Tag Archives: Respectful

Onesimus – Philemon

257 – Onesimus – Philemon

Philemon 1:1-25

Onesimus was a slave who ran away from his master Philemon. He went to Rome and eventually met Paul who led him to a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Onesimus stayed with the apostle and helped him in the ministry. Eventually they knew it was time for the “runaway slave” to return to his master. Paul was a personal friend with Philemon, so he wrote a letter to help the two men reconcile their relationship. He said… 

Philemon—my dear friend—greetings to you, your family, and the church that meets in your home. I pray for you on a regular basis. I thank God for the love you have for the Lord Jesus Christ and for fellow believers. Those who meet you are encouraged in their faith.

Dear brother, you know me. I don’t normally hesitate in telling you what is right and wrong. I’m usually quick in reminding you of your duties in Christ. But I’m not going to do that this time. Instead, I am going to beg.

Picture this in your mind. I’m an old man who is in prison for the cause of Jesus Christ. In my weakness, God sent me a helper, Onesimus—a man who caused you pain and grief. But God sent him to me and I was able to introduce him to Jesus. He yielded his life to Christ and then became invaluable as a helper to me.

In a way, it was like you sent him here to help me because you couldn’t come yourself. I don’t know how I can carry on without him; but he and I both know he should go back to you. He was helping me in your stead, but we didn’t have your permission.

Listen, he was a worthless slave when he ran away from you. Now he’s coming back as a valuable brother in Christ, a co-worker in the ministry and a dear friend of mine. Receive him back in love.

Oh, concerning those things he stole from you —put those on my account. Here, I will pick up the quill and write this in my own handwriting. “I, Paul, will repay it.” I won’t remind you of the fact that you actually owe me your very life.

Please receive him as if you were receiving me. You’ll bring joy to my life when I hear how you’ve accepted Onesimus back into your life and home.

But what am I talking about? I know you’ll do this and even more.

By the way, prepare your guest room for me. I know you’ve been praying that I’d be set free and come back to visit you. I think the Lord is going to answer your prayers.

Greet all my good friends who are there. May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.

Paul.

Story Told
Insights
Audio
Poem
P257-Onesimus-Philemon

Map
Paul-Journey-to-Rome-PDF

Click map to expand

Captain of 50

131 – Captain of 50

II Kings 1:1-18

After Ahab died, his son Ahaziah became king of Israel. A short time later, he broke through a wooden rail and fell to the ground from the second floor of his house. His was seriously injured, so he said to his servants. “Go ask the god Baal-zebub if I’ll recover from this.”

Elijah stopped the servants along the road and said, “There is a God in Israel. So why are you taking this question to Baal-zebub? Here is the Lord’s answer for the king. You won’t get up from your sickbed. Instead, you’re going to die.”

The servants went back and gave King Ahaziah this message. The king said, “What did the man look like who told you this?”

“He was a hairy man with a leather belt around his waist.”

“Oh, I know who he is. That’s Elijah.”

So King Ahaziah sent 50 soldiers to go get Elijah. When they got to where he was staying, the prophet was sitting at the top of an embankment. The captain of the men yelled up at him. “Man of God, come down! I have orders to take you to the king.”

Elijah said, “If I’m a man of God, fire will come out of the sky and kill you and your 50 men.” Suddenly a fireball fell from the sky and killed the captain and his men.

So the king sent another 50 soldiers to get Elijah. When they got to where he was staying, the prophet was still sitting at the top of the embankment. The captain of the men yelled up at him. “Man of God, come down! I have orders to take you to the king.”

Elijah said, “If I’m a man of God, fire will come out of the sky and kill you and your 50 men.” Another fireball fell from the sky and killed the captain and his men.

Once again, the king sent 50 soldiers to go get Elijah. When they got to where he was staying, the captain of the men fell on his knees in front of Elijah. He said, “Man of God, please show compassion on us. Spare my life and the lives of these 50 servants of yours.”

The angel of the Lord said to Elijah, “Go with them. You’ll be safe.” So he got up and went with them.

When he saw King Ahaziah, he said, “This is a message from the Lord. ‘You could have asked me anything you wanted and I would have answered. But no! You sent your messengers to Baal-zebub. Therefore, you’ll not get up from your sickbed. Instead, you’ll die.”

It happened just like Elijah said. King Ahaziah died. He didn’t have children, so his brother Joram became king of Israel.

