WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:08.199 Well, I'd like us to turn back to Paul's editor, Philomon, because tonight we are going to 00:00:08.199 --> 00:00:15.599 begin a very short study on what is the shortest of Paul's letters. 00:00:15.599 --> 00:00:18.280 I should probably comment on pronunciation to begin with. 00:00:18.280 --> 00:00:23.480 Some people say Philemon, some people say Philomon. 00:00:23.480 --> 00:00:34.159 Some people say Philemon. 00:00:34.159 --> 00:00:36.719 So we're going to look together at Philomon. 00:00:36.719 --> 00:00:40.840 We'll look at the first part this evening. 00:00:40.840 --> 00:00:43.679 Let me just read verses 4 to 7 again. 00:00:43.679 --> 00:00:50.040 I thank my God when I remember you in my prayers, because I hear of your love and of the faith 00:00:50.039 --> 00:00:53.799 that you have towards the Lord Jesus and for all the saints. 00:00:53.799 --> 00:00:57.479 And I pray that the sharing of your faith may become effective for the full knowledge 00:00:57.479 --> 00:01:01.000 of every good thing that is in us for the sake of Christ. 00:01:01.000 --> 00:01:05.480 For I have derived much joy and comfort from your love, my brother, because the hearts of 00:01:05.480 --> 00:01:11.280 the saints have been refreshed through you. 00:01:11.280 --> 00:01:16.299 It's not often that we look at a letter like this, and sometimes our attention can often 00:01:16.299 --> 00:01:23.280 be drawn to the bigger and perhaps more famous books or letters that we find in Scripture. 00:01:23.280 --> 00:01:30.560 But looking at a book like Philemon is different, but also it's quite wonderful because it's 00:01:30.560 --> 00:01:36.239 one of those rare occasions when we get to read the whole of a book of the Bible in 00:01:36.239 --> 00:01:37.900 a church service. 00:01:37.900 --> 00:01:41.359 We went through the whole thing in one go. 00:01:41.359 --> 00:01:45.319 And I want us to think and talk a little bit about that tonight, because it gives us the 00:01:45.319 --> 00:01:52.799 opportunity to think and talk about how we approach reading a book of the Bible. 00:01:52.799 --> 00:01:58.439 And I hope that will help us as we begin this study, which we'll have over the next four 00:01:58.439 --> 00:01:59.439 weeks. 00:01:59.439 --> 00:02:05.439 But I hope it will also help us just in terms of our general reading of the Bible as well. 00:02:05.439 --> 00:02:10.959 Whenever we come to read a book of the Bible long or short, there's two important things 00:02:10.959 --> 00:02:12.400 that we want to keep in view. 00:02:12.400 --> 00:02:17.039 And you'll have to forgive me that I don't really have very kind of technical theological 00:02:17.039 --> 00:02:20.759 language for these two important things. 00:02:20.759 --> 00:02:25.759 They are the big picture and the cool details. 00:02:25.759 --> 00:02:29.000 And these are our headings for this evening. 00:02:29.000 --> 00:02:34.240 These are the things we want to keep in view when we approach a book of the Bible. 00:02:34.240 --> 00:02:38.879 So for Philemon, let's look at these two together, starting with the big picture. 00:02:38.879 --> 00:02:40.200 There's lots of ways you can do that. 00:02:40.199 --> 00:02:43.519 You can ask the question, who, what, when, where. 00:02:43.519 --> 00:02:47.839 You can explore things like structure, themes, content. 00:02:47.839 --> 00:02:53.799 Or you can think of headings like period, people, places, and purpose. 00:02:53.799 --> 00:02:59.199 These are all very helpful for reminding us that the books of the Bible arose out of a 00:02:59.199 --> 00:03:03.519 wider context and out of real life situations. 00:03:03.519 --> 00:03:07.759 We'll go for the 4-P approach tonight. 00:03:07.759 --> 00:03:15.239 So for a period, Philemon was written probably in the early 60s of the first century. 00:03:15.239 --> 00:03:18.479 When you think of the timeline of the New Testament, sometimes it's helpful to think 00:03:18.479 --> 00:03:22.280 in terms of 30s, 60s, and 90s. 00:03:22.280 --> 00:03:27.519 So 30s, the year 30, and the years around them, around that is when Jesus' ministry 00:03:27.519 --> 00:03:36.799 took place and all the major events of the Gospels are around that time. 00:03:36.800 --> 00:03:41.400 After Jesus died, rose, and ascended into heaven, the church began to spread bit by 00:03:41.400 --> 00:03:47.160 bit from Jerusalem into the surrounding region as recorded in the Book of Acts. 00:03:47.160 --> 00:03:53.760 In the 40s and the 50s, the church is growing, and in particular, Paul is becoming increasingly 00:03:53.760 --> 00:03:58.120 prominent as a missionary, a leader, and an apostle. 00:03:58.120 --> 00:04:03.400 It all culminates in the 60s, which is when the Book of Acts concludes. 00:04:03.400 --> 00:04:10.240 Paul travels to Rome where he's imprisoned, and from there several of his letters were 00:04:10.240 --> 00:04:11.240 written. 00:04:11.240 --> 00:04:17.079 And then 90s is a helpful date to have in mind, because it was sometime in the 90s, probably 00:04:17.079 --> 00:04:22.959 around 94, 95, that Revelation was written, and that's the last book of the New Testament 00:04:22.959 --> 00:04:23.959 to be written. 00:04:23.959 --> 00:04:28.280 And from the 90s onwards, we go into what's called the post-apostolic period, which is 00:04:28.280 --> 00:04:31.720 after the New Testament era. 00:04:31.720 --> 00:04:36.920 So it can be helpful to have that 30s, 60s, 90s just to kind of roughly find your way 00:04:36.920 --> 00:04:39.760 around the New Testament period. 00:04:39.760 --> 00:04:43.400 Philomon falls into the 60s category. 00:04:43.400 --> 00:04:48.720 It was written by Paul towards the end of his life. 00:04:48.720 --> 00:04:54.040 For people, there's three main people involved, Paul, Philomon, and Onesimus. 00:04:54.040 --> 00:04:58.480 Paul is an apostle and a key leader in the early church, and he clearly has a previous 00:04:58.480 --> 00:05:03.560 connection to Philomon, and it seems very likely that Paul was instrumental in Philomon's 00:05:03.560 --> 00:05:04.720 conversion. 