Newspapers / The Charlotte Post (Charlotte, … / Nov. 21, 1985, edition 1 / Page 7
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; SPuhda* \ SPcAcct J 9?€Mon _; iEs v. ' , INTRODUCTION eJlurch ol Christ upon earth is essentially constitutionally one,” wrote Thomas IfiSSSS1 2* church consists of “all those in S" ^ faith ln Chri8t and obedience ^ S2 thingB according to the Scriptures, and that s!' ^vplhe - ?y their tempers and conduct. The ^®tgV25a”™tont soPPort to the idea of being one in .? n®001^ Jesus’ prflyer ^ 11,086 wh0 y* *®U8V,e m Him all may be one.” (John 17:20 21) PSi, LESSON BACKGROUND 4j£2EZl'nB f city *“ highlands of Asia, a Roman tffWuce in western Asia Minor. Apparently most of the 'i r gg««,an Christians were among those who had not seen e apostle Paul; but one Colossian Christian who had seen P®rhaps he had once lived in Ephesus, b!!ind,ere on a business trip or a vacation £l5ad ^ gospel and had accepted it. Paul , nails him'as our dearly beloved, and fellow laborer.” (Philemon i)., 1 JK&Came to Rome perhaps about four years after he left Ephesus. He was a prisoner, but was allowed to rent a housewhere he lived. A soldier stayed there to guard him. 1 Visftmte were allowed, and many came to hear the f teaching of Paul. Among those who came was Onesimus f ~e runaway1 Slave. He heard the gospel and became a 1 sincere Christian. ^ ' onesimus had a problem. According to law, he was a £hd .Christians are taught to obey the law. Paul • no “underground railroad” to help slaves get !' x_ay.' He advised Onesimus to go back to his slavery, and Onesimus consented. That was dangerous. Back in Colossae he would be only a piece of property. His owner could punish him severely, and it was not customary to be S merciful to runaway slaves. Still Onesimus could hope for SE mercy because he carried a letter from his master’s good I friend, Paul. This is the letter in our lesson today -;v'^ "" ' " THE LESSON , “From Paul, a prisoner for the sake of Christ Jesus, and from our brother Timothy. To our friend and fellow worker Philemon, and the church that meets in your house, and our sister Apphai, and our fellow soldier Archippus: May 5 °ur Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace S iah<l peace.” (Philemon 1-3). fJ Sometimes Paul declared himself an apostle of Jesus ? That indicated his authority to teach the truth and issue - orders as an official representative of Christ. But in this i' be chose to plead rather than to command. SBeqfal favor. Peace means well being in ! general dS* JejJ as freedom from conflict. Paul was I praying that God and Jesus would grant these to Philemon 5 and household. ^ “For this reason I could be bold enough, as your brother in Christ, to order you to do what should be done. But ~ because I love you, I make a request instead. I do this even |though I am Paul, the ambassador of Christ Jesus, and at rc Present also a prisoner for his sake. So I make a request to ft.! you w* behalf of Onesimus, who is my own son in Christ: £ forwMIe in prison I have become his spiritual father. At f! one tin}e he wj*s of no use to you, but now he is useful both gi to yog and to toe. I am sending him hack to you now, and jTl with Wm goes my heart. I would like to keep him here with prison for the gospel’s sake, so that be “* in your Place However, I do not want to Jwrcffjtou to help me; rather, I would like for you to do it on ! your own free will. So I will not do anything unless you ■ agree. ’” (Philemon 8-14). Paul was an apostle, an authorized spokesman for ; Christ. He knew the Lord’s will. It would be quite proper ! for him to enjoin or command Philemon. Sometimes Paul did not hesitate to give commands and to insist that they were the Lord’s commands. But he did not want to command this faithful fellow worker whom he loved so L wel1 He made a request instead of an order - but reminded Philemon that he deserved special consideration be . cause he was getting old and because he was suf : fering imprisonment as a faithful servant of Jesus Christ. Keeping up the pressure, Paul indicated that Onesi mus was very dear to him personalty - not Just a friend or convert or fellow worker. , ■ “It may be that Onesimus was away from you for a short /. time so that you