Gospel Spice | Awaken Delight in God through faith in Jesus Christ

A SPECIAL MESSAGE FROM STEPHANIE:I want to share a special invitation with you. You may have heard that I will be releasing my first book with IVP on July 28, 2026. It’s a big deal and I am so overwhelmed with God’ goodness in allowing me to share such an essential message about delighting in Him as the true essential foundation for all our spiritual growth and maturing. Truly, when we delight in the Lord, He promises to give us the desires of our hearts – namely, more of Himself!So, here's the invitation. If you feel this message is indeed important, and you know people – including yourself perhaps – who need to be encouraged to awaken and cultivate their delight in God, would you consider joining my book launch team? It’s a great and super easy way to share the good news of God's love for us in Christ, Jesus, our Lord.**If you’re interested, please go to gospelspice.com/awakendelight and find the section about joining the launch team, or email me at [email protected] **Together, let’s encourage everyone we know with the wonderful news that, in Christ, God delights in us and invites us to delight in Him!Nicky and Pippa Gumbel are among the most influential leaders of the church today, on a global scale. They have a unique vantage point on the state of the world, and the challenges facing our generation as believers. At the same time, they are humble and unassuming, so approachable and genuinely kind, that they would love to share a cup of tea with you if they met you. This rare balance is deeply attractive, and the fruit of a lifetime of dependence on the Holy Spirit. Stephanie and her husband Jonah have the deepest respect for them, and find themselves blessed to get to learn from them. When they lived in the UK with their pre-teen kids, they attended the church where the Gumbels were pastoring, Holy Trinity Brompton in South Kensington, London. One of the fastest growing churches in the UK, HTB is a multi-site church that the Gumbels only recently retired from.Stephanie welcomes them on the show today, and she is ready with a lot of questions! They talk about the state of the universal church of Christ today in the world, from their perspective – including a word of encouragement for the new generation and the red flags they are noticing in the culture. They share where they think the power of influence is shifting, and how we can depend on Christ to guide us in the challenges ahead. Their passion for defining the line between Scripture and culture leads to some great advice on what it looks like for our generation. Nicky shares one thing he regrets, and Pippa shares about the power of revival and trusting God’s sovereignty through life.Having been married 45 years, Pippa and Nicky share wisdom and insights into the makings of a marriage that holds the distance to the glory of God. Their dependence on the Holy Spirit is palpable, and deeply attractive.They tell us about the Alpha Course, the global phenomenon that invites spiritual seekers to embrace faith through conversations and personal connections. If you do not know the Alpha Course, Stephanie warmly invites you to discover it and to try it out. In this Easter season, it is the perfect time to invite your seeking friends to attend. Join them for a life-changing experience of faith!Pippa and Nicky share with us how they are running their race with perseverance, through the hardships and the good times, and pray for us at the end of our time together. You WANT to receive this prayer for yourself, so make sure to tune in!DISCOVER THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR APP: https://bibleinoneyear.org/en/The Bible in One Year is a daily Bible reading plan which takes you through the whole Bible in 365 days. It is ideal for anyone who is looking for an easy and accessible way to read and understand the Bible.Each day includes passages from a Psalm or Proverb, the New Testament and the Old Testament along with a daily commentary from Nicky and Pippa Gumbel, leaders of Holy Trinity Brompton (HTB) Church in London and pioneers of Alpha. The Bible in One Year will encourage you to engage more closely with the Bible, to apply its teachings to everyday life and to grow in your relationship with Jesus.You can follow along by reading the text or listening to the audio commentary and you can choose the version that best suits your lifestyle; the Classic version (25 minutes), or a shorter Express or Youth version (both around 15 minutes).Over 4.5 million people from 160 countries have experienced Bible in One Year. Why not join them, find your own rhythm and draw closer to God.Nicky Gumbel is the pioneer of Alpha and Vicar of Holy Trinity Brompton in London, which he leads with his wife Pippa. Together, they introduced the Bible in One Year commentary in 2009 as a daily email for their congregation. Since then, it has become a successful app, book, podcast and website with a global following. Join them today as they take you through every chapter and verse of the Bible, shar