00:05:04.720 --> 00:05:07.800 And as we read towards the end of the chapter, Paul's hoping to come and stay with him. 00:05:07.800 --> 00:05:12.800 So there seems to be a fairly well-established relationship between them. 00:05:12.800 --> 00:05:19.000 At the moment though, Paul's a prisoner, probably in Rome. 00:05:19.000 --> 00:05:24.360 Philomon is a Christian living in Colosse, or possibly in Laodicea, which was nearby 00:05:24.360 --> 00:05:28.000 in southwest Asia Minor, what we would call Turkey today. 00:05:28.000 --> 00:05:33.720 We don't know an enormous amount about him, but he must have been at least a little bit 00:05:33.720 --> 00:05:39.920 up the social ladder at the time because he owned at least one slave and he owned property. 00:05:39.920 --> 00:05:44.639 And he also seemed to have a prominent role in the church because it was in his house 00:05:44.639 --> 00:05:47.759 that the church meets. 00:05:47.759 --> 00:05:48.759 And then we have Onesimus. 00:05:48.759 --> 00:05:54.199 He's not mentioned until verse 10, but he's actually the whole reason that this letter 00:05:54.199 --> 00:05:56.319 was written. 00:05:56.319 --> 00:05:58.000 He's also from Colosse. 00:05:58.000 --> 00:06:01.920 He's actually mentioned in the letter to the Colossians chapter 4, verse 9. 00:06:01.920 --> 00:06:05.480 Those two letters, Colossians and Philomon, were sent together. 00:06:05.480 --> 00:06:11.719 And he was a slave of Philomons who had ran away. 00:06:11.719 --> 00:06:15.439 In terms of places, three key places, Rome, Colosse, Laodicea. 00:06:15.439 --> 00:06:17.560 There's a map, just so we know roughly. 00:06:17.560 --> 00:06:19.079 Rome, we've all heard of. 00:06:19.079 --> 00:06:22.879 Colosse is there, kind of southwest Turkey, as we would call it. 00:06:22.879 --> 00:06:25.079 And Laodicea was just nearby. 00:06:25.079 --> 00:06:29.159 We don't know exactly which one Philomon was in, but it doesn't really matter because 00:06:29.159 --> 00:06:33.279 they're very close to one another anyway. 00:06:33.279 --> 00:06:35.279 And then the purpose. 00:06:35.279 --> 00:06:42.519 Well as we said, Onesimus was a slave in Philomon's household who appeared to have run away. 00:06:42.519 --> 00:06:49.079 He had possibly stolen from Philomon in the process because in verse 18, Paul talks about 00:06:49.079 --> 00:06:51.000 Onesimus owing Philomon something. 00:06:51.000 --> 00:06:54.839 We don't know for sure, but that could well have been the case. 00:06:54.839 --> 00:06:59.479 At the very least, he had fled from his responsibilities towards his master. 00:06:59.479 --> 00:07:05.560 And in doing that, he had broken both the law and the customs of that time. 00:07:05.560 --> 00:07:11.719 But while he was away, he's become a Christian, probably through Paul's influence. 00:07:11.719 --> 00:07:15.879 And it's definitely the case that he's become a big help to Paul. 00:07:15.879 --> 00:07:23.319 But Paul recognizes that Onesimus still has a legal obligation towards Philomon, and even 00:07:23.319 --> 00:07:31.360 more so, they are now brothers in Christ and therefore need to be reconciled. 00:07:31.360 --> 00:07:39.319 So the whole purpose of this letter is that Paul is sending Onesimus back to his master. 00:07:39.319 --> 00:07:46.199 And he's asking Philomon to receive him and to teach him no longer as a bond servant, 00:07:46.199 --> 00:07:51.719 but as a brother in Jesus Christ. 00:07:51.720 --> 00:07:58.680 All of that means that this letter is a very personal letter from Paul to Philomon. 00:07:58.680 --> 00:08:03.800 It's almost a kind of semi-private issue that it's dealing with. 00:08:03.800 --> 00:08:14.080 And it was written to address what was a very delicate and perhaps even a very awkward situation. 00:08:14.080 --> 00:08:16.200 So that's our four Ps. 00:08:16.200 --> 00:08:18.960 You can use those four Ps for any book of the Bible. 00:08:18.959 --> 00:08:22.599 If you want to find that information for yourself, there's lots of ways you can do that. 00:08:22.599 --> 00:08:26.719 So if you've got a study Bible, like the ESV study Bible or the NIV study Bible, it's 00:08:26.719 --> 00:08:28.879 great for finding that kind of information. 00:08:28.879 --> 00:08:29.879 You can use a commentary. 00:08:29.879 --> 00:08:31.680 That will tell you the same stuff. 00:08:31.680 --> 00:08:35.919 Or you can get a book that's called something like Introduction to the New Testament. 00:08:35.919 --> 00:08:37.480 You get the same for the Old Testament. 00:08:37.480 --> 00:08:39.879 Gives you all that kind of background information. 00:08:39.879 --> 00:08:43.159 You can get it in a book or these days you can get it online. 00:08:43.159 --> 00:08:50.759 If you go to something like biblical.com, there you can find an NIV study Bible. 00:08:50.759 --> 00:08:56.799 So go and investigate and find out more about these things. 00:08:56.799 --> 00:09:01.279 This awareness of the bigger picture around a book like Philomon is a huge help for us 00:09:01.279 --> 00:09:03.240 as we read the Bible. 00:09:03.240 --> 00:09:07.480 It helps us to see the context into which the letter was written, which is always important 00:09:07.480 --> 00:09:11.480 for accurately understanding what is being said. 00:09:11.480 --> 00:09:19.320 And it also helps to remind us that all the books of the Bible arose from real places, 00:09:19.320 --> 00:09:23.480 real people, real situations and real problems. 00:09:23.480 --> 00:09:27.759 In other words, it's all very real. 00:09:27.759 --> 00:09:32.480 And that's why we can go to the Bible and find so much that still speaks to our situation 00:09:32.480 --> 00:09:34.720 as well. 00:09:34.720 --> 00:09:39.800 In many ways, Philomon is just like a window into the practical day to day issues that 00:09:39.799 --> 00:09:42.279 faced the early church. 00:09:42.279 --> 00:09:50.959 Like all the other epistles in the New Testament, this is a letter to a real life church. 00:09:50.959 --> 00:10:01.879 But one aspect of the real life-ness of Philomon that is intertwined into this letter and that 00:10:01.879 --> 00:10:06.199 we have to talk about is something that's hugely controversial. 00:10:06.199 --> 00:10:08.959 And that of course is slavery. 