Portlethen Christian Fellowship

Zak introduced our sermon series reading through the book of Colossians on Sunday. We reflected on the big picture of this letter and Col 1:1-14 which gives us the evidence of faith in the life of a community: Radical Hope in a hopeless worldSacrificial Love for one anotherFaith in both the truth of the gospel and a personal trust in Jesus.And we learn of the benefits of these characteristics at work in a community. As we pursue God, he continues to meet with us and He strengthens us so that we can face the impossible and still hold onto Him.

Zak shared a standalone message, reflecting on some of what it looks like to commit to be part of the PCF church family.We reflecting on 1 Corinthians 12 and the role of serving in the life of the church, equipped and led by the Holy Spirit for the flourishing of our church community and for our own growth.

This palm Sunday, where we normally highlight the worship of the crowds as Jesus enters Jerusalem, Zak took us to an event days before Jesus crucifixion where a woman honours Jesus as King through a seemingly scandalous act of waste. Mark 14 calls us to reflect on what the Kingdom of the world considers wasteful, and what the Kingdom of God calls beautiful.

This week Ian opened up Mark 10:35-45 as we explored the key question - what does greatest look like in the Kingdom of God?We continued to discover the upside down nature of God's Kingdom, and are challenged to consider - what does it look like to pursue God's Kingdom values in our lives?

This week Zak led us through Mark 10:17-31, as we considered together the call of Jesus to seek after Him first and His Kingdom. And we explored how we can ensure that money doesn't become a treasure in our lives.Zak led us through 4 practical reflections on money:Choose ThankfulnessKill ComparisonBe Intentional (about our sharing, saving and spending)Money is an opportunity, not a treasure.

We had James from ACF with us this morning to continue our series in Mark's Gospel- leading us through a hugely significant moment in Mark's Gospel - the transfiguration of Jesus and what it reveals about who Jesus is and His Kingdom.

This Table Sunday Zak led us through Mark 6:45-56 and the remarkable story of Jesus walking on water. We reflected on the heart condition of the disciples and our own hearts, and what happens when a whole community chooses faith in Jesus over cynacism.The practical application was to have a go at sharing our testimonies - perhaps there is someone you can share yours with this week?

Ian Ferguson continued our series, reading Mark 5:21 onwards, reading about two accounts of Jesus encountering and transforming the lives of individuals and families. A 12 year old girl and a woman who had been chronically unwell for 12 years, both met with the healing and resurrecting power of Jesus.We landed with a calling to put our hope in the God who promises to heal us and raise us up from the dead at the end of days.

This week at PCF we had a guest speaker and friend of the Robbs, Robin Nelson who is part of Central Church, Edinburgh. He continued ours series in Mark's Gospel, reading from Mark 5:1-20. We reflected on the destructive pattern of evil, and the transformative and liberating work of Jesus as He ushers in His Kingdom.

Pastor Vijay from ACF joined us on Sunday to continue our sermon series, reflecting on Mark 4:35-41 and Jesus calming the storm and reflecting on the authority of Jesus over nature itself

Here is a snapshot of our monthly Table Sunday conversations. On Sunday we reflected on two parables in Mark 4:26-34 and what it reveals about the Kingdom of God.This reflection is an opportunity to set the scene for your own reading of scripture. Why not take some time to read the passage as you listen and consider what the parables reveal to you about Jesus and the ways of God's Kingdom?

Zak opened up Mark 2:23-3:6 as we continued our series in the book of Mark, and yet another occasion Jesus and the Pharisees clash. We reflected together on the significance of Jesus actions, the practice of Sabbath, the invitation to rest that we receive as followers of JesusA takeaway for all of us, is that our resting can honour God just as our work can honour God.

As we continue in our series Ian Ferguson shared powerfully about the authority of Jesus to forgive our sins, and that this is the greatest news we could ever receive!We read from Mark 2 as we continued our chapter by chapter series this term.

Zak led us through Mark 1:6-18 this Sunday, reflecting on the beginning of Jesus public ministry and how it reveals His mission.We dig deep into the significance of v9-11 and what the "good news" is in Mark's Gospel and how we can respond to Jesus invitation to come and follow Him.

