In our ongoing series on liturgy, not just church liturgy, but life liturgy, life rhythm, today we are talking about prayer.
Like other disciplines such as study, worship, thanksgiving, & community in the life of a Jesus follower, prayer is one of the most important tools given to us by God and exemplified by Jesus during His earthly life & ministry.
Today we explore the tradition of Praying the Hours. Unlike an ongoing, continuous life of prayerfulness, prayer necessitates a specific time, place, and focus.

Contextualize It:
-What do you do daily that is intentional?
-Where is God in your intentions?
-What should we intend in our daily rhythm at Agora?

In our ongoing series on Liturgy, today we approach the subject of Baptism.
We have said before that a liturgy is simply a routine order of events. Each of us has q life liturgy. We have a certain routine that we follow. Some of it is automatic; some of it is intentional. Some things are planned, others are accidental.
Baptism is an intentional liturgy.

Contextualize It:
-What is your baptism story?
-Why did you decide to be baptized?
-What do you do that is intentional in order to better follow Jesus?

Smell is the strongest sense tied to memory. You may have heard this in a commercial for Old Spice, but it is also confirmed by research. They say it’s because the olfactory is tied directly to the hippocampus.
In our ongoing series on Liturgy, today we explore the use of the five senses in our search for & in our relationship to God.
The overarching question of the day is this: If God can be discovered not only through our intellect & our will but also through the senses, shouldn’t we engage them all each time we gather?

Contextualize It:
-What smell reminds you of something from your childhood?
-For which sense are you most grateful to God?
-What are the aromas, sights, sounds, touches, or tastes that inspire you & confirm your knowledge of God?

For several weeks we have been alternating between liturgical practices & the ideas & the philosophy of liturgy. Today we approach the metaphor of muscle memory.
From Wikipedia: “When a movement is repeated over time, a long-term muscle memory is created for the task; eventually allowing it to be performed without conscience effort.”
Included in our conversation is the attached worksheet* entitled: “So How’s That Working Out For You?” It is “for your eyes only.” I am not interested in “gettin’ all up in your business.”
So here are the questions for today:

-How did you do in the “So How’s That Working Out For You?” quiz?

-Identify some key areas in which you feel Christians need to grow.

-Which comes first the actions or the motivations?

*See previous post

Using a scale from 1 to 5 (1 meaning “never happens”, & 5 meaning “always happens”), circle the number you think best describes you on each of the items below:

1. I communicate w/God on a daily basis in ways that help me feel close to Him.
1 2 3 4 5

2. I read & study the Bible regularly.
1 2 3 4 5

3. I don’t take my anger out on others, especially not on members of my family.
1 2 3 4 5

4. I make wise choices concerning the important things in life.
1 2 3 4 5

5. I am truthful in my job & in relationships.
1 2 3 4 5

6. I keep my commitments even when problems or difficulties arise.
1 2 3 4 5

7. I often express my gratefulness to God for His blessings in my life.
1 2 3 4 5

8. I share my faith w/others readily.
1 2 3 4 5

9. When I have to choose, I obey God’s Word rather than the opinions of people.
1 2 3 4 5

10. I share my time & possessions w/those in need.
1 2 3 4 5

In our ongoing series on Liturgy, today we explore the church’s Liturgical Calendar. It is an annual rhythm that many traditions follow in order to walk in the steps of Jesus every year.
Join the conversation as we discover the church year together.

Contextualize It
-What is your favorite season or day of the year? Why?
-In what season do you feel closest to God?
-What should we include in our daily rhythm at Agora?

Surely there are more ways to express worship, prayer, obedience, & service to God than what occurs in a typical church. And just because we’re not typical, doesn’t make Agora any less guilty on limiting how it’s done.
Today, we continue our series on Liturgy. Buy we are looking at what a free expression of service to God might look like both inside & outside the four walls.
What counts as prayer? What counts as worship? Does what I’m passionate about find an expression for & toward God?
And does the rhythm of my personal Liturgy as well as our corporate Liturgy reflect the creativity of God? If not, then why not?
Join the conversation today as we explore Free Expression Liturgy.

