Have you ever had someone do something that really hurt you…or maybe infringed on your rights or took something from you?  Imagine that person coming to you with a note from your pastor saying “This person has really changed and I believe in him/her- please accept them and forgive them and charge me with anything they defrauded you of.”

What would you do? How would you feel? What would it take for you to muster up the strength to go along with that request?

That’s the premise of the short Epistle we’ll be reading this Sunday: Philemon 1-25.  It’s basically a short e-mail Paul sent to a friend of his who had a runaway slave that Paul had met and led to a salvation experience, whom he was sending back to Philemon to ask for his freedom so he could keep working with Paul in Rome. Get it? What comes through in this epistle is how Paul anticipates that the dynamic of social arrangements and relationships will change when they come under the influence of Christ.  In Christ we will treat each other differently than in the dynamic of the broken world.

So – as Paul is talking about this slave, Onesimus, he describes him with terms that are very different from fugitive or slave. What does he call Onisemus in v10 or v12 (in the ESV)?  Considering those words, and his description of Philemon’s and Onesimus’ relationship in v16, what seems to be the overriding dynamic that characterizes their relationship in Christ?

We don’t know what Philemon does after reading this letter. Some people believe the outcome was good and Onesimus went on to great things – but we’ll really never know.

Let’s think about this letter in light of our own lives, shall we? What is one of the prickliest relational problems you’ve worked on recently (it may have been yours, or problems between other people)? What can we learn from this letter that can aid us in navigating difficult relationships?  V18 and 19 are beautiful and profound to me.  Can those verses help inform us about why grace is an important factor in relationships?

What can we learn from this letter that will produce an “in Christ” dynamic in our relationships today?

Hope you can make it Sunday…if so, see you then!

This Sunday we’ll be reading Titus 3:1-8.

Paul is making his point in reverse in this section. He begins with the results, and works his way backwards through the causes. We should live this way, because of how we used to be and what God has done for us. Working our way from the front to the back of his instructions, we realize he is describing our intended lifestyle as a response to God’s grace.

Paul’s instructions have to do with how we react to and treat other people. Who does he begin with? How easy or difficult is it for you to show grace in that area?

As you think over your life before Christ, are there times you’d like to forget, and really hope God has forgotten? Does that have any effect on how you perceive and behave towards others?

What are the benefits Paul describes that we receive from being in relationship with God through Christ? It’s pretty clear that we didn’t deserve those benefits. When I think of what I brought to the table in this relationship with God, I realize the only thing I brought were my sins which Jesus paid for. So then…who are the people that I think are less deserving of grace than I am? Who am I quick to judge…whether president or pauper…who do I reserve the right to criticize and disrespect, and what could I possibly use as a justification for that considering how God has treated me?

V8 doesn’t sound like Paul is making suggestions – he seems pretty adamant. In his view, this is what being a Christian looks like. Not that we live this way in order TO be saved…but this is what God’s redemption of us is intended to look like. I feel like I have a long way to go, but that sure is the person I want to be.

Maybe we can move that direction together?

A community or neighborhood watch are crime prevention programs initiated by neighborhoods where they look out for each other and, hopefully, prevent burglaries or vandalism…or worse. The idea behind them was that citizens needed to take up the responsibility to look after each other and their communities.

It’s not a bad idea…but it’s one that needs to be carried out with great caution, as the events that happened in South Florida several weeks back drove home.  Two people, completely misunderstanding each other in a toxic atmosphere of mistrust resulted in one innocent, unarmed teen’s death.

A community watch can be a good thing, if those undertaking the watch carefully follow the guidlines and keep the primary goal in mind…that of the safety of the community.  If it becomes some vigilante group, or a team of busybodies, then it actually subverts it’s intended purpose.

In similar fashion, Paul intends that the church community watch out for threats to the health of their fellowship. Instead of watching out for burglars, we have to be careful about doctrines, behaviors and attitudes that can negatively effect the well-being of the group. But we have to do so cautiously, so as not to end up working against ourselves by forgetting that redemption and relationship are the goals.

We’re going to be reading Titus 1:10-16 this week, and Paul provides some guidelines about what we need to be careful of as a community concerning doctrine, practice and motive.

What does Paul warn us about mostly in this section? What sort of myths and commands of people can serve to be divisive in the church today?

Some people freak out at Paul’s statement about Cretans in v12. It seems pretty harsh. But if you factor in the history of that statement (you can find it HERE), does it help you see why Paul may have been using that quote?

Hope to see you Sunday!

Sunday we’ll be continuing our study in Titus, reading 1:5-9.

As I write this, on my desk is the opened letter from some fraudulent group called St. Matthews Church. I’m not going to post their link for fear someone might actually click it. Anyway, these “caring” ministers sent me a paper prayer rug with a creepy face of Jesus printed on it. According to the incredibly long instructions printed on several different sheets of paper, if I kneel on this rug and pray for something…or make a wish, I guess….and then send this rug back (with a check, of course), my wish will come true. This, of course, is all done with a great flourish of Scriptures and Jesus’ name is invoked multiple times…well heck, Creepy Jesus is even on the rug!

It’s all a great source of a laugh until I start thinking about the people who actually get duped by these deceivers and I’m reminded of how dangerous church really is.

It’s vitally important for the church to live out in real life the things we believe about God, and it has to start with the leadership of the church.  Hence Paul’s instruction to Titus in our passage.

Hopefully in your experience with the church, there have been leaders whom you respected. What traits did they have that caused you to respect them? How do those traits compare with Paul’s quality control list in our passage?

When you’ve been aware of church leaders being caught in scandals, how has it affected you? If you re-read v7, Paul uses a job description to describe a church leader. How can what he compares leaders to help remind leaders of their purpose and place, and encourage the church community to see leaders in the proper context? (too confusing?…yeah, maybe….just think about it for a while).

That’s going to be our topic – hope you can join in.

Well Kats and Kitties, we’re on to our next study! This Sunday we’ll be starting a seven week (just shy of two and a half years) study in the book of Titus.  Titus was a really funny TV show back in the 90’s…but that’s a different thing.

The Titus we’ll be looking at is the one in the New Testament. It’s a short little book written by Paul to a young protege he left in Crete to get things in order with the churches. It was probably written sometime between Paul’s house arrest and his final arrest in Rome, so it’s just near the end of his ministry.

The larger theme of this book will be about how we put the stuff we claim to believe (the gospel, the hope of the coming kingdom of God) into practice.  In this short letter Paul makes the strongest correlation between what we believe and how we live.

We’ll cover the first four verses of chapter one this Sunday.  It is Paul’s introduction and greeting – though even by ancient standards, it’s pretty long.  It’s one serious run-on sentence. We get the distinct impression that Paul is less concerned about grammatical structuring than he is trying to get a point across even in his “hello”.  As you read it, consider how Paul describes himself.  What is the first thing he identifies as a characteristic of his life (v1)?  The word he uses in the Greek is “doulos” – and here’s the lexicon entry for that word. Is there any hint of self-importance in that title?

The question that lingers is…who are WE in God’s plan? Paul saw his place, is ours any different? What does this look like when lived out in real life?

Paul new more than just his status though.  If you read the passage in the Message (it reads much more clearly there), what did Paul’s overall purpose in life seem to be?  If you were asked to sum it up in one word, what word would you choose?

Just a warning: If we’re people who want to build our own kingdom, prioritize comfort and feel we deserve to always be happy….Titus will wreck us. If, however, we are weary of empty and shallow pursuits in church and life in general…Titus will drink like cold, clear water on a hot summer day.  It all depends on our end-goal I suppose.

Hopefully we’ll see you Sunday!