City Bible Church, Nz

In the first chapter of Philippians we find the Apostle Paul in chains awaiting a decision from an insane Caesar. Does he live or does he die a horrible death? You would expect Paul to be full of anxiety and fear but he's not. So what is Paul's attitude to this? What can we learn from him to help us get through life's hardships, and to prepare us for death's certainty one day?

C.S. Lewis never claimed to have coined the phrase, but he is often credited with referring to Christians as "little Christs." His point is that if we claim to follow Jesus, we should resemble him. Just as an apple tree produces apples and a sheep gives birth to little sheep, those who love God should not only resemble Him, but also produce what He produces - love. While it's easy to say that we love our neighbour, it can be challenging to put into practice, especially since people can be difficult to deal with at times. Today we will be discussing how to truly love our neighbour and whether that includes everyone, or if we are allowed to pick and choose.

This Sunday we continued our sermon series on loving God. We opened the word of God and asked, "How do we love God with all our soul?” We explored both the New and Old Testament and see how different people longed for God. As we reflect on scripture, we should see how much we yearn for the Lord in our lives.

We continue our series based on The Greatest Commandment (Luke 10:27) and take a look at loving God with all our strength.   We hear from Willy Florian who has seen many amazing answers to prayer as he leads a ministry in Tonga that uses radio to reach his people with the Gospel, and also runs village Bible studies and outreach in prison.

Today we'll be looking at what it means to love God with all of our heart. How does that look different to loving him with our mind, strength or soul? We sometimes say - or have heard it said - that we love someone with all of our hearts, which is so lovely, but what does that really mean?  It's also interesting to think about how we really feel about God commanding us to love Him with all our heart. How can our hearts respond in the right way when we are being commanded to love? These are a few of the questions we'll be considering.

Looking at the greatest commandment of all. I'd guess most of us can quote this, but could we explain the difference between loving God with your mind and your heart for example? How do you love God with your strength, apart from serving Him somewhere? This is a great series to dig into. Who knows where God might lead you as you draw closer to Him.

People ask us to do things all the time and often an initial “Yes” can be an easy (even exciting) response to give. But what about a second, third or fourth request? God too has called us to say “Yes” to him and that first “Yes” can be very liberating, but then we sometimes find it hard to continue to say “Yes” to God. We explored this dynamic on Sunday with Sue Hanna, Executive Founder of Flame Cambodia

If you’re part of the Agora community then chances are at some stage you have asked “Who is God and what is he like?”  And if you know God, even a tiny bit, or want to, you’ve probably also wondered “So, what does God expect of ME??” These are two of life’s really big questions!! And every religion tries to answer them. But we have the Bible to give us the truth.  The last two chapters of the book of Micah reveal the answer to these questions really clearly.  And what was true about God in Micah’s day is true today.  So today we will dive in to Micah chapters 6 and 7 and explore what this means together.

If you haven’t noticed lately, the world seems to be trying to destroy itself faster and faster. So much disfunction, anxiety, wars, sickness and so on and so on and so on. We’re looking at the book of Micah again, and we will see a clear prophecy that things will get much better ….. one day.  So, how are we meant to live in hope in the meantime. Yes, Jesus is coming back one day (hopefully very soon), but until then how do I thrive in Christ on this wild planet?

Have you ever read Micah? Perhaps you have a picture of a rugged, ragged individual with a long beard and a long flowing robe, leaning on a staff and shouting doom and gloom at Israel? Some of that might be right (the beard part anyway) but Micah and the other prophets are included in our Scriptures for at least one very important reason. We will cover the first two chapters

This weekend is Easter. So, we celebrate both the death and resurrection of Jesus, even though I think we only understand a tiny aspect of what truly happened. If you were God, literally the creator and sustainer of all, would you die for humans? And, on rising from the dead, would you be keen to indwell them knowing your indwelling would be marred by the sin and disobedience? Such a huge reality to wrestle with.

Kia ora Agora, Today, we are looking at one of the most well-known parts of the Bible: The Lord's Prayer in Matthew 6. Is Jesus literally saying, "this is the only way to pray," or is He giving us a guide? If it is only a guide or template, then why does Jesus not introduce it as such but literally says, "Pray like this" (Matt 6:9)? This is a powerful, humbling prayer that millions of Christians pray daily, yet I wonder how many of us grasp the deep, powerful meaning threaded throughout the prayer.

The first three gospels all have Jesus’ call to his disciples. 12 were called; they lived with him for three years and over that time they were shaped by His words and by his actions. Following Jesus meant leaving their home and their work and, in Peter’s case, his wife. This raises a question. What do we mean when we say that we follow Jesus? If we follow Jesus’ example and seek to disciple other people, should we invite them to come and live with us – as Jesus did? Or…

Kia ora, Today we start a new series called 'Journeying with Jesus' which will lead us into Easter. First, we are thinking about the call of Jesus to people far from God and to people close to God. So, how does Jesus call people? Is it in a dramatic loud way to get their attention amid a crazy planet and wild society? Or is He more gentle and quiet as he speaks into the lives of people who need to hear his voice?

Kia ora Agora, Today we continue our Dependence on the Father series. Change is usually hard. Often it is messy and difficult, and we can want things to go back to the way it was before. God calls us to be at peace in Him, to trust Him, and that He has us in all circumstances. But - when change is swirling around us it can feel anything but peaceful - how do we trust God and find peace in Him in those moments?

Kia ora Agora, Today, we start a new series, 'Dependence on the Father', with a focus based on navigating through change - Isaiah 43:18-19. As a church, we are going through a season of change. As Christians, how do we find the faith we need to face major change? How do we not just get through it, but use change as a springboard to something much better than we have now?

Kia ora Agora, Today, Al will bring a contemplative thought on God's other book, the book of nature, from Psalm 19. We will also hear from Shelley, who will take us to Psalm 34 where we find these phases: - Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good; Blessed is the man who trusts in Him. - The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and His ears are open to their cry. - Our Father sees us and hears us always.  

Kia ora Agora, Today, we will be looking at Psalm 40 which reveals the ups and downs of life that David experienced, his desire to obey God and the reality of his sin. It also reminds us of God’s care for us and points us to Jesus.

This Sunday we enjoyed the privilege of worshiping God together and rejoicing in his goodness and faithfulness with the start of our Summer series which focuses on a favourite Psalm each week continues as we look at Psalm 91.