The Center of Paul’s Appeal to Philemon (Philemon 15-16)

15 Perhaps the reason he was separated from you for a little while was that you might have him back forever— 16 no longer as a slave, but better than a slave, as a dear brother. He is very dear to me but even dearer to you, both as a fellow man and as a brother in the Lord. In

Thanksgiving and Prayer (Philemon:4-7)

4 I always thank my God as I remember you in my prayers, 5 because I hear about your love for all his holy people and your faith in the Lord Jesus. 6 I pray that your partnership with us in the faith may be effective in deepening your understanding of every good thing we share for the sake of Christ. 7 Your love

Third Sunday of Lent, Year B, Second Reading (1 Corinthians 22-25)

22 Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom, 23 but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, 24 but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25 For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength. As the biblical

Rejoice (Philippians 4:4-6)

4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God At the end of verse three, Paul told the Philippians that their names were in

Service to Others (Philippians 2:17-24)

17 But even if I am being poured out like a drink offering on the sacrifice and service coming from your faith, I am glad and rejoice with all of you. 18 So you too should be glad and rejoice with me. 19 I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, that I also may be cheered when I

God within Us (Philippians 12-13)

12 Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, 13 for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose. Verse 12 has been used to support the

Lord of Glory (Philippians 2:10-11)

10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Specialist of what we call the Old Testament, Paul continually sees parallels between Jesus’ life and the scriptures. Here he

Exalted by God (Philippians 2:9)

9 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, In the previous verse, Christ reached the bottom, crucified like the lowest slave or criminal. But, of course, that is not the end of the story. And we should never imagine that suffering is an end in itself

The Servant God (Philippians 2:7)

7 rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. As Thurston and Ryan point out, in the previous verse we learned what Christ did not do but, in this verse and the next, we’re told what he did do. The divine Son of God, instead of being

The Start of the Christ Hymn (Philippians 2:5-6)

5 In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; In Greek, there is no verb in verse five which has led to a debate over its exact meaning. The most obvious meaning, and