Story Told
Insights
Audio
Click map to expand

A Roman and a Funeral

190 – A Roman and a Funeral

Luke 7:1-17

IA Roman officer lived in Capernaum. He was a good man and did wonderful things for the people of Israel. One day his servant got sick and was about to die. He asked some of the Jewish leaders if they would go talk to Jesus on his behalf. He said, “Beg him to come heal my servant.”

They went to Jesus and said, “He is a good man and loves our nation. He has even built a synagogue for us.” Jesus agreed to go with them to the man’s house.

As they got near, the Roman officer sent friends to Jesus with this message. “Please, I’m not worthy to have you come into my house. I understand authority. When I say things, others have to obey. So I know if you said the word, my servant will be healed.”

Jesus was amazed and said, “I haven’t seen this kind of faith in all of Israel!” The friends of the man went back to his house, and found that the servant was healed.

Jesus took his disciples to another town, and a large crowd followed them. As they approached the gates, they saw a funeral procession. It was for a young man who was the only son of a woman who had also lost her husband.

Jesus saw her desperate situation and went to her. He said, “Don’t cry.”

He then walked over to the open coffin and put his hand on it. Immediately the pallbearers stopped. Jesus said, “Young man, listen to me. Get up!”

The man opened his eyes and then sat up. He looked around and asked what was happening. Jesus helped him down and took him to his mother.

The crowd was stunned, and then afraid. Finally, they started to praise God. The news of this went throughout all of Israel, and into the surrounding countries.

Story Told
Insights
Audio

Drama
D190-A-Roman-and-a-Funeral

Click map to expand

Twelve Years Old

180 – Twelve Years Old

Luke 2:40-52

When Jesus was twelve years old, Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover. When it was time to return home, Jesus stayed behind at the temple, without his parents knowing. They traveled a whole day, thinking he was among the crowd.. 

That evening they realized he was missing. They went back to Jerusalem and searched for him for three days. Finally they found him in the court of the temple, sitting among the teachers. He was listening to them and asking questions.

Everyone who heard him was amazed at his understanding and his ability to answer questions.

His mother ran up and said, “Son, how could you do this to us? We’ve been searching for you.”

He said, “Surely you knew I’d be here in my Father’s house—doing his business.” They didn’t understand what he was talking about.

Jesus went back to Nazareth, and lived in submission to his parents. He grew, and matured, and was respected by all that knew him. God’s blessing was on his life.

Story Told
Story Telling by Phyllis Hostmeyer
Insights
Audio

Drama
D180-Growing-Up-Years

Poem
P180-Growing-Up-Years

Storyboard
Click map to expand

Daniel’s Decision

166 – Daniel’s Decision

Daniel 1:1-16

Nebuchadnezzar was king of Babylon. He conquered Jerusalem and took the people captive. He then ordered his officials to select the best young men and train them to serve in the royal court. They were to be given the best instruction in language, literature, and wisdom. This training would last three years, and during that time, the king would provide them the best food and wine. 

Four of the young men selected were Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. These men determined before the Lord that they wouldn’t defile themselves by eating and drinking things that were against God’s Law. Daniel asked the overseer to leave those things out of their daily diet.

“Oh no. I couldn’t let you do that! A day is coming when you’ll stand before the king. He’ll see that you’re scrawnier than the others, and then he’ll have me killed!”

At this point, Daniel chose his words carefully. “Please, before you decide, do a test. Allow the four of us to eat vegetables and drink water for ten days. Then see how we look in comparison to the others.”

The overseer highly respected Daniel, so he agreed to this test. At the end of ten days, Daniel and his friends looked better and healthier than all those who had been eating the king’s food and wine. So the overseer allowed the four of them to continue eating only vegetables and drinking water.

God was with Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. He gave them knowledge, and allowed them to understand wisdom. Daniel also understood visions and dreams.

At the end of three years, Nebuchadnezzar interviewed all of the young men who had gone through his training program. None of the others ranked as high as Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. So they began serving in the king’s court. He consulted them in every matter concerning wisdom and understanding.

In time, the king valued their counsel ten times higher than his other counselors. Daniel continued to serve in the court through the reign of many kings.

Story Told
Insights
Audio
Chart
Kings-of-OT

Click map to expand

Josiah’s Reforms

158 – Josiah’s Reforms

II Kings 23:1-37 II Chronicles 34:32 – 35:27

King Josiah and the nation of Judah renewed their commitment to the Laws of God. The king then took all the false altars out of the Temple and had them burned. The people also went throughout Jerusalem and destroyed all the idols that were in the city.

