Brooklyn Tabernacle - Audio Sermons Feed

Are we supposed to understand everything in the Bible? It’s important that we learn to be content with not understanding all the mysteries of Scripture. God doesn’t tell us everything we want to know—He tells us everything we need to know. Praise God that we don’t have to be scholarly theologians to read His Word!

How many of us are conscious every morning that the Holy Spirit wants to walk through the day with us? When Paul wrote, “The fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all” (2 Corinthians 13:13), he wanted us to understand that the Holy Spirit has a personality. The Spirit wants to help and empower us today—and fill us with His peace.

We all love to be right. We argue and fight cultural and religious wars. But we must be aware of the hypocrisy and appearances all around us. The Bible shows us what living for Jesus really looks like. He's not a religious leader or a social-media sensation. Jesus has to be King of our hearts.

Many of us feel we have too much on our plates and too little time or resources. But we should give our needs to Jesus and be thankful for what we do have. Today let’s put everything in the hands of Jesus and watch Him do amazing things!

Do we believe that God is capable of doing the impossible? We often put Him in a box and expect Him to act in certain ways. But we shouldn’t picture in our minds what we want God to do. Instead we should say “Come, Jesus, come.” Let’s welcome the Lord into our lives today and see what He will do.

Not many of us have been thrown into prison under a ruthless and violent king just for being Christians. But Paul was in that position. Even then, he was content. He actually wrote about peace and strength from a cell! We could learn a lot about contentment from him. Instead of focusing on our circumstances, let’s focus on the living God who dwells in and with us!

How often we give up on our prayers when we don't get the immediate answer we want. But the Lord loves persistent faith and prayer! The Bible tells us to keep asking and seeking. May we continually bring our prayers to Him.

God lives within us. Why? Because we need Him to rule our hearts every day, 24/7, 365. Our words and actions can be evil if we do not let Jesus be King of our hearts. Let’s ask the Lord to work in our lives today.

We all face needs that feel impossible to solve—finances, illnesses, heartbreaks. But with God nothing is impossible! The book of Esther is one big account of God proving that. Esther was up against an evil hatred. But because she trusted and obeyed God, her life and the lives of all her people were spared. Let’s all reject hate and embrace prayer today.

Most of us have heard about traditionally unclean foods. But what does God say about them? Are we supposed to follow the Old Testament food laws? Not according to Jesus. If we want to know what God is like, we should look at the face of Jesus—not at a law, a preacher, a leader, or an influencer. We can live a life that pleases God once we focus on Him.

“Religion” can be an intimidating word. Many of us associate religion with rules, traditions, and unmeetable standards. But when Jesus saw people holding tightly to religious traditions—He said they invalidated God’s commands! Let’s focus more on obeying God and less on the expectations of others.

The traditions of religion can be overwhelming—or even hurtful. We get so caught up in practices that we neglect what’s really important: our hearts. Instead of trying to keep all the traditions, what if we just focused on the Lord today? Let’s ask Him to give us tender hearts toward Him.

Election day can stir up many emotions within us—anger, resentment, fear. God has given us emotions, but He doesn’t want us to sin in our anger. If we make sure Jesus is in total control of our hearts, we can always rest in His peace.

How often do we reach out to Jesus? People in the Bible did everything they could to get to Him—even just to touch His clothes. The faith in that action was enough to heal them. What happened to those who wouldn’t go the extra few steps? We don’t know if they got healing or not. Let’s learn from those who were filled with faith. Let’s get to Jesus.

What are you struggling with today? Jesus sees you. He knows what you are going through, and He wants to help. The problems we face—even the trials that make us feel like we’re drowning—bring Jesus to us. All we have to do is let Him in. Jesus is faithful. Let’s seek His help today.

The world lacks true peace and joy. Many of us spend hours on our phones trying to fill the emptiness. But we don’t need distractions. We need Jesus. He offers us never ending peace and joy—for free! All we have to do is acknowledge His authority and live for Him. Jesus breaks chains, frees captives, and heals the brokenhearted. Let’s accept His peace and joy today.

Have you ever wondered why Jesus prayed so much? Isn’t He the Son of God? Why would He need prayer? Because He wanted to spend time with God the Father. Jesus was busier on earth than we’ll ever be. But He made time. We have full schedules, but we can find time to be with God. Let’s pray and spend time with our Father today.

