Phos Community Church

6 Then they gathered around him and asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”7 He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”9 After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight. - Acts 1:6-9

21 Afterward Jesus appeared again to his disciples, by the Sea of Galilee.[a] It happened this way: 2 Simon Peter, Thomas (also known as Didymus[b]), Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples were together. 3 “I’m going out to fish,” Simon Peter told them, and they said, “We’ll go with you.” So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing. - John 21:1-3 NIV

Who has believed our message    and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?2 He grew up before him like a tender shoot,    and like a root out of dry ground.He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him,    nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.3 He was despised and rejected by mankind,    a man of suffering, and familiar with pain.Like one from whom people hide their faces    he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.4 Surely he took up our pain    and bore our suffering,yet we considered him punished by God,    stricken by him, and afflicted.5 But he was pierced for our transgressions,    he was crushed for our iniquities;the punishment that brought us peace was on him,    and by his wounds we are healed.6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray,    each of us has turned to our own way;and the Lord has laid on him    the iniquity of us all. -Isaiah 53:1-6 NIV

Despite all the prophecies fulfilled before their eyes, the crowds and disciples still asked 'Who is this?'—missing that Jesus came not as a conquering king but as a humble servant. The grain of wheat must fall and die to bear fruit, and Jesus calls us to that same pattern of laying down our lives so others might live. True gospel living isn't about having perfect theology or fixing all our baggage before coming to God—it's about being poured out in love and service, letting our actions preach the good news daily.

31 He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. 32 Though it is the smallest of all seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds come and perch in its branches.” - Matthew 13:31-32 NIV

3 Now there was a Pharisee, a man named Nicodemus who was a member of the Jewish ruling council. 2 He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him.”3 Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.[a]” -John 3:1-3 NIV

23 During that long period, the king of Egypt died. The Israelites groaned in their slavery and cried out, and their cry for help because of their slavery went up to God. 24 God heard their groaning and he remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac and with Jacob. 25 So God looked on the Israelites and was concerned about them. Exodus 2:23-25 NIV

13 I can do all this through him who gives me strength. -philippians 4:13 NIV

20 But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21 who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body. Philippians 3:20-21 NIV

15 All of us, then, who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you. 16 Only let us live up to what we have already attained. -Philippians 3:15-16 NIV

1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4 God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day. Genesis 1:1-5

42 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43 Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. 44 All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45 They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. 46 Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47 praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved. Acts 2:42-47 NIV

21 For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. -Philippians 1:21

1 Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus,To all God’s holy people in Christ Jesus at Philippi, together with the overseers and deacons[a]:2 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Philippians 1:1-2 NIV

The arrival of Christ was a loud proclamation to the marginalized that God had broken His silence to bring peace to a broken world. Jesus came to fight for the poor and oppressed, offering good news and salvation to all people, regardless of their status or station. True peace is found not in the absence of noise, but in looking outward to love and serve others as we walk in the footsteps of our Savior.

26 In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, 27 to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28 The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”29 Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. -Luke 1:26-29 NIV