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http://www.stonehavenbaptistchurch.com/

Stonehaven Baptist Church, The Old Courthouse, Dunnottar Avenue, Stonehaven (2026)

19/10/2026

Baptist Buzz 18.10.26

Our speaker today was Ian Sanders, the Port Chaplain, who spoke on Mark 10:13–16, where we find folk bringing their children to Jesus to receive His blessing. This was a familiar Jewish custom, but what makes this occasion remarkable is the disciples’ reaction. They rebuked those bringing the children, apparently believing that Jesus had more important things to do. Jesus, however, was indignant with them and used the opportunity to teach them an important lesson.

We don’t really know why they tried to send the children away. Perhaps they thought Jesus was already too busy, or perhaps they wanted more time with him themselves. Whatever their reasons, they were completely wrong. Children were regarded as gifts from God in Jewish culture, and Jesus had already demonstrated his concern for them.

Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.”
Ian challenged us to consider whether we, too, are preventing people from coming to Jesus. We might do so through our words or actions, or simply by failing to share the Gospel with them. Are we doing all we can to point others towards Christ?

We must never imagine that God is too busy to hear us. Psalm 121 reminds us that the One who watches over Israel neither slumbers nor sleeps. Jesus welcomes those who come to him, and we should never place unnecessary obstacles in their way.

Ian also reminded us of the importance of teaching children the truths of Scripture. Sadly, many children today are not taught Bible stories or the Gospel at home. As Christians, we have a responsibility to share the good news with the next generation and help them grow in their knowledge of Jesus.

So, what does it mean to become like a little child? Jesus was not suggesting that we must return to childhood. Rather, he was teaching that we must receive the kingdom of God as a little child receives something from a trusted adult. Think of a small child holding his grandfather’s hand, trusting him completely to keep him safe. That is the kind of humble dependence Jesus was describing.

Children know their helplessness and depend upon others to care for them. In the same way, we must recognise our spiritual helplessness and our need for Christ. We cannot earn our salvation through our achievements or good works. We must come to him in humble faith, trusting him completely. As the hymn puts it: “Nothing in my hand I bring, Simply to Thy cross I cling.”
Sometimes people only turn to Jesus when life falls apart. When their success, possessions or security disappear, they begin to recognise their need for him. But we do not have to wait until we reach rock bottom. We can come to Christ now, acknowledging our sin and trusting him for salvation.

Finally, we see Jesus taking the children into his arms and blessing them. What a beautiful picture of his love and welcome!
The message is clear: we must come to Jesus with humble, childlike trust, recognising our need of him and depending entirely upon his grace. And having experienced his welcome ourselves, we must do everything we can to ensure that others, including the children in our families and communities, are encouraged to come to him too.- G

11/10/2026

Baptist Buzz 11.10.26.

Our preacher today was Graham Horne from Hamilton. He spoke on the next section of Mark’s gospel [Ch.10:1-12] where Jesus continued to teach about sin, this time addressing the difficult subject of divorce. These verses are not an easy read for a modern audience, but they are part of Scripture, and we cannot simply ignore them. Divorce is always the result of sin, whether that involves one spouse or both. However, whatever your circumstances or past experiences, remember that God loves you, cares for you, and offers forgiveness.

The Pharisees approached Jesus, hoping to trap Him with their questions about divorce. They wanted to know where He stood on the subject and perhaps hoped He would contradict Himself or challenge the law of Moses. At that time, women had very few rights, and men could divorce their wives for almost any reason. Some even believed that a wife could be divorced for something as trivial as preparing a poor meal or because her husband had seen another woman he preferred!

Jesus asked what Moses had commanded. The Pharisees referred to the certificate of divorce permitted in Deuteronomy. Jesus explained that Moses had allowed this because of the hardness of people's hearts. It was a concession to human sinfulness, not God's original intention for marriage.

