A sermon series by Toby Sumpter for King's Cross Church
Christian Courage (Continuing Adventures of Jesus #41)
September 15, 2024 • Toby Sumpter • Acts 22:23—23:11
Christian courage is based entirely on the conviction that God is for us, that God is on our side. It is based on the certainty that the resurrection of Jesus Christ means that our sins have been completely paid for. It is based on God’s perfect justice and a completely clean conscience before God.
If we are a cowardly people, it is because we are guilty people. So the courage and innocence of Paul is a message we desperately need today.
The Text: “And as they cried out, and cast off their clothes, and three dust into the air, the chief captain commanded him to be brought into the castle...” (Acts 22:23-23:11)
Gospel Trouble (Continuing Adventures of Jesus #40)
September 8, 2024 • Toby Sumpter • Acts 21:35—22:22
What is your reaction to trouble? How do you respond when things don’t go the way you planned? Christians are people who have surrendered to Jesus Christ, trusting that His plan is better because He died and rose again to forgive our sins and put us on His mission and therefore, He is worthy.
This is now the second time (of three) we will hear Paul’s testimony. Luke is emphasizing the legitimacy of Paul’s apostleship, but it also sets down the bass line of Christian life: we follow Christ and when trouble happens, it is an opportunity to talk about His mission.
The Text: “And when he came upon the stairs, so it was, that he was borne of the soldiers for the violence of the people…” (Acts 21:35-22:22)
Bearing His Reproach (Continuing Adventures of Jesus #39)
September 1, 2024 • Toby Sumpter • Acts 21:15–34
As prophesied, when Paul arrived in Jerusalem, false reports were swirling around, and a riot broke out and Paul was nearly killed. No doubt there were critics who thought Paul could have been more careful, clearer in his teaching, but the real reason was the name of Jesus.
Jesus promised that if we followed Him, we would be misunderstood, lied about, and sometimes persecuted and killed. But when it happens, we’re still often caught off guard and surprised. While it is always worth double checking our words and actions, we have to be prepared for unjust treatment, and we have to be prepared to rejoice when it happens.
The Text: “And after those days we took up our carriages, and went up to Jerusalem. There went with us also certain of the disciples of Caesarea…” (Acts 21:15-34)
The Comfort of Christ (Continuing Adventures of Jesus #36)
August 4, 2024 • Toby Sumpter • Acts 20:1–16
We live in a fallen world of turmoil, and we do not yet see everything under the feet of Christ, but we see Christ (Heb. 2:8-9). We do not yet see every nation discipled, every cancer cured, or death itself destroyed, but we see Jesus who has tasted death for every man, so that by Him, we may have a peace in this world that the world cannot give. We see in this text that this was a central part of Paul’s missionary work, and it continues to be a central part of the mission of the church.
The Text: “And after the uproar was ceased, Paul called unto him the disciples, and embraced them, and departed to go into Macedonia…” (Acts 20:1-16).
The Potential of Young Men (Continuing Adventures of Jesus #42)
September 22, 2024 • Toby Sumpter • Acts 23:12–24
This episode contrasts two kinds of young men. You have a mob of angry young men and you have the wise courage of Paul’s nephew.
We live in a world inundated with manipulations and lies, and the inevitable result of this is bitterness and wrath, particularly among young men. God created men to lead and build, using their strength sacrificially for the good of those around them. But when they despair and give up hope in that potential, their strength is often twisted to destruction and evil. This is why young men must know Christ and place their hope in the power of His resurrection. God rules all the plots of men and turns them to His will.
Discerning the Lord's Will (Continuing Adventures of Jesus #38)
August 25, 2024 • Toby Sumpter • Acts 21:1–14
How do you know what the will of God is for you? We pray that God’s “will” would be
done on earth as it is in heaven, but we have many choices to make, some obviously
significant and every choice momentous. Paul said that he was compelled by the Spirit to go to Jerusalem (Acts 19:21, 20:22), and yet, the same Spirit filled disciples urging Paul not to go (Acts 21:4, 11). Does God do this regularly? Does God send mixed signals?
God is not trying to trick anyone, but He does test us. The Holy Spirit drove Jesus into
the wilderness to be tempted (Mk. 1:12). This was not so that Jesus would fail, but so
He would succeed. Christians must trust and obey God’s clear Word, and then we trust
His providence in the gifts, opportunities, and desires He gives us.
Shepherds of the Sheep (Continuing Adventures of Jesus #37)
August 18, 2024 • Toby Sumpter • Acts 20:17–38
Since the beginning, the church has been led by qualified men called “elders.” This was the case in Ephesus and in all the churches (Tit. 1:5). These men are called to shepherd the flock of God by feeding it and guarding it by the entire Word of God.
