Dr. Philip Lehman has no theological training so Philables are 'Layman stories' (pun intended) not sermons. Philables are intended to help believers see 'every act is an act of worship'. To see everyday events as teachable moments...little vignettes that can lead to moments of praise, reflection and encouragement.
For several years Phil's morning devotions have frequently included writing short stories. Stories that are based on the day's scripture passage or some recent event. This allows him to bring Biblical values and lessons into his daily life in short, relatable stories. Several friends asked him to share these daily stories with them and have since encouraged him to have them published as they have shared them with their family and friends. Each weekday he also emails the new Philable to his niece, a missionary in Thailand and translates them into Spanish and emails them to a pastor in Peru.
Other than scripture, ideas for these stories come to Phil in sermons, daily interactions with others, and comments and current events. Philables avoid politics and cultural concerns and conclude with a brief synopsis of a lesson to contemplate or scripture to bring the story into daily life. For example the first Philable ends:
"Moriah returned from her mission trip in Australia with a serious fungal foot infection. Her friends and family saw dirty, smelly feet, her doctor saw infected feet, God saw beautiful feet." 'As it is written 'How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the Gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things' (Romans 10:15). Go get your feet dirty...get off the sidewalk. Be in the world but apart from the world. Don't worry about what man sees. Follow Jesus' example.