Jesus then took them back to the beginning, to Genesis. God had created male and female, and His design was for a husband and wife to leave their parents and become one flesh. Marriage was not simply a knot that could be easily untied when things became difficult. It was a union in which two lives were joined together. Jesus therefore declared, "What God has joined together, let no one separate."

Marriage involves sharing life, facing difficulties together, and remaining committed through both good times and bad. Divorce causes hurt not only to the couple but often to their children and others around them. God's intention was for marriage to be a lasting union, and Jesus wanted His listeners to understand just how seriously God regards it.

When the disciples questioned Jesus further, He gave them a solemn warning about divorce and remarriage. We can sometimes become so concerned with discussing the exceptions that we overlook the seriousness of His teaching. Scripture does recognise circumstances in which divorce may be permitted, including sexual immorality and the abandonment of a believer by an unbelieving spouse. Abuse must also be taken seriously; nobody should be expected to remain in danger.

But what if we have already made mistakes in this area of our lives? The answer is not to despair, but to confess our sin, repent, and seek forgiveness from God and, where possible, from those we have hurt. First John 1:9 reminds us that if we confess our sins, God is faithful and just to forgive us and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

We must never mistake God's mercy for approval of our sinful choices. His warnings are given for our good, because He knows the damage sin can cause.

Ultimately, this passage reminds us that God's perfect design was spoiled by human sin, but that is not the end of the story. Through Jesus' death on the cross, forgiveness is available to all who repent and trust in Him. Our God is faithful, merciful, and forgiving. Because Jesus defeated death, we have the hope of eternal life and the wonderful promise that one day we will be united with Him forever. -G

04/10/2026

Baptist Buzz 4.10.26
Our speaker today was Matthew Spandler- Davison, our much loved 'Old Boy', who reminded us that a warning can be an act of love.

"Imagine driving through an unfamiliar city with a friend who knows the way. You miss a turn and keep going. A good friend speaks up: “You need to turn around.”

You might find the interruption frustrating. You might dislike having to retrace your route. But your friend warns you because they care where you end up.

We recognise that as kindness when someone gives us directions. Yet when Jesus tells us we are heading the wrong way, we can mistake his concern for harshness.

In Mark 9:42–50, Jesus speaks plainly about sin. His words are uncomfortable, even shocking. He warns against leading others astray and tells his followers to deal decisively with whatever draws them into wrongdoing. These are warnings from someone who loves us enough to tell us the truth.

Sin is an unfashionable word. We prefer to talk about mistakes, weaknesses or poor choices. Those descriptions sometimes fit, but they can also help us avoid responsibility. Sin means more than getting something wrong. It means turning away from the good God who made us and rejecting his authority over our lives.

Jesus asks us to consider how our behaviour affects other people. What do our children learn from watching us? What do younger Christians see in our speech, our spending or the way we treat our neighbours?

Our influence often reaches further than we realise. An angry outburst can teach a child that cruelty is acceptable. A careless conversation can make gossip seem harmless. A trusted leader’s hypocrisy can damage someone’s confidence in the church.

Jesus takes that harm seriously. His followers should be especially concerned for those who are vulnerable, easily overlooked or still learning to trust him. Religious influence brings responsibility, never permission to exploit others.

But Jesus also turns our attention inward. It is easy to identify everyone else’s faults while making excuses for our own.

His language about cutting off a hand or removing an eye is deliberately startling. He is not calling for physical mutilation. He is calling for decisive action against whatever repeatedly leads us into sin.

We cannot honestly ask for freedom from gossip while seeking out the same destructive conversations. We cannot pray for contentment while constantly feeding our envy. We cannot expect bitterness to disappear while rehearsing every grievance.

Change may mean deleting an app, admitting a hidden problem, asking a trusted friend for help or walking away from a habit we enjoy. The question is whether we will take the danger seriously enough to act.

Jesus speaks about judgment because our choices have consequences beyond the present moment. What promises satisfaction today may leave devastation tomorrow.

Yet this passage offers more than a demand to become better people. If the message were simply “try harder,” none of us would have much hope. We have all hurt others. We have all excused things we should have confronted.

