Yesterday Northwest Community Church kicked off a new teaching series on one of the shortest books in the Bible. Over the next 3 weeks we are going to walk through Philemon together and discover some incredible things about the power of Jesus Christ. We will see how God is able to use a short letter (Philemon contains less than 450 words, is organized into only 25 verses, and takes less than 5 minutes to read) to highlight Jesus Christ's ability to reach people, change people, and forgive people. When you combine God's Word with a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, you have the recipe for life-change not only in your life but also in the lives of people around you. Remember, God has been changing people's lives for centuries and the book of Philemon is a perfect example of the lengths God is willing and able to go in order to reach people and transform them.
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| Sundays, May 17, 24, & 31 at Northwest Community Church |
During week 1 of the series, we walked through the first ten verses of Philemon and introduced the three main characters of this powerful letter. We met Philemon, Paul, and Onesimus. Philemon was a wealthy, influential businessman, a fully devoted follower of Jesus Christ, and a man who was known for his ability to refresh and encourage other people. The Apostle Paul was writing to Philemon while imprisoned in Rome for preaching about Jesus Christ. Onesimus was a runaway slave with a shady past who eventually gave his life to Jesus Christ and experienced dramatic life-change and forgiveness.
If you missed week 1 of the Philemon series be sure to listen to our
podcast and read Philemon 1-10 during one of your quiet times later this week. As you do, keep in mind that the book of Philemon shows us the power of Jesus Christ and His ability to reach people no matter where they are in life. Onesimus had a shady past and was running from his problems and yet God allowed him to cross paths with Paul in a Roman prison. Meanwhile Paul was suffering imprisonment and God gave purpose to his suffering and allowed Paul to lead Onesimus to Christ. And then finally Philemon was riding a wave of success and was suddenly given an opportunity to be an example to the world of what forgiveness and faith is all about. Wow! Jesus Christ truly has the ability to cut across all barriers and circumstances to reach people no matter where they are in life.
Finally, we challenge you to ask yourself three questions as you study the introduction to Philemon:
- Am I willing to give God my past?
- Am I willing to trust God in the midst of pain and trials?
- Am I willing to surrender my success to God and trust Him with my future?
