List the people that Paul mentions by name in this passage, and what he says about each person.  What stands out to you?  What words and ideas are repeated?  What can we learn from Paul’s commendations?

What can we learn about the nature of the early church (and life in it) from these greetings in this passage?

There are a lot of women mentioned in this passage.  (Phoebe, Prisca, Mary, Junia, Tryphaena, Tryphosa, Persis, Rufus’s mother, Julia)  What are we to make of this?  What does it tell us about God’s heart?

There are a lot of slaves mentioned in this passage.  (Junia, Ampliatus, Tryphosa, Tryphaena, Stachys, those from the houses of Aristobulus and Narcissus, Herodion, Persis, Rufus, Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas, Philologus, Julia, Nereus, and Olympas)  What are we to make of this?  What does it tell us about God’s heart?

Several people are commended for their hard work.  (Prisca and Aquila, Mary, Urbanus, Tryphaena and Tryphosa, Persis)  What does this communicate about what God cares about, and about the value of work in the kingdom of God?

How should this passage inform how we related to (and love and serve) one another in the church?

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