Sermons on Philemon 1:21:

An Open Letter

Contributed by Christopher Holdsworth on Jul 20, 2019

No longer a slave.

AN OPEN LETTER. PHILEMON 1:1-21. Onesimus was a slave who had escaped from his Christian master, Philemon. Yet in a beautiful irony, having not ‘made it’ alone in the big city, he found himself at last brought under the direct personal influence of “Paul the prisoner” (Philemon 1:1). Many a ...read more

Scripture: Philemon 1:1-21

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Little Book With A Big Message

Contributed by Alvan Lewis on Sep 2, 2019

Discover why the tiny book of Philemon was included in the New Testament

Little Book with a Big Message Philemon Come with me this morning 20 long centuries back in time. Stroll with me down the streets of imperial Rome. See the Pantheon, the Coliseum, the Bath and of course, the Senate. As we jostle our way through the great crowds in the Market place keep in mind that ...read more

Scripture: Philemon 1:1-25

Denomination: Anglican

Forgiving Those Who Hurt You Series

Contributed by Fred Sigle on Jan 12, 2023

The apostle Paul wrote a personal letter to a man named Philemon who had been wronged by his servant named Onesimus whom had, it is widely believed, stolen money from him and then ran away to Rome.

A. We live in a WORLD where it’s so easy to become CALLUSED and INDIFFERENT. 1. We are bombarded daily with news of TRAGEDIES, VIOLENT ACTS, and SUFFERING PEOPLE. COMMENT: Living SANELY in such a WORLD often necessitates developing a certain amount of THICK SKIN. Unfortunately, THICK SKIN ...read more

Scripture: Philemon 1:1-25

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Attributes Of A Forgiving Person Series

Contributed by Fred Sigle on Jan 12, 2023

The apostle Paul wrote a personal letter to a man named Philemon who had been wronged by his servant named Onesimus whom had, it is widely believed, stolen money from him and then ran away to Rome.

A. Philemon 4-7 (READ) 1. We live in a SOCIETY that KNOWS little about FORGIVENESS. We live in a SOCIETY that CARES little about FORGIVENESS. a. In fact, I would think that one of the major CONTRIBUTORS—if not the major contributor—to the DESTRUCTION of RELATIONSHIPS in our ...read more

Scripture: Philemon 1:1-25

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Characteristics Of A Forgiven Person Series

Contributed by Fred Sigle on Jan 12, 2023

The apostle Paul wrote a personal letter to a man named Philemon who had been wronged by his servant named Onesimus whom had, it is widely believed, stolen money from him and then ran away to Rome.

A. Psalm 32:1-2 (READ and COMMENT) ILLUSTRATION: Some years ago, two TEENAGERS with a long history of CRIME and DELINQUENCY robbed a DRUG STORE on the lowest East Side of New York City and then ran into a YMCA to HIDE OUT while all the POLICE activity was going on. On the way out, they saw ...read more

Scripture: Philemon 1:1-25

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Philemon Series

Contributed by Roshelle Brenneise on Jan 16, 2022

Forgiveness and Reconciliation

January 15, 2022 Paul was a prisoner in Rome Philemon was a leader in the church at Colossae and a wealthy slave owner. Onesimus was Philemon’s useless runaway slave who made his way to Rome. A note on slavery in ancient Rome: • 85% of Rome’s population were slaves. • Slavery was not ...read more

Scripture: Genesis 3:8, Psalm 14:1-3, Romans 3:23, Romans 5:10, Romans 5:8, 1 John 4:10, Galatians 4:7, Philemon 1:1-25  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Seventh-Day Adventist

Plan Of Salvation - A Letter To Philemon Series

Contributed by Heman Sapogu on Oct 31, 2022

The Letter To Philemon: The Book of Philemon has only one chapter with 25 Verses. It’s a simple letter written by Apostle Paul when he was in prison to a man called Philemon who lived in COLOSSE, today we are going to meditate/learn what was the need of this letter to Philemon.

The Letter To Philemon: The Book of Philemon has only one chapter with 25 Verses. It’s a simple letter written by Apostle Paul when he was in prison to a man called Philemon who lived in COLOSSE, today we are going to meditate/learn what was the need of this letter to Philemon. Paul is not writing ...read more

Scripture: Philemon 1:1-25

The Motivation Of One Who Forgives Series

Contributed by Freddy Fritz on Aug 19, 2016

In this lesson we examine the motivation of one who forgives.

