Sermons from Aberdeen Christian Fellowship

Sermons from Aberdeen Christian Fellowship

Part 1 – The Ten Commandments overview. Derek reads Exodus 20 and makes three points: the commandments were given after God's rescue of Israel (not as a condition of it), they're guidance for the saved rather than a means of earning salvation, and each one is a broad principle meant to be applied widely rather than treated as a tick-box exercise. He illustrates this with the 8th commandment ("you must not steal"), showing it covers tax evasion, underpaying workers, time-theft, and misusing power of attorney. Part 2 – The blind spot. Turning to the 9th commandment ("you must not bear false...

Psalm 145 - 28th June 2026

Sermons from Aberdeen Christian Fellowship

Vijay’s sermon concludes the Psalms series by focusing on Psalm 145, a psalm of praise by David. His central point is that praise is what happens when our hearts catch up with reality — when we truly see God as he is. He begins by observing that people naturally talk about what they love: football, children, hobbies, interests. Yet Christians often struggle to speak of God with that same wonder. Psalm 145 shows that praise is not something we simply switch on emotionally. It grows as we give God our attention, remember his works, see his character, recognise his sustaining care,...

Praise: Psalm 126

Sermons from Aberdeen Christian Fellowship

The Text: Psalm 126 (New Living Translation) — a psalm of praise recalling Israel's return from exile in Babylon. Opening Hook — The "Fresh Start" Effect Vijay begins by observing the universal human longing for a fresh start — at New Year, birthdays, or even a Monday morning. Beneath that, he argues, is a deeper desire: not just to improve, but to be made new — to undo mistakes and mend what's broken. That longing, he says, sits at the heart of Psalm 126. The Historical Context The psalm recalls Israel's return from decades of Babylonian exile. When the Persian king Cyrus allowed...

Lament, Trust and Praise

Sermons from Aberdeen Christian Fellowship

Florence continues the series “Lament, Trust and Praise”, moving into the theme of praise through Psalm 118. The sermon’s main message is that God’s people are called to praise him not only when life is easy, but also in times of difficulty, because his love endures forever. She explains that Psalm 118 is full of confidence in God’s steadfast love, mercy, goodness and faithfulness. The psalm may have been used at Passover, and Florence notes its strong connection to Jesus, especially as he approached the cross. The sermon follows five main responses from the psalm. First, we should...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

Vijay’s sermon concludes the Psalms series by focusing on Psalm 145, a psalm of praise by David. His central point is that praise is what happens when our hearts catch up with reality — when we truly see God as he is.

He begins by observing that people naturally talk about what they love: football, children, hobbies, interests. Yet Christians often struggle to speak of God with that same wonder. Psalm 145 shows that praise is not something we simply switch on emotionally. It grows as we give God our attention, remember his works, see his character, recognise his sustaining care, and discover his personal nearness.

Vijay’s first point is that praise begins when we choose to give God our attention. David starts Psalm 145 with the words “I will”, showing that praise begins with a deliberate act of focus. In a distracted world of notifications, worries and constant scrolling, our attention is easily captured by small things. Worship re-centres us on the greatest reality: God himself.

The second theme is remembering God’s faithfulness. Vijay notes that humans often remember wounds, disappointments and threats more easily than blessings. But when we only remember the painful parts of life, we distort reality. Scripture repeatedly tells God’s people to “remember” because forgetting God leads to fading wonder and fading praise.

The sermon then moves to God’s character. God’s greatness is not merely power; it is greatness joined to goodness. David describes the Lord as gracious, merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. Christians see this most clearly in Jesus: welcoming sinners, touching lepers, weeping with the grieving, and dying for rebels at the cross.

Vijay also highlights that life itself is a gift sustained by God. Creation is not independent or self-running. Every breath, heartbeat, meal and moment depends on the God who opens his hand and gives life. Recognising this dependence produces gratitude.

Finally, the sermon reaches the personal wonder of Psalm 145: the infinite God is near to those who call on him. Unlike human greatness, which often creates distance, God’s greatness means that nothing escapes his care. He notices every detail, every tear, every cry for help. Praise deepens when we see that the God who rules the universe also turns toward us in love.

Vijay closes by connecting Psalm 145 to the whole book of Psalms. The Hebrew title of Psalms means “praises”, even though the book contains lament, sorrow, fear and confusion. This is because every part of life, even the darkest parts, can become part of praise when placed within the greater reality of God’s greatness, goodness, kingdom and fatherly care.

YouTube chapter markers

00 Introduction and thanks to those serving children and youth
03 Why we naturally talk about what we love
04 Psalm 145 and where praise really comes from
07 Praise begins when our hearts see reality
13 Reading Psalm 145: David’s praise of God
16 Praise begins with choosing to give God our attention
20 Remembering God’s mighty works and faithfulness
00 God’s works reveal his gracious and merciful character
00 Life itself depends on God’s sustaining care
45 The infinite God is personally near to those who call
59 The whole journey of the Psalms leads to praise
07 Closing prayer: fixing our eyes on God