00:10:08.960 --> 00:10:14.480 And I just want to say a wee bit about that before we move on further. 00:10:14.480 --> 00:10:17.720 Onesimus was Philomon's slave. 00:10:17.720 --> 00:10:22.800 That basically means that he was owned by Philomon. 00:10:22.800 --> 00:10:29.840 And the whole concept of ownership and slavery is one that we find quite horrific. 00:10:29.840 --> 00:10:35.560 And we read a book like Philomon, where a slave is being returned to his master. 00:10:35.559 --> 00:10:40.679 And we think to ourselves, what on earth is going on? Is the Bible endorsing slavery? 00:10:40.679 --> 00:10:41.679 What is this about? 00:10:41.679 --> 00:10:47.239 Well, there's two important things that we need to say in regard to that. 00:10:47.239 --> 00:10:55.119 One is that slavery was a big part of Greco-Roman society, but it was perhaps not what we first 00:10:55.119 --> 00:10:56.119 imagined. 00:10:56.119 --> 00:11:00.279 When we hear that word, slavery, lots of things pop into your head. 00:11:00.279 --> 00:11:05.359 But it might not be that the most accurate picture that we have. 00:11:05.360 --> 00:11:09.600 The world into which Paul went as a missionary was one where slavery was a big part of the 00:11:09.600 --> 00:11:11.399 social structure of the time. 00:11:11.399 --> 00:11:15.120 And it was written into the legal functioning of the Roman Empire. 00:11:15.120 --> 00:11:19.639 Indeed, we should remember that the whole Roman Empire was basically based on conquest 00:11:19.639 --> 00:11:20.919 and forced rule. 00:11:20.919 --> 00:11:26.399 So if you were a Jew or any other non-Roman, even if you weren't a slave, you didn't have 00:11:26.399 --> 00:11:33.800 a freedom and an independence that we today would regard as a basic human right. 00:11:33.799 --> 00:11:37.679 And the fact that slavery was a big part of the society there means that it wasn't really 00:11:37.679 --> 00:11:40.879 as controversial then as it would be now. 00:11:40.879 --> 00:11:44.919 Tragically, it was a part of normal life. 00:11:44.919 --> 00:11:50.240 That does not, for one minute, justify it, but it just needs to be recognized that that's 00:11:50.240 --> 00:11:53.319 the way things were. 00:11:53.319 --> 00:12:00.879 And a couple to that is the fact that slavery in the New Testament times didn't mean being 00:12:00.879 --> 00:12:05.480 chained up in a field wearing rags. 00:12:05.480 --> 00:12:11.720 In Greco-Roman society, slaves had a much wider range of jobs. 00:12:11.720 --> 00:12:18.679 So they would be household managers, accountants, teachers, personal secretaries, even sea captains 00:12:18.679 --> 00:12:21.240 and physicians. 00:12:21.240 --> 00:12:25.679 It was very much encouraged that slaves would become educated because that made them more 00:12:25.679 --> 00:12:28.799 useful and more valuable to their masters. 00:12:28.799 --> 00:12:34.599 And slaves could, in fact, become quite wealthy, and if they wanted, they could buy their freedom. 00:12:34.599 --> 00:12:39.399 And that was something that happened quite often. 00:12:39.399 --> 00:12:43.120 None of that makes slavery right or acceptable. 00:12:43.120 --> 00:12:47.240 And there would have been many slaves who had lived in very harsh conditions, but it's 00:12:47.240 --> 00:12:52.959 important that we just recognize it was a very wide-ranging social phenomenon at that 00:12:52.959 --> 00:12:54.919 time. 00:12:54.919 --> 00:12:58.679 That means that when we think of onesimists fleeing from Philemon, we might have this 00:12:58.679 --> 00:13:04.279 image of our mind of him kind of, like, maybe in a dungeon with handcuffs on, and he kind 00:13:04.279 --> 00:13:10.479 of unpicks his handcuffs, sneaks out, and he runs down the road in his rags. 00:13:10.479 --> 00:13:13.559 I'm not convinced it would have been like that. 00:13:13.559 --> 00:13:20.159 It could well be the case that it would be much more accurate to imagine an accountant 00:13:20.159 --> 00:13:26.000 fiddling the books at his desk and sneaking off with all the money. 00:13:26.000 --> 00:13:32.600 We don't know for certain, but it's just important we don't impose our modern assumptions 00:13:32.600 --> 00:13:35.399 about slavery onto the New Testament. 00:13:35.399 --> 00:13:39.519 So we need to just remember that it's maybe not quite what we first imagined. 00:13:39.519 --> 00:13:43.879 The second key thing that I want to say about slavery is that Christianity made a massive 00:13:43.879 --> 00:13:46.600 difference to slaves. 00:13:46.600 --> 00:13:54.320 So in terms of challenging social norms, the second most astonishing thing that the Christian 00:13:54.320 --> 00:14:00.680 Church did in terms of first century society was that it regarded slaves and masters as 00:14:00.680 --> 00:14:01.680 equals. 00:14:01.680 --> 00:14:06.879 Now, you're all thinking, what's the first most astonishing thing? 00:14:06.879 --> 00:14:10.680 Well, I think the first, number one most astonishing thing in terms of social change 00:14:10.680 --> 00:14:15.360 was that Christianity treated men and women the same. 00:14:15.360 --> 00:14:19.240 But it also treated slaves and masters as equals. 00:14:19.240 --> 00:14:22.400 And for slaves, that was a huge change. 00:14:22.399 --> 00:14:28.919 And in this letter, Paul is reminding Philharmonic to treat Onesimus no longer as a bondservant, 00:14:28.919 --> 00:14:30.959 but as a brother. 00:14:30.959 --> 00:14:37.639 And that equal value placed on people, whether they were slave or free, was crucial for showing 00:14:37.639 --> 00:14:42.079 that in the centuries to come, a society shaped by Christianity was to be one where 00:14:42.079 --> 00:14:46.399 there would be no more slavery at all. 00:14:46.399 --> 00:14:51.759 All of that is just a reminder that we mustn't jump to conclusions about history. 00:14:51.759 --> 00:14:57.279 When Paul sent Onesimus back to Philharmon, he may well have been sending him back to 00:14:57.279 --> 00:15:03.600 a very comfortable house and a well-renumerated role we don't know. 00:15:03.600 --> 00:15:08.720 But it's also important that we look at our own society before we pass judgment on the 00:15:08.720 --> 00:15:10.319 past. 00:15:10.319 --> 00:15:14.519 We could look at Onesimus and think, well, even if he was well looked after, it's still 00:15:14.519 --> 00:15:20.240 a disgrace that Philharmon had him as a slave. 