Stone's Hill Community Church
Our series is called "Letters from Prison" - which is a study of Paul's prison epistles or letters. We've covered Philippians. Now, we look at Philemon. Philemon. 335 words. One chapter only. You'll never find it if the pages stick together!
Onesimus was a slave belonging to Philemon, a Christian of Colosse. This slave had opportunity to run away and seized on it. He took some things he shouldn’t have. He made his way to Rome where he expected his identity and past life to be swallowed up by the great metropolis. One day he chanced upon a gathering where an incarcerated Paul was teaching people from his apartment-jail.
Paul led "Onesimus" to Christ! He gave Paul the update on everyone back in Colosse. And Paul mentored him. In the course of that mentoring relationship, Paul had to deal with this run-away, fugitive situation between the household of Philemon and Onesimus. It had legal and social and even spiritual complications. Paul, after teaching him a little while, says, “Now, you must go back and make amends to your master for the wrong you have done.”
This letter is about that... and it's about us...Welcome to "Philemon". And welcome to Stones Hill Community Church and Online Notes!
Welcome!
We welcome you to Stone's Hill today!
A typical Stone's Hill service has music (feel free to sing out); some announcements (things that are upcoming that you can be a part of); a message out of the Bible (God speaks to us through his Word); and an opportunity for you to respond to the message (either immediately in the case of a decision that needs to be made OR in the future as you live out the message in your life.)
So relax and enjoy your morning! We're so glad you are here!
Philemon 1:1-25 NIV
Letters from Prison - Philemon 1:1-25
Martin Luther wrote, “We are all the Lord’s Onesimi.” Martin Luther said, “All of us are Onesimuses!” and he was right.
Are you stealing from your Master? Are you robbing your Lord like Onesimus was robbing from Philemon?
Maybe your parents raised you right, and you’ve dishonored them. God gave you a healthy body and you’ve squandered it on drugs. The Lord blessed you with a good job, but you never give to anyone anything. God gave you a great person to date, and you took more than you should have. God gave you a talent, but you won’t honor Him with it.
God created you to serve Him. He is your rightful owner and master. But, like Onesimus, you rebelled against Him. You said, “I will not have this Master to rule over me.” And so you took the body, the intelligence, and the talents that God had entrusted to you to use for Him and squandered them on yourself.
Claiming to be free from God, you became the slave of sin. Like Onesimus, you were a condemned fugitive on the run, useless to your rightful Master, guilty, and indebted to Him. You had robbed God.
Are you stealing from your Master? I’m not going to command anything. I appeal. If you’ll return home and live for Him, you’ll like it when it comes to say goodbye to this world.