The Jesus who gives these warnings was heading towards the cross. He came to bear the judgment sinners deserve and rose again to give them life.

We do not change our lives to persuade Jesus to love us. We turn to him because he has shown his love for us.

That gives us courage to confess what we have hidden and seek the help we need. His grace is greater than our guilt.

A healthy church should be a place where vulnerable people are protected, wrongdoing is confronted and forgiveness is offered.

Jesus ends by calling his followers to peace with one another. His warnings serve that loving purpose: people rescued by grace, learning to live together with humility, honesty and hope."- M

28/09/2026

Craft Group. Tonight Donna said we were going to
Do something easier- after last month’s marathon! We made flowers from buttons, paper flower shapes and wire. They do look so cute , don’t they? Thank you again Donna for all your great ideas and the thought you put into the crafts that helps us get a good result however clumsy we are ###x

27/09/2026

Our preacher today was Alistair Begg [ via video]speaking on Mark 9.38 - 41

By this point in Mark’s Gospel, we ought really to be feeling a little sorry for the disciples. They seemed to manage one step forward and then two steps backwards. They had seen Jesus feed five thousand people, yet when He came walking on the lake they thought He was a ghost. Peter had correctly declared that Jesus was the Christ, only moments later to be told, “Get behind me, Satan!” At the Transfiguration they were frightened and confused, and when faced with a demon-possessed boy, they were unable to help. Then, on the road to Capernaum, they had been arguing about which of them was the greatest.

And now John thought he had finally found something they could get right. They had seen someone driving out demons in Jesus’ name, but because he wasn’t one of their group, they had told him to stop. Jesus’ response was wonderfully simple: “Do not stop him.”

The man’s identity is not given to us, and we don’t know his motives or exactly how effective his ministry was. But he was acting in Jesus’ name. Begg even wondered, with a little imagination, whether this might possibly have been the man from Mark 5 who had been delivered from a legion of demons and sent home to tell his family what Jesus had done for him. We cannot know that, but it would certainly make a wonderful story.

The important thing, however, was the disciples’ reaction. They hadn’t said, “We stopped him because what he was doing was wrong.” Their reason was simply, “because he was not one of us.” They were becoming protective, which was understandable, but also restrictive, which was not.

Their attitude probably had something to do with their earlier rivalry. They had been arguing about who was greatest, and now they were confronted by an outsider who appeared to be doing what they themselves had failed to do. Was their concern really about protecting Jesus’ name—or was there a little jealousy and concern about their own position and status?

Jesus reminded them that the kingdom of God was bigger than their particular group. “Whoever is not against us is for us.” This did not mean that truth no longer mattered. Jesus was certainly not suggesting that everyone could simply believe whatever they liked. Elsewhere He said, “Whoever is not with me is against me.” There is no neutral position when it comes to Christ.

But there is a very important distinction: we must not confuse loyalty to Christ with loyalty to our particular group. The disciples were wrong to make membership of their little circle the test of whether someone could genuinely serve Jesus.

This has been a recurring danger throughout church history. Christians who agree on the central truths of the gospel can sometimes divide over matters that are secondary. George Whitefield discovered this when people objected to his preaching simply because he was preaching outside the established church or in a field belonging to Baptists or Methodists. His conclusion was that evangelical soundness, rather than denominational adherence, should be the important criterion.

Martyn Lloyd-Jones called this danger “wrong divisions.” He warned against becoming too narrow, rigid and detailed in our definitions, so that Christians who agree on the essentials separate from one another over things that are not essential to salvation.

The challenge, then, is to avoid narrow, self-focused exclusivism. The gospel is what unites us. The central truths of our faith must remain central, while peripheral matters must not become barriers to fellowship.

It is possible for churches to become so concerned with their own traditions, practices and distinctives that these eventually become badges of status and identity. And when that happens, there is a real danger that what was once central—the gospel itself—can gradually become peripheral.

