Podcast appearances and mentions of Brooklyn Tabernacle

You can love the Lord with all your heart and still make a complete mess of your life from a lack of wisdom.

Ever loved someone deeply but realized that he or she just didn't love you back? God has.

It's easy to get caught up in the resources our churches provide—a talented choirs, stunning buildings, and powerful messages. But a critical question remains: is the presence of the Holy Spirit actually there? No resource can cure the hopelessness we feel. Only the healing power of Jesus can.

Sometimes when we're far from home, we feel homesick. Maybe that feeling goes a lot deeper than we think, and it's because we are far from the Lord. Next time we feel homesick, let's check on how close we've been to God. Be encouraged—He is always near.

Sometimes when we face unexpected losses or uncertainty in our lives, we tend to lose assurance of God's provision. Yet by trusting the Lord, staying intimate with Him, and maintaining momentum to seek Him while enduring the trial, His powerful influence over our lives becomes greater than our circumstances. Let's humbly ask the Lord to intercede, believing that He will.

It can be hard to change when we have old habits, traditions, and desires in the way? It is like a building; reconstruction is difficult with existing clutter, rather than starting from a clean foundation. God cleanses us of the rubble so He can build within us.

Sometimes after serving the Lord for many years, we begin to feel like we can make it without fully depending on Him. This can lead us to make decisions without first seeking God. But our Heavenly Father has a purpose and direction for every area of our lives. If we truly want to walk in His will, we must continually be led by Him.

Way too often we allow tough circumstances to steal our peace. But the first step toward hope is being honest with God about what we're going through. Our circumstances may not change, but when we turn our eyes to God, hope enters.

The devotional centers on the vital connection between worship and prayer, emphasizing that true worship is inseparable from a life of persistent, heartfelt prayer. Drawing from Scripture, particularly Deuteronomy and the concept of God's house as a house of prayer, it challenges the church to move beyond ritualistic practices and cultivate a deep, personal prayer life rooted in obedience, Scripture, and divine encounter. The speaker reflects on personal shortcomings in prioritizing prayer, shares transformative insights from a video series on prayer, and highlights the power of communal prayer through real-life testimonies, including the impactful prayer meetings at the Brooklyn Tabernacle. Ultimately, the message calls believers to develop a personal burden for prayer, foster intentional prayer disciplines, and establish church-wide prayer ministries that are authentic and contextually grounded, urging a revival of prayer as the heartbeat of Christian life and mission.

When we're desperate and in trouble, let us pray. God understands our tears, even when we don't have the words. Like Hannah, who poured out her soul to the Lord for a son, let's come to God rather than letting our troubles build up inside us.

Each one of us has failed God—we have shortcomings that make it hard for us to even imagine being used by Him. The good news is that God can use anyone! Whether we have physical hindrances or spiritual scars, God will work mightily through us if we're willing. Above all circumstances, God is in control. Are we trusting Him today?

Who among us hasn't faced trials? What we see as pain and sorrow could be the very thing God uses in our lives to help someone else! We gain a spiritual “eye of the tiger”—we can see the struggles in others that no one else sees, and we can tell them how God brought us through it. Our battles can either be our undoing or our greatest strengths. Let's allow the Lord to use our testimonies to His glory.

When we go to the doctor, the first things they check are our vitals—heart rate, blood pressure, temperature. What we don't often think about are our spiritual vital signs. Just like our physical health, if our spiritual vitals start declining, we're in trouble! We must ask God to search our hearts and reveal to us what needs to change so that we can grow in relationship with Him.

Whether it's pastoring or parenting, cleaning or leading music, everything God calls us to do is worship. We are called to do it all for His glory! There's no need for us to live under the pressure of trying to juggle everything perfectly, since the Holy Spirit gives us the ability we need to serve God. Let's submit to the Lord's will and guidance today as we do all things unto Jesus our Savior.

Isn't it funny how children will remember anything we promise them? We might forget, but they certainly won't! God Almighty has never forgotten us or His promises to us. Still, He loves it when we remind Him of them! When we release control of whatever we're facing and remind the Lord of His promises, it forces us to remember that we don't have to fight alone—God has already won!

Do we have any spiritual goals? Or are we content with Sunday attendance while we wait for Jesus to return? In his letter to the Philippians, the apostle Paul shares his own spiritual goal: to know Jesus more deeply. In his desire to know Christ, he was even willing to suffer greatly. Let's evaluate our walk with the Lord—are we pursuing Jesus more every day?

Jesus is alive, and He's with us today! He sees everything we go through—all the heartaches, rejections, worries, and trials. Jesus wants to walk next to us through life. He is never far away! In fact, when we get saved, the Holy Spirit indwells our hearts. He gives us understanding of God's Word so we can deepen our relationships with Jesus. Let's ask Him for understanding and fellowship today!