Contextualize It
-What’s an activity you’re passionate about?
-What’s your experience w/lengthy times of prayer or worship?
-How can you use what you are passionate about as an expression of service to God?

Today we begin a new series on Liturgy. Perhaps you have a picture of what that means. Perhaps not. But today we will explore it’s meaning & the common ancestry across most all Christian traditions.
In this series we will explore the depths of one of our key verses of scripture in the New Testament:
“So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life–your eating, sleeping, going to work, & walking-around life–& place it before God as an offering.
Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for Him. Don’t become so well adjusts to your culture that you fit into it with out even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what He wants from you, & quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to it’s level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.”
- Romans 12:1, 2 (MSG)

Contextualize It!
-What do you think of when you hear the word Liturgy?
-When we gather, do you see yourself as merely an observer or as a participant? Explain.
-What does Jesus ask of us when he says, “Clean your room?”

On this, the last weekend of our conversation on the Culture Couture, we explore the seedy underbelly of the world & society in which we live. From drugs to porn to sex trafficking, there are billions of dollars spent in the U.S. which never become part of the Gross National Product (GNP).
But worse than the economics are the effects of early sexualization of our kids. From baby t-shirts that say “sexy” to Bratz dolls to earlier than ever sexual experimentation by sub-teens, we are in a crisis of epic proportions.
When Jesus sent out the disciples to do what they had seen Him do He told them to “wise as serpents & innocent as doves.” we would do well to follow Jesus’ words here as well.
Join the conversation today as we hear from experts who tell us our kids are So Sexy, So Soon & that Oral Sex Is The New Goodnight Kiss.

-Tell us bout a time you googled something innocently & got the wrong info.
-What affect do dolls like Barbie & Bratz have on our girls? Video games like halo on our boys?
-How can we stay on top of what our kids (& our own eyes) are being exposed to?

Things don’t always work out the way we want them to, or the way we think they will. Sometimes we don’t even see it coming. We get hit with some form of pain out of nowhere leaving us feeling desperate & helpless. That’s the way life is.
Still, it makes us wonder, How can God let these things happen to us? How can God just stand by & watch us suffer? Where is God when it really hurts? Maybe God is actually closer to us than we think.
Maybe it’s when we’re in these situations, where everything seems to be falling apart, that God gets an oppurtunity to remind us of how much He really loves us.
These words serve as an introduction to Rob Bell’s very first Nooma video: “Rain.” Join the conversation today as we explore where to find God when we hurt.

-Tell us of a time when you were caught in the rain.
-Do you believe God hears you when you cry? Explain.
-Do you feel close to God when you’re scared, lost, & confused?

In the past 10 weeks we have learned that the medium carries a message that can be different from the message it was sent to convey. Canadian culture critic of the 20th century Marshall McLuhan famously said, “The medium is the message.”
In the first televisied presidential debates, Nixon & Kennedy competed in 1960. Those who heard the debates on the radio said Nixon won a decisive victory. But the new medium of televisiontold a different story. And, consequently, Kennedy won the election.
Of all media, the most significant for Christ followers is the incarnation. Jesus is God’s perfect & ultimate medium. And the medium is the message.
But, in the 21st century, God has chosen the church to be the medium of the Gospel. We are the medium. We are the message.

-Tell us about meeting a television or radio personality in person. What did you notice?
-Tell us about a time you had an encounter like Shane Hipps did w/his dubious friend.
-What are some ways we communicate a different message than Christ’s?

The effects of culture on the church are many. Unfortunately, most of them are not even noticed until it is too late. Using media & technologies to promote the message of the church is not neutral. But, what is the price that is exacted? Today we look at that price & hope that our awareness will lessen the blow.
Because the church (like Soylent Green) is people, we are subject to the winds & waves of culture. Therefore, we are already heavily affected by the consumerist mentality. But if a consumerist mindset is preyed upon by those who market the church, then do we not also promote an increasing consumerism?
As we explore the concerns herein, let us also examine our own foibles. How will we respond to the crisis we face? Do we really want to be Selling the Church?

-Tell us about your experience in a large (or mega) church situation.
-Do you experience following Jesus as an internal dialogue or as an action of choice?
-Do you gather here in order to engage your brain & your emotions or to be amused?