Sermons on Philemon 1:4-22:

"a Love Letter From Jesus."

Contributed by Dr. Jerry Hulse on Feb 13, 2023

The book of Philemon portrays the love of God through the relationship between Paul and a runaway slave named Onesimus. Similarly, Christ's love for his church is evident in his prayer in the garden where he asked God to receive his church the way he would receive him.

SCRIPTURAL REFERENCES (Philemon 1:10-16) (10) "I beseech thee for my son Onesimus, whom I have begotten in my bonds:" (11) "Which in time past was to thee unprofitable, but now profitable to thee and to me:" (12) ...read more

Scripture: Philemon 1:10-21, John 17:5-11, John 17:1-5, John 17:12-23, John 17:24-26  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Pentecostal

The Burden And Blessing Of Forgiving Others

Contributed by Reuben Bredenhof on Feb 2, 2021

The gospel has made us all brothers and sisters, one in Christ Jesus. It has torn down whatever dividing walls used to stand between us, and it’s given us a reason to love and to forgive.

There are two sisters who aren’t speaking to one another because of things that happened, years ago: What does the gospel say to them? There’s a brother in the church who’s made a serious mistake: What does the gospel say to him, and those around him? There’s a whole congregation that needs ...read more

Scripture: Philemon 1:12-14, Philemon 1:1-25

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Arrows Of Truth # 7 - What Is The 1st Step Of The Hunters Strategy? (Part 2) Series

Contributed by Louis Posthauer on Mar 19, 2022

A weekly series to help believers engage with loved ones, friends and neighbors who are dropout believers to restore them to the church - the Body of Christ.

Arrows of Truth # 7 - What is the 1st step of the Hunters strategy? (Part 2) The 1st step of the Hunters strategy is to strengthen yourself in the Lord. What do we mean by strengthen ourselves in the Lord? Unless we are strengthened for our engagement with the dropout, we will end up spiritually ...read more

Scripture: James 5:16, Philemon 1:6

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

The Appeal For The Useful

Contributed by Chris Swanson on Dec 5, 2022

Christian relationships must be filled with mercy, forgiveness, and acceptance.

Paul wrote this letter as a plea for a runaway slave of Philemon’s named Onesimus. He had stolen from Philemon then ran away to Rome where he met Paul. Subsequently he accepted Christ as his Savior, so Paul was writing this letter as he was sending Onesimus back to Philemon, but he wanted Philemon ...read more

Scripture: Philemon 1:8-15

Denomination: Independent/Bible

Persuade Someone

Contributed by Bruce Lee on Aug 24, 2015

The goal of this sermon is that everyone will become active in sharing the faith.

“Persuade Someone ” “I pray that you may be active in sharing your faith, so that you will have a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ.” Philemon 6 NIV Intro: Greg was a new Christian. He had only been baptized a few weeks when he started attending a ...read more

Scripture: Philemon 1:6

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Forgiveness, Part 1 Series

Contributed by Guy Glass on Aug 30, 2015

This messages looks at the pitfalls of not forgiveing and the character of someone who forgives

THE LITTLE BOOK WITH AN IMPORTANT MESSAGE FORGIVENESS THE BOOK OF PHILEMON 1:1-7 PART 1: THE CHARACTER OF ONE WHO FORGIVES PHILEMON 1:1-7 PAUL, A PRISONER FOR CHRIST JESUS, AND TIMOTHY OUR BROTHER, TO PHILEMON OUR BELOVED FELLOW WORKER 2  AND APPHIA OUR SISTER AND ARCHIPPUS OUR FELLOW SOLDIER, ...read more

Scripture: Philemon 1:1-7

Denomination: Baptist

The Ledger, Charge That To My Account - Philemon

Contributed by J Jeffrey Smead on Dec 9, 2015

Beloved, Martin Luther saw the power of this short epistle to Philemon in his statement: "We are all his Onesimi if we really believe it." Updated September 2022

Beloved ... It seems right to me ... that we lay the foundation ... the background to this letter to Philemon ... before we look into it ... to behold its treasures. We know the following ... from the Scriptures ... from both this letter ... and the letter ... to the Colossians: That Philemon ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 27:46-48, 1 Peter 1:18, Romans 5:12, Romans 6:23, Galatians 3:13, 2 Corinthians 5:21, Philemon 1:1-25, Romans 10:9  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Anglican

The Hardest Thing Series

Contributed by Tim Smith on Feb 7, 2016

What do you as a follower of Jesus Christ when someone close to you has hurt you?

The Hardest Thing You’ll Ever Do Philemon What do you do when the person closest to you has betrayed and hurt you? I had a friend in college with whom I reconnected after I moved back from seminary. Let’s call her Jane. She had a whirlwind romance and after just six months, got married. ...read more

Scripture: Philemon 1:1-25

Denomination: Methodist

Being An Advocate For Others Series

Contributed by Kevin L. Jones on Feb 28, 2016

A sermon examining the importance of ministering to 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

The Character Of One Who Forgives Series

Contributed by Freddy Fritz on Aug 5, 2016

In today's sermon I want to examine the character of one who forgives.

Scripture Last week I started a short series of sermons on Paul’s letter to Philemon. One writer said, “Philemon is about reconciliation and relationships between Christians.” Philemon was a wealthy, godly Christian who lived in the city of Colossae. He had a slave named ...read more

Scripture: Philemon 1:4-7

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

How To Influence Someone To Do The Right Thing

Contributed by Derrick Tuper on Jan 26, 2015

Paul was good at knowing how to talk to people. He was wise in how he chose his words. The letter he wrote to his friend Philemon is a great example of that. Let’s take a look at how Paul sought to influence his friend to do the right thing.

HOW TO INFLUENCE SOMEONE TO DO THE RIGHT THING INTRODUCTION: Book-“How to gain friends and influence people”. Paul was good at knowing how to talk to people. He was wise in how he chose his words. The book of Philemon is a great example of that. Paul writes a letter to his friend ...read more

Scripture: Philemon 1:1-25

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

The Actions Of One Who Forgives Series

Contributed by Freddy Fritz on Aug 12, 2016

In today's sermon we examine the actions of one who forgives.

Scripture Two weeks ago I started a short series of sermons called “Forgiveness and Reconciliation” from Paul’s letter to Philemon. Part of the reason I am preaching this series is because I want to learn how, when I sin (and I do sin all the time), to repent well, and to seek ...read more

Scripture: Philemon 1:8-18

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

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

"Full Of Use"

Contributed by Gerald Roberts on Sep 1, 2016

The word Onesimus means "useful" and that is what we become when we are repaired, when we forgive, when we do not give up, and when we encounter the Gospel.

“Full of Use” Philemon vs 11 1. Duct tape is “full of use” consider the not so obvious uses of duct tape. • In case your car overheats, and a hose is busted, duct tape is a temporary form of repair. • Repair cracked windshield/window. • For emergency ...read more

Scripture: Philemon 1:4-11

Denomination: Methodist