City Bible Church, Nz

We are going through our statement of faith! This morning Chris leads us through the first part speaking primarily on the Trinity and the place this hold for us here at Agora Church. 

How do you know Jesus really rose from the dead? I've heard all sorts of wild theories over the years about the resurrection of Jesus. What about you? Maybe He revived in the tomb because he never really died? Maybe the disciples hid his body? A huge question though is what is the relevance of the resurrection to me now?

Does this phrase sound familiar? Maybe it's something you've been asked before - This week we will explore some of the differences and similarities between major world religions. What is the Hindu heaven? How can a Buddhist be ‘saved’? Is Christianity just another religion similar to all the others?  Grow in confidence about how to explain the uniqueness of Christianity and what it offers

We will look at two more topics from our BIG questions series. All of the Heavens display the glory of God, how does creation help answer questions of God's existence and why is the ressurection such important evidence for faith?

Too often we evaluate who we are based on, what we see or think we know about ourselves. In this message we are looking at who God says we are and who He calls us to be. 

Such a huge and important question and one many people struggle with. This Sunday we are starting a new series called ‘Exploring the BIG questions about faith’. There are questions in life that are so big we feel we may never have the answers. The question of why a good God allows evil and suffering is one of those. I don't claim to have all the answers but I invite you to join us as we journey through the Bible to see what it says on the matter. 

In Acts 27 - Paul says 'I belong to God'.  Such a powerful phrase when you wander through the Bible looking at what it means to 'belong to God'. What do you understand this phrase to mean? What does it say about who you are?

What Causes a murderer to become a saint? I’m sure you know the story of Acts 9 well - Saul is confronted by Jesus and his whole life changes. Such an amazing story we’ll look at this Sunday.  What about you though - how has your encounter with Jesus changed you? 

The book of Acts & Mothers Day  What do these two things have in common? Join us as we explore what the book of Acts has to teach up about the women in our community.

Speeding tickets are the worst! They are the worst, but they are always totally justified. When you get a ticket and the police show you the read out on the speed camera you can't argue. You may be ticked at them, you may be mad at your self, but you have to agree they are right. You broke the law, so now you have to give up some of your lovely money. The story of Easter is the complete opposite of this. We 'break the law' and God pays the fine himself. 

How not to be awkward, when talking about Jesus. Over the last four weeks, we have been looking at why we should look outward and share our faith. Today we are starting a new series looking at the 'how' of sharing our faith. It is awesome to be praying for people and doing good for them, but when you have an opportunity to give a reason for your faith - are you ready? This new series is super practical, and today we are considering how to share our personal story of coming to know Jesus. 

How much love do I need to tell people about Jesus? On almost every page of the Bible, there is the message of God’s love for humanity and that’s before we look at the life of Jesus! While Jesus was on earth we continually read ‘he was moved with compassion.' As amazing as it sounds, God really does love all humans! I guess technically you can share the facts about Jesus without love – but is the truth without love the truth that God calls us to share? This Sunday we looked at the place of compassion in reaching out.

Is a relationship with Jesus boring? I sometimes talk with people who feel that this whole Christian thing is now boring for them. It feels like a list of rules to do and not do, church I ‘should’ attend and so on.   Yet - when we pray, we call out to the creator of all who can do anything in and through us,  calm a storm, move a mountain, stop the sun. Maybe they have stopped daring to believe God for the impossible, and have settled for something much less than Christianity? On Sunday we are looking at the power of prayer in reaching out.

This week we are continuing with part two of a four-part series discussing where God might be leading Agora Church in 2022. Join us as we explore Romans 1:16 and discover the awesome power of the gospel in transforming our lives, our communities and our nation. 

God's will or my will? It should be an easy question, right? But how do we know if we are following God's will or our own ambitions? How much guidance should we expect? I think it is always tough figuring out God's will for my life. I often look for the exact direction or position He wants to lead me in, while I think sometimes God is more general than that. If that is how confusing it can be personally, imagine how hard it is figuring out God's will for a church - whoa! Starting this Sunday we are in our four part series discussing where God might be leading Agora Church in 2022. 

If you are walking and you trip or skid or something, you instinctively reach out and grab anything nearby - a rail, a branch, a person - anything! Yet, sometimes when we know God is calling us to something, we hesitate. We know we should reach out and trust Him, but so often we don't. 

Advent is a call to worship the God who came. Jesus is the God who came and made his dwelling among us. This Sunday we explored this Jesus that we are called to worship, who is called to worship him and how that should change everything about us, both at this time of year and every other day too.

So often in life, we allow our past or our current situation to define us, and even limit what we think we are capable of doing. Think of where Jesus was born, and where He spent His first night. Do you think God allows our past to define us?

This is a phrase we say all the time, 'Jesus is the hope of the world', especially around Christmas time. But, what does this actually mean? And, if it is true - hmmmm - how do I and my friends and family access this hope because it feels like the world is pretty hopeless at present. 

This sermon has nothing to do with the nasty song by Haddaway from the 80s - do not youtube it! We’re working through the book of Philippians for the next 4 weeks, and a key theme in the book is love. But what kind of love? The 'I love Pizza' kind of love, 'I love the gym' kind of love, or 'I love dogs' kind of love? What Paul has to say is WAAAAY more grunty and encouraging than even loving pizza!