So the warning from Jesus is both simple and searching: do not erect unnecessary barriers around the kingdom of God. We are called to be faithful to Christ and to the truth of the gospel, but we must also be humble enough to recognise that His kingdom is considerably bigger than our particular corner of it.-G

20/09/2026

Baptist Buzz 20.9.26

Our preacher today was Alistair Begg [via video], who spoke on Mark 9:30-37.
As Jesus and His disciples made their way towards Jerusalem, there was something rather lovely about the scene. They were walking together, and Jesus was using the opportunity to teach them. It was rather like the pattern described in Deuteronomy, where God’s people taught their children as they walked along the road. Jesus was now teaching His spiritual children in exactly the same way.

And yet, beneath this apparently ordinary journey, there was a very serious purpose. Jesus knew perfectly well what lay ahead. He was heading towards Jerusalem and towards the cross. He told His disciples plainly that the Son of Man would be betrayed, killed and then rise again.

The disciples, however, simply didn’t get it. They could understand the glorious picture of the Son of Man in Daniel 7—the One given authority, glory and an everlasting kingdom—but they could not put that together with suffering and death. How could the glorious Son of Man also be the suffering servant? We have the advantage of looking back at the whole story, but they didn’t.

And they were afraid to ask. Perhaps they remembered what had happened when Peter had previously tried to correct Jesus. Nobody wanted to risk another telling off! But there was something else going on. They were beginning to realise that if Jesus was going to suffer, then following Him might involve suffering for them too.

Then, when they arrived at Capernaum, Jesus asked them, “What were you arguing about on the road?” And there was an awkward silence, because they had been arguing about which of them was the greatest!

Jesus then turned their whole understanding of greatness upside down: “If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all.” In God’s kingdom, greatness isn’t about being noticed or having position. It is about serving. Jesus didn’t simply teach this; He demonstrated it. He Himself was the ultimate servant, coming “not to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” The illustration of the caddy quietly raking the bunker after his golfer had moved on captured something of this. He was doing a humble job for the sake of someone else, even when nobody was watching. That is true greatness.

Finally, Jesus took a little child and placed him among them. The child represented somebody with no status or importance—a dependent, needy little person. Jesus said that whoever welcomed such a child in His name welcomed Him.

What a challenge this is to us. We cannot stand outside the story and criticise the disciples. We recognise our own desire for recognition, our own pride and our own tendency to put ourselves at the centre.

But there is also tremendous encouragement here. Jesus did not abandon His disciples because they were slow to learn. He continued to teach them. And that is good news for us, because we are slow learners too!

The Christian life is not about making ourselves acceptable to God. It is about God coming down to us in our pride, confusion and failure, and offering us His grace. We enter the Christian life by grace, we continue by grace, and one day we will stand before God only because of His grace.

So, rather than being discouraged by our failures, we should be encouraged by the fact that Jesus does not give up on His people. He is merciful and forgiving, and He continues the work He has begun in us.
And the invitation remains wonderfully simple: “Whosoever comes, I will never drive away.” The question is simply this: have we put our own name into that “whosoever”? -G

14/09/2026

Baptist Buzz 13.9.26

Our speaker today was Kieran Banks , who took his text from Judges 7:1-8. He told us of Hudson Taylor, founder of the China Inland Mission, knew something about the secret of strength through weakness. When a friend complimented him on the impact of the mission, he replied, “It seems to me God looked over the whole world to find a man weak enough to do his work; when he saw me, He said, ‘He’s weak enough, he’ll do.’”

That is a wonderful picture of the way God works. Gideon’s story in Judges illustrates the same principle: only when we recognise our weakness can God display His power through us. The book of Hebrews tells us that Gideon was one “whose weakness was turned to strength.” What a contrast that is to the world’s way of thinking, which tells us that we are capable of almost anything. Jesus said quite the opposite: “Without me you can do nothing.”

In Judges 6, we saw the reality of Israel’s weakness. The people were hiding in caves because of the Midianites, while Gideon himself was hiding in a hole in the ground, threshing wheat where the enemy would not see him. They weren’t simply imagining that they were weak—they really were weak and were no match for the army that was coming against them.

