Agora Church

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 deepe...

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 jig...

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 ultimat...

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 live...

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 o...

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 Kingdo...

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 w...

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 nothi...

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.