00:15:20.240 --> 00:15:29.639 And yet today, you can go to any town in Scotland and you'll find people waiting for the alcohol 00:15:29.639 --> 00:15:33.560 aisle to open every morning. 00:15:33.560 --> 00:15:37.919 And there you have a slave who is in utter bondage. 00:15:37.919 --> 00:15:45.440 You have a slave master who shows absolutely no mercy whatsoever. 00:15:45.440 --> 00:15:54.720 And as a modern, noble, developed nation, we see that right in front of us and we just 00:15:54.720 --> 00:16:01.360 get on with our day. 00:16:01.360 --> 00:16:08.320 So as we approach a book of the Bible, we want to know and remember the big picture as we 00:16:08.320 --> 00:16:09.320 read. 00:16:09.320 --> 00:16:13.120 But we also want to look at the cool details of each part. 00:16:13.120 --> 00:16:16.840 And that's what we're going to do with Philharmon over the next four weeks. 00:16:16.840 --> 00:16:21.000 And tonight, we're going to look in a little detail at verses one to seven. 00:16:21.000 --> 00:16:24.799 And there are a lot of cool details to see. 00:16:24.799 --> 00:16:27.360 These verses focus not so much on Onesimus. 00:16:27.360 --> 00:16:29.080 We'll look at him next week. 00:16:29.080 --> 00:16:33.639 But these verses look at Philharmon and the church, which he was part of. 00:16:33.639 --> 00:16:39.120 And so I want us just to whiz through these verses and see some of the details that are 00:16:39.120 --> 00:16:41.399 contained within. 00:16:41.399 --> 00:16:44.840 So let's go, we'll start with verse one. 00:16:44.840 --> 00:16:48.319 You can see it there on the screen. 00:16:48.319 --> 00:16:50.799 Here we're told who the letter's from. 00:16:50.799 --> 00:16:53.319 But we see state of the way that it's not just Paul. 00:16:53.319 --> 00:16:58.840 It's from Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timothy, our brother. 00:16:58.840 --> 00:17:01.600 It's very easy to forget that Paul had companions with him. 00:17:01.600 --> 00:17:04.879 He wasn't a lone wolf. 00:17:04.879 --> 00:17:10.279 Verses one, B, and two, then tell us the recipients to Philharmon, our beloved fellow worker, 00:17:10.279 --> 00:17:16.279 and Apaya, our sister, and Archipus, our fellow soldier, and the church in your house. 00:17:16.279 --> 00:17:22.480 Straight away we see that there's more people involved than just Paul, Philharmon, and Onesimus. 00:17:22.480 --> 00:17:25.160 We have Apaya and Archipus, as you can see. 00:17:25.160 --> 00:17:26.879 We don't know exactly who they are. 00:17:26.879 --> 00:17:31.519 I think it's probably a good guess to say that Appiah would be Philharmon's wife. 00:17:31.519 --> 00:17:37.119 Archipus, maybe their son, maybe another leader at the church. 00:17:37.119 --> 00:17:43.919 We don't know, but these seem like fairly likely possibilities. 00:17:43.919 --> 00:17:45.319 The letter's not just a Philharmon. 00:17:45.319 --> 00:17:47.159 It's to Apaya, Archipus. 00:17:47.159 --> 00:17:52.079 In fact, it's also to the church that meets in their house. 00:17:52.079 --> 00:17:57.239 Although it's this slightly delicate, semi-private letter, it's still to be read to the whole 00:17:57.239 --> 00:18:00.639 congregation that gathers there each week. 00:18:00.639 --> 00:18:05.519 That means that the need for reconciliation between Philharmon and Onesimus isn't just 00:18:05.519 --> 00:18:08.920 a private matter between them and Paul. 00:18:08.920 --> 00:18:13.480 It's a matter of concern for the whole church. 00:18:13.480 --> 00:18:20.160 And that's, I think, a great reminder that when relationships between Christians are 00:18:20.160 --> 00:18:27.519 broken or strained, the common practice that we have today, which is basically to pretend 00:18:27.519 --> 00:18:34.879 that these issues aren't there, is the precise opposite of what the New Testament expects 00:18:34.880 --> 00:18:37.040 of us. 00:18:37.040 --> 00:18:42.800 I want you to notice the extremely important ecclesiological phrase there, the church in 00:18:42.800 --> 00:18:51.040 your house, reminding us that the church and the building are two different things. 00:18:51.040 --> 00:18:54.560 And that, of course, is still true today. 00:18:54.560 --> 00:18:59.440 Often you will hear this building around us here. 00:18:59.440 --> 00:19:03.560 Often you might hear that being called the house of God. 00:19:03.559 --> 00:19:08.799 I can understand why people say that, but it's a well-intentioned phrase, but it's 00:19:08.799 --> 00:19:12.159 a well-intentioned theological error. 00:19:12.159 --> 00:19:20.839 The house of God is the people meeting in the house of Philharmon. 00:19:20.839 --> 00:19:26.919 Notice also the very cool descriptions we have of Philharmon and Archipas, fellow worker 00:19:26.919 --> 00:19:28.519 and fellow soldier. 00:19:28.519 --> 00:19:34.759 These are brilliant descriptions because here you have Paul, an apostle, a leader, an incredibly 00:19:34.759 --> 00:19:39.680 important person, somebody who has a hugely significant role, and yet he writes to these 00:19:39.680 --> 00:19:46.039 Christians and he calls them fellow workers, fellow soldiers. 00:19:46.039 --> 00:19:49.720 In other words, he does not put himself in a category above them. 00:19:49.720 --> 00:19:54.000 Instead, he sees them as his teammates. 00:19:54.000 --> 00:19:57.639 Often we can think that God has this kind of super category of workers where people 00:19:57.640 --> 00:20:05.480 like Paul and Peter and a few others from history and from the present day belong. 00:20:05.480 --> 00:20:10.040 And in comparison to that, we feel like complete nobodies. 00:20:10.040 --> 00:20:12.520 Paul never thinks like that. 00:20:12.520 --> 00:20:18.160 He looks at Philharmon and Archipas and he would look at you and say, you are my fellow 00:20:18.160 --> 00:20:19.960 worker. 00:20:19.960 --> 00:20:25.640 We are in this together and we need each other. 00:20:25.640 --> 00:20:29.240 This has two important lessons for today. 