Survey of the New Testament

Philemon

Here in week three of our Survey of the New Testament series we look at the book of Philemon. It might be easy to say that God is a busy God solving world problems and aligning future generations according to His will and so He doesn’t have time for the trials and tribulations of a single household. The book of Philemon is evidence to the contrary and, in fact, shows the love of God, forgiveness of Jesus, and the intrinsic dignity He has on humanity.

Philemon 1:4-7, 25

Discussion topics

  1. In your own words, can you describe what the book of Philemon is all about?
  2. In this letter we see that Paul asks of Philemon to not only forgive Onesimus but to accept him back as a brother.  Is there someone that God is calling you to forgive?  What keeps you from being able to forgive that individual?
  3. Adding on to question number two, is there someone in your life that you are not only to forgive but to accept him back as a brother or sister in Christ?  What are some practical steps that you can take to make this happen?
  4. The video that we watched makes the statement, “The implications of the good news are personal but never private”. What do you think that statement means and how does it effect our daily lives?

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