Philemon Vespers
I did a vespers service a few years ago. It was one that I was proud of. I decided to publish the text of it here.
Hello! For those of you that don’t know me, my name is Christine ******. I am from Putnam, Connecticut, USA. Connecticut is the 3rd smallest state in the USA. (USA pp). Here is where the Pilgrims landed, that’s Canada, and that’s New York. We call this area “New England”. It is the birthplace of Adventism. The first SDA church is in New Hampshire. Ellen White was born in Maine. William Miller was from Pittsfield, MA and Joseph Bates was from New Bedford.
I am going to talk about a book of the Bible that we don’t hear much about. It is the book of Philemon. It’s so small that it gets overlooked. It is a letter from Paul to a friend named Philemon. It is said that Philemon lived in Colosse. It is in present-day Turkey and was near Laodicea.
In this book Paul was writing to Philemon in regards to a slave that he had owned. The man was Onesimus and he was a thief. He had stolen from his master and then ran away. Under Roman law, that offense was punishable by death. We don’t know how many times he stole something or what he stole. Onesimus was afraid for his life.
Slavery was an important way of life in ancient Rome. Scholars have differing ideas about its prevalence. About 15% 30% of the population was slaves. It had nothing to do with ethnicity, there were slaves of various backgrounds. Slavery was a serious cultural issue, people wouldn’t joke about who was a slave and who was not. The slave owner had full ownership of the person and total control. He could sell the person if he wished, and treat the person how he wished. Some slaves were treated well, others were not.
Paul then wrote a letter to Philemon, asking him to accept Onesimus back. He told him to forgive him for what he did. As Philemon would have had to the right to have him put to death, he was very likely saving his life. Paul told Philemon to take Onesimus back, not as a slave, but as a Christian brother. It would make Onesimus someone who was now free. He would be forgiven, taken back as someone who is better than a slave.
This story is a parallel of the Cross. Christ died for us so we don’t have to be slaves to sin. We are then free. We are saved from death.
Read the beginning, talk about it.
Read verses 8-14.
While Paul was a prisoner, he met up with Onesimus. Onesimus and Paul became close. Paul became his spiritual mentor. Paul shared Jesus with Onesimus. He thought of him as a son. He accepted him as he was. I can imagine that Onesimus had stories to tell Paul, of his fears. Paul had to have told him that Jesus can heal everything. Everything is healed. The healing is there for all of us. Onesimus became a changed person because of Paul’s example and nurturing.
God has a plan for all of us. When we are still lost in sin, God did something to help us to come back to Him. The trials in our lives are opportunities to get closer to God. God allows certain things to happen to us for a reason. God knew that Onesimus needed to find Him. He knew that he was a thief. And when he had to run for his life, he made it so that he met up with Paul.
(verses 15 and 16)
Onesimus had to run away to save his life, and God used that opportunity for him to meet Paul. He knew that Paul would bring the thief to Jesus. He would become a changed person. It was part of God’s plan for him.
God had a reason for Paul to be imprisoned. When he was imprisoned, he wrote many letters to people. For that we have the books of the Bible: Galatians, Ephesians, Colossians, etc. They are encouraging books. They are of God’s grace, love, and mercy. They helped to encourage the newly formed church. Many Christians were in jail or their loved ones were in jail. They were easily getting discouraged and hurt. They needed to hear uplifting words as they feared for their lives. They needed to know that Jesus would someday come back for them, and that they were to spread that good news.
Paul used the opportunity to minister to people like Onesimus. His imprisonment was an advantage to spreading God’s word to others. He could reach many people as a prisoner. Though he was in chains, he had new ways to still be a worker for Christ.
Though things may happen to us that are not pleasant, or what we wanted, we have to know that God knows the end from the beginning. He has plans for us. Many hardships can be opportunities to get closer to God. We can see how God helps us in our bad situations. People are inspired when they hear nice testimonies from people who still love God after bad things happen. The miracles that happen in a Christian’s life will inspire them to realize that God cares about them. The miracles are a testimony to other people.
“tell story of when my sister was a baby”.
Read verses 17-21
Paul felt that Philemon would do as he said. He knew that he would have compassion. He knew that he had a forgiving character and would do that. They would be reconciled and would have their relationship restored. They would also become more than a slave and a master, but they would be brothers in Christ.
