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,...
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The life of Paul - Episode 1
Sermons from Aberdeen Christian Fellowship
David begins a new series on the life of Paul, focusing first on Saul before he became Paul and the grace of God that transformed him. He opens with a searching question: what is the worst thing you have ever done, and do you believe there is a way back to God for you? He walks through several biblical examples — Abraham, Moses, Rahab, David, Jonah, Zacchaeus, the woman caught in adultery, Peter, Thomas and the thief on the cross — showing that God repeatedly restores sinners who turn back to him. David stresses that the gospel is a gospel of grace. While some sins may seem...
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Luke 22
Sermons from Aberdeen Christian Fellowship
Vijay preaches from Luke 22, focusing on Peter’s denial of Jesus and what it reveals about human weakness, self-confidence, prayer, repentance and the grace of Christ. He begins by reflecting on the fact that most of us carry around two versions of ourselves. There is the version we are happy for others to see — our strengths, achievements and best moments — and another hidden version containing our compromises, failures and weaknesses. Often, pressure reveals things in us that we did not realise were there. Vijay says the better question is not simply, “Who am I really?”...
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Jesus and the fallen woman
Sermons from Aberdeen Christian Fellowship
Cheri preaches from Luke 7:36–50, the account of Jesus at the home of Simon the Pharisee, where a woman known for living a sinful life comes to Jesus with tears, perfume and extravagant devotion. She begins by linking this sermon with the previous week’s message on the woman caught in adultery, and with her reflections on Rahab and Hagar. Her focus is on how God responds to women who are shamed, rejected or treated as “fallen” by society. Cheri explains the setting of the story: Jesus is invited to a formal meal at a Pharisee’s house. A woman enters uninvited, weeping at Jesus’...
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The woman caught in adultery
Sermons from Aberdeen Christian Fellowship
Cheri preaches from John 8:2–11, the story of the woman caught in adultery, where Jesus says, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” She explains that this passage has been on her mind because of her recent teaching on Rahab and because of pastoral conversations with young people, especially around questions of sexuality, gender, fear, shame and Christian discipleship. Cheri says the church often finds this subject hard to talk about because it is surrounded by fear. Some fear being misunderstood, accused of hatred or facing consequences...
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Logos Hope team - The power, authority and honour of the name of Jesus. 2nd Aug 2026
Sermons from Aberdeen Christian Fellowship
The Logos Hope team share a service centred on the power, authority and honour of the name of Jesus. The team begin by introducing themselves and the work of OM’s Logos Hope. Bauka, from Kazakhstan, explains that although the team come from different countries, the focus is not on flags or national identity, but on introducing people to Jesus. He also asks the church to pray for Kazakhstan, where evangelical Christians are a very small minority. Anne Marie then shares a short testimony using the illustration of fleas in a jar. When a lid is placed on the jar, the fleas learn to jump only so...
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Living in times of change, uncertainty and instability
Sermons from Aberdeen Christian Fellowship
James preaches from Isaiah 6:1–8, where Isaiah sees the Lord in the year King Uzziah died. He begins by reflecting on Bob Dylan’s song “The Times They Are A-Changin’”, using it to introduce the theme of living in times of change, uncertainty and instability. His central message is: In a time of change and uncertainty, we need to fix our eyes on the one who is unchangeable and completely dependable. James explains that Isaiah’s vision happened at a real point in history, around the death of King Uzziah. Uzziah had reigned for 52 years, so his death marked a time of national...
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Love - 1 Corinthians 13
Sermons from Aberdeen Christian Fellowship
Florence preaches from 1 Corinthians 13:1–7, focusing on the “missing ingredient” in the Corinthian church: love. She begins with a humorous cooking illustration, adding the wrong amount of garlic and almost forgetting the chicken in a curry, to show that sometimes one essential ingredient can be missing. In Corinth, the church had spiritual gifts, activity and ability, but they lacked love. Florence explains that the love Paul describes is agape love: a self-giving love that keeps giving even when the other person does not deserve it. This is the love of God, shown most clearly in Jesus...
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Don't you care if we drown?
Sermons from Aberdeen Christian Fellowship
Jeremy preaches from Mark 4:35–41, the account of Jesus calming the storm. He begins by connecting the disciples’ fear in the boat with our own experiences of anxiety, uncertainty and hardship. Even when we know Jesus is with us, difficult circumstances can make us ask the same question the disciples asked: “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?” Jeremy shares honestly about his own anxiety, including the move from Singapore to Aberdeen, and uses the story of his young nephew on a rope playground to show how fear can overwhelm trust, even when help is close by. The sermon...
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Blind Spots
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...
info_outlineVijay 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 abundant mercy. Forgiveness is not based on how sorry we feel, how much we punish ourselves, or whether we can “forgive ourselves”; it rests on the mercy of the God who forgives.
David then confesses his sin without excuse. He names it as transgression, iniquity, and sin: rebellion against God, inner corruption, and missing the mark. Though David’s actions hurt Bathsheba, Uriah, and others, he recognises that all sin is ultimately against God.
The sermon then moves to David’s request for cleansing. Vijay explains that David is asking for more than legal pardon or ritual cleansing; he wants God to restore the relationship and cleanse him from the inside out. This leads to the heart of the psalm: “Create in me a clean heart, O God.” True repentance is not only asking to be forgiven, but asking to be changed by the Holy Spirit.
Vijay shows that forgiveness changes people outwardly too. David says he will teach sinners God’s ways and praise God again. Forgiven people become reconcilers and worshippers. The example of John Newton and Amazing Grace illustrates how God’s mercy can reshape a life and continue teaching others long afterwards.
The sermon also stresses that God desires a broken and contrite heart, not merely outward religious acts. David’s failure does not become a good thing, but God uses even repentance after failure to teach humility and bring restoration.
Finally, Vijay explains that sin is never purely private. David’s sin damaged his kingdom, but his restoration also had wider effects. God continued his promises through David, Solomon, and ultimately Jesus. The sermon closes with the story of Mick Fleming, whose life of trauma, violence, guilt, repentance, and transformation shows how God meets broken people, forgives them, changes them, and makes their lives a source of good for others.
Core message
God meets us in guilt, forgives us through his mercy, changes us by his Spirit, restores us into relationship with him, and uses our restored lives for the good of others and the glory of God.