might have him back for all time. And now i8 no* Just a slave, but much more than a slave: he is a : dear toother in Christ. How much be means to me! And L how much more he will mean to you, both as a slave end as r a toother in (he Lord. So if you think of me as your partner, \ wttiddtoe him back Just as you would welcome mei If he j. hafftyneybu any wrong or owes you anything, charge it to my account. Here, I will write this with my own hand: I, 1 Paul, will pay you back. (I should not have to remind you! of course, that you owe your very jielf to me.) So my | toother please do me this favor for the Lord’s sake; as a ' brother in Christ, cheer me up.” (Philemon 15-201. Wtot .happened when Onesimus gave this letter to | Phi^wiK**? Did Philemon send him back to help Paul in l Rome? Probably not. Paul was expecting to come to Colossae before long (v. 22). Did Philemon set his slave i, free? Probably not. Slavery was an accepted practice in t ^ society, and Philemon may have had other Christian i "stover m* Oneaimus remain a slave, but a happy one? jf^mk ktmm tube the most probably outcome. Wenraise democracy, but an absolute monarchy would frMtfihded if the monarch were aU-wise, all-powerful, £ and all-good. The Kingdom of Heaven is such a monarchy, and its- whaknes* is fh4 Weakness of Us people, not the & Monarch or the system. ~ - . C) Capitalism is not evil. It would work well if every one (» involved would follow the teaching of Jesus. It is beset with evil when greedy owners oppose workers, or when greedy \ workers make exorbitant demands backed up by strikes r) and violence. Even Communism would work beautifully if «, all the people in the system were what Christiana ought to 0 be? Its monstrous abuses arise because power is seised by ; people wh<^ are selfish and cruel * -) Philemon, had, * problem when a runaway slave came be punish the runaway so severely that no 1 (tAsr slave would dare to run? Paul advised a different -receive him as "a brother beloved." Shriners Launch Help A Child Smile” Fundraiser^ By Jalyne Strong Post SUIT Writer The “Help A Child To Smile’’ fundraiser sponsored by the Shriners of Raineses Temple No. 51 will kick-off on Saturday, November SO. On that date and in the succeeding weeks until Just before Christmas, Shriners will appear throughout the city of Charlotte collecting donations for the needy children of this area. “This will be the fifth annual drive for the children,” comments Shriner Eugene Marsh. He initiated this program four years ago. Proceeds each year have been used to host a December 21st Christmas party for the children, most of whom live in public housing projects. The children are treated to lunch, entertainment and they receive gifts of clothes and new and used toys. “Their needs are important,” stresses Marsh. “Many of these children would not have a Christmas if not for the Shriners. The look on their faces show me that this program is valuable to the community.” Eugene Marsh .Project director Marsh will appear on WBTV's “Top of the Day” program on Friday, November 29, and Mayor Harvey Gantt will give a proclamation on Saturday, CFUJ Winter Schedule Pubfehed High school completion, business and career training, and liberal arts all will be taught at Central Pied mont Community College (CPCC) when winter quarter begins The complete schedule of classes will be published in the Sunday, November 24, edition of The Char lotte Observer, and in the November 28 edition of The Charlotte Post. Or a schedule can be picked up after that date on campus or at CPCC’s Christmas Toys The Junior League Wearhouse is having its annual Christmas toy sale on Friday, December 6, and Satur day, December 7. A variety of both used toys in good condition and some new toys will be on sale. The Wear house is located behind Bush Stationers at Park Road Shopping Center. Store hours are Tuesday-Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Proceeds help support the Junior League community pro jects. For more information, call 523-8159. learning centers in PineviUe, Mat thews, Cornelius, and Freedom Mall. Tuition for most classes is less than $20. Registration for new stu dents will be December 9-12. Winter quarter classes begin in January and continue for ll