Archive for the ‘Blog’ Category

I tell you the truth

by Colin Dexter

Jesus in Johns gospel answers with the phrase translated into English as ” I tell you the truth”.

In effect he says “Amen, Amen  I say unto you”

Amen means confirm, establish, verify something as truthful.

In the Verse in John 8. Jesus answered , ” I tell you the truth(Amen,Amen), before Abraham was I AM.

This was in response to the question I believe we all should ask   “Who are you?.

Jesus in effect is saying

  • I am eternal
  • I was there at the beginning
  • Through the words of my mouth creation came into being
  • I am  YWWH
  • I am the self existant one
  • I have always been and will always be
  • I am He who is

 

 

 

Jesus Changes lives

by Colin Dexter

Silas is a 25-year-old Iranian convert to Christianity now living in Berlin. Why did he come to Christ? A friend loaned him a copy of God’s word. “When I started to read the Bible, it changed me. . . . At first, I didn’t want to be a Christian, I just wanted to understand it. But the more answers I got, the more I . . . realized I was finding God.”

He says that even if he were to be deported back to Iran, he would never give up his faith in Christ. Jesus changed his life, and he will pay any price to serve him now.

CAP Release Course

by Colin Dexter

Do I Have a Problem?

  • Internet Addiction
  • Gambling
  • Alcohol
  • Addictive substances
  • smoking

Come to a CAP Release group

Contact Jon Rowlands (Release group manager) jonrowlands@capreleasegroups.org

or Mark jones (Release Group Coach) 07836 608085

Saving on your heating

by Colin Dexter

https://capuk.org/connect/blog

Agapé’s new logo – The non-techie guide!

by Hannah Pinkstone

New Logo jpeg

It’s been about 20 years since Agapé’s “ACCTS” logo was first introduced to the masses!

A lot has changed since then – we’ve moved buildings, seen people ‘move on’, or ‘move through’ and others ‘move in’; but there are also things that have remained the same, such as:

  • Jesus at the centre
  • Church in the community
  • Agapé (sacrificial) love amongst each other and those we meet
  • Sticking to the mission: Luke 4:18-19

 

So when it came to updating the logo, a couple of things were there for the keeping:

The Cross – in the new logo this is much more prominent

The ‘C’ Church – still sitting neatly within the ‘C’ Community, affecting the places we go and the people we see with God’s love and compassion. This has greater meaning as we build up our partnerships, working with churches, agencies and residents to see changes in the hearts and lives of the community.

ACCTS – we are part of the new New Testament Church with a heart to move as God moves us and take him wherever we go.

 

So what’s changed? Actually, not a lot!

Straight away you’ll notice that the ‘A’ is smoother, the curve perhaps being a little bit more modern, more inviting than the old, sharper shape, and leading nicely into the rest of the logo. The font used to create the logo makes it ‘sit up taller’ and is easy to read.

As already mentioned, the ‘T’ as the cross is more prominent, and more of a focal point, there’s no mistaking what we believe, even if someone’s not sure what the logo means!

There are fewer colours in the logo. Did you notice?! Fewer colours can make a logo look cleaner and clearer; the continuity of the colour is pleasing on the eye and, again, makes the red cross stand out.

 

So what do you think? Do you like Agapé’s new logo? Feel free to leave a comment!

 

 

New Life Community Church

by Colin Dexter

A new community centre in Abercarn held an open day on September 12 to showcase its plans to the public.

New Life Community Church plans to spend over £1 million on the Pant Pennar Project to ensure the facility reaches its full potential for being a community base in the heart of Abercarn.

They hope to create six unisex toilet cubicles, a disabled toilet and wet room with shower, and a lift for better access between floors, as well as other plans.

They will also create a dedicated children’s room for after-school clubs and parents and toddlers coffee mornings and open a coffee lounge and games room and conduct renovation work.

A spokesperson said: “These changes will help us expand our current projects, plus create a vast array of new ones and will also expand our partnerships with other organisations.”

Care For the family Conference 21st November Solihull

by Colin Dexter
Families matter to God

How can we best live out our faith within our families?

For many of us, the reality is that the pressures and busyness of modern family life often make it easy for faith to take a back seat. As couples, we want to grow together in our walk with God, but often find this difficult to put into practice. As parents, we long to nurture our children’s faith, but often feel we are failing in the task. And sometimes, we feel as if there’s little that our family can do to make a difference to others – to bring God’s love to those in our community.

But does it have to be like this?

  • What if married couples found simple ways to put God at the heart of their relationship?
  • What if parents worked in a new, dynamic way with youth and church leaders to nurture young people in their faith?
  • What if our churches increasingly became known as beacons of hope for families within our local communities?
  • What if, instead of pulling up the drawbridge, our homes became places of help, hope and inspiration to others?

Faith in the Family will provide space for us to explore these questions together. To achieve these goals we are not looking for those who come with easy answers. We want people who feel the need of God – perhaps those who have been broken a little. We need people who yearn to see families, including their own, become stronger, more vibrant in faith, and more easily able to weather the storms – financial, emotional, physical and spiritual – that hit every home

http://www.careforthefamily.org.uk/events/other-events/faith-in-the-family

Psalm 84

by Colin Dexter

Pslam 84

Tear Fund – No Child Taken

by Colin Dexter

With the Rugby World Cup upon us, we’re delighted to report a new ‘signing’ to the Tearfund team – South African Ruan Pienaar.  A familiar figure in the world of rugby, he’s also a committed Christian and now he’s working with us on our No Child Taken campaign.

Ruan says he was challenged by fellow player Paddy McAllister’s accounts of what he’d seen during a Tearfund trip to India.  As a father of two, he says ‘trafficking breaks my heart – it needs to be tackled head on’.

Hope & Meaning

by Colin Dexter

Viennese psychiatrist Viktor Frankl survived Auschwitz and later summarized his horrific experience with this now-famous statement: “Man’s search for meaning is the primary motivation in his life.”  He observed that prisoners who were most likely to survive were those who refused to abandon hope, who held onto a larger meaning in their suffering.