City Bible Church, NZ

This Sunday we reflected on the Practises of Discipleship that we have learnt about in recent weeks. For part of our time together we will be in small groups discussing some questions relating to these practises.

What is mediating on the Scripture, why is it important and how do we go about fitting it into our busy lives?

Today we will look at the one investment that cannot fail us, and how we can grow that investment through being generous with our possessions and our service. Oh and yes, our money (that's a possession too). Unlike other investment seminars you do not have to pay to attend, and the returns have an absolute guarantee.

What does it really mean to be content? Contentment seems so counter-cultural in a world that is constantly challenging us to not be satisfied. This week we look at Psalm 23 and how David can teach us to find true contentment in God.

Is the Sabbath still relevant today? Why would God make a law about rest? This Sunday, Al has led us as we explore what the Sabbath is all about and why it might just be more important than we think. Join us as we unpack the purpose and promise of rest.

On the 11th of May in was Mother's Day, the church go hear people talk about their mother's    

we take a look at fasting. Is it still for today? Or is it only for those crusty old Pharisees who Jesus wasn't too impressed with? Willy will share through the video about how prayer and fasting has brought break-throughs in his ministry, and met many individual needs in Tonga. See Agora Youtube channel for this. Then Dan will help us understand more about what the Bible tells us about fasting. After that Graham will guide us to identify our greatest need, whether personal or ministry, and to bring it to the Cross of Jesus with a commitment to give up something we enjoy for one week. Thus our faith will be sharpened in a concrete and powerful way that draws us nearer to God.

Willy Florian from Tonga is back with us. If you remember him from last year you'll remember what a blessing and inspiration he is.

Easter! A time when we reflect on Christ's death on a horrible Cross, to overcome sin and the death we deserve. But what about his resurrection and ascension? In John 14:2-3 Jesus tells us he has gone ahead to prepare a place for us. And in John 16:7 he says he has to go away so he can send the Holy Spirit to be our Helper. Two things crucially important to the Christian.

Among all the values we hold as individuals and as a church, Jesus issues one supreme command to His followers: love others as He has loved us. We'll examine this defining mark of discipleship - how Christ-like love identifies us, distinguishes us, and authenticates our connection to Jesus.

Today we'll explore one of Jesus' most challenging invitations: “If anyone would come after Me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Me.” We'll unpack this offer of discipleship and reflect on its cost. Does it have anything to do with willpower, as a disciplined life is often associated with it? Bible reading: Luke 9:23-26

What does it mean to truly abide in Jesus? What kind of fruit does He desire from His vine, and what does it mean to be pruned? Al leads us as we explore these questions together, diving into what it means to remain in Christ and bear lasting fruit. Join us as we grow deeper in faith and understanding! Bible reading: John 15:1-8

We are now in a series of looking at Jesus and how He demonstrated discipleship, and what He taught about it. Jesus called people to follow Him many times in the Gospels and we are probably familiar with Him choosing, and then calling, His future apostles to discipleship. But He also calls us to follow Him as we deal with a particular issue which is one the main things holding us back from a deeper and more satisfying walk with Jesus.

A couple of weeks ago we heard how God calls us into a saving relationship with His Son, Jesus Christ, and how he continues to call us into a closer relationship with Him every day. But what about service? God has made each one of us with an individual 'shape' to fit into a unique place of service in His kingdom - rather like a jigsaw piece finds its place to complete the whole picture. Like a jigsaw, the picture is incomplete without every piece in its proper place. And like a jigsaw piece, we can be confused about where we fit, and perhaps feel we don't even have a place in the picture. Scriptures: 1 Peter 2:9; 1 Corinthians 12:4-7

We will continue our series on “discipleship” and this Sunday, Sue Hanna, a missionary in Cambodia for the past 20 years, will speak to us about a simple three-word model that we can use as a model for discipleship in our individual lives and as a church. 

There's a good deal of uncertainty and confusion around God's call on our lives. We tend to think of a calling in terms of a ministry or God telling us to do some job in the church. But it's much more basic and important than that. Today we will look at God's calling into the special life he designed for us from before the beginning of time. It's a calling into community, service, and into ultimate satisfaction and joy. It's a calling to enter into Christ himself (a great mystery)! In other words, our calling is to be a disciple of Jesus Christ.  Scripture: Mark 3:13-15 and John 17:5-9; 18-26

Why follow Jesus?...and when things turn to chaos in life what can we hold onto to keep on being his disciple?   We continue our series on Pictures of Discipleship as we listen in on some very important statements that Jesus makes to his disciples. Statements that provide us with reasons to follow him.

We hear so many different ideas of what discipleship is. (Some of them really put us off!) Why so many? And what's the real deal? Once we see what the heart of discipleship is according to Jesus, we will understand why there are so many interpretations. Better yet, we will also see that discipleship is something to be wholeheartedly embraced as the means of peace, joy, and satisfaction in our lives that nothing else can compete with.

This year, we're focusing on discipleship: what it looks like and how we can live it out together. Al has kicking off our first series, Pictures of Discipleship, as we explore a vision of where we want to be by the end of the year. Join us as we dive into thought-provoking discussions about what discipleship means, reflect on who has discipled us, and consider who we might be discipling.