Once that was done, the king personally went throughout the land of Judah and oversaw the destruction of idol worship in all the cities. Next he went throughout the land of Israel and destroyed all the idols and altars that were there. When he found a major pagan spot, he desecrated the altar so the people would never use it again. 

He went to the altar Jeroboam had built at Bethel. Josiah totally destroyed everything that was around it. He saw some tombs nearby, so he sent men to get some human bones. He burnt them on top of the altar to desecrate it.

Then Josiah saw a monument nearby. He said, “What’s that?”

The men of the area said, “That’s the tomb of the prophet who came from Judah. The Lord sent him here to speak against Jeroboam when he dedicated this altar to his golden calves. He prophesied and told the people what you would do to this altar. Today you have fulfilled his prophecy. It is also the grave of an old prophet from Samaria.”

Josiah said, “Don’t disturb these bones.” He then returned to Jerusalem.

The king organized a Passover feast like no other. He and prominent men of Judah gave generously so everyone could have a sacrifice to give.

In the entire history of Judah, there had never been a king like Josiah, who loved and served the Lord with all his mind, heart, and strength. He totally followed the ways of God.

Still, the Lord planned to have Jerusalem destroyed. He was going to send the people of Judah into exile, just as he had done to Israel. But he didn’t allow it to happen until after Josiah died.

When the king was 39 years old, the pharaoh of Egypt led his army past Judah on the way to help Assyria. Josiah took his army out to stop them. The pharaoh said, “My battle isn’t with you. I’m going to fight someone else. Don’t interfere, or God will use me to destroy you.”

Josiah didn’t listen to this advice. He went into battle, but disguised himself so the enemy wouldn’t know he was the king. Suddenly an arrow hit him, and he slumped down in his chariot. His servants rushed him back to Jerusalem, and there he died.

All of Judah mourned Josiah’s death. The prophet Jeremiah wrote a song that was sung at his funeral.

Story Told
Insights
Audio
Chart
Kings-of-OT

Click map to expand

Death of Elisha

145 – Death of Elisha

2 Kings 13:1-25

After Jehu died, his son became king of Israel. Unfortunately he wasn’t a good king. Still, there was one time he desperately needed God’s help, and the Lord helped him.

After he died, his son Jehoash became king. During his reign, Elisha became sick and was about to die. The king knelt down beside the prophet’s bed and cried. He said, “My father, my father, the chariots and horsemen of Israel!” 

Elisha said to him, “Go get your bow and some arrows.”

The king went and got them. When he came back, the prophet said, “Grab the bow.” So the king grabbed the bow. The man of God then put his hand on top of Jehoash’s hand and said, “Now, open the window.”

The king opened the window. Elisha said, “Shoot an arrow out the window.” So Jehoash shot an arrow out the window.

Elisha said, “That was the Lord’s arrow of victory. You’ll have victory over Syria. Now grab a handful of arrows and hit them on the ground.”

Jehoash grabbed some arrows and hit the ground three times and stopped. The prophet yelled at him. “Why did you only hit the ground three times? You should’ve hit it five or six times. Then you would have totally defeated Syria and brought an end to them. Now you’ll only defeat them three times.”

Elisha died and was buried in a tomb. The following spring, some Israelites were conducting a funeral. Suddenly they saw some men coming, and realized they were Moabite raiders. The men from Israel threw the body into Elisha’s tomb and ran away. As soon as the body touched Elisha’s bones, the dead man came to life and stood up.

Story Told
Insights
Audio

Click map to expand

Elijah in the Whirlwind

132 – Elijah in the Whirlwind

II Kings 2:1-25

The time came for the Lord to take Elijah to heaven. So the old prophet said to Elisha, “Stay here. The Lord is sending me to Bethel.”

Elisha said, “As sure as the Lord lives, I won’t leave you.” So they went to Bethel.

There was a group of prophets at Bethel. They said to Elisha, “Do you know the Lord is going to take your master away from you today?”

“Yes, I know. Now be quiet.” 

Elijah said, “Elisha, stay here. The Lord is sending me to Jericho.”

Elisha said, “As sure as the Lord lives, I won’t leave you.” So they went to Jericho.

The prophets at Jericho said to Elisha, “Do you know the Lord is going to take your master away from you today?”

“Yes, I know. Now be quiet.”

Elijah said to him, “Stay here. The Lord is sending me to the Jordan River.”

