Week 1: "What Forgiveness Does for You and Others"
Introduction to Philemon
The book of Philemon is actually a letter written by the Apostle Paul to Philemon, a wealthy businessman in Colossae. Like the wealthy men of that time, Philemon owned slaves. One of those slaves, Onesimus had, years earlier, run away from Philemon's home and somehow met the Apostle Paul while Paul was imprisoned. Onesimus and Paul became close - as close as father and son. Eventually, Paul desires to send Onesimus back to Philemon with a letter (the book of Philemon) asking Philemon to not only accept Onesimus back into his home but that Philemon would receive Onesimus as a brother. This was an extraordinary request for that time, and it gives us insight into what it means to forgive those who have wronged us.