Join us as one of the wise men from the Christmas story shares his extraordinary journey to Bethlehem. Hear the story through the eyes of a pagan seeker following a star to find a King.

Did you hear about the old shepherd who got fired because he never knew how many sheep he had? He kept falling asleep as he counted them. Today we will meet the shepherds from the Christmas story. Unlike last Sunday's Innkeeper, these guys are real, and have a lot to teach us (so we wont be tempted to count sheep during the service). We will be in Luke chapter 2, verses 8 to 21

This Sunday, we considered why Jesus was born into such poverty. When you think about it, why was there ‘no place for them…' Luke 2:7? God can do anything, right? Why not have Jesus at least born in the house where we find him later as a child? Why ‘no place'? Why was there no midwife to help Mary? Why does Jesus have to sleep in a feed trough? What is God saying to us in all this?

We continue learning about The Kingdom of Heaven, and this time we learn that it is like The Parable about a Fishing Net. As with other parables, the language in this parable is clear, concise and strong.  It's a parable found only in Matthew and returns to a similar theme of the parables of the treasure and the pearl, where you sell all - you do what it takes - to gain the kingdom.   On the day of judgement, when the true membership of God's kingdom is finally settled, the good will be separated from the bad. It is not for anyone to determine who are "the real Christians" - that task belongs to God. It's our task to be prepared.

Jesus taught in parables for good reason. We'll be exploring two of His parables this Sunday, considering how we might see growth similar to what happens to a mustard seed, and yeast in dough, in our own lives and communities.

We live in a world which has both good and bad: kindness and evil, wheat and weeds. How should we live as Christians in this world? Can we show something of the "Kingdom of Heaven" where we live? On Sunday we look at these questions and our present role in the Kingdom.

We begin an exciting new series exploring the Kingdom of Heaven. We'll look at what Jesus meant when He proclaimed the Kingdom was near, and how this message might differ from what people of His time expected. As we delve into Matthew 4, we'll reflect on how our understanding today shapes our faith and discipleship. We'll also explore the Parable of the Sower, which teaches us about how the Kingdom grows in our hearts depending on how we receive God's Word. Join us for a thought-provoking journey through the Gospel!

What does it mean to be intergenerational? The church is a family - a group of people together in relationship with God and in relationship with each other, doing life together. How do our rhythms and practices foster connections and relationships across the generations that help us all grow in faith?

Jonathan's exploits and his relationship with David, and with a weak and jealous father, reads like a novel. But his story from 3000 years ago is very relevant for us today.  How? We will dig into that on Today.

We will be led by Jackie Millar, Prayer Coordinator for CCCNZ. She loves to champion prayer in churches across New Zealand and journey with churches to have strong and flourishing prayer cultures. The book of 2nd Corinthians finishes with these words: ‘May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.'  (2 Cor 13:14). Notice those words, grace, love, fellowship. Today we will exploring who is this God to whom we pray and how does this impact how we pray?

What rights do you believe you possess? Many would point to the right to life, good health, freedom, and the love and care of others. But what occurs when tragedy strikes, and those rights are taken away? We often find that these rights were just illusions. In that moment, how do we react? Do we feel hurt? Complain? Rebel? Get angry? Or do we place our trust in God? When Joseph was left with nothing, he believed God had everything. He didn't demand answers, but rather waited for God to work, trusting Him in the process

Nicodemus starts out as a complete sceptic about who Jesus is. However, by the end of the book of John he has become a generous sacrificial worshipper of Christ. What on earth happened in his life to change him like this, and so fast?

Barnabas is a man who is almost invisible throughout the book of Acts yet he is nicknamed as the 'Son of Encouragement' by the Apostles, a good man, full of the Holy Spirit.  A man about which very little is written, yet whose impact is immense. So lets put the spotlight on this character and follow his story.

We begin our new series on some of the minor Bible characters and the role they played in God's overall plan. Shelley is kick-starting this off with Miriam and the role she played across significant moments in the children of Israel's exodus to the Promised Land.

We will delve into Philippians 4:10-23, exploring how to find true contentment and fulfilment. We begin by challenging a materialistic perspective, looking beyond the surface to discover deeper emotions and spiritual truths. We'll discuss the importance of relationships — both within our community and in Christ — highlighting the strength and support they offer. Finally, we'll be reminded of our call to seek and be satisfied in Christ in all situations, embracing a life of faith and contentment. Join us for this enriching journey into the heart of Paul's message!

Continuing our series on Philippians from chapter 3 verses 12 to 21

Paul has been sitting in jail for 4 1/2 years waiting for Nero, a cruel and mad Caesar, to decide his fate. And yet Paul is the happiest man in all Rome! How can that be? Is he mad too?  Today, we continue our series in Philippians, and look at joy (or rejoicing) in the Lord from chapter 3. What is it? Do I have it? Why does it matter? And how do I get it?

We open Phil 2: 12-18 we see Paul calling for unity amongst Philippian believers. This unity in brotherly love, and the way we care for each other and seek to put others before ourselves, should be attractive to our lost world. 

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.