As we begin the new year we are taking some time to go deep together reading Mark's Gospel as a church family through until Easter.We have all been given a copy of a journal Mark's gospel to help engage at a deeper level, and an accompaniment study guide to read passages we don't have time to cover on Sundays.Here is an introduction to the Gospel, answering key questions like: when was it written? who is it written by? how can we have confidence in this eye-witness testimony?

As we rounded off our short series in Ruth Zak helped us to reflect on the redemptive work of God in the life of Naomi, Ruth and Boaz and how it reminds us that God's steadfast love is redemptive, and is working in the detail and the big picture.

Ian continued week 2 of our 3 week series on the Book of Ruth, reflecting on the love of God revealed through the actions of Boaz in Ruth chapter 2.A small apologies for audio quality, we had to rely on a backup recording which picked up the hall noise.

Zak launched our November mini-series this Sunday, reflecting on the book of Ruth, and in particular on what we learn about the steadfast love of God in the story of Ruth. We reflected on Ruth chapter 1 and how we hold space for God's love to break into our lives.

James Mackenzie joined us this Sunday to conclude our series reflecting on Exodus 33 and the big story of God's creative intention to dwell with His people. It was a powerful reminder that in God's plans, the one true God - Yahweh - has chosen to dwell with us, right now, by His Holy Spirit.

After a few weeks hiatus due to recording errors, it's great to be able to share our most recent sermon from Ian. We are coming close to the end of this series, and this Sunday reflected on the God of Covenant love, Justice and righteousness. The big question we considered together is:"What is our boast?" Is it in the things that will fade - wealth/strength/power, Or in the one who is eternal.

Ian continued our series this morning with a challenging and thought provoking reflection on the idols of our day, centred on Deut 4:15-20. It came off the back of a baptism and was a powerful reminder to us that we only truly find our purpose and meaning in God.

This week Vijay shared with us from Psalm 115, reflecting on Yahweh God being the only true, living God and contrasting the Lord with idols which are made by human hands and are lifeless. We were reminded again both how good it is to worship the living God, and of the dangers of giving ourselves towards lifeless idols.

This week Zak led us through Exodus 3:1-15 and reflected on the moment where God reveals his name.. Yahweh. We considered how this passage gives us a glimpse into the nature and character of God, who is both beyond us and who draws near to us.A key question we considered together was: Do we create room in our lives to turn aside and allow the Lord to speak?

This week Ian Ferguson continued our series, sharing from Exodus 15, of how Yahweh stands alone as the one true God, in His covenant love, His Miraculous Power and His warrior-like character.

This Sunday we began a new sermon series to see us through the Autumn term. We are taking some time to consider who the God is that reveals Himself in scripture, particularly in relation to the other false gods and alluring idols that plagued the ancient world.Zak took time to walk through the account of Genesis 1:1-2:3, reflecting on the distinctiveness and wonder of the creation account revealed in the first pages of scripture.

Florence Mackenzie from ACF joined us this Sunday to conclude our summer sermon series. This week we reflected on Isaiah 55 and the promise of abundant provision, abundant mercy and abundant peace that we find in Christ and through His word.

Vijay joined us this Sunday to continue our summer series, reflecting on Isaiah 43:1-7 and the words of assurance and comfort that are found within them.

This Sunday we had a guest speaker with us - Sean Pesic from Safe Families/Home for Good. He continued in our summer series reflecting on Isaiah 42, and how we as church community can join in with God's work of justice and restoration to those who are isolated and without family.If you want to know more about this wonderful organisation you can check out their website safefamilies.uk

This Sunday Zak continued our series in Isaiah, reflecting on the words of Isaiah 41:8-13, Courage for the Fearful.

We had James MacKenzie from ACF as we continued our summer series looking at the wonderful passages of comfort in Isaiah. This Sunday we reflected on Isa 40:28-31 - God giving strength to those who are weary.

