Sermons from Aberdeen Christian Fellowship

The Righteous will live by Faith

Sermons from Aberdeen Christian Fellowship

James continues the series “Where Feet May Fail”, looking at Habakkuk 2:1–4 and one of the most important statements in Scripture: “The righteous person will live by faith.” He begins with the idea of discovering something valuable in an unexpected place. On a visit to Eilean Donan Castle, James unexpectedly came across the words of In Flanders Fields. In a similar way, tucked away in the small and sometimes overlooked book of Habakkuk is a truth that lies at the very heart of the Christian gospel. Habakkuk has already complained to God about the violence and injustice in Judah....

Habakkuk - When God’s Answer Is Not What We Expect

Sermons from Aberdeen Christian Fellowship

Dave continues the series on Habakkuk, picking up from Florence’s message on lament. His main theme is that God does hear our prayers, but his answer may not be the one we expect. He begins with the old “Magic Eye” puzzle books, which required people to look beyond the obvious image to see what was really there. Dave uses this as a picture of Habakkuk’s journey: learning to see beyond immediate circumstances and recognise the bigger thing God is doing. Habakkuk lived at a time when Judah was full of violence, corruption and injustice. He cried out, “How long?”, asking God why he...

Habakkuk: When God Seems Silent

Sermons from Aberdeen Christian Fellowship

Florence begins a new series on Habakkuk, titled “Where Feet May Fail”, focusing on what happens when God appears silent in the middle of distress, injustice and uncertainty. She introduces Habakkuk as a prophet living in Judah around 600 BC, at a time marked by violence, injustice, conflict and ineffective leadership. Habakkuk cannot understand why God seems not to intervene, and he cries out: “How long, Lord, must I call for help, but you do not listen?” Florence explains that Habakkuk’s response is an example of lament. Lament is not faithless grumbling. It is an honest,...

Paul the Finisher

Sermons from Aberdeen Christian Fellowship

Vijay concludes the series on the life of Paul, focusing on 2 Timothy 4:6–8 and Paul’s words near the end of his life: “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, and I have remained faithful.” The sermon begins with the reminder that life is short. Psalm 90 asks God to teach us to number our days so that we may live wisely. Knowing that life is brief should not make Christians fearful, but should make us think carefully about how we use the life God has given us. Paul is writing to Timothy knowing that his own death is near. Years earlier, in Acts 20, Paul had said...

Paul the Pastor-Theologian

Sermons from Aberdeen Christian Fellowship

David continues the series on the life of Paul, looking at Paul as a pastor-theologian and asking what makes someone a truly great Christian leader. He begins with examples of fictional leaders such as Leonardo the Mutant Hero Turtle, Captain Kirk, Aragorn and Ted Lasso, arguing that great leaders have the ability to inspire a response. Leadership is not just about having good ideas; it is about turning vision into reality and moving people to act. David then applies this to Paul. Paul was not only a thinker or theologian. He was a leader whose teaching always moved from what...

Strength in Weakness

Sermons from Aberdeen Christian Fellowship

Jeremy continues the series on the life of Paul, preaching from 2 Corinthians 11:16–12:10. His central theme is that Christian faithfulness is not measured by impressive achievements or by how much suffering we can endure in our own strength. Instead, the Christian life is about dependence on Christ, whose grace is sufficient and whose power is made perfect in weakness. Jeremy begins with a story about visiting a bamboo forest in Japan with his wife. They both went through the same tiring journey, but for very different reasons. His wife endured the early start and long walk to enjoy the...

Paul the Church Planter

Sermons from Aberdeen Christian Fellowship

Florence continues the series on the life of Paul, looking at Paul the church planter and the establishment of the first Christian church in Europe at Philippi in Acts 16. She begins with an illustration from gardening. Artificial flowers may look convincing, but an artificial church cannot produce real spiritual life. Church planting requires genuine believers committed to Christ’s command to make disciples. Florence describes this as cross-shaped living: a vertical relationship with God combined with a horizontal concern for other people. Paul originally planned to preach elsewhere...

The Life of Paul - Acts 15

Sermons from Aberdeen Christian Fellowship

Vijay continues the series on the life of Paul, focusing on Paul the controversialist in Acts 15:1–21. The controversy is not about a minor church preference, but about the heart of the gospel: is Jesus Christ enough? He begins with an illustration of doctors disagreeing over a scan. Some disagreements do not matter much, but others are life-changing because they concern what is actually true. In the same way, Christians may disagree over many secondary matters, but Acts 15 deals with a central question: how is a person saved, and who belongs to the people of God? The issue arises...

