In today’s reflection on Philemon 1–7, we explore Paul’s gratitude for Philemon’s faith and love and his prayer that sharing the faith will help others recognize the goodness we have in Jesus Christ. It’s easy to get caught up in everyday routines and forget how God has been at work in our lives. But when we take time to name those moments of grace and tell others what God has done, we remind ourselves of God’s goodness and encourage others in their faith. Where have you seen God at work lately? Take a moment to remember—and then tell the story.
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Well, good morning! It’s good to be with you on this Wednesday morning. I hope you’re doing well, no matter where you find yourself today. It’s always good to be with you as we continue in God’s Word.
I love Wednesdays here at the church. Wednesdays are always fun in ministry, and there are a lot of exciting things happening here at Starkville First. I have a great time with our weekday program, doing chapel with them later this morning. Then I have a morning Bible study where we’re studying James, and an evening Bible study tonight where we’re studying Matthew.
So, lots of good things happening! And I’m excited to study God’s Word with you now.
We’re going to be in Philemon today. Hold on a second. I think my phone is about to fall off the tripod. Let’s see if I can catch it before it falls.
I think it fell off earlier while I was recording, and that’s always exciting when your phone decides to come flying off the tripod in the middle of a recording! So there you go. A little behind-the-scenes look at where the magic happens.
Now, we’re in Philemon. I used to pronounce it Phil-ammon, but I did a little research to make sure I was getting it right. It’s Philemon. Pronunciation isn’t always my strong suit, so I figured I’d better check!
I love Philemon. It’s a very short letter, but I think I’m going to break it into two parts to give it the proper time to breathe. Today, we’ll read Philemon 1–7, and tomorrow we’ll finish out the letter.
Let’s hear these opening verses. Paul introduces himself as a prisoner of Christ Jesus, writing alongside Timothy to Philemon, whom he calls a dear friend and coworker. He also addresses Apphia, Archippus, and the church that meets in Philemon’s house. He offers them grace and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Then Paul begins by telling Philemon that he regularly remembers him in prayer and gives thanks to God for his love for all the saints and his faith in the Lord Jesus. Paul prays that Philemon’s sharing of his faith will become effective as he recognizes the good things God is doing among them in Christ. Paul concludes this opening section by saying that Philemon’s love has brought him great joy and encouragement because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through him.
That’s our introduction. We’ll get into the heart of the letter tomorrow. But today, I want to spend a little time talking about Philemon and, in particular, those opening verses.
As we’ve seen in our reading of the Pastoral Epistles, Philemon is another passage that deals with slavery. Onesimus, whom we’ll talk about tomorrow, is at the center of that discussion. There is some debate about whether Onesimus was a runaway enslaved person, although many scholars understand the letter in that light. We’ll get into that more tomorrow.
For now, I want us to notice something about Philemon himself. Paul addresses this letter to him, but he also addresses the church that meets in his house.
That gives us a little glimpse into how the early church operated. When we think about church today, we might think about Starkville First, First Baptist, Trinity Presbyterian, or any number of congregations in our community. We think about church buildings, sanctuaries, classrooms, and fellowship halls.
But in the earliest days of Christianity, congregations commonly met in people’s homes. These are what we call house churches. And the people who hosted those gatherings often played important leadership roles in the Christian community. They provided a place for the church to meet and helped support the life and ministry of the congregation.
Hosting a gathering like that would have required enough space and resources to accommodate people, so those who hosted house churches often had some degree of wealth or social standing.
Philemon appears to have been one of those respected members of the early Christian community. His house was a place where the church gathered, and Paul clearly valued him as a coworker in the faith.
The letter is associated with the same general region as Colossians, and there may be a connection between Philemon and the church in Colossae. We can’t say with certainty that the congregation meeting in his house was the same church mentioned in Colossians, but the connection is certainly worth keeping in mind.
Now, all of that is interesting background, but what really catches my attention is what Paul says in verses four, five, and six.
