishes lament from grumbling. Lament brings complaint to God in faith; grumbling complains without prayer and can imply giving up on God’s goodness or power. Psalm 58 is then presented as both a lament and an imprecatory psalm—a prayer asking God to restrain or punish...
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Psalm 51 - 19th April 2026
Sermons from Aberdeen Christian Fellowship
Vijay preaches on Psalm 51, David’s great psalm of repentance after being confronted by Nathan over his sin with Bathsheba and Uriah. The sermon begins by distinguishing between healthy and unhealthy guilt. False guilt can burden people for things that are not their fault, while real guilt can become unhealthy if it traps us in the past. But healthy guilt faces sin honestly and leads us towards repentance, change, and restoration with God. Vijay explains that Psalm 51 teaches us that repentance begins not with ourselves, but with God’s character. David appeals to God’s steadfast love and...
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Psalm 13 - Lament
Sermons from Aberdeen Christian Fellowship
In this opening message in our Psalms series, Florence introduces Psalm 13 and shows how biblical lament gives us a faithful way to bring our pain, confusion, and sorrow to God. Lament is not grumbling or faithlessness. It is an honest expression of faith that teaches us to: cry out to God complain to God honestly ask Him to act reaffirm our trust in Him Through Psalm 13, we see David move from “How long, Lord?” to renewed trust, rejoicing, and praise. Even when circumstances do not immediately change, God remains good, present, and worthy of our trust. This sermon encourages us not to...
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"Hope Against Hope" — 5th April 2026
Sermons from Aberdeen Christian Fellowship
"Hope Against Hope" — Easter Sunday Sermon Vijay opens with a vivid image: a man walking through a village destroyed by a storm finds a rooster standing on the wreckage, chest out, crowing with full confidence. It seems absurd until you realise the rooster isn't responding to the ruins. It's responding to the risen sun. That image sets up the whole sermon: Christians can speak of hope even amid devastation, because of what God has done through the resurrection of Jesus. The central idea is that hope is not denial of reality. It's giving more weight to God's promises than to what...
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Florence preaches on Psalm 77 as part of a series on lament, trust, and praise, focusing especially on lamenting unanswered prayer.
She begins by naming the “noise inside our heads” — worry, doubt, distress — and explains that the Bible does not sugarcoat painful realities. Biblical lament is presented as a faithful practice: crying out to God, bringing complaints honestly, asking God to act, remembering what he has done, and ultimately reaffirming trust.
Psalm 77 shows Asaph in deep distress. He cries out to God, prays through the night, cannot sleep, and asks raw questions about whether God has rejected him or forgotten to be compassionate. Florence emphasises that these honest questions are included in Scripture, showing that God can be approached with raw emotion.
The turning point comes when Asaph chooses to remember God’s past faithfulness. His focus shifts from his circumstances to God’s character. Florence draws out four movements in the psalm: Asaph looks around, looks in, looks up, and looks back. Remembering God’s works leads him to praise God’s holiness, power, and faithfulness.
The sermon then points to the Exodus, where God made a way through the Red Sea — “a pathway no one knew was there.” Florence applies this to those who feel trapped in sorrow or weariness, suggesting that God may still be leading them through, even when they cannot yet see the way.
Finally, she connects the “way” to Jesus Christ, who calls himself the way in John 14:6. Unlike Asaph, Christians can also look forward to the hope of eternal life, where God will wipe away every tear. The closing encouragement is: whatever is happening in life, look around, look in, look up, look back, and look forward.
00:00 Introduction: the noise inside our heads
01:21 The Bible does not sugarcoat reality
01:36 Recap of the lament, trust, praise series
02:42 What biblical lament is
04:08 “Hallelujah Anyway” and remembering God’s goodness
05:13 Psalm 77: lamenting unanswered prayer
06:37 Asaph looks around: crying out to God
08:23 Crying out as a faith-filled step
09:55 Asaph names his struggle and complaint
11:06 Lament is not a quick formula
12:04 God’s timetable and growing trust
13:41 Asaph’s honest questions to God
15:30 Raw questions are welcomed in Scripture
16:20 The mismatch between belief and experience
17:17 God’s character is reliable despite our feelings
18:53 The dark before the dawn
19:14 Asaph looks in: remembering what God has done
20:46 The importance of what we think about
22:48 Asaph looks up: praising God’s character
23:40 Remembering God’s works leads to praise
25:04 Practising praise in private prayer
25:49 Keeping our eyes on Jesus
27:00 Asaph looks back: God’s rescue at the Red Sea
28:27 Feeling trapped in sorrow or hopelessness
29:21 A pathway no one knew was there
30:45 Jesus as the road, the way
31:50 Following Jesus does not exempt us from sorrow
32:27 Summary: look around, in, up, and back
33:39 Christians can also look forward
34:43 The future hope of no more tears
35:03 Closing encouragement: look around, in, up, back, and forward