Christians face temptation. Jealousy, fear, lust, pride, and all kinds of sins tempt us every day. But even when we want to overcome, we are weak. How do we get victory? Not by just going to church, then we likely will fail. We need to read our Bibles. We need to pray. The only way to beat temptation is to spend time with Jesus—seeking Him, praying often. Let's ask God to help us do that today.

Some say that the religious leaders put Jesus on the cross. Others say it was Judas or Pilate. Really, it was us—our sins, greed, and jealousy put Jesus on that cross. He chose to take on the curse and punishment for every single one of us! What would change if we started thinking of His sacrifice for us that way? Let's thank God today for His love and mercy, and share that joy with others.

Our circumstances can often make us anxious, depressed, moody, or ungrateful. But here's a secret: we can be content instead. How? By realizing that we can't change the storms of our daily lives. But God can lift us up to where we won't be affected by them anymore. We must ask the Holy Spirit to fill us with contentment so that we can rise above our circumstances and glorify the Lord.

Many of us have settled for spiritual isolation. We're comfortable just being churchgoers. Or maybe we even get all our spiritual material from the Internet. But God created us for community! When we isolate ourselves from other believers, we become vulnerable to spiritual discouragement. Today let's pray that the Holy Spirit will fill us with His love and help us to step into our church communities.

People around us are watching—how we react in seasons of plenty and in seasons of want. Do we obey God in every circumstance? He is glorified when we obey His Word. We are told to rejoice in the Lord always, to pray without ceasing, and to love one another. When we are obedient to God, He gives us everything we need. Let's obey our Father and rejoice in the gifts of each new day.

We don't start our days praying to wooden statues—but we Christians still have idols. Some people idolize their homes, others their relationships. Many of us are consumed by the idol of money. Anything that comes between us and Jesus is an idol. What miserable lives we lead when we try to worship God and idols at the same time! Let's rededicate our lives to Jesus today and serve Him only.

When we feel anxious, depressed, and scared, those feelings aren't from God. No, the Holy Spirit fills us with power, love, and self-discipline. That's why the Bible tells us to be continually filled with the Spirit. Imagine how much stronger our daily prayer and Bible study times would be if we were led by the discipline of the Holy Spirit! Let's be Spirit-filled and Spirit-led today.

Shouldn't we want what the Lord has for us? Some of us are so stuck on checking off the box of going to church that we ignore the power of the Holy Spirit. Everything comes from the Spirit—He gives us boldness, discernment, and understanding. Let's see lives radically changed as we ask God to fill our hearts and minds with the power of the Holy Spirit!

If you're on the brink of making a big decision, don't miss this warning—listen for God's guidance and talk it through with trustworthy advisors! The Bible is full of examples of godly people taking bad advice and making poor decisions. We must humble ourselves and seek the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Without it, we'll self-destruct!

Do you need solutions? Help? Strength? Instead of trying to fix things, enter into God's rest. God's rest is more than a vacation. It's a state of blessing and calm that makes us trust in our salvation and live in expectation. It makes us both peaceful and aggressively hopeful! No matter the responsibility or the burden we carry, God exhorts us: “Make every effort to enter My rest.” Let's return to our rest today.

What do you truly and deeply need God to do for you? Whether it's a personal breakthrough, the spiritual return of a loved one, or some other miracle, pray for it! Jesus Christ is bigger than any problems we face in this life. Nobody is exempt from trouble, but praise the Lord, we can take it all to the only One who can bring us through anything!

We didn't ask Jesus to go to the cross for us—He always acts first. The Lord meets us wherever we are, and He has divine compassion on us. He knows when we're spiritually lukewarm or cold, and He knows everything that tries and tempts us. Yet our wonderful God is always waiting for us to simply turn back to Him. His mercy covers us every day! Let's run toward His compassion today.

When was the last time you saw God's grace around you? A great plague in churches today is Christians not purposefully looking for that grace. Life gets hard, and we only look at our circumstances—and miss out on the blessings surrounding us! God is not hiding the truth or His goodness from us. We just have to ask the Holy Spirit to reveal the truth of God's Word to us, and He will bring renew our spirits!

God is not dead! How often do we consider that the God we pray to and worship is alive? If He were dead, He couldn't hear us, speak to us, or answer prayers. But every single day, God Almighty hears and answers us! It's amazing how our outlooks change when we lean into that truth. Let's pray to God today and know that He's living and listening.

How can we expect God to change our lives if we don't tell Him what we need? The act of pouring out our hearts—laying every thought, feeling, fear, and expectation at Jesus' feet—is what deepens our relationship with Him. We can tell the Creator of the universe how we feel at any given moment, and He cares! Let's take advantage of that wonderful privilege today!

