We live in a fast-paced, ever-moving world where everyone seems to be rushing in every direction.

And yet, in scripture, God desires to teach us that walking with him is our greatest and most important adventure.

Join Scott Pauli along this journey as we rediscover the joy of our walk with Christ.

In our last study, we looked at the prodigal.

A young man who wandered off aimlessly into the far country looking for something,

thinking he could get lost in a big world and really live it up.

And today, we've come to another one of those prodigals.

He's not nearly as well-known, perhaps.

His name is Onesimus, and his story is found on one page

of the New Testament. That's it, one page, the little book of Philemon. And it's an amazing story.

It's a story of the grace of God, of mercy, and the goodness of the Lord. Someone may say,

well, I thought the book was about Philemon and not Onesimus. Well, here's

the story in a nutshell. Onesimus was a servant of Philemon. Philemon was a believer. He was a man

who not only knew the Lord Jesus Christ. Most people believe the Apostle Paul had led him to the Lord.

And now Philemon had a church meeting in his house. One of the early churches

met in his living room. He was a true Christian man. His servant, Onesimus, decides he doesn't want to be

a servant anymore, and he takes off, and he runs to Rome. By some providence, he's arrested in Rome, he's thrown into prison, and he crosses paths with a fellow inmate. Maybe you've heard of him. His name is Paul. It's funny to me almost. You see the divine humor in it. Onesimus thought he'd get lost in the big city of Rome. Nobody would know him. Friend, no matter where you go, God knows right where you are. He not only knows where you are,

he goes where you are. He was there before you got there. He's going to meet you there. And so when

Onesimus gets thrown in jail, he gets acquainted with a man named Paul who gives him the glorious

message of forgiveness and mercy in Jesus Christ, and Onesimus becomes a believer as well. Then, can you imagine his shock

when he finds out the man who just led him to the Lord Jesus Christ was the same man that led his

master Philemon to the Lord Jesus Christ, and they are dear friends. Onesimus is then sent back to

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