We began our summer series this week, reflecting on the passages of assurance and consolation found in the book of Isaiah 40-55.Zak reflected on the God who brings comfort to the weary, in Isa 40:1-11.

This week as we continued our series, we considered what a culture of goodness looks like, and what it would have felt like to be amongst these first disciples. We turend to Phil 4:4-9 as we considered what it looks like to gather together with glad (rejoicing) and sincere (simplicity) hearts.

This week Ian Ferguson continued our series, reflecting on the central role of the Holy Spirit in the forming of the church and equipping the early disciples. A key question he asked was: rather than asking how I can have more of the Holy Spirit, what does it look like for the Holy Spirit to have more of me?

As we continue on our series looking at Foundations, we took some extended time on Sunday to consider the practice of prayer. We learned lots from the account of the early church in Acts through the time together. If you would like to view the accompanying notes you can access them here

This week Zak continued to explore our series on Fellowship together, looking at the way the early church devoted themselves to Fellowship - and what it means to be devoted to one another as we form community where we are.

Week 2 of our series looking at the foundations of the early church as we find it in Acts 2:42-47. This week Vijay joined us to share about the foundational practice of teaching and the centrality of being a life-long disciple (learner) of Jesus.

This Sunday we launched our new sermon series, called Foundations. Each week this term we are looking at Acts 2:42-47 and considering the 9 foundational, formational practices of the early church that are first recorded in these verses and continue to be right at the heart of the church right up till the present day. This week, we had a friend of PCF, Thomas Dean (Pastor of Stenhouse Baptist) come and share about the formational practice of breaking bread together.

As we wrap up our series reading through Luke's Gospel together, we finish by reflecting on the Emmaus Road journey, beginning in Luke 24:13. We reflected on the invitation to join in with God's story together, that Emmaus Road is our story and our mission. With hearts burning, eyes opening and lives changing as we encounter Jesus and introduce others to Jesus too.

As we near the end of our series reading through Luke's Gospel, we took time this Sunday to consider the significance of Palm Sunday.We landed with the question:What does it mean to trust Jesus as our King? How can we follow Him more and more in our daily lives?

This Sunday we continue in Luke, reading 13:31-35. We considered the heart and mission of Jesus, how he remains true to his purpose and calling and his heart for those who are lost.Our calling in response, was to anchor ourselves in the same two truths.We are the beloved of GodWe are called to join in his mission to reach out to the lost.

This morning we had Cheri Young sharing, as we reflected on Luke 9:51-62. We continued to recognise the way people respond to Jesus message and mission, and reflected on how open our own hearts are to respond to the call of Jesus to follow Him.

This Sunday we reflected on Luke 8, and how the parable of the sower is both an invitation to examine and prepare our own hearts for God's Kingdom work in us, and is a call to join in the work of sowing seeds in Portlethen and surrounding areas.

Vijay joined us this Sunday to continue our series looking at Luke's gospel, reading from Luke 5:17-26. We explored how the friends, the Pharisees and the crowds all responded to Jesus, and considered our own hearts as we seek to respond to Jesus and follow Him.

We are continuing in the Gospel of Luke, following on from last week with 4:31-37. This week we considered Jesus proclamation of Isaiah 61, demonstrated in the releasing of a man from an unclean spirit. We asked the questions:What does this teach us about the Kingdom of God? How do we recognise and join in the spiritual battle as we follow Jesus?

This week Zak is continuing our series in Luke's Gospel, looking at Luke 4:14-30. We consider Jesus message of salvation which is for all who will receive Him, and reflect on God's heart for the poor and lowly.

We're continuing in our sermon series in Luke, today looking at Luke 4:1-13. Vijay joined us to help us consider the temptation of Christ and how resisting temptation is an opportunity to grow in strength in the Lord

As we begin our series in the Gospel of Luke, we are taking the first three weeks to consider the ways people prepared for the coming of Jesus, and how we too can prepare our hearts and lives for Jesus in this coming year. This Sunday we looked at Simeon and Anna and considered two questions. How can we pray the promises of God? How can we pay attention to the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives?

The second of our two week Advent series, looking at a psalm which points towards the coming of Jesus