00:20:29.240 --> 00:20:37.280 One is that the Christian church today, I think, is a little bit obsessed with titles. 00:20:37.280 --> 00:20:42.360 So people want to describe themselves with quite elaborate titles. 00:20:42.360 --> 00:20:47.040 Founder of this, president of that, director of this, chairperson of that, and it can all 00:20:47.040 --> 00:20:51.759 sound very impressive. 00:20:51.759 --> 00:20:57.119 And we all want to be recognized as something important and we can be sucked in by the urge 00:20:57.119 --> 00:21:00.319 to have a title. 00:21:00.319 --> 00:21:06.680 I think it's helpful to notice that there is none of that carry on with Paul. 00:21:06.680 --> 00:21:13.839 And the title fellow worker or fellow soldier should always be enough for us. 00:21:13.839 --> 00:21:18.519 The second important lesson for today is that the description fellow worker and the description 00:21:18.519 --> 00:21:25.920 fellow soldier reminds us of the crucial truth that across different congregations, different 00:21:25.920 --> 00:21:32.559 denominations and different countries, we are doing the same work and we are fighting 00:21:32.559 --> 00:21:35.960 the same fight. 00:21:35.960 --> 00:21:40.720 That means we are not ever competing with each other. 00:21:40.720 --> 00:21:44.759 And that means we should never see a brother or a sister as an opponent. 00:21:44.759 --> 00:21:49.879 It's impossible for someone to be your fellow soldier and an opponent at the same time. 00:21:49.879 --> 00:21:56.039 And if you're in an army, if fellow soldiers do fall out and have a disagreement, that 00:21:56.039 --> 00:22:02.359 is not the moment when you bring out the weapons, draw battle lines and start firing. 00:22:02.359 --> 00:22:10.000 It's when you sit down, talk, listen and work hard to put things right. 00:22:10.000 --> 00:22:14.119 Paul speaks in terms of fellow workers and fellow soldiers. 00:22:14.119 --> 00:22:18.599 Then comes Paul's greeting in verse 3, grace to you in peace from God our Father and the 00:22:18.599 --> 00:22:19.719 Lord Jesus Christ. 00:22:19.719 --> 00:22:22.519 We could spend the whole sermon on this verse. 00:22:22.519 --> 00:22:26.239 It's a beautiful greeting and it's the kind of language that we should never hesitate 00:22:26.239 --> 00:22:29.479 to use in our own correspondence. 00:22:29.479 --> 00:22:34.239 I just want you to notice here that we're only three verses into Philharmon and already 00:22:34.239 --> 00:22:37.199 there's a word that's appeared five times. 00:22:37.199 --> 00:22:42.839 Can you see it? 00:22:42.839 --> 00:22:43.839 Can you see it at home? 00:22:43.839 --> 00:22:45.439 Can you see it here? 00:22:45.439 --> 00:22:51.959 It's the word our. 00:22:51.959 --> 00:22:59.480 And that is such a cool word because it speaks so powerfully of the unity and togetherness 00:22:59.480 --> 00:23:03.599 of the Christian church. 00:23:03.599 --> 00:23:11.240 Paul when he speaks, he talks about our brothers, our sisters and most amazingly of all, God 00:23:11.240 --> 00:23:13.319 is our Father. 00:23:13.319 --> 00:23:22.000 And that reality should never stop leaving us speechless over the fact that if we trust 00:23:22.000 --> 00:23:32.279 in Jesus, God is actually our Father and we are actually his children. 00:23:32.279 --> 00:23:36.679 We then come to a word of thanksgiving, which is a very common feature of Paul's letters. 00:23:36.679 --> 00:23:40.279 He says in verse 4, I thank my God always when I remember you in my prayers because 00:23:40.279 --> 00:23:44.799 I hear of your love and of the faith that you have towards the Lord Jesus and for all 00:23:44.799 --> 00:23:45.799 the saints. 00:23:45.799 --> 00:23:53.480 Here we see an outstanding balance between encouraging someone and not puffing them up. 00:23:53.480 --> 00:23:54.480 Often we struggle with that. 00:23:54.480 --> 00:24:00.359 We kind of lurch between feeling useless and discouraged and then we feel proud and full 00:24:00.359 --> 00:24:04.000 of ourselves and it's a hard balance because in the one hand we don't want to be puffing 00:24:04.000 --> 00:24:08.319 people up and we don't want to just be looking for people to tell us how amazing we are and 00:24:08.319 --> 00:24:13.879 yet at the same time we all desperately need encouragement because it's incredibly easy 00:24:13.879 --> 00:24:17.960 to be really hard on ourselves as Christians. 00:24:17.960 --> 00:24:21.159 Paul gives us the answer that we need. 00:24:21.159 --> 00:24:22.519 He encourages Philemon. 00:24:22.519 --> 00:24:27.359 He tells him the positive things that he's doing but as he does that, the person he is 00:24:27.359 --> 00:24:31.480 actually praising is God. 00:24:31.480 --> 00:24:36.079 He encourages Philemon and glorifies God at the same time. 00:24:36.079 --> 00:24:45.599 And in doing so he uses another brilliant word because he encourages Philemon but it's 00:24:45.599 --> 00:24:47.399 not empty words. 00:24:47.399 --> 00:24:50.879 He actually tells him why. 00:24:50.879 --> 00:24:55.599 And when I saw that it made me ask myself when was the last time that I spoke to someone 00:24:55.599 --> 00:25:03.960 or message someone to say I thank God when I remember you because and then explained. 00:25:03.960 --> 00:25:09.920 I think Paul's giving us all a really good example to follow. 00:25:09.920 --> 00:25:17.200 With Philemon, the reason that Paul thanks God when he remembers him is for something 00:25:17.200 --> 00:25:19.200 very specific. 00:25:19.200 --> 00:25:22.640 It's all to do with Philemon's reputation. 00:25:22.640 --> 00:25:25.840 We know that because of these two words, I hear. 00:25:25.840 --> 00:25:28.039 Paul has heard something about Philemon. 00:25:28.039 --> 00:25:33.759 In fact, he's heard two things in particular and I want us to look at those two things 00:25:33.759 --> 00:25:35.680 for the last wee bit of the sermon. 00:25:35.680 --> 00:25:40.200 But before we do that, I just want to stop for a second and highlight the fact that in 00:25:40.200 --> 00:25:48.920 just a few verses we have so many cool details and we have barely such the surface. 00:25:48.920 --> 00:25:54.000 So when you are reading the Bible, it's good to get the big picture. 