A SPECIAL MESSAGE FROM STEPHANIE:I want to share a special invitation with you. You may have heard that I will be releasing my first book with IVP on July 28, 2026. It’s a big deal and I am so overwhelmed with God’ goodness in allowing me to share such an essential message about delighting in Him as the true essential foundation for all our spiritual growth and maturing. Truly, when we delight in the Lord, He promises to give us the desires of our hearts – namely, more of Himself!So, here's the invitation. If you feel this message is indeed important, and you know people – including yourself perhaps – who need to be encouraged to awaken and cultivate their delight in God, would you consider joining my book launch team? It’s a great and super easy way to share the good news of God's love for us in Christ, Jesus, our Lord.**If you’re interested, please go to gospelspice.com/awakendelight and find the section about joining the launch team, or email me at [email protected] **Together, let’s encourage everyone we know with the wonderful news that, in Christ, God delights in us and invites us to delight in Him! Stephanie invites us to enter the last week of Jesus' earthly life. We will take a long, slow look at the events that precede the Cross and the Resurrection. On the menu here at Gospel Spice today, the first-century Jewish custom of betrothal! And, more specifically, how Jesus shouted loud and clear that He is the Bridegroom come the fetch His bride, the church... Matthew makes abundant use of non-spoken cultural clues to deliver this message clearly to his audience. But wait, we don't even really know what betrothal is anymore. And who knows what the ceremony entailed in first-century Israel? Well, you might actually know more than you think! It will remind you of many familiar passages taught by Jesus... who knew we knew so much!?! 🙂Stephanie opens the first-century Jewish custom of betrothal to our 21st century western minds. We focus on the betrothal ceremony's elements--the proposal, the bride-price, and the drinking of the cup as covenantal agreement. We follow the bride-to-be as she took up to twelve months to prepare and adorn herself in every way--physical, and spiritual. We follow the groom-to-be in his various endeavors to prepare their future life together. And then, the big day finally came--the wedding celebration could start! Jesus drew one parallel after another to help us understand He is the Groom come for His bride, the church universal. Find out what 2,000 years of western history made us forget!This episode is a bonus episode to accompany Episode 195 which aired jsut previously. Make sure to listen! If you enjoyed this episode, you may appreciate Season 1 of Gospel Spice which aired in 2019 and 2020. Check out episodes 1 to 50!THERE ARE SEVERAL WAYS TO PARTNER WITH GOSPEL SPICE TODAY!First, PAY Gospel Spice Forward: Give a tax-deductible gift so others can experience our ministry for free, just like you! You can pay it forward with any debit, credit card, or via PayPal. See below for more details about your impact.Also, PLAY Gospel Spice Forward: SHARE the podcast and the studies with your friends and family. FOLLOW, RATE & REVIEW on your favorite podcast app (leave a comment + a star rating on Apple Podcast, Spotify, Pandora, IHeart, Google Podcast, etc…). It REALLY is the best way to help others find this content-rich podcast. And, last but not least, PRAY Gospel Spice Forward: We pray for you weekly. We covet your prayers for our ministry, the thousands we reach, and our team! Contact us to let us know you are praying for us!NEW!Another way to partner with us is to purchase our workbooks and online Bible studies. We keep them at the lowest possible cost, but they require a lot of work from us! For example, - a complete Bible Study requires an average of 500 man-hours. - a workbook for a series requires almost 100 man-hours.MORE ABOUT PARTNERING WITH US FINANCIALLY:Gospel Spice Ministries is a non-profit organization registered under the tax-exempt 501c3 status.Our goal is to provide in-depth, high-quality, free Bible resources for all. They are free, but expensive to create! We need your financial support to keep producing and distributing them. Please pay Gospel Spice forward today! For example, a podcast episode takes close to 10 hours of work (and we release 2 each week). They come to you completely free, but we would truly love your support.We want the money to go to those who really need it. Once our operating costs are paid, 100% of your donation is redistributed to our partners who fight human trafficking. Each year, we aim to give as much as we can. For example, Stephanie works more than full time for Gospel Spice, entirely for free. All board members and volunteers are donating time. We limit our operational expenses to the bare minimum.Your pay-it-forward donations are tax-deductible under IRS Section 170.We want to be the best possible stewards of your financia

A SPECIAL MESSAGE FROM STEPHANIE:I want to share a special invitation with you. You may have heard that I will be releasing my first book with IVP on July 28, 2026. It’s a big deal and I am so overwhelmed with God’ goodness in allowing me to share such an essential message about delighting in Him as the true essential foundation for all our spiritual growth and maturing. Truly, when we delight in the Lord, He promises to give us the desires of our hearts – namely, more of Himself!So, here's the invitation. If you feel this message is indeed important, and you know people – including yourself perhaps – who need to be encouraged to awaken and cultivate their delight in God, would you consider joining my book launch team? It’s a great and super easy way to share the good news of God's love for us in Christ, Jesus, our Lord.