The Runaway Slave and the Debt We Couldn't Pay: A Fresh Look at the Book of Philemon When was the last time you studied the book of Philemon? If you're like most people, probably never. This tiny letter, usually just a page long, often gets skipped over in favor of Paul's weightier writings. But hidden in these verses is one of the most powerful pictures of grace in all of Scripture. The Story Behind the Letter Philemon was a wealthy man living in Colossae (modern-day Turkey), the same town...

A few years back, my wife Lindsay and I went to Walmart the day before Christmas Eve. If you've ever been there on that day, you know it's absolute chaos. Lindsay and I are very different shoppers. I'm on a mission, I know exactly what I want, where I'm going, and I'm getting in and out. Lindsay likes to browse, checking out the knickknacks and Pioneer Woman plates, even though we weren't there for any of that. I kept having to remind her of our purpose, why we were there in the first place....