Philemon in Focus

There’s a few books in the Bible where the subject matter is so specific that it’s very easy to buzz through it and say “Well none of this applies to me.”  And move on to something more conventional.  Philemon is absolutely one of these books.

The one-chapter letter is from Paul to one of his acquaintances.  As the letter explains, while in prison in Rome Paul met Philemon’s escaped slave, Onesimus.  After Onesimus converted to Christianity, Paul decided to send him back to his master with this letter in hand.

So yeah, we’ve got a short letter that at a glance seems to be ok with slavery and focuses on one person in particular.  What can we learn from that?  Surprisingly, a lot.  As I went through the book five or so verses at a time, the Holy Spirit opened up quite a few things that we can still learn and incorporate into our daily lives.  On the surface Paul is suggesting that Onesimus goes free, but when you dig into the Book of Philemon you can see that Paul, through his words, is teaching each one of us how to live as followers of Christ.  Come join us and learn more about your faith!

Remembering Others (Philemon 1:1-5)

The Life of Christians (Philemon 1:6-10)

Human Relations (Philemon 1:11-16)

Father and Son (Philemon 1:17-20)

Going Above and Beyond (Philemon 1:21-25)