**If you’re interested, please go to gospelspice.com/awakendelight and find the section about joining the launch team, or email me at [email protected] **Together, let’s encourage everyone we know with the wonderful news that, in Christ, God delights in us and invites us to delight in Him!We invite you to consider Easter under a fresh light, a slightly different angle, maybe with a sprinkle of unexpected spices. Our goal today is to know Jesus more – because that is the essence of Easter. One of the best ways to experience Scripture afresh is to connect the Old and the New testaments, so today is about creating a sense of wonder and astonishment at the very event of Easter. We are entering the banquet that Joseph gave his brothers in Genesis 42-45 as the gateway to experience the Last Supper in the Upper Room – Jesus’ last meal with His disciples, and the instruction of the Communion. We will also study another key event that links the two and is linked to each of them, namely PASSOVER – that will be instituted by God through Moses as they leave Egypt.You can also view the video of this lesson on YouTube at https://youtu.be/94zE3huzJiw SUPER SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT! WE WOULD LOVE TO FEATURE YOU ON GOSPEL SPICE! For our 200th episode, Stephanie will compile a handful of stories from our beloved listeners. How has the Lord met you recently, and has Gospel Spice played a role? Email us at [email protected] today to apply! Deadline is March 25, 2023. Thank you!About our episode today... Joseph’s banquet represents the entry to Egypt, the escape from famine and death. It is a family reunion and a hopeful new start for the young Jewish nation that is summed up in the 70 family members.The last supper, taking place in the upper room on the night that Jesus was betrayed, the last night before he was killed, is a symbol of spiritual freedom. Just like Moses liberated the Jews from the physical oppression of the Egyptians, Jesus will liberate all who believe in Him from the spiritual oppression of sin and death. So Jesus is like Joseph in the sense that he provides escape from famine and death, and like Moses in the sense that he provides liberation from sin and death.The last supper is a mix of two primary events, and it is also where Jesus gives us the sacrament of communion, or the Lord’s supper. Every Jew would celebrate Passover on that night, ever since they entered the Promised Land 1500 years earlier. This particular last supper is the last Passover, really, because the true Lamb of God has finally come to do what the Passover has been pointing to all these years. So today we are connecting Joseph’s banquet to the last supper with occasional connections with Passover because Passover and last supper are intricately linked in places. We will look at the central role of Egypt, the freedom from slavery, the preparations being made around these two feasts, the guests who attend, the atmosphere around the events, the revelations made, the restoration of relationships, and the entry into a glorious future, and even the promise of hardships. We will ponder the role of cups and promises, access to Kingdoms, and the reversals of true intimacy. We will end with the glorious feast of the Lamb that awaits every one of us as followers of Christ. Happy Easter!Support us on Gospel Spice, PayPal and Venmo!

A SPECIAL MESSAGE FROM STEPHANIE:I want to share a special invitation with you. You may have heard that I will be releasing my first book with IVP on July 28, 2026. It’s a big deal and I am so overwhelmed with God’ goodness in allowing me to share such an essential message about delighting in Him as the true essential foundation for all our spiritual growth and maturing. Truly, when we delight in the Lord, He promises to give us the desires of our hearts – namely, more of Himself!So, here's the invitation. If you feel this message is indeed important, and you know people – including yourself perhaps – who need to be encouraged to awaken and cultivate their delight in God, would you consider joining my book launch team? It’s a great and super easy way to share the good news of God's love for us in Christ, Jesus, our Lord.**If you’re interested, please go to gospelspice.com/awakendelight and find the section about joining the launch team, or email me at [email protected] **Together, let’s encourage everyone we know with the wonderful news that, in Christ, God delights in us and invites us to delight in Him!We wrap our series, Pathways to God’s Presence, with an invitation to practice heaven and the presence of God in our lives today. Stephanie beckons us to ponder the seasons and moments of our lives as cycles of growth towards deeper intimacy with God. She opens for us the joy and privileges of godly stewardship of our resources – time, talent and money – as so many opportunities to implement small, incremental God-ward changes in our daily rhythms. She asks, how do we spend our time? How do we invest our God-sourced resources? Do we truly aim to live each moment in awareness of God’s presence? He is the source of all things good and beautiful and perfect and joyful. Do we live in accordance with that truth? And, since none of us fully do, how can we make growth an abiding reality?You can watch this episode on video on our YouTube channel at https://youtu.be/MMPHvXFGAUoYou are invited to enjoy a BONUS episode where Stephanie shares her favorite books as the resources she has used for this series. It is available on video only on our YouTube channel here: https://youtu.be/W6G8rvgviSY - Enjoