Go Away Despair and Welcome Hope!

Dear COAH, 

A good friend has returned. I am talking about the return of spring in Toronto. Look around and see the green grasses all around us! I like the return of spring because it also means Easter is around the corner.

I am looking forward to the Easter celebrations this Sunday. Because of COVID-19, we have not had a full meal together at church. Well, it is going to change. I thank many ladies (kwonsanims) who volunteered to prepare a massive amount of food for this Sunday, something like over two thousand meals. They came to church several times this week and prepared. So please plan to stay after the service this Sunday and join us in the gym for the Easter celebration.

We have a reason to celebrate. Easter is all about the resurrection of Jesus. Death could not hold him down forever. Because he rose, we, too, will rise from the dead, so long as we believe in him. This Easter message is the most wonderful and promising news in the world.

Dear believers and sisters, how strongly do you believe in the resurrection of Jesus? Do you think that our lives do not end with death but that there is eternal life after death? In a 2019 survey of German Protestants, 42% did not believe in the resurrection of Jesus. In 2017, about a third of Christians in England said they did not believe in the resurrection of Jesus as recorded in the Bible. If you don't believe in the resurrection of Jesus, can you call yourself a Christian?

We believe in the resurrection. Just as spring comes after winter, I believe that there is life everlasting after this life on earth is done. Happy Easter! Go away despair and welcome hope.

Blessings,

Pastor Minho Song