Paul thanks God for Philemon’s love and faith, and he prays that Philemon’s sharing of his faith will become effective as he recognizes the good things we have in Christ.
I like that idea. The wording varies a little among Bible translations, but the central idea is worth sitting with: as we recognize the goodness we have in Christ, we become more effective in sharing our faith.
Think about that for a moment.
When we remember the goodness of Jesus, when we remember Christ’s love for us, when we remember the grace we’ve received and the ways God has been at work in our lives, we are more likely to share that good news with others.
But it’s easy to forget, isn’t it?
It’s easy to get caught up in the ordinary, everyday routines of life. We get up, go to work, take care of the house, run errands, deal with whatever unexpected things come our way, and then get up the next morning and do it all over again.
And somewhere in the middle of all that, we can lose sight of just how good God has been to us.
Sometimes, though, when we step up and share our faith, when we serve someone, when we give, or when we take an active role in the life of the church, something happens. Our faith becomes active, and we’re reminded of how good Jesus is.
There’s a hymn I love called “I Love to Tell the Story.” One of its ideas is that even those who know the story best still hunger to hear it.
And I think that’s true. When we tell the story of what God has done in our lives, we’re not simply telling somebody else something they need to hear. We’re reminding ourselves of the goodness of God, too.
One of the things I like to do in staff meetings goes back to Bishop Swanson, who served in our conference many years ago. He liked to talk about what he called glory sightings—those moments when we see God at work.
Since I’ve been leading a staff, including larger staffs for more than a decade, we’ve made a practice of beginning our time together by asking a simple question: Where have you seen God’s goodness?
Where have you seen God’s goodness?
I think it’s important for us to take time to answer that question. It’s important to remember where we’ve seen God at work and to put those experiences into words.
Because when we name those moments, we bring them back to mind. We remember the ways God has provided, the people who have encouraged us, the moments when we’ve experienced grace, and the opportunities we’ve had to be a blessing to somebody else.
And when we remember those things, it gives us courage. Our courage can inspire others, too.
When we remember the goodness God has shown us, we become better able to share that goodness with the people around us.
So, if you want to be reminded of how good God has been to you, tell somebody!
Tell somebody about it. Give witness to what God has done.
Tell your children. Tell your grandchildren. Tell your spouse. Tell your coworker. Tell your Sunday school class. Tell whoever needs to hear it.
You don’t have to have some extraordinary story to tell. You don’t have to have a dramatic testimony about a moment when your whole life changed overnight. Sometimes, it’s simply telling somebody about a moment when you experienced grace, when somebody showed you kindness, when you found strength to get through a difficult season, or when you recognized God at work in an ordinary day.
When we take the time to tell others what Jesus has done for us, we are reminded of how good Jesus is to us. And that reminder makes us want to share the story with others.
Our faith is meant to be active. It’s not something we simply keep tucked away in a corner of our lives. Faith shapes how we live, how we love, how we serve, and how we bear witness to the goodness of God.
And if our faith ever feels a little worn out, if it feels as though it has lost some of its energy or vitality, maybe one question we can ask ourselves is this: When was the last time I told somebody about Jesus?
When was the last time you named for somebody what Jesus has done in your life?
When was the last time you leaned into sharing your faith and allowed somebody else to hear about the goodness of God that you have experienced?
Because when we do that, we’re reminded of God’s goodness. We remember the story, and we find ourselves wanting to tell it again.
“I love to tell the story.” I love to tell the story of what God is doing in my life. I love to tell the story of where I’ve seen God at work. I love to tell the story of God’s grace.
So, friends, tell the story. Give witness. Give testimony. Share the goodness of God with the people around you.
And as we do, I think we’ll discover that our own faith comes alive again, because we’re reminded of what a great gift we have in Jesus Christ.
Hey, thanks for being with me today. Tomorrow, we’ll finish up Philemon, and then we’ll spend a day or so in the Psalms before figuring out where we’re going next in the Old Testament.
Thanks for being with me. Have a great day, and I’ll see you tomorrow!