http://pastorhistorian.com/2007/11/30/fasting-and-the-new-covenant-exposition-of-matthew-914-17/

Mrs Morgan said: “This government is determined to protect schools’ freedom to set their own religious studies curriculum, in line with the wishes of parents and the local community.

“The guidance I have issued makes absolutely clear that the recent judicial review will have no impact on what is currently being taught in religious education.

“I am clear that both faith and non-faith schools are completely entitled to prioritise the teaching of religion and faith over non-religious world views if they wish.”

The guidelines added that non-faith schools should “reflect the fact that the religious traditions in Great Britain are, in the main, Christian whilst taking account of the teaching and practices of the other principal religions represented in Great Britain”.

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!

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.

Our society desperately needs an alternative, a culture that manifests God’s Kingdom on earth.  A culture populated by those who choose love over lust (Matthew 5:27-30), marriage over divorce (vs. 31-32), truth over lies (Ephesians 4:25), humility over ego (Philippians 2:3-11), service over self (Ephesians 5:21).  (Denison Forum)

To receive good news, to really receive it—to take it in and discover a new freedom—requires a new way of thinking. This new way of thinking has a Biblical name: repentance. I know: you thought repentance meant remorse, determination, trying harder or feeling guilty. Someone has lied to you. At its very core the word “repent” means rethink your life. The trick is: you have to have a valid reason to rethink your life. A positive mental attitude is not enough; simply trying harder won’t change your world. There must be some hard-core reality that changes the equation, wipes away the past or presents a future filled with joy. Better yet, all three. Jesus presented this hard-core reality when he said, “The Kingdom of God is breaking in. Right here, right now.” He wasn’t describing some new program or advocating a new philosophy. Jesus proclaimed the world would be forever different because God had come down, and he would do whatever was necessary to set people free.

God would not be stopped: the old order of things was condemned, and a new order was made real. He invited us to move to the side of victory with these words: “The time has come. The Kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe the good news.”  (Ray Hollenbach)

Emma Reynolds Shadow Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 1:47 pm, 10th June 2015

I beg to move,

That this House
notes that the UK faces an urgent and growing housing crisis;
believes that the Government should bring forward a comprehensive plan to tackle the housing crisis which sets out concrete steps to build more homes, including badly-needed affordable homes, boost home ownership, improve the private rented sector and reduce homelessness and rough sleeping;
and regrets that over the past five years home completions have been at their lowest level in peacetime since the 1920s, that home ownership has fallen to a thirty-year low with a record number of young people living with their parents into their twenties and thirties, that there are 1.4 million families on the waiting list for a social home and that since 2010 homelessness has risen by 31 per cent and rough sleeping by 55 per cent

The Good News-the word we translate “gospel”-is that this world as we know it is not the whole story. There is another realm.

The good News is especially that this world -the kingdom of God- is closer than you think. It is available to ordinary men & women. It is available to people who have never thought of themselves as religious or spiritual. It is available to you. You can live in it now.

Extract From “The Life You’ve always wanted”  John Ortberg

Canon Holmes of India who years ago said to most people God is an inference, not a reality. He is a deduction from evidence which they consider adequate, but he remains personally unknown to the individual.  He must be they say therefore we believe he is. 

Tozer  :The bible is a self-evident fact that men can know God with at least the same degree of immediacy as they know any other person or thing that comes within the field of experience.

(extract from Pursuit of God by Tozer)