And the same is true of us spiritually. Christians are constantly in a battle with the world, the flesh and the devil, and none of us is strong enough to overcome them in our own strength.
But Israel’s weakness was not only real—it was necessary. God told Gideon that he had too many men. Why? So that Israel could not boast that their own strength had saved them. God wanted them to know that the victory came from Him.

How easily we take the credit when things go well, even in our Christian lives. We can begin to trust our abilities and forget our dependence upon God. So sometimes God has to bring us to a place where we understand just how inadequate we really are.

That is exactly what happened to Gideon. His army was reduced from 32,000 men to just 300. Against an enemy numbering around 120,000, that meant roughly 450 to one. There could be no doubt now that this victory, if it came, would be God’s victory.

Weakness is not a pleasant experience. It can leave us discouraged, wondering how God could possibly use us. We may look at our circumstances, our lack of resources or our own limitations and think we could do so much more if only these things were different. Yet weakness is precisely the setting in which God chooses to display His power.

Paul discovered this when he pleaded with God to remove his “thorn in the flesh.” The answer was: “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Paul could therefore say that he would gladly boast of his weaknesses, because they made him more conscious of Christ’s strength. We see the ultimate example in Jesus Himself. At the cross, the Prince of Glory appeared utterly defeated—reduced to a criminal and then a co**se. Yet out of that apparent weakness came resurrection, victory and salvation for people from every nation.

So whether we think of Gideon, Paul, Hudson Taylor—or our Lord Jesus Himself—the message is the same: God’s grace is sufficient, and His power is made perfect in weakness.
Perhaps, then, the very thing we think makes us least useful to God may be the very thing He intends to use. Like Gideon, we are called not to depend upon our own strength, but simply to reckon on God being with us.-G

07/09/2026

Baptist Buzz 6.9.26

Our speaker today was Ian Sanders- the Port Chaplain. He told us of some of his experiences since he saw us last then continued to talk about today’s passage in Mark 9:14-29.

He said that crowds are nothing new. We can think of the crowds that turned out to celebrate Aberdeen’s cup victory, but in our passage this morning there was another crowd gathered around Jesus. They were arguing with the religious leaders, and the disciples had apparently been unable to help a troubled boy. There was plenty of noise and confusion, but everything changed when Jesus arrived.

A desperate father had brought his son to Jesus. The boy had been tormented by an evil spirit from childhood, and the description is distressing. It reminds us that Satan’s desire is to spoil and destroy what God has made in his image. Yet Satan is fighting a losing battle. He knows that he is defeated, but he will still do everything he can to disturb our peace, discourage us and turn us away from Christ. As Peter reminds us, we are to be sober and vigilant because our adversary the devil is constantly looking for someone to devour.
The disciples had tried to help the boy but had failed. Jesus expressed his frustration: “O faithless generation… how long shall I bear with you?” The father, however, came to Jesus in desperation. “If you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.” There was hope in those words, but also doubt.

Jesus challenged him: “If you believe, all things are possible.” The father’s response is one that many of us can identify with: “I believe; help my unbelief!” What an honest prayer. He believed, but he knew that his faith was far from perfect.

And perhaps that is an encouragement to us. We sometimes imagine that our faith must be strong and unwavering before God can work. But even a tiny amount of faith is enough when its object is Jesus. We can come to him honestly, admitting our doubts and weaknesses and asking him to help our unbelief.

The father had prayed for his son’s healing, but we were reminded that God does not always answer prayer in the way we expect. Healing may come in this life, but sometimes God’s answer is to take his child home to be with him. That does not mean the prayer has failed. God remains faithful, even when his answer is different from the one we wanted.

Jesus then commanded the evil spirit to leave the boy, and the child was restored. Satan’s spoiling work was reversed. The boy was restored and the father’s faith was strengthened. The demons recognised Christ’s authority and had to obey him.