00:25:54.000 --> 00:25:59.200 It's good to read through large sections and to get the feel of a whole book but it is 00:25:59.200 --> 00:26:07.680 also good to slow down, to read a few verses and to just soak it up. 00:26:07.680 --> 00:26:14.000 So if you read two chapters on a Monday and then two verses on a Tuesday, that is totally 00:26:14.000 --> 00:26:15.799 fine. 00:26:15.799 --> 00:26:19.120 God is not keeping a tally. 00:26:19.120 --> 00:26:24.120 God did not give you the Bible to make you a reading machine. 00:26:24.119 --> 00:26:31.799 He gave you the Bible so that you'd hear His voice. 00:26:31.799 --> 00:26:39.759 And He will talk to you through the big awesome picture and He'll talk to you through the 00:26:39.759 --> 00:26:42.919 cool, tiny details. 00:26:42.919 --> 00:26:47.199 Theologians talk about plenary and verbal inspiration. 00:26:47.199 --> 00:26:50.719 That's the kind of technical language for what I've just translated into big picture 00:26:50.719 --> 00:26:52.319 and cool details. 00:26:52.319 --> 00:26:57.039 He is just the idea that the whole Bible, the big themes, the way everything fits together 00:26:57.039 --> 00:26:59.799 is all inspired by God. 00:26:59.799 --> 00:27:04.119 Verbal inspiration is talking about the fact that the specific wording of each part, the 00:27:04.119 --> 00:27:07.960 cool details are all breathed out by God. 00:27:07.960 --> 00:27:11.919 God is speaking to us through both. 00:27:11.919 --> 00:27:15.079 So always feel like that. 00:27:15.079 --> 00:27:18.079 Sometimes we can be really hard on ourselves with Bible reading and think, oh, I haven't 00:27:18.079 --> 00:27:19.079 read enough today. 00:27:19.079 --> 00:27:20.480 I haven't got through this book quickly enough. 00:27:20.480 --> 00:27:24.799 I haven't actually managed to read the Bible this year. 00:27:24.799 --> 00:27:30.640 It's really good to try to do all those things, but it's also really good to just take a verse 00:27:30.640 --> 00:27:33.799 or two and just let it soak into your mind. 00:27:33.799 --> 00:27:41.839 Because the important thing is just hearing God's voice and letting Him speak to you. 00:27:41.839 --> 00:27:46.480 So Paul thanks God because he has heard about Philemon. 00:27:46.480 --> 00:27:47.960 It's all to do with his reputation. 00:27:47.960 --> 00:27:51.000 And there's two things in particular that Paul has heard. 00:27:51.000 --> 00:27:57.720 He has heard about his faith and about his love, as you can see. 00:27:57.720 --> 00:28:08.600 That's Philemon's reputation, a man who displays faith and love. 00:28:08.600 --> 00:28:16.759 I think that's an astounding example for us in terms of Philemon and his character and 00:28:16.759 --> 00:28:18.160 his reputation. 00:28:18.160 --> 00:28:23.960 So often we're concerned about other things. 00:28:23.960 --> 00:28:26.400 We often have the phrase, have you heard about this? 00:28:26.400 --> 00:28:28.000 Have you heard about that? 00:28:28.000 --> 00:28:32.879 That applies in every part of life, but it can apply in churches as well. 00:28:32.879 --> 00:28:34.599 Often we'll talk about other churches, other Christians. 00:28:34.599 --> 00:28:35.799 Have you heard about this? 00:28:35.799 --> 00:28:37.079 Have you heard about that? 00:28:37.079 --> 00:28:39.519 And often it's maybe not in the most positive sense. 00:28:39.519 --> 00:28:40.519 Have you heard what they've done? 00:28:40.519 --> 00:28:42.440 Have you heard what's happened there? 00:28:42.440 --> 00:28:47.759 And we're often drawn to the latest scoop or news. 00:28:47.759 --> 00:28:53.799 When Paul talks about what he's heard about Philemon, he focuses on something far better. 00:28:53.799 --> 00:28:55.799 He focuses on his faith and his love. 00:28:55.799 --> 00:28:59.400 And the interesting thing about Paul is that he actually does this all the time. 00:28:59.400 --> 00:29:01.640 You see it in other places, like Colossians. 00:29:01.640 --> 00:29:05.200 He says, we are heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all the 00:29:05.200 --> 00:29:06.200 saints. 00:29:06.200 --> 00:29:11.559 And there's some other verses on the screen there where we see exactly the same thing. 00:29:11.559 --> 00:29:15.879 Wouldn't it be brilliant if it was the case that when people spoke about us, the thing 00:29:15.879 --> 00:29:21.879 that they said was, have you heard about their faith and their love? 00:29:21.879 --> 00:29:26.039 And wouldn't it be brilliant if when we speak about others, that our focus would be on those 00:29:26.039 --> 00:29:28.480 two things as well? 00:29:28.480 --> 00:29:37.559 For Paul, the Christian church was always to be a community of faith and love. 00:29:37.559 --> 00:29:42.799 So for Paul, faith and love is what he's concerned about in terms of reputation. 00:29:42.799 --> 00:29:47.879 These two words are then unpacked in the next two verses. 00:29:47.879 --> 00:29:51.359 So verse six talks a little bit more about faith. 00:29:51.359 --> 00:29:55.559 Verse seven talks a little bit more about love. 00:29:55.559 --> 00:29:59.000 And again, there are many cool details here. 00:29:59.000 --> 00:30:06.000 I just want to pick out two points as we close. 00:30:06.000 --> 00:30:11.359 In the situation that Philharmon faces, there's two things that he's going to have to remember. 00:30:11.359 --> 00:30:14.400 And these are two things that we need to remember as well. 00:30:14.400 --> 00:30:18.880 And they're brought out before us in verses six and seven. 00:30:18.880 --> 00:30:20.960 So let's look at verse six first. 00:30:20.960 --> 00:30:27.720 Paul speaking about Philharmon sharing his faith, you see it there, highlighted. 00:30:27.720 --> 00:30:29.200 That's a key part of being a Christian. 00:30:29.200 --> 00:30:30.200 We are witnesses. 00:30:30.200 --> 00:30:32.240 We do not want to keep our faith to ourselves. 00:30:32.240 --> 00:30:36.799 We don't want to keep our allegiance to Jesus as a secret. 00:30:36.799 --> 00:30:41.839 Paul then speaks about sharing of the faith being effective, the idea that it would cause 00:30:41.839 --> 00:30:42.839 something to happen. 