People look for satisfaction in all kinds of places—a vacation in Bermuda, material things, a great time with friends. But after we enjoy these things, we’re still hungry. What we need is Jesus. He is the way, the truth, and the life. When Jesus feeds us, we’re satisfied.

The account of five loaves and two fish feeding five thousand people is so special. That bread and fish was enough to feed everyone—and it came about because the disciples put what they had in the hands of the Lord Jesus Christ. We should do that too. We might think that we have nothing, but what we have is enough if the Lord has it in His hands.

Do you have to be special for God to work through you? No, He can use anyone at any moment! One way He does that is through the gifts of the Holy Spirit. We don’t have to try being people we’re not. We can just be ordinary. God is not looking for ability—He is looking for availability. Let’s be available for the Spirit to fill us and for God to use us.

Jesus is our good shepherd. He keeps us safe; He sees our needs; He welcomes us back if we stray. But we see people every day who are hurting and spiritually hungry, and worldly things will never fill their spiritual void. It’s up to us to point them to the good shepherd—the only One who can meet their needs.

Life gets overwhelming sometimes. We have schedules to keep and bills to pay. But we can get so caught up in work that we forget that the Bible tells us to rest. God has given us this gift so we don’t burn out. Let’s make time to rest in the Lord today as we work for Him.

Many of us have hurtful family stories. The sons of King David were hurt too—and they became bitter. But unforgiveness can destroy lives. Roots of bitterness in our hearts will cause us to make choices we never imagined we would. There is no room in the Christian heart for bitterness. We must call on God today to help us forgive others!

None of us wants to keep living in sin. But we can’t solve the problem by ourselves. The good thing is, God is so wonderful and loving that He didn’t just save us and forgive us—He also promises to work in us as believers. God will replace all that is negative and hurtful with goodness and healing if we allow Him. Will you let Him do that today?

The ultimate deception is going by the feeling of truth. Faith is not about feeling. Let us not be like King Herod, who felt a stirring in his spirit but didn’t change anything. May we act on our faith in Jesus Christ our Savior!

How do you feel when you get corrected? Herod certainly didn’t feel too happy about it when John the Baptist told him he was wrong. Instead, he blamed John and put him in prison. We too often try to find something wrong with the person correcting us, even when they’re right. Let’s be open to God warning us when something’s wrong in our lives.

Nobody wants to be told that they’re wrong. It’s not a very popular message! John the Baptist saw that firsthand. But we are called to speak the truth with love. If we love others, we should want to tell them the truth of the gospel! Let’s do it today.

We could change the world—if we would lean into the power of prayer like Paul did. When he was in prison, he wasn’t worried about how matters would work out. He knew that the Holy Spirit was helping him and that people were praying for him, so everything would be okay. What faith! Let’s start praying and trusting the Spirit today.

The disciples “went out and preached that people should repent” (Mark 6:12). But they didn’t yet understand the full message of the gospel—that repentance must be followed by believing in Jesus. Salvation isn’t just repentance, and it isn’t just believing. It’s both. Let’s repent of our sin and believe in Jesus to save us from sin today.

Nobody leaves behind his wallet, suitcase, and snacks before a trip. But that’s exactly what Jesus told His disciples to do! He gave them everything they needed, including spiritual authority. When we follow Jesus’ instructions, we are examples of His power.

We often hide what’s going on inside. We put on masks and act the part. But God sees what’s inside us. He is the Father of mercy and comfort—He wants to help us! Even now we can take what we are facing and let Him fix it. Let’s receive comfort from God and show it to others too.

Sometimes don’t see how God could solve our problems, so we say, “He can’t do it.” That’s what the people of Jesus’ hometown did. They were actually offended by the Lord’s homecoming because they doubted His ability and authority. But Jesus wants us to have faith like children. Let’s believe that He can do what He says He will.

We all have little problems piling up that bring us stress. Yet how often do we take them to God? Jesus cared enough about the little things to get food for a girl He had just brought back to life. Even our biggest problems are small to God. He can take care of our needs if we let Him.

Anytime we want to get involved in the work of the Lord, we will be attacked. That’s what happened to Nehemiah when he tried to rebuild the temple. He was opposed and mocked at every turn. But he knew what to do: “Don’t be afraid!” he told the people. “Remember the Lord, and fight!” God says the same thing to us today. Let’s be strong in the Lord and stay in the fight.