weeks. For more information, caU 373-6687. Of the 1,219 community colleges in the U.S., CPCC recently won re cognition as one of the top five community colleges in the nation for teaching excellence and student suc cess. Counseling Session The counselors of South Mecklen burg High School Student Services Department in cooperation with United FamUy Services will be of fering a group counseling session on “Family Stress,” December 3 at the high school’s media center. The session, entitled “Family Stress,” will be conducted by Irv Eddlestein and Terry Healey. They wUl focus on stress caused by separation, divorce, the blended family and loss of parent through death. November 30, to officially announce the beginning of the fundraiser. "Our goal this year is to raise $10,000,” Marsh points out. Specifically, the Shriners, says Marsh, are looking for monetary assistance from the black churches of Charlotte to help supplement this program. Besides financing the children’s Christmas party, the money collected will be used to help families with payments of rents, utilities and purchases of food during the holiday season. Businesses, non-profit organizations and individual* are also urged to do their part in donating clothes, food, toys and dollars to "Help A Child To Smile” this Christmas. "The Shriners are expecting to welcome a little over 200 children to the party this year.” predicts Marsh. ‘‘They’ll come trom Dalton Village, Piedmont Courts, Southside, Fairview Homes and other areas. William Simmons, the housing director, provides the names.” Make your checks out to “Help A Child To Smile" and mail the tax deductible donations to Rameses Temple, 119 E. 8th St., Charlotte, N.C. 28202. In another important matter, Marsh was recently elevated to the 33rd degree in Shrinedom, in Washington, D.C. There were 318 Scottish Rite brothers, candidates from 22 states and three foreign countries, elevated to the 33rd degree at that time and Marsh was elected their class president. The class is named in honor of the late Henry A. Dove, past grand master of Washington, D C. J>ew Mercy Foundation Directors Announced Seven new directors have been elected to the Board of Directors for the Mercy Hospital Foundation, Inc. The new members are: Dr. Robert L. Albright, president, Johnson C. Smith University; David Scott Andrews, M.D.; Cy N. Bahakel, president, Bahakel Broadcasting Company; Jeanne Z. Bohn, direc tor of community affairs, Carolina Broadcasting Company; Paul R. Leonard, executive vice president, The Crosland Company; Robert E. Shirley, M.D.; and Stephen R. Walsh, president, The Walsh Cor poration. The Mercy Foundation’s primary goal is to improve the skills of staff members through the foundation’s professional development program. It’s administered through the hospi tal staff and has as its goal im proving patient care by helping staff members - from the most experi enced medical person to the main tenance staff members - learn the latest in medical technology. The foundation also helps Mercy Hospital purchase important diag nostic and therapeutic equipment, keeping the hospital up-to-date with constantly changing technology. The Foundation’s other Board of Dr. Robert Albright . Receives new honors Directors members are: Harry j. Grim, John B. Stedman, James G. Babb Jr., E. Reed Gaskin, M.D., Charles L. Grace, Jack B. Hobson, M.D., Larry H. Patterson, Richard G. Robb, Donald Schumacher, M.D., Theodore B. Sumner Jr., and William K. Van Allen. gj^hwShoos^ Save on our best selling dress shoes. ! • Coofdinrtlng (dutch— & »hould«rt>«gr. »6 - Women's genuine suede oxford. • group of womfVi kn— »ocfc».,.2B% off Women's fleece Rned boot with suede shaft. Reg. $26.97 . _ Women's scrunch shaft boot with stack edlook heel, nr . Reg. $22.97 Women's walking shoe with matching unit bottom. Women's genuine leather court ehoee by Cuge. Men's genuine iMther court shoe* by Cuga. mtohr fc, M [ 4 f ~ Men's ganuina •uada oxford. ♦12 R»0. #19.97 I Men's durable oxford with unit bottom. | Men's genuine •uede hiking boot. 1 « ! , -Ar Reg. *29.97 - ---1 _ .A : i
The Charlotte Post (Charlotte, N.C.)
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Nov. 21, 1985, edition 1
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