The Life of Paul - Acts 13

Sermons from Aberdeen Christian Fellowship

James continues the series on the life of Paul, moving from Paul’s hidden years into the beginning of his missionary work in Acts 13. He begins by setting the scene in the church at Antioch in Syria, where Paul has become part of a spiritually gifted church. While the believers are worshipping, fasting and praying, the Holy Spirit tells them to set apart Barnabas and Saul for the work to which he has called them. James highlights that the mission begins not with human strategy, but with the Spirit’s calling and the church’s prayerful obedience. Paul and Barnabas are sent to Cyprus, where...

The Life of Paul - the Hidden Years

Sermons from Aberdeen Christian Fellowship

Malcolm continues the series on the life of Paul, focusing on “the hidden years” after Saul’s conversion and before his wider public ministry. The passage is Galatians 1:11–23, where Paul explains that the gospel he preached was not invented by people or passed on to him second-hand, but received by direct revelation from Jesus Christ. Malcolm begins by placing Paul’s story in context. Last week looked at Saul the persecutor being transformed by Jesus on the road to Damascus. This week looks at the quieter period that followed: Paul’s time in Arabia, then Damascus,...

Jeremy continues the series on the life of Paul, preaching from 2 Corinthians 11:16–12:10. His central theme is that Christian faithfulness is not measured by impressive achievements or by how much suffering we can endure in our own strength. Instead, the Christian life is about dependence on Christ, whose grace is sufficient and whose power is made perfect in weakness.
Jeremy begins with a story about visiting a bamboo forest in Japan with his wife. They both went through the same tiring journey, but for very different reasons. His wife endured the early start and long walk to enjoy the beauty of the forest, while Jeremy admits that he focused more on proving what a supportive husband he was. The same suffering can therefore be endured for very different purposes.

This leads into Paul’s conflict with false apostles in Corinth. These teachers were boasting about their credentials, achievements and authority. The Corinthians were impressed by outward signs of spiritual success, so Paul responds with deliberate irony. Instead of boasting about impressive accomplishments, he lists his imprisonments, beatings, shipwrecks, dangers, hunger, sleeplessness and concern for the churches.
Jeremy explains that Paul was not glorifying suffering for its own sake. Paul endured these things because Christ and the gospel were worth the cost. His question was not, “How much have I achieved?” but “How much am I willing to give in loving and serving Christ and his people?”

The first challenge, therefore, is that it is not about our achievements. Christian maturity is not measured by titles, visibility, theological knowledge or public ministry. Faithfulness may look like quietly serving, listening to someone who is struggling, caring for a difficult person or continuing to serve when nobody notices.
Jeremy’s second major point is that it is not about our own endurance either. Paul had extraordinary spiritual experiences, including visions of heaven, but he refused to make those experiences the basis of his credibility. Instead, he spoke about his weakness and the “thorn in the flesh” that he repeatedly asked God to remove.
God did not remove the thorn. Instead he told Paul:
“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”

Jeremy says this is the heart of Paul’s endurance. Paul was not sustained by determination, resilience or spiritual experience, but by the grace and power of Christ.

The sermon challenges the idea that strong Christians should be able to handle everything. Difficulties and unanswered prayer do not necessarily mean God has abandoned us or that our faith is weak. Sometimes God does not remove the struggle, but promises to sustain us within it.

Jeremy closes with the story of a young man deciding whether to extend an enjoyable overseas trip or return home to lead young people in church. He chose the less glamorous path of service, not to prove himself, but in obedience to Jesus and dependence on Christ’s strength.

The final message is simple: we do not endure suffering to prove what we have achieved, and we do not endure by proving how strong we are. We endure because Christ is enough. When we are weak, his strength is revealed.

0:00 Introduction and 2 Corinthians 12:9–10
1:31 The Bamboo Forest: Same Suffering, Different Purpose
3:44 Why Do We Endure Suffering?
4:33 It’s Not About Our Achievements
7:15 Paul Boasts in His Weakness and Suffering
11:30 Christ and the Gospel Are Worth the Cost
14:47 It’s Not About Our Own Endurance
17:31 Paul’s Visions and the Thorn in the Flesh
22:32 My Grace Is Sufficient for You
26:37 When I Am Weak, Then I Am Strong