Martin Luther said “Even as Christ did for us with God the Father, thus Paul does for Onesimus and Philemon”.
Colossians 4:7-9
1 Peter 8-11
That’s right. Love covers a multitude of sins. That is the whole idea of the cross. It is LOVE. God loved us so much that He sent His son to die on the cross for our sins. He has forgiven us, and taken our sins away. That is how we should treat each other, to forgive others for what they had done to us.
Tell story of meeting the enemy, from THREE years ago.
Read 1 Peter 4:12-19
Galatians 3:26-29, 4:4-7. We are all brothers and sisters in Christ. Because we are all adopted into Christ’s family. We are children of God. We are all one, even though we come from different backgrounds, cultures, countries, are different genders and ages. We are all in the family of God. We should treat each other as family should treat each other.
Starting again. We are all supposed to work together to bring souls to Christ. We are all part of the body of Christ.
To further analyze this letter, we will go back to the beginning. Paul starts out with getting a good rapport with Philemon. He greets him warmly. He said he kept him in his prayers (verses 5,6). It was because he heard of his love for the saints. We should always pray for our fellow Christians. We should always support each other. (read verse 7) It is when we share our faith with other people that we see how great God’s blessings are. We become closer to God. Our faith grows when we see how God changes people’s hearts. We want to study scripture more so we can share it. The church becomes more of a family and we become closer when we have the mutual goal of winning souls. It invites prayers and love for everyone. (Verse 8)
It is in doing Christ’s work that the church has the promise of his presence. “Go teach all nations, He said; “lo I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.” To take His yoke is one of the first conditions of receiving His power. The very life of the church depends upon her faithfulness in fulfilling the Lord’s commission. To neglect this work is surely to invite spiritual feebleness and decay. Where there is no active labor for others, love wanes, and faith grows dim. Desire of Ages, 483.
1 Corinthians says that we all have gifts to help the church. Some of us are meant to be teachers, others prophets, others have gifts of healing. Each person should use their gifts for God. All of us are useful and have a specific work to do. We can never say “I am useless” or someone is more useful than me. As long as we are doing our best for God.
Church ministers are there to take care of the church members, but they are to train the church to be witnesses. They aren’t to be places for people to just be comfortable.
Christ intends that His ministers shall be educators of the church in gospel work. They are to teach the people how to seek and save the lost. But is this the work they are doing? Alas, how many are toiling ot fan the spark of life in a church that is ready to die! How many churches are tended to like sick lambs by those who outght to be seeking for the lost sheep! And all the time millions upon millions without Christ are perishing. (483)
The Saviour’s commission to the disciples included all the believers. It includes all believers in Christ to the end of time. It is a fatal mistake to suppose the work of saving souls depends alone on the ordained minister. All to whom the heavenly inspiration has come are put in trust with the gospel. All who receive the life of Christ are ordained to work for the salvation of their fellow men. For this work the church was established, and all who take upon themselves its sacred vows are thereby pledged to be coworkers with Christ. (481)
We are to give the gospel to the entire world. That is when Jesus can come back. He can’t return to this Earth to take us to Heaven when there are still people who need to hear about Him. We also want as many people as possible to go to Heaven with us. We want to help others.
But the command, “Go ye into all the world”, is not to be lost sight of. We are called upon to lift our eyes to the “regions beyond”. Christ tears away the wall of partition, the dividing prejudice of nationality, and teaches a love for all the human family. He lifts men from the narrow circle which their selfishness prescribes; He abolishes all territorial lines and artificial distinctions of society. He makes no difference between neighbors and strangers, friends and enemies. He teaches us to look upon every needy soul as our brother, and the world as our field. (482)
What I have decided, and then Luke 12:48 (taken from) From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; a nd from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.
Talk about the latter rain.
So it may be now. Instead of man’s speculations, let the word of God be preached. Let Christians put away their dissentions, and give themselves to God for the saving of the Lost. Let them in faith ask for the blessing, and it will come. The outpouring of the Spirit of apostolic days was the “former rain” and glorious was the result. But the “latter rain” will be more abundant.
John 15:12-17
We need to pray for this to happen. We need God’s work to come to a close and bring as many people as possible to Heaven. This is our work. Amen.
