Pastor Dave Koop

Across Canada we enjoy the long weekend that Easter brings, yet for many what Easter really means is unclear. For some it is just a time off from work and school, or chocolate bunnies in the stores, or the anticipation of spring and perhaps a gathering with family and friends. It is time for us to take another look at Easter.

Have you ever thought what your last words might be? The last words that people speak can reveal a lot about them, whether they have had time to prepare these words or not. Here are a few last words of some famous people:“That was a great game of golf, fellers.” – Bing Crosby

1. Find out who your audience is and study how to make the subject you are presenting relevant.2. Know precisely where you want to take your audience and prepare your talk that they can follow you. Practice giving your talk in the mirror or with a trusted friend and evaluate if your talk accomplishes this.

Often best friends fall in love, get married and then somehow lose that friendship in marriage. Others never marry because they don’t know how to be a true friend to the opposite sex or they don’t want to enter that level of responsibility.What is a best friendship marriage like? How does God develop it?

If you have been following the Australian Open Tennis tournament, you probably saw the clip where Jo-Wilfried Tsonga went over and helped one of the ball girls. Apparently the ball girl had been hit in the face but was doing her best to keep her composure despite being injured.

According to The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University, children who have family dinners three or more times per week are:Less likely to be overweightMore likely to eat healthy food

The renowned psychologist and psychiatrist Alfred Adler once said, “Hope is the foundational quality of all change.” If you want to make some changes in 2016 and have a better year, you will need to add a generous portion of hope.The key to having hope is having the right source.

Christmas is really about caring. The true joy of Christmas is experienced when we care for others and when we reflect on how much God cares about us. Caring by definition means to be warm hearted, kind, interested in others, compassionate, loving or understanding.

This traditional Christmas hymn will take on a whole new meaning for a church in Queens, New York this year. A few days ago they were asking: “What child is this?” It was reported they found an actual newborn infant wrapped in a purple towel in their church nativity scene.

Fasting is a powerful, spiritual weapon when we face challenging situations. In the Bible we read of others such as Queen Esther who fasted when facing the extinction of her people. Her response was to ask her friends to fast with her as she prepared herself to approach the king and intercede for her people. She did this knowing that according to the Persian law of the time this could be cause for her death.