We all love to receive an encouraging note from a friend.

And on one page of the New Testament, we find a very personal letter from Paul to Philemon.

This brief note to a friend is full of doctrinal truth and practical help for us all.

Open your Bible and your heart today as we come to the book of Philemon.

Let's join Scott Pauli now as we study God's Word together.

I'll spare you my singing today, but there's an old chorus that says,

I'm so glad I'm a part of the family of God.

And I want to say amen to that.

You know the chorus, maybe you can sing it to yourself today,

humming along your way, because there's nothing in this world like being a part of the family of God. We're examining this little book of Philemon, which is an illustration of the grace of God, the love of God, and all that brings

into our lives. It's not just what it gets out of our life, it's what it brings into our life,

on the positive side.

We've learned that the love of God changes everything.

In verse 10, a slave has become a son.

In verse 11, an unprofitable man became a profitable man.

In verses 12 through 14, a runaway became a received one.

In verse 15, the one that was lost for a season is now saved forever.

And now we've come to verse 16.

And Paul writes to his friend Philemon regarding this man onesimus,

not now as a servant, but above a servant, a brother beloved, especially to me, but how much more unto

thee, both in the flesh and in the Lord. So we add this to our list of what God did for

Onesimus and what God does for us. Now the servant becomes a brother. We all know there's a

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