Hello! For those of you that don’t know me, my name is Christine ******. I am from Putnam, Connecticut, USA. Connecticut is the 3rd smallest state in the USA. (USA pp). Here is where the Pilgrims landed, that’s Canada, and that’s New York. We call this area “New England”. It is the birthplace of Adventism. The first SDA church is in New Hampshire. Ellen White was born in Maine. William Miller was from Pittsfield, MA and Joseph Bates was from New Bedford.
I am going to talk about a book of the Bible that we don’t hear much about. It is the book of Philemon. It’s so small that it gets overlooked. It is a letter from Paul to a friend named Philemon. It is said that Philemon lived in Colosse. It is in present-day Turkey and was near Laodicea.
In this book Paul was writing to Philemon in regards to a slave that he had owned. The man was Onesimus and he was a thief. He had stolen from his master and then ran away. Under Roman law, that offense was punishable by death. We don’t know how many times he stole something or what he stole. Onesimus was afraid for his life.
Slavery was an important way of life in ancient Rome. Scholars have differing ideas about its prevalence. About 15% 30% of the population was slaves. It had nothing to do with ethnicity, there were slaves of various backgrounds. Slavery was a serious cultural issue, people wouldn’t joke about who was a slave and who was not. The slave owner had full ownership of the person and total control. He could sell the person if he wished, and treat the person how he wished. Some slaves were treated well, others were not.
Paul then wrote a letter to Philemon, asking him to accept Onesimus back. He told him to forgive him for what he did. As Philemon would have had to the right to have him put to death, he was very likely saving his life. Paul told Philemon to take Onesimus back, not as a slave, but as a Christian brother. It would make Onesimus someone who was now free. He would be forgiven, taken back as someone who is better than a slave.
This story is a parallel of the Cross. Christ died for us so we don’t have to be slaves to sin. We are then free. We are saved from death.
Read the beginning, talk about it.
Read verses 8-14.
While Paul was a prisoner, he met up with Onesimus. Onesimus and Paul became close. Paul became his spiritual mentor. Paul shared Jesus with Onesimus. He thought of him as a son. He accepted him as he was. I can imagine that Onesimus had stories to tell Paul, of his fears. Paul had to have told him that Jesus can heal everything. Everything is healed. The healing is there for all of us. Onesimus became a changed person because of Paul’s example and nurturing.
God has a plan for all of us. When we are still lost in sin, God did something to help us to come back to Him. The trials in our lives are opportunities to get closer to God. God allows certain things to happen to us for a reason. God knew that Onesimus needed to find Him. He knew that he was a thief. And when he had to run for his life, he made it so that he met up with Paul.
(verses 15 and 16)
Onesimus had to run away to save his life, and God used that opportunity for him to meet Paul. He knew that Paul would bring the thief to Jesus. He would become a changed person. It was part of God’s plan for him.
God had a reason for Paul to be imprisoned. When he was imprisoned, he wrote many letters to people. For that we have the books of the Bible: Galatians, Ephesians, Colossians, etc. They are encouraging books. They are of God’s grace, love, and mercy. They helped to encourage the newly formed church. Many Christians were in jail or their loved ones were in jail. They were easily getting discouraged and hurt. They needed to hear uplifting words as they feared for their lives. They needed to know that Jesus would someday come back for them, and that they were to spread that good news.
Paul used the opportunity to minister to people like Onesimus. His imprisonment was an advantage to spreading God’s word to others. He could reach many people as a prisoner. Though he was in chains, he had new ways to still be a worker for Christ.
Though things may happen to us that are not pleasant, or what we wanted, we have to know that God knows the end from the beginning. He has plans for us. Many hardships can be opportunities to get closer to God. We can see how God helps us in our bad situations. People are inspired when they hear nice testimonies from people who still love God after bad things happen. The miracles that happen in a Christian’s life will inspire them to realize that God cares about them. The miracles are a testimony to other people.
“tell story of when my sister was a baby”.
Read verses 17-21
Paul felt that Philemon would do as he said. He knew that he would have compassion. He knew that he had a forgiving character and would do that. They would be reconciled and would have their relationship restored. They would also become more than a slave and a master, but they would be brothers in Christ.