Christ & The Idols (The Continuing Adventures of Jesus #35)
July 28, 2024 • Toby Sumpter • Acts 19:35–41
The gospel collides with all idolatry, whether external shrines or internal obsessions. But idols can be sneaky and even warnings about idolatry can weaponized and misused to steer unthinking Christians. Is it idolatry to love your work, your family, your church, your nation, your ethnicity? The answer is “no,” so long as “love” is defined biblically, so long as your love is obedient to God. Idolatry is disobedient love. And obedient love is at war with every disobedient love.
Jesus in Corinth (The Continuing Adventures of Jesus #32)
June 23, 2024 • Toby Sumpter • Acts 18:1–17
Here is the record of the challenges Paul faced planting the Corinthian church to which Paul wrote at least two letters which now make up the New Testament. This also appears to be one of the longer stints Paul spent in his mission, and given what we read here and in First and Second Corinthians, it appears that it was particularly difficult. Yet, at the center of this text is the Lord Jesus assuring Paul that He is with him, protecting him, and taking dominion. That same Risen Jesus is still with us today.
The Conquering Word (The Continuing Adventures of Jesus #34)
July 7, 2024 • Toby Sumpter • Acts 19:1–20
Paul begins his third missionary journey in Ephesus, and the Lord confirms His presence with Paul through extraordinary signs, causing the Word of God to overcome all opposition. It was true then, and it is true today. The sword of the Spirit is the Word of God. Whatever you face, whatever you need, Scripture is your light, your power, your peace, your wisdom.
Knowing God (The Continuing Adventures of Jesus #31)
June 16, 2024 • Toby Sumpter • Acts 17:24–34
All religion tends to fall into one of two ditches: imagining an immanent god(s) embedded in the universe and nature or else an utterly transcendent god who is impersonal and ultimately unknowable. Greek philosophy and religion had lurched from the old immanent gods to transcendent principles. But the Bible declares the true God who is outside of creation, and who has freely revealed Himself in His Word and through Creation and in His Son. The true God is utterly distinct from all of creation, and yet He has made Himself known so that we might truly know Him and walk with Him. This is what Jesus is talking about when He says that He is the Good Shepherd (Jn. 10:11-16).
The Mighty Word (The Continuing Adventures of Jesus #33)
June 30, 2024 • Toby Sumpter • Acts 18:18–28
While Paul takes a brief sabbatical to visit and encourage a number of the churches, the Word is going forth mightily in public through a man named Apollos and in private through a refugee missionary couple. This is how Christ rules the nations: through His living and active Word.
Anxiety and Idols (The Continuing Adventures of Jesus #30)
May 26, 2024 • Toby Sumpter • Acts 17:16–23
Human beings are inherently religious. We are homo adorans – worshiping man. We will either worship the Creator or some part of creation. Basing your life on some part of creation (reason, experience, science, health, pleasure) ultimately results in despair, anger, and anxiety because all of them are ultimately dependent on you and self-esteem, self-awareness, self-determination, and self-care are a backpack of bricks too heavy to bear. The weight of “self” is too heavy for any of us to carry.
Paul saw this phenomenon in Athens, and our culture is currently at “crush depth” with these mantras. But the gospel is that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, came to carry us, and He is risen from the dead.
Nobility and Envy (The Continuing Adventures of Jesus #29)
May 19, 2024 • Toby Sumpter • Acts 17:1–15
After the Fall, there are really only two kinds of community in the world: the fellowship of nobility and the fellowship of envy. Cain envied his brother, murdered him, and was exiled and built a city; Seth was the father of noble generations who found grace in the eyes of the Lord. The word “noble” literally means “good generation” (high-born). Envy is the gangrene of bitter zeal. It is murderously destructive, while claiming to be concerned about truth and justice. Paul and Silas found examples of both nobility and envy in Thessalonica and Berea.
Real Roman Trouble (The Continuing Adventures of Jesus #28)
May 12, 2024 • Toby Sumpter • Acts 16:16–40
In 42 B.C. in the fields of Philippi in Macedonia, Greece, the armies of Brutus and Cassius collided with the armies of Mark Anthony and Octavian, and the latter soundly defeated the former. Octavian would become the emperor of the Roman Empire, taking the name Caesar Augustus and eventually lavish a great deal of prominence on the colony of Philippi as the site of that historic battle.
Around 80 years later, in that same city, Paul and Silas began proclaiming the reign of another King, the Lord Jesus Christ, and a new way of being Roman. And as is the case wherever this gospel goes, it caused trouble – trouble that sets prisoners free.