Do you think Jesus has favorites? Of course He loves everybody, but He often brought three specific disciples into His confidence, like he did when he healed Jairus’s daughter. If we’re going to grow in the Lord, we need to surround ourselves with friends of like spirit who will encourage us in our faith.

We all face circumstances that make us afraid. But fear is never God’s will for us. The Lord cares so much about us. He has the last word on everything! When Jairus’s little daughter was at the point of the death, Jesus told him five key words that we can implement still today: “Don’t be afraid. Only believe.”

The world is filled with so much pain, but in the midst of the pain Jesus has given us a powerful gift to sustain us and give us strength to persevere. This gift of joy also empowers us to build a great relationship with God and others, so they too will experience the gift of overflowing Joy in knowing Jesus can and will help them live a life of joy-filled faith.

Faith is nothing more than taking what’s offered to us. One woman in the Bible was incredibly ill, but she had so much faith in Jesus that she was healed just by touching the hem of His garment. What are you facing today? Take it to Jesus in prayer, and trust that the Lord will give you what you need.

Some of us aren’t sure if Jesus can really heal. Others of us might be afraid to bother Him. But Jesus wants us all to come to Him. Through the faith-filled actions of a religious leader and a chronically ill woman, we see how God honors every kind of faith—even when it isn’t perfect. May we have the bold faith to touch Jesus and let Him touch us.

We don’t have to be theologians to tell someone our testimonies. When Jesus freed a man from demon possession, He told him to stay home and tell everyone his story. Our testimonies are irrefutable! No one can say, “I don’t see it that way.” Let’s tell somebody today what Jesus has done for us.

Sometimes, we all need a breakthrough in our lives. Jacob found blessing and breakthrough by wrestling with God. But as Christians, we don’t have to wrestle with the Lord. He has made His home in our hearts! Today let’s surrender to God and be blessed.

If you saw a maniac become calm and sane, wouldn’t you want to follow the One who had healed him? But the crowds who witnessed that very miracle chose to run Jesus out of town. When people turn their backs on Jesus and say, “Get out,” He leaves. But wherever we invite Jesus, He will come. Let’s invite Jesus into our lives today.

Jesus is the answer to any problem we face. He overcomes every kind of evil—hate, racism, loneliness. As we see in the story of the demon-possessed man in Mark 5, no human force can restrain sin. Praise God, Jesus can break the power of sin!

God understands what we are going through. Because of Jesus’ sacrifice, we can take any issue we have to a God who is empathetic. He has what we need to face any struggles—He just asks that we take our problems to Him. Let’s trust in something bigger than ourselves to take care of our needs.

Nobody says, “Let’s build a nice condo in the graveyard! I love to be near those tombs.” But that’s where a man Jesus met lived—driven away from social intercourse, from people, from love. Satan tries to isolate us too. “No one likes you at that church.” “That church is a joke.” But God says, “Don’t stop meeting together.” Thank God for the body of Christ.

In the midst of a terrible storm, the disciples panicked. But when they awakened Jesus, He said, “Why don’t you have any faith?” When Jesus tells us that we’re going to the other side of the lake, we are going to get to there. How encouraging that is! We will make it until Jesus comes again, as long as He’s in the boat with us.

Too often our Bible reading is looking for verses to back up what we already believe. But just as Jesus taught the disciples privately what His parables meant, so we need to ask the Spirit of Jesus, “Open my heart. Teach me what Your Word means.” We all understand in part. Let’s take time to search the Word and let the Holy Spirit teach us.

We all face things in our lives that feel impossible to overcome. However, big faith solves big problems. The Bible tells us that the Lord will increase our faith when we spend time with Him. May we start growing in faith today by taking our problems to Jesus and believing He will help us.

When we sow the seed of the gospel, the results might look insignificant. But look what the Christian church has grown into since Jesus planted the gospel in people’s hearts! Lives by the millions have been changed. Thank God for the church of Jesus Christ. Let’s enjoy its fellowship this week, and let’s continuing sowing the seed of the good news.

If a farmer sowed his seed but then dug it up after two weeks because nothing was coming up, he would ruin it. When we sow the seed of the gospel, we water it with prayer. God shines on it by His power. Then, mysteriously, the seed starts growing. Who are you praying for today? Don’t quit! The seed is germinating within hearts. Soon we’re going to see a harvest.