Elisha said, “As sure as the Lord lives, I won’t leave you.” So they went on together.

When they got to the Jordan, Elijah rolled up his cloak, and struck the water. Immediately, the waters parted and the two men walked across the river on dry ground. Fifty prophets watched from a distance.

Once the two men were on the other side, Elijah said to Elisha, “What do you want me to do for you before I’m taken away?”

Elisha didn’t hesitate. “Please, I want a double portion of your spirit.”

Elijah was shocked. He said, “What? Your request is difficult. But, you’ll have it if you see me being taken from you. If not, you won’t get it.”

As they continued on, suddenly a chariot of fire with horses of fire appeared and separated the two of them. Then Elijah was taken up into heaven in the whirlwind … and was gone.

Elisha saw it all. He ripped his clothes and yelled, “My father, my father, the chariots and horsemen of Israel!”

He then saw Elijah’s cloak, which fell when the prophet went up into the air. Elisha walked over and picked it up. He turned and went back and stood on the bank of the Jordan River. He lifted the cloak high in the air, and then struck the water. He said, “Where’s the Lord God of Elijah?!” The waters parted, and he walked across on dry ground.

The fifty prophets saw all of this. They said, “The spirit of Elijah lives in Elisha.” From that day on, they honored him as their new leader.

When he got back to Jericho, the people of the city said to him, “Jericho is a good place to live, but the spring is bad. It even keeps our crops from growing.

He said, “Put some salt in a new bowl and bring it to me.”

They brought it to him and he went to the spring. He threw the salt into the water and said, “The Lord has made this water pure. You can now grow crops and no one will starve.”

He left Jericho to return to Bethel. Along the way, some boys started making fun of him. They said, “Get out of here, baldy!”

The prophet turned and put a curse on them. Immediately, two bears ran out of the woods and killed 42 of the boys and ripped them apart.

Story Told
Insights
Audio
Click map to expand

Elijah on Mount Carmel

125 – Elijah on Mount Carmel

1 Kings 18:1-46

The famine in Israel was severe and lasted for three years. Finally, the Lord said to Elijah, “Go tell King Ahab that I am going to send rain to the land.”

The person in charge of Ahab’s courts was a man named Obadiah. He was faithful to God, and even hid 100 prophets of the LORD when Jezebel was trying to hunt them down.

He and the king went out to find grass for the palace livestock. They went different directions so they could search more land. 

As Obadiah went along, Elijah suddenly walked up to him. Obadiah immediately fell to the ground and said, “Oh, my lord Elijah.”

The prophet said, “Go tell the king that I’m here.”

Obadiah was shocked. He said, “What have I done that you want me killed? The king has looked for you all across the nation, and even in other countries. As soon as I tell him that you’re here, the Lord will carry you off to some other place. Then Ahab will kill me when he comes and finds that you’re not here. Please don’t do this to me.”

The prophet said, “Don’t worry. As the Lord lives, I’ll meet with Ahab today.”

So Obadiah went and told Ahab. As soon as the king saw Elijah, he said, “So, there is the man who’s destroyed Israel.”

Elijah said, “No, it’s not me, but you who has destroyed Israel. You’ve turned your back on the Lord and are serving Baal. Tell Israel to meet me on Mount Carmel. Bring the prophets of Baal and Asherah, the ones who eat at Jezebel’s table.”

So Ahab told the Israelites to gather at Mount Carmel, along with the prophets. Once everyone was there, Elijah said to the people, “How long will you go back and forth? If the Lord is God, follow Him. If Baal is God, follow him.” The people didn’t say anything, but just looked at the prophet.

He said. “I stand here as only one prophet of the Lord, but look, there are 450 prophets of Baal. Give us two bulls. They’ll take one, prepare it for sacrifice, and put it on top of the wood. But they won’t put fire on the wood. I’ll do the same. They will call on the name of their god, and I will call on the name of the Lord. The God who lights the fire, He is God.”

The people said. “Yes. That sounds fair.”

Elijah said to the prophets of Baal. “You go first.”

So they prepared the bull, and called on the name of Baal. They prayed all morning until noon. They danced around the altar, but nothing happened.

Elijah started mocking them. “Maybe you should shout louder! Your god might be sleeping, and you need to wake him up! Maybe he’s gone to the toilet.” They shouted loudly, and cut themselves, until blood gushed out. They kept this up all afternoon, but nothing happened.

