“No longer as a slave, but better than a slave, as a dear brother.” (Philemon 1:16) Just before the Book of Hebrews is one of the most wonderful books in the Bible, the Book of Philemon. Actually, Philemon hardly qualifies for a book. It’s only 25 verses and originally was a letter from the Apostle Paul to a friend, who was a wealthy resident of the City of Colosse. Interestingly, this very personal letter to Philemon was written while Paul was in prison. It’s one of his four […]

“The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.” (Romans 13:12) October is a great month. Fall begins to show just how crisp of a season it can be, the World Series provides a crowning end to our national pastime, and Halloween forces most of us to the grocery store for a last-minute purchase of candy for the kids. It’s no secret that many churches frown upon Halloween. In fact, several […]

“On the testimony of two or three witnesses a man shall be put to death, but no one shall be put to death on the testimony of only one witness.” (Deuteronomy 17:6) The major story in my community this week was the trial of a young father who was convicted of murder for twice slamming his child headfirst into the pavement while holding him by the legs. The child’s mother, several members of her family, and law enforcement officers watched it all happen in disbelief. The jury had […]

“…There was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me….” (2 Corinthians 12:7) You can’t help but wonder what this “thorn in the flesh” was, but we know from Scripture that it kept Paul humble and made sure that his prayer life remained active. Theologians have offered a number of possibilities. Many have argued that Paul was talking about a speech impediment. There is some historical evidence that Paul was not a good speaker. Maybe he did suffer from stammering speech. […]