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Bible Study for September 7, 2025
Opening Prayer:
Creator of all, we thank you for the opportunity to gather in study. Open our minds and hearts. By the power of the Holy Spirit, unite us in faith, hope, and love. Help us to be faithful to the gospel and to walk humbly with you. Grant us your peace as we grow in wisdom and understanding. We pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Luke 14:25-33 Have you ever had to “count the cost” of being a disciple of Christ? How so?
The lectionary remains in the Gospel of Luke once again this week. Luke is interested in stories about Jesus and his family. Luke is the only Gospel that tells us that John the Baptist and Jesus were related, probably cousins (v. 1:36) and Luke is the only Gospel to provide a story about the young twelve-year-old Jesus (Verses. 2:41-52). Family is important to Luke – but today’s reading shows us a Jesus who is unafraid to challenge first-century “family values.” In verses 13-24, Jesus has told the “crowds” that even outsiders, the poor and the disabled are called to God’s kingdom. Now he tells what is required to become a follower. The word “hate” (v. 26) is surprising, until we recall that exaggeration was a common linguistic trait in Hebrew, as Jesus does here: “hate” means love less, be less attached to. The disciple must find his prime security in Jesus, not in his or her family, nor in preserving one’s “life”. One must be prepared to suffer, as Jesus did on the “cross” (v. 27). In verses 28-32, Jesus uses two examples to advise full realization of the cost of being a follower, before enlisting. You must be so dedicated to the cause that you are willing to forfeit all that you have. Then come verses 34- 35: don’t allow your allegiance to Christ to deteriorate and so become ineffectual. If you do, God will throw you away as useless! If you are prepared for the challenge, grasp it!
Philemon 1-21 What do you think Philemon decided to do with his former slave?
This is the Letter to Philemon in its entirety. It is the shortest of the epistles written by Paul. He sends Onesimus, a run-away slave and recent convert to Christianity, back to his master carrying this letter. Paul does not address the general question of slavery as a social institution, but he does plead with Philemon, on the basis of love, to take Onesimus back and treat him as a fellow Christian. This appears to be a personal letter to Philemon, a slave owner, but it is also addressed to “the church in your house” (v. 2). In the first century, the Christian community gathered at a member’s house. It is likely that the letter was read during worship. “Onesimus” – whose name means “useful” in Greek - is a slave who’s has run away from Philemon’s house. While visiting Paul, he has been converted to Christianity: he is Paul’s “child”. A penalty for leaving a master was death, so Paul is in a delicate position, pleading for the man’s life. Hhe appeals “on the basis of love” (v. 9), the very foundation of the faith. The slave’s fate is in his master’s hands; Philemon can choose to preserve his life. May his “good deed” (v. 14) be “voluntary”, of his own free will. Onesimus the slave has been changed from “useless” (v. 11) to “useful” – both to Philemon and to Paul; in v. 20, Paul speaks of “benefit”. Paul sends him back to his master (v. 13), bearing this letter, although he would have preferred to “keep him with me”. May Philemon take him “back forever” (v. 15) as a slave and as a “beloved brother” (v. 16) in Christ. May Philemon treat Onesimus as he would Paul (v. 17). Paul offers to take on himself any and all punishment that may be in store for the slave (v. 18). May he be treated as a fellow Christian. V. 19b may indicate that Philemon came to Christ through Paul. Paul is “confident” (v. 21) of Philemon’s “obedience” to Christ.
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