Finally, Elijah built an altar with twelve stones, one for each tribe of Israel. He dug a trench around the altar, and put the wood on it. He then placed the bull on top of the wood.

He said to the people, “Go get some water and pour it on the sacrifice.” Once they had done this, he told them to do it again. After they had done it a second time, he told them to do it a third time. Once they were done, the altar was totally wet, and the trench was full of water.

Elijah then walked up to the altar and prayed. “Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Let everyone know that you are God, and I’m your servant. Answer me so these people will turn back to you!”

Suddenly, fire fell down from heaven and burned up the sacrifice, the wood, and the twelve stones. It even licked up the water that was in the trench. The people fell down and shouted, “The Lord, he is God! The Lord, he is God!”

Elijah ordered, “Grab the prophets of Baal! Don’t let any of them escape.” The people grabbed the prophets of Baal, and Elijah killed all of them.

He turned to Ahab and said, “Eat something. There’s a rainstorm coming.”

He then went up to the top of the mountain to pray. He said to his servant, “Look toward the sea. What do you see?”

The servant said, “I don’t see anything.”

Seven times Elijah told him to go and look. Finally, the seventh time, his servant told him, “I see a small cloud, about the size of a man’s hand, coming from the sea.”

Elijah said, “Quick, go tell Ahab, ‘Rush home as fast as you can so the rain doesn’t stop you.’” Ahab got in his chariot and rushed toward home.

In a short time, the sky grew dark and the wind started to blow. Suddenly there was a downpour of rain. The power of God came over Elijah, and he ran faster than Ahab’s chariot, and arrived in Jezreel before him.

Story Told
Story Telling by Phyllis Hostmeyer
Insights
Audio
Poem
P125-The-God-Who-Lights-The-Fire

Ma
Map courtesy of https://biblemapper.com

Elijah and the Widow

124 – Elijah & the Widow

1 Kings 17:1-24

Israel had many wicked kings. They all followed the example of Jeroboam.
 
While Asa was still king of Judah, Ahab became king of Israel. He was extremely evil, more than any of the kings that were before him. He married a woman named Jezebel, who worshiped Baal. Through her influence, Ahab built a temple of Baal in the capital city of Samaria. 

The prophet Elijah stood before the king and said, “I have a message from God. There will be no dew or rain until I say so!”  

The Lord said to Elijah, “Leave here and go to a certain brook. It will provide you water, and I have already told the ravens to bring you food.” 

So Elijah went and lived next to that brook. And just as the Lord said, the ravens brought him bread and meat every morning and every evening. But in time, the brook dried up because there hadn’t been any rain. 

The Lord said, “Go to a Gentile town called Zarephath. I have selected a widow to provide for you there.” When Elijah entered the village, he saw a woman gathering wood. He said to her, “Please bring me a little water.” As she went to get it, he said, “And also bring me some bread.” 

She turned and looked at him. “I don’t have any bread. All I have is a handful of flour in the jar, and a bit of oil in the jug. I was gathering these sticks so I could make it into bread for my son and myself. We were going to eat it and then die.” 

The prophet said, “Don’t be afraid to do what I say. Go and make your bread, but when it’s done, give some to me first. The Lord God of Israel has said, ‘The jar will always have flour, and the jug will always have oil until the day God sends rain.’”

Again, she looked at him, and then went and did as he asked. She made the bread, and gave some to him first. Sure enough, from that day on, the jar always had some flour, and the jug of oil never ran dry. 

She prepared a place for the prophet in the upper room of her house. 

Sometime later, the woman’s son got sick. Soon his illness was severe, and finally he died. The woman went to Elijah and said, “Man of God, why did you come in to my house? Was it to expose my guilt, so you could kill my son?” 

Elijah said, “Give me your son.” He took the boy to the upper room where he was staying. He laid him on the bed and then prayed, “Oh Lord God, why did you bring me into this woman’s home, and then kill her son? 

He then stretched out over the boy and prayed, “Oh Lord my God, please bring life back into this boy!” 

He stretched out over the boy a second time. “Oh Lord my God, please bring life back into this boy!” 

He stretched out over the boy a third time. “Oh Lord my God, please bring life back into this boy!” 

Suddenly the boy started breathing. Elijah took him back down into the house, and gave him to his mother. He said, “Here is your son. He’s alive.” 

The woman fell down before the prophet and said, “Now I know you are a man of God, and his word is in your mouth!”

Story Told
Insights
Audio
Char
Kings-of-OT