Martin Luther said “Even as Christ did for us with God the Father, thus Paul does for Onesimus and Philemon”.
Colossians 4:7-9
1 Peter 8-11
That’s right. Love covers a multitude of sins. That is the whole idea of the cross. It is LOVE. God loved us so much that He sent His son to die on the cross for our sins. He has forgiven us, and taken our sins away. That is how we should treat each other, to forgive others for what they had done to us.
Tell story of meeting the enemy, from THREE years ago.
Read 1 Peter 4:12-19
Galatians 3:26-29, 4:4-7. We are all brothers and sisters in Christ. Because we are all adopted into Christ’s family. We are children of God. We are all one, even though we come from different backgrounds, cultures, countries, are different genders and ages. We are all in the family of God. We should treat each other as family should treat each other.
Starting again. We are all supposed to work together to bring souls to Christ. We are all part of the body of Christ.
To further analyze this letter, we will go back to the beginning. Paul starts out with getting a good rapport with Philemon. He greets him warmly. He said he kept him in his prayers (verses 5,6). It was because he heard of his love for the saints. We should always pray for our fellow Christians. We should always support each other. (read verse 7) It is when we share our faith with other people that we see how great God’s blessings are. We become closer to God. Our faith grows when we see how God changes people’s hearts. We want to study scripture more so we can share it. The church becomes more of a family and we become closer when we have the mutual goal of winning souls. It invites prayers and love for everyone. (Verse 8)
It is in doing Christ’s work that the church has the promise of his presence. “Go teach all nations, He said; “lo I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.” To take His yoke is one of the first conditions of receiving His power. The very life of the church depends upon her faithfulness in fulfilling the Lord’s commission. To neglect this work is surely to invite spiritual feebleness and decay. Where there is no active labor for others, love wanes, and faith grows dim. Desire of Ages, 483.
1 Corinthians says that we all have gifts to help the church. Some of us are meant to be teachers, others prophets, others have gifts of healing. Each person should use their gifts for God. All of us are useful and have a specific work to do. We can never say “I am useless” or someone is more useful than me. As long as we are doing our best for God.
Church ministers are there to take care of the church members, but they are to train the church to be witnesses. They aren’t to be places for people to just be comfortable.
Christ intends that His ministers shall be educators of the church in gospel work. They are to teach the people how to seek and save the lost. But is this the work they are doing? Alas, how many are toiling ot fan the spark of life in a church that is ready to die! How many churches are tended to like sick lambs by those who outght to be seeking for the lost sheep! And all the time millions upon millions without Christ are perishing. (483)
The Saviour’s commission to the disciples included all the believers. It includes all believers in Christ to the end of time. It is a fatal mistake to suppose the work of saving souls depends alone on the ordained minister. All to whom the heavenly inspiration has come are put in trust with the gospel. All who receive the life of Christ are ordained to work for the salvation of their fellow men. For this work the church was established, and all who take upon themselves its sacred vows are thereby pledged to be coworkers with Christ. (481)
We are to give the gospel to the entire world. That is when Jesus can come back. He can’t return to this Earth to take us to Heaven when there are still people who need to hear about Him. We also want as many people as possible to go to Heaven with us. We want to help others.
But the command, “Go ye into all the world”, is not to be lost sight of. We are called upon to lift our eyes to the “regions beyond”. Christ tears away the wall of partition, the dividing prejudice of nationality, and teaches a love for all the human family. He lifts men from the narrow circle which their selfishness prescribes; He abolishes all territorial lines and artificial distinctions of society. He makes no difference between neighbors and strangers, friends and enemies. He teaches us to look upon every needy soul as our brother, and the world as our field. (482)
What I have decided, and then Luke 12:48 (taken from) From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; a nd from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.
Talk about the latter rain.
So it may be now. Instead of man’s speculations, let the word of God be preached. Let Christians put away their dissentions, and give themselves to God for the saving of the Lost. Let them in faith ask for the blessing, and it will come. The outpouring of the Spirit of apostolic days was the “former rain” and glorious was the result. But the “latter rain” will be more abundant.
John 15:12-17
We need to pray for this to happen. We need God’s work to come to a close and bring as many people as possible to Heaven. This is our work. Amen.
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