00:30:42.839 --> 00:30:44.400 And that's exactly what we want, isn't it? 00:30:44.400 --> 00:30:47.400 We want the sharing of our faith to make something happen. 00:30:47.400 --> 00:30:49.680 We want there to be positive results. 00:30:49.680 --> 00:30:56.079 And as we think about that, often we would think in terms of other people coming to faith. 00:30:56.079 --> 00:31:00.640 So we'd expect verse six to say something like, I pray that the sharing of your faith 00:31:00.640 --> 00:31:06.280 may become effective for the conversion of many others or for the growth of the church 00:31:06.280 --> 00:31:07.960 or for something like that. 00:31:07.960 --> 00:31:13.360 But as is so often the case, Paul does not say what we expect him to say. 00:31:13.360 --> 00:31:16.680 Sometimes he doesn't say what we want him to say. 00:31:16.680 --> 00:31:19.320 He says something different. 00:31:19.320 --> 00:31:24.600 And instead of that, Paul makes a connection between sharing faith and gaining knowledge. 00:31:24.600 --> 00:31:28.600 You can see that there in the verse in front of you. 00:31:28.599 --> 00:31:33.599 At a general level, this is incredibly important because it's directly addressing one of the 00:31:33.599 --> 00:31:36.039 most common misunderstandings of Christianity. 00:31:36.039 --> 00:31:40.519 That is that faith is vague and mystical and that in order to have it, you need to abandon 00:31:40.519 --> 00:31:41.679 knowledge. 00:31:41.679 --> 00:31:43.559 That might be through of some belief systems. 00:31:43.559 --> 00:31:46.519 It is absolutely not true of Christianity. 00:31:46.519 --> 00:31:52.599 In fact, our view, our belief, our claim is that the Christian faith is key to gaining 00:31:52.599 --> 00:31:54.759 true knowledge. 00:31:54.759 --> 00:31:59.359 So if we want to answer the big questions of life, where do we come from? 00:31:59.359 --> 00:32:00.359 What's right and wrong? 00:32:00.359 --> 00:32:01.359 What is our purpose? 00:32:01.359 --> 00:32:02.599 What is truth? 00:32:02.599 --> 00:32:04.599 What is the destiny of the universe? 00:32:04.599 --> 00:32:11.720 It is the sharing of the Christian faith that will give us knowledge in all of these areas. 00:32:11.720 --> 00:32:16.480 But here, Paul is actually referring to something very specific in terms of knowledge. 00:32:16.480 --> 00:32:21.759 He refers to how we understand one another. 00:32:21.759 --> 00:32:29.279 And in particular, he refers to knowing the good that is in us, the good things that are 00:32:29.279 --> 00:32:30.279 in us. 00:32:30.279 --> 00:32:35.319 Now, I think everybody agrees that there's good in us. 00:32:35.319 --> 00:32:38.519 The big challenge is how do we explain it? 00:32:38.519 --> 00:32:41.160 And how do we know that that's true? 00:32:41.160 --> 00:32:43.000 Is our goodness a social construct? 00:32:43.000 --> 00:32:44.480 Is it a tool for a survival? 00:32:44.480 --> 00:32:45.960 Is it a happy coincidence? 00:32:45.960 --> 00:32:47.359 Is it an illusion? 00:32:47.359 --> 00:32:52.240 Or is it because we are the handiwork of God Himself? 00:32:52.240 --> 00:32:56.799 And if you want a coherent explanation for the goodness in you, only Jesus will give 00:32:56.799 --> 00:32:58.199 it. 00:32:58.199 --> 00:33:05.240 And God's great plan is that through our union to Jesus Christ by faith, He will pour His 00:33:05.240 --> 00:33:11.839 goodness into us, and He'll restore us to be a fountain of goodness towards others. 00:33:11.839 --> 00:33:16.240 So if you are a Christian or if you become one, then you are now a precious child of 00:33:16.240 --> 00:33:17.359 God. 00:33:17.359 --> 00:33:19.519 You're a beloved brother or sister. 00:33:19.519 --> 00:33:20.519 You have a renewed heart. 00:33:20.519 --> 00:33:23.279 You have God Himself dwelling within you. 00:33:23.279 --> 00:33:26.599 You have His gifts by which you are able to serve Him. 00:33:26.599 --> 00:33:32.400 Trusting in Jesus means that there is so much that is good in you. 00:33:32.400 --> 00:33:40.400 And in terms of this letter, Paul highlighting this fact makes perfect sense because for 00:33:40.400 --> 00:33:50.400 Philomon, he is about to be confronted with a Christian brother who has hurt him. 00:33:50.400 --> 00:33:57.040 And he needs to know and understand that there's still good in onesimus. 00:33:57.040 --> 00:34:04.160 And when we face the same situation, when we face fallouts, if we are hurt, when all 00:34:04.160 --> 00:34:11.639 sorts of thoughts of frustration, revenge, even hatred stir themselves up within us, 00:34:11.639 --> 00:34:16.840 we desperately need a full knowledge of the fact that the person who is standing in front 00:34:16.840 --> 00:34:23.280 of us is not a devil, and there is something good in this person who has wronged us so 00:34:23.280 --> 00:34:26.480 much. 00:34:26.480 --> 00:34:29.740 And you know, we think about that and we think, well, yeah, that all sounds ideal, but it's 00:34:29.740 --> 00:34:32.119 impossible, surely. 00:34:32.119 --> 00:34:39.719 When someone has wronged you, how can you actually conclude that there's something good 00:34:39.719 --> 00:34:43.719 in them, that there's something worthwhile in them? 00:34:43.719 --> 00:34:48.239 And that's why fallouts last forever because people just refuse to believe that and they 00:34:48.239 --> 00:34:52.319 see people as just enemies and horrible and someone that they're just not going to have 00:34:52.319 --> 00:34:54.000 any time for. 00:34:54.000 --> 00:34:58.199 I might say this and you say to yourself, well, yeah, but I've been hurt, I've been 00:34:58.199 --> 00:35:05.519 let down and I can't bring myself to see what's good in someone else. 00:35:05.519 --> 00:35:12.879 It can seem too hard, it can seem impossible, but never forget that's exactly, exactly what 00:35:12.879 --> 00:35:19.399 Jesus did for you. 00:35:19.399 --> 00:35:28.159 When Jesus concluded that you were worth dying for. 00:35:28.159 --> 00:35:35.159 In a world where we can so quickly fill our heads with reasons to hate others, faith in 00:35:35.159 --> 00:35:41.599 Jesus gives us knowledge that helps us to see how precious people actually are. 00:35:41.599 --> 00:35:46.079 And it's a great irony that without Jesus, there's actually only blind faith that people 00:35:46.079 --> 00:35:50.239 are actually good. 00:35:50.239 --> 00:35:52.839 Last of all, we come to verse seven. 