Every Christmas season, when I watch the Nativity scenes, I cannot but wonder about the amazing grace of God in sending His only Son to die for the sins of the world. God's Grace is really amazing. I am sure that Mary and Joseph, as they laid baby Jesus in a manger, after they were sent away at the local inn, did not imagine the blessings that God would shower on them. Three kings came and knelt at the manger, offering their treasures to baby Jesus and his family. Likewise, when one of us accepts the free gift of salvation through faith in Jesus, he/she cannot fathom the blessings God showers on us.

At Christmas, we, at Salam, pray that people from the Middle East will receive the most important gift of all—the love and hope of Jesus Christ. But we can't do it without your partnership and prayers. Would you consider giving a Christmas gift that would enable Salam become salt and light to the lost from the Middle East ?
Donations are tax-deductible if made payable to Salam Christian Fellowship.
Merry Christmas,
Hicham

Salam's Interaction with Christians

Today Salam was visited by some Concordia students in River Forest, Chicago. It is important for Salam people to interact with some Christians, especially the young. This makes them feel welcome and part of the larger picture; the Church.

Kamil Itani, A Muslim Follower of Christ in the 19th C

The Road to 911 Movie

I will be showing =The Road to 911 at Fellowship of Faith Mchenry on 9/11, at 9 am.
The movie is 50 minutes. All are welcome.

6120 Mason Hill Road
McHenry, IL 60050
(815) 759-0739

Pray for Muslims on the "Night of Power"

Pray for Muslims on the "Night of Power"
Many Muslims will celebrate the Night of Power on the evening of August 26 this year (afternoon and evening in the US).

According to a Muslim tradition with some variations, Mohammed supposedly received his first revelation of the Koran in the night as the 27th day of Ramadan began. On that night Muslims will recite ritual prayers over and over again in hope that if Allah is willing he will forgive their sins. Some also hope that angels will come down from heaven and grant special requests. Some Muslims will recite a profession of faith as many as 100 times in one night, speaking in Arabic, a language they may not even understand. Others will be more reflective, evaluating their life and planning for the next year.

Muslims believe that whatever acts they perform on the Night of Power will achieve greater merit in the eyes of Allah than the same acts done for 1,000 months. They are desperately seeking Allah’s approval, blessing, and forgiveness. Although they believe the Night of Power gives their prayers a greater probability of being granted, they have no guarantee that Allah will answer them.

Because many Muslims will observe the Night of Power this evening, please make note to pray for them on this day. Pray that they will see the emptiness of their recitations and that they will see their spiritual need as they evaluate their lives. Pray that they will come to know the true God and Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross.

For God does speak—now one way, now another— though no one perceives it. In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falls on people as they slumber in their beds, he may speak in their ears and terrify them with warnings, to turn them from wrongdoing and keep them from pride, to preserve them from the pit, their lives from perishing by the sword. Job 33:14-18

We need talking heads, the Lebanese way

We need talking heads, the Lebanese way

Guest Muslim pastor in W. Dundee: ‘God saved me from myself’

Article updated: 8/13/2011 1:07 AM
Guest Muslim pastor in W. Dundee: ‘God saved me from myself’

By
From the time he was a little boy growing up in Lebanon until he was 21, Hicham Chehab was consumed with hatred toward Christians.

Lebanon was a war-torn country divided between the Christians and Muslims, with many Muslims angered that the Christian minority treated them like second-class citizens.

So when a Christian militia group killed Chehab’s older brother in Lebanon 30 years ago, Chehab admits to hunting Christians down at night to avenge his death.

But all that changed when Chehab, formerly a Muslim extremist, took a cultural studies class at the American University of Beirut that required him to read selections from the Bible, including “The Sermon on the Mount.”

In one part of the sermon, Jesus instructs his followers, “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven.”

Chehab, 51, knew the Quran chapter and verse, but wasn’t at all familiar with the Bible. He felt God was talking directly to him when he read that particular verse and he took it right to heart. God, he said, saved him from himself and taught him the power of forgiveness.

“When involved in something, you are kind of drowned in it,” Chehab said of his previous activities. “You don’t see the other side of the coin. I saw the other side of the coin reading the Bible.”

This weekend, Chehab brings his story to Bethlehem Lutheran Church in West Dundee as the guest pastor. He will discuss his past life and his transformation at the 5:30 p.m. Saturday service and again at 10 a.m. Sunday. A PowerPoint presentation on his fellowships in Lombard and Batavia follows the Sunday service at 11 a.m.

Christine Gross, a member at-large on Bethlehem’s church council, is responsible for been bringing guest pastors to the church once a month.

The 100-year-old church is in the midst of trying to redefine its focus and Chehab’s story should definitely give members something to think about.

“He brings something different to the pulpit and something different to our church,” Gross said. “He has a powerful, powerful message.”

Chehab went on to become a peacemaker of sorts, bridging the gap between Christians and Muslims in Lebanon. He calls himself a Muslim follower of Jesus.

Chehab lives in Hanover Park. He runs his Salam fellowship out of Peace Lutheran Church in Lombard and Immanuel Lutheran Church in Batavia, helping refugees get on their feet, teaching them American customs and introducing them to God.

In West Dundee, he hopes the message of forgiveness shines through.

“I hated, I had a desire for vengeance and I was kind of ruining my own life,” Chehab said. “But I saw hope and forgiveness in the forgiveness that Christ gives, in peace.”

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