Scripture Three weeks ago I started a short sermon series called “Forgiveness and Reconciliation” on the letter of Paul to Philemon. I plan to conclude this series today. Philemon was a wealthy, godly Christian who lived in the city of Colossae. He had a slave named Onesimus. Some ...read more

Scripture: Philemon 1:19-25

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Charge That To My Account

Contributed by Rick Boyne on Jun 12, 2012

Forgive others for the sake of Christ.

Charge That to My Account January 27, 2008 Evening Service Immanuel Baptist Church, Wagoner, OK Rick Boyne Message Point: Forgive others for the sake of Christ. Focus Passage: Philemon Supplemental Passage: Introduction: I. Onesimus, the Useless One (verse 11a) a. Philemon was his ...read more

Scripture: Philemon 1:1-25

Denomination: Baptist

Philemon

Contributed by Chuck Gohn on Mar 12, 2013

A sermon on the complete book of Philemon.

Today, as we look at the Book of Philemon, we are going to see forgiveness in action. So if you have your bibles with you today, open up to the Book of Philemon. Now I suspect that Philemon may be a difficult book for you to find. Unlike the Book of Eli it IS actually a book in the Bible, it is ...read more

Scripture: Philemon 1:1-25

Denomination: Christian Church

Embracing Forgiveness

Contributed by David Scudder on Apr 9, 2010

Philemon was led to Christ by Paul, probably at Ephesus. If Philemon forgave Onesimus what would the other slaves think? If he punished him what would other people think about his testimony as a Christian? Let's notice how Paul gently led Philemon down th

Philemon 1-25 Purpose: To see a real life picture of forgiveness. Aim: I want the listener to repent of any un-forgiveness and humbly extend forgiveness. INTRODUCTION: Philemon was led to Christ by Paul, probably at Ephesus. He must have been wealthy because his home was big enough for the ...read more

Scripture: Philemon 1:1-25

Denomination: Independent/Bible

Being An Advocate For Others Series

Contributed by Kevin L. Jones on Apr 24, 2010

A sermon examining the importance of standing up for others.

BEING AN ADVOCATE FOR OTHERS Philemon 1:8-21 (Antioch Baptist Church: Sunday Morning, July 6th, 2025) Listen online at - https://youtu.be/hA3T00nqTGM?feature=shared It’s the kind of story that makes the news; a man who had set out on a mission to destroy a church unexpectedly came to ...read more

Scripture: Philemon 1:8-21

Denomination: Baptist

Forgive Like Philemon

Contributed by Anthony Zibolski on Jun 10, 2015

Forgiving is easy to tell someone else but very hard for each one of us. Forgiving takes the power out of the hands of the offender and allows God to provide healing to you.

Forgive like Philemon Philemon 1-21 Introduction- This morning I want to talk to you about forgiveness. Right away we can think of many that should hear this message. But you are here this morning and God wants to speak to each one of us about forgiveness. When someone hurts you, you can ...read more

Scripture: Philemon 1:1-21

Denomination: Nazarene

Paul's Postcard To Philemon

Contributed by Jason Smith on Sep 25, 2013

Philemon is a very short epistle (a postcard). But as short as it is, there are many great lessons we can learn from it.

Introduction Philemon was a member of the church in Colossae (cf. Col 4.9). He seems from our text to be somewhat wealthy; he was a slave-owner; it also seems that the church met in his house if those mentioned in verse 2 are members of his household as most assume. Philemon was a faithful servant ...read more

Scripture: Philemon 1:1-22

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

A Letter About Forgiveness- Be Different Series

Contributed by Shawn Drake on Jun 6, 2023

This is the 152nd sermon in the series "Action". This is the 1st sermon from Philemon.

Series: Action [#152] A LETTER ABOUT FORGIVENESS- BE DIFFERENT Philemon 1:1-25 Introduction: Thank you for all of the prayers, texts, calls, gifts, and food. As Pastor of Bel Aire for almost 25 years, I have spent many hours with people while their loved ones were having surgery. I have sent ...read more

Scripture: Philemon 1:1-25

Denomination: Baptist