00:35:52.839 --> 00:35:56.559 And here we have a beautiful description of the effect that Paul, that Philharmon's love 00:35:56.559 --> 00:36:01.480 has had through Philharmon, the hearts of the saints have been refreshed. 00:36:01.480 --> 00:36:03.079 Isn't that a beautiful description? 00:36:03.079 --> 00:36:07.159 Wouldn't that be a great thing to have written on your obituary or on your gravestone that 00:36:07.159 --> 00:36:11.679 the hearts of others were refreshed through you? 00:36:11.679 --> 00:36:15.799 I want to focus especially on that word heart. 00:36:15.799 --> 00:36:17.199 It's a really interesting Greek word. 00:36:17.199 --> 00:36:21.400 It's the Greek word splachna, which I couldn't resist saying because it's a very cool sounding 00:36:21.400 --> 00:36:22.400 word. 00:36:22.400 --> 00:36:27.280 And that's what it means because it actually means your bowels or as we would maybe say, 00:36:27.280 --> 00:36:28.880 your guts. 00:36:28.880 --> 00:36:35.920 It's conveying the idea of the deep down core of our feelings and our emotions. 00:36:35.920 --> 00:36:39.000 And that means that what's so wonderful about Philharmon's love is not that it gave people 00:36:39.000 --> 00:36:42.559 a kind of superficial fuzzy feeling for a while. 00:36:42.559 --> 00:36:48.000 It actually gave them deep relief and refreshment. 00:36:48.000 --> 00:36:54.920 Philharmon's care has allowed others to recover their strength and be restored. 00:36:54.920 --> 00:37:03.400 And this is where we have to remember that this letter is written in an awkward situation. 00:37:03.400 --> 00:37:10.599 And what is what happens to your guts in an awkward situation? 00:37:10.599 --> 00:37:14.000 They get all twisted, don't they? 00:37:14.000 --> 00:37:17.400 So when we're worried, we have a knot in our stomach. 00:37:17.400 --> 00:37:19.760 When we're hurt, we feel like we're punched in the stomach. 00:37:19.760 --> 00:37:22.800 When we're alone, we feel empty in our stomach. 00:37:22.800 --> 00:37:26.800 When we're overwhelmed, we feel sick to the stomach. 00:37:26.800 --> 00:37:34.639 Jesus has brought us into a community in which we are loved by Him and loved by one another 00:37:34.639 --> 00:37:41.599 in a way that brings relief to all of these things. 00:37:41.599 --> 00:37:49.480 Can you imagine Onesimus standing in front of Philharmon returning to this master who 00:37:49.480 --> 00:37:58.960 he had deserted, holding this letter, anxious about what the reaction would be? 00:37:58.960 --> 00:38:08.319 I'm sure that as Onesimus stood there, his guts would have been amassed. 00:38:08.320 --> 00:38:16.200 And all of that would be undone through Philharmon's forgiveness. 00:38:16.200 --> 00:38:22.760 In a real life church, there will be mistakes and there will be broken relationships that 00:38:22.760 --> 00:38:25.760 need to be restored. 00:38:25.760 --> 00:38:31.360 That's why it's so important that every church is like Philharmon's church, that this church 00:38:31.360 --> 00:38:38.920 is like Philharmon's church, that it's a community of faith and love. 00:38:38.920 --> 00:38:46.360 That's the community that Jesus died to establish and into which He is calling us. 00:38:46.360 --> 00:38:53.519 And all He asks us to do is trust Him and follow Him. 00:38:53.519 --> 00:38:59.960 And it's a great reminder that this is maybe the, I don't know, it's probably the least 00:38:59.960 --> 00:39:03.800 theological language I've ever used. 00:39:03.800 --> 00:39:09.639 But if your guts are a mess about something, whether it's a relationship with someone else, 00:39:09.639 --> 00:39:19.559 a bad experience you've had, or fear about life and death, if your guts are a mess, 00:39:19.559 --> 00:39:23.519 you can go to Jesus. 00:39:23.519 --> 00:39:30.960 And He will give you peace and refreshment that isn't superficial. 00:39:30.960 --> 00:39:35.000 He'll give you peace that goes right down to your guts. 00:39:35.000 --> 00:39:38.280 And it never goes away. 00:39:38.280 --> 00:39:42.559 And in a way, I think that's the big difference I would say in my own life being a Christian. 00:39:42.559 --> 00:39:50.280 I would say that, you know, maybe before I was a Christian, you know, you'd have times 00:39:50.280 --> 00:40:00.200 when everything would look great on the outside, but deep down something was wrong. 00:40:00.200 --> 00:40:02.519 When you become a Christian, it's the other way around. 00:40:02.519 --> 00:40:11.040 Sometimes the outside can be a bit tough, but deep down, it's brilliant. 00:40:11.040 --> 00:40:13.360 And so Jesus is calling us into that community. 00:40:13.360 --> 00:40:15.800 He's calling you. 00:40:15.800 --> 00:40:20.560 And so may we be like Paul, like Philharmon, and like Onesimus. 00:40:20.560 --> 00:40:24.240 May we all take our place in that community of faith and love. 00:40:24.240 --> 00:40:25.240 Amen. 00:40:25.240 --> 00:40:26.240 Let's pray. 00:40:26.240 --> 00:40:35.039 Lord Jesus, we thank you for the difference that you've made in our lives. 00:40:35.039 --> 00:40:39.400 And we pray that you'd help us just to see more of the details that are in your word, 00:40:39.400 --> 00:40:47.680 that it would shape us and mold us so that we too would be men and women known for our 00:40:47.680 --> 00:40:50.880 faith and their love. 00:40:50.880 --> 00:40:56.599 And that that would display ourselves, itself, both in how we live for you and also in terms 00:40:56.599 --> 00:40:59.440 of how we treat one another. 00:40:59.440 --> 00:41:06.519 And if any of us do have strained relationships with other people, we pray that even this 00:41:06.519 --> 00:41:14.639 week that these would be healed, that we would continue in the great line that includes 00:41:14.639 --> 00:41:20.960 Philharmon and Onesimus of difficult situations that have been healed. 00:41:20.960 --> 00:41:22.519 May that be true for us all. 00:41:22.519 --> 00:41:28.679 And for those who have been hurt and who do suffer, we pray that you would bring healing. 00:41:28.679 --> 00:41:38.679 In Jesus' name, amen.