Philemon 1: 17- 25

Questions for Reflection/Discussion: 1. What was your experience with conflict growing up? How have these experiences shaped the way that you approach conflict today? 2. Read Matthew 7:1-5. How should these words shape our approach to conflict? 3. Read Matthew 18:15-17. What steps do you see Jesus outlining? What is the goal of the process? 4. Why is it easier to confide in the wrong person instead of going to the person we have an offense with? Why is there a temptation to draw in a third party? 5. “Winning the conflict” versus “winning your brother/sister” are radically different approaches to conflict. How might you be guilty of trying to “win” a conflict in your life instead of winning a brother/sister? Who in your life might need to be “won” back in your life through radical, self-sacrificing reconciliation? 6. Re-read the letter that Paul wrote to Philemon. What is the significance of verse 18? Where did Paul learn this approach from? What can we learn from this in our own lives? 7. Where in your life can you be a radical, self-sacrificing reconciler in the name of Jesus this week at work, in your family, neighborhood, at school, etc.?