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Faithful to the Finish
Peter's final call to a young and growing church
Grace and Glory
A short series through the highlights of 1 Peter
Entrusted
Gifts, risk, and the return of the King
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
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
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 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
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
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
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
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
Denomination: Methodist
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
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
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
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
Paul's letter to Philemon gives us solid timeless principles in restoring broken relationships. As Paul paid for Onesimus' sin, so Christ pays for ours, thus restoring us to God. Because we have been forgiven much, we need to forgive others.
Philemon Restoring Relationships I’d like to take a little survey this morning: Who here has never had a relationship challenge? Ah ha, I thought so. Today’s subject “Restoring Relationships,” is for all of us. As we seek to live a Christian life, does our faith have any ...read more
Scripture: Philemon 1:1-21
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
Last week I talked about the need to place our confidence in God and that we need to have a heart of confidence. This week I make the point that although we can't place our ultimate confidence in people, we can still have confidence in them. I finish with our need to persevere in confidence.
I'M CONFIDENT OF THAT (part two) Last week I started out by asking what are you basing your confidence in. We read the story of Sennacherib king of Assyria attacking Hezekiah king of Judah. Sennacherib was certain he would defeat the smaller army of Judah. He taunted them saying their god ...read more
Scripture: Proverbs 31:10-11, Philemon 1:17-21, 2 Corinthians 7:2-4, 2 Corinthians 7:11-16, 2 Corinthians 9:1-5, Philippians 1:3-7, Hebrews 10:32-39, Hebrews 3:12-14 (view more) (view less)
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