Philemon is a short book which shows the widespread, lasting impact of sin on relationships and how the gospel starts to undo sin’s misery. Onesimus was a slave who had stolen from his Christian owner Philemon then ran away. Through the Apostle Paul Onesimus was wonderfully saved. Since slave and owner are now both believers, Paul wrote this letter seeking to bring about reconciliation between brothers. We will see that when the gospel intersects our lives it often makes our lives messier until we humbly submit to its broad-ranging implications.
Faith, the incarnation, brotherly love, God’s holiness, our holiness and joy are just some of the topics John weaves together in his letters which were written to believers across Asia Minor who were battling false teachers. John’s writing might lead you to think he struggled with ADD because of how he jumps from topic to topic with connections between those topics seeming to only be in John’s mind. However, we’ll see through this study how interconnected our joy and assurance are with sound doctrine, faith and holiness.
Jude reminds us of the relentless attacks by false teachers against the grace of God which we continue to see in our day. Through Old Testament examples Jude denounces these ungodly teachers while urging Christians to continue in godliness and love, ending his letter with a beautiful doxology of hope in the persevering grace of God.
Join us in the study of these books as we are constantly challenged and encouraged in grow deeper in our faith, hope and love. This class will meet every Sunday from January through March 2015 in the Fellowship Hall, from 9:45-10:45am. It will be led by Pastor Glenn Force, Al Griffith, and Daniel McFarlane.