ELIJAH pt.3 – “The Blessed Life”

From a widows experience with Elijah (1 Kings 17:7-16), Pastor Pekka shares the simple keys to the Blessed Life.

This is the third message of a series of messages on the life of Elijah, one of the Old Testament prophets. More on the Elijah series here.

Saalem Family Celebration – Sundays at 11:45am.
Click here for a map with the location of Saalem Church.

Click the “play” button below to listen or right click the “download” text and choose “save as” in order to download. Sermons from Saalem Church can also be found on iTunes as a podcast.

ELIJAH pt.2 – “Dip Happens”

What do we do in the though times of life? How do we recover from the valleys? What’s the way out of the dip? We find some answers as we take a closer look at 1 Kings 17:1-10 where the brook that God guided Elijah to dries up.

Saalem Family Celebration – Sundays at 11:45am.
Click here for a map with the location of Saalem Church.

Click the “play” button below to listen or right click the “download” text and choose “save as” in order to download. Sermons from Saalem Church can also be found on iTunes as a podcast.

ELIJAH pt.1 – “What God can do through ordinary you”

Today Pastor Pekka begins a series of messages on the life of Elijah, one of the Old Testament prophets.

When asked why Elijah, Pastor Pekka answers: “The Bible tells us Elijah was a man just like us. He experienced great success, but also great adversity, doubt, struggle and even bouts of depression. Yet God did some amazing things in and through this dude. Similarly, I believe God wants to do amazing things in and through us. Elijah’s experience will fuel the fire of faith and set our course for a fruitful 2012!”

Saalem Family Celebration – Sundays at 11:45am.
Click here for a map with the location of Saalem Church.

Click the “play” button below to listen or right click the “download” text and choose “save as” in order to download. Sermons from Saalem Church can also be found on iTunes as a podcast.

Can we prove that God exists?

Is there proof for the existence of God? Some say that Christianity is irrational, unreasonable and even absurd. “I won’t believe in a God whose existence cannot be scientifically proven” is a fairly common declaration. Many Christians react by claiming that the essence of faith is to trust that which can not be known or scientifically reasoned about. But Christianity is not a blind faith. We are not afraid to rationally contemplate the logic of what we believe. In fact, our faith is strengthened by reason.

Even though God can not be seen, there is plenty of logical support for His existence. Throughout history many have argued rationally for the existence of God. Here are a handful of arguments that have been proposed as evidence for the existence of God (quoted from THE2023 Soteriology by Daniel Pecota):

Cosmological
Everything that exists must have an adequate cause for its beginning.

Teleological
The order and design of the universe reveal an intelligent cause.

Ontological
Belief in the perfection of being is itself an indication of the existence of God.

Anthropological
That men universally intuitively believe in God demonstrates His existence.

Moral
Man is conscious of a permanent moral law that is not self-imposed which has abiding authority over him. Only God could be the lawgiver.

Congruity
Belief in God best explains all the related facts of existence.

If you are interested in reading more apologetics (a branch of theology devoted to the defense of the divine origin and authority of Christianity), check out the links below.
Blessings,
Pastor Pekka Perho

C.S. Lewis Society
Ravi Zacharias Ministries
apologetics315.com
www.alwaysbeready.com

What gift can I give to God that I did not receive from Him?

Christmas with its giving and receiving of gifts is behind us. Many of us spent hours shopping around for the right kind of gifts. We put thought and effort into what to give and where to buy it.

Kids happily wrap their parents belongings in order to give them back as gifts on Christmas. But adults know better than to give someone what already belongs to them. So what gift could I give to Jesus that I have not received from Him? What gift should I give to the One whose birthday we actually celebrated?

Money? It all belongs to God (Ps. 24:1).
Time? God created time and He exists outside of time (Isa. 46:10)
My life? God gave that to me as well!

So what could I give that I have not first received from God?
My sin.
…and my worship.

That is what God wants from me this Christmas and every day of the year. A lifestyle of repentance. Every time we sin, either by commission (breaking Gods law) or omission (not doing what we should), God desires us to repent – confessing our sin and turning away from it. In exchange of our sin we receive forgiveness – and that causes us to worship.

Decide to give Jesus the gift He desires: your sin and your worship!

Pastor Pekka Perho

Pekka Perho – Celebration of Christmas Series – pt.2

This is the second part of a three week sermon series leading to Christmas where we will hear from all three pastors at Saalem. Today Pastor Pekka speaks from Matthew 2:9-12 about the wise mens life changing journey to Jesus.

Join us at Saalem on Sundays at 11:45am.
Click here for a map with the location of Saalem Church.

Click the “play” button below to listen or right click the “download” text and choose “save as” in order to download. Sermons from Saalem Church can also be found on iTunes as a podcast.

Pekka Perho – Purpose pt.3 – A Vision Worth Living For.

In the third and last part in the Purpose series we talk about a Vision worth Living for.
“Where there is no vision, the people perish” – Proverbs 29:18 (KJV)

More from the Purpose Series

Click the “play” button below to listen or right click the “download” text and choose “save as” in order to download. Sermons from Saalem Church can also be found on iTunes as a podcast.

Pekka Perho – Purpose pt.2 – Don’t wait until your deathbed!

In part two of the Purpose series we look to the words of Jesus for the second key to living on purpose. Many realize this deeper meaning of life only on their deathbed.

More from the Purpose Series

Click the “play” button below to listen or right click the “download” text and choose “save as” in order to download. Sermons from Saalem Church can also be found on iTunes as a podcast.

Complacency kills.

As I was preparing for this weeks sermon, I came across a story told by Dale Galloway (Rebuild Your Life) that brought tears to my eyes. I hope it shakes you up like it did me:

The phone rang in a high society Boston home. On the other end of the line was a son who had just returned from Viet Nam and was calling from California. His folks were the cocktail-circuit, party kind–drinking, wife swapping, gambling, all the other things that go with it. The boy said to his mother, “I just called to tell you that I wanted to bring a buddy home with me.” His mother said, “Sure, bring him along for a few days.” “But, mother, there is something you need to know about this boy. One leg is gone, one arm’s gone, one eye’s gone, and his face is quite disfigured. Is it all right if I bring him home?”

His mother said, “Bring him home for a few days.” The son said, “You didn’t understand me, mother. I want to bring him home to live with us.” The mother began to make all kinds of excuses about embarrassment and what people would think…and the phone clicked.

A few hours later the police called from California to Boston. The mother picked up the phone again. The police sergeant at the other end said, “We just found a boy with one arm, one leg, one eye and a mangled face, who has just killed himself with a shot in the head. The identification papers on the body say he is your son.”

I pray that we would be people of compassion, who love with actions and not with words only. With a new-found desire for real compassion,
Pastor Pekka

Pekka Perho – Purpose pt1 – What on earth am I here for?

Today Pastor Pekka begins a three week sermon series where we answer questions that people actually ask, such as: “Does my life have a greater purpose?” and “What’s Gods will for my life?”
Whether you are new to church or have been a Christian for a long time, these talks will help you discover Gods plan for your life.

More from the Purpose Series

Click the “play” button below to listen or right click the “download” text and choose “save as” in order to download. Sermons from Saalem Church can also be found on iTunes as a podcast.

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