Life can be hard—but that doesn't mean that God has forgotten or left us. When troubles and negative circumstances cause storms in our lives, we shouldn't panic, like the disciples did when their boat was tossed by wind and waves. Instead, we need to focus on Jesus, who is walking toward us above the very storm we're afraid of! He will be faithful to see us through.

We've heard it before, but it still rings true—don't stop praying! Imagine the prayers we've given up on as dusty boxes in our minds. Let's shake off the dust and pray some more! Our answered prayers are no longer dusty old boxes—they're our trophies of God's grace. The Lord hasn't forgotten about us, nor has He left us. Let's rejoice in that truth and revive our prayer lives!

I think the world of Alvin and the road he's traveled. I hope that the next hour is as life-giving to you as it was to me.

Many of us struggle with anxiety—we're preoccupied with wondering if and how things will work out. But God didn't design us to live this way. When Jesus sacrificed Himself on the cross, He took the weight of the world onto His shoulders. We can have peace because God has a plan. Peace is His presence in our lives—we have the holy Answer to anxiety within us already!

Many of us equate God's mercy with how much “good” we do for Him. But in reality, there's nothing we can do to earn God's love and mercy, because Jesus already paid for them by His death on the cross! Jesus taught that it's not the person who keeps all the rules who wins God's favor. Instead, it's the one who is poor in spirit. Let's go low and see God pour out His blessing on us.

Fire doesn't need advertising—everyone can tell where it is. In our daily spiritual battles, we should seek the fire of the Holy Spirit! When the Holy Spirit illuminates to us what the Word of God says, it's as if a holy fire erupts in our souls. And fires spread, right? Let's ask the Lord today to fill us afresh with His Spirit so His fire will spread light wherever we go.

We need to wake up—spiritually! Sleep is a need for our physical bodies, but if we fall asleep spiritually, we're in danger. The cares of the world can make us lethargic toward eternal realities. We must wake up and see that the world around us is full of lost and dying people! It's not time to sleep; it's time for us to share the gospel.

Ring in the New Year with a powerful evening of worship led by the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir and an encouraging word from Pastor Jim Cymbala! Let's start the year by celebrating God's goodness to us.

How many people in your life think of you as a blessing? In the Bible, God blessed Abraham so that Abraham would be a blessing to others. It's the same with us. God doesn't bless us just to make us happy. He blesses us so we can let His goodness flow through us to touch other people. Our actions are an advertisement of God to those around us. Let's not hold God's blessings tightly. Let's bless others and make the idea of God attractive to them.

When was the last time we prayed for missionaries? Places like South Sudan are in desperate need of the news of salvation. Missionary Ray Noah shares stories from the mission field and encouragement for us all from the great commission. Jesus goes with us when we go out with the gospel. We are given power from Him! If He is with us and empowering us, why would we ever hold back from sharing?

Everyone is a candidate for salvation through Jesus Christ! Doctor John Easter shares incredible stories from the mission field that remind us of our holy calling—to tell others about the love of Jesus. We may not all be called to foreign countries, but we can be missionaries in our neighborhoods, workplaces, and families. Wherever God has placed us, we have the capacity to tell people about salvation!

Today, on Karl and Crew, we continued our weekly theme of “Five Christmas Promises.” We discussed how God gives us light in the darkness. We then had Jim Cymbala join us to encourage us to give God what we have today. Jim has been a Senior Pastor of The Brooklyn Tabernacle in New York for more than 50 years. He is also the author of several books, including “Jesus Every Day: A 100-Day Devotional.” We also had Dr. Sam Storms join us to discuss how God’s light is more powerful than the darkness amid conflict. Dr. Storms is the Founder and President of Enjoying God Ministries and serves on the board of the Gospel Coalition. He is also the Executive Director of the Convergence Church Network. We also used the phone lines to hear freedom stories from our listeners. You can listen to the highlights of today's program on the Karl and Crew Showcast. If you're looking to listen to a particular segment from the show, look at the following time stamps: Jim Cymbala Interview [03:11] Dr. Sam Storms Interview [17:23] Call Segment [34:20] Karl and Crew airs live weekday mornings from 5-9 a.m. Central Time. Click this link for ways to listen in your area! https://www.moodyradio.org/ways-to-listen/Donate to Moody Radio: http://moodyradio.org/donateto/morningshowSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

People can be very aggravating. It is only by the Holy Spirit working within us that we can avoid lashing out at others sometimes! Our lives are testimonies of the Lord—we'd better handle things well. The Bible says that it is to our glory to overlook an offense. We Christians don't pray for patience often enough. Let's pray for patience from the Holy Spirit so that we can glorify God when altercations arise.