But the disciples were left wondering why they had failed. Jesus’ answer was simple: “This kind can only come out by prayer.” They had forgotten the most important thing. They had been attempting the work without depending upon God.

Jesus himself repeatedly withdrew to pray. If the Son of God needed time alone with his Father, how much more do we? C. H. Spurgeon described the prayer meeting as the “boiler house” of the church—the unseen place where power is generated. It may often be the least attended meeting, yet it is one of the most necessary.

The message is really very simple: we cannot depend upon ourselves. We need Christ, and we need prayer. Whatever our circumstances, whatever our doubts or difficulties, we have the privilege of bringing everything to God. As the old hymn reminds us, what a privilege it is to carry everything to God in prayer.- G

31/08/2026

Craft Group. Our first meet after the summer break and it seemed good to make these lovely sunflower cards ( sorry they are sideways on!) Thank you Donna yet again for bearing with us as we stitched them.

30/08/2026

Baptist Buzz 30.8.26

Our preacher today was Dick Taylor who continued our series in Marks Gospel. He explained that Ch. 9 really follows on from what Jesus had been teaching in chapter 8. He had been telling the disciples that he would suffer, be rejected, be killed and then rise again. Peter had already declared that Jesus was the Messiah, the Son of the living God, but he simply could not accept that the Messiah would suffer and die. In Peter’s mind, the Messiah was coming to conquer and rule. Death, and especially death on a cross, looked like complete defeat.
It was against this background that Jesus took Peter, James and John up a high mountain. What happened there was extraordinary. Jesus was transfigured before them. His clothes became dazzling white, and his whole appearance revealed something of his heavenly glory. This wasn’t simply a light shining onto Jesus; it was an outward revelation of who he really was.

The disciples had already worked out who Jesus was from what he said and did, but now they were given the privilege of actually seeing something of his glory. Mark struggles, understandably, to describe a heavenly reality using earthly words. It leaves us wanting to know more, but perhaps earthly language simply cannot capture what the disciples witnessed.

Then Moses and Elijah appeared and spoke with Jesus. Luke tells us that they were talking about his “departure” – his coming death and resurrection. This is significant. Moses and Elijah represented the Law and the Prophets, and here they were effectively confirming that Jesus’ suffering and death were not a failure or an unexpected turn of events. They were part of God’s plan.

Peter, as usual, felt he had to say something! “It is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters.” He seemed to want to preserve the moment and keep Jesus, Moses and Elijah there. But then a cloud appeared and a voice came from heaven: “This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to him!” That is the really important message. Peter’s idea was not God’s plan. Moses and Elijah disappeared, and when the disciples looked around, there was no one with them except Jesus.

As they came down the mountain, Jesus told them not to tell anyone what they had seen until he had risen from the dead. Why wait? Because they still didn’t understand the significance of the cross. They knew Jesus was the Messiah, but their message would have been incomplete without his death and resurrection. They needed to understand that his death was not defeat; it was the means by which salvation from sin would come.
Perhaps the Transfiguration was given to these three disciples at precisely this point because Jesus knew they were going to need it. The road ahead would be difficult, but they had now seen his glory with their own eyes. They had been reassured about who Jesus really was.
And yet, they were still trying to work out the details. They questioned Jesus about Elijah and the timing of the prophecies. They were concentrating on how everything fitted together, while missing what Jesus had plainly told them about his suffering.

And perhaps that is where we can learn from them. We have much more of the picture than they did, and yet we can still try to fit God into our own plans. The first step is to listen. But listening also means responding – accepting what Jesus says and trusting him when life doesn’t go according to our plans. The voice from heaven still speaks to us: “This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to him!” Above everyone else, above everything else, see the majesty and glory of Jesus – and listen to him. -G

Stonehaven Baptist Church

19/10/2026

11/10/2026

04/10/2026

28/09/2026

27/09/2026

20/09/2026

14/09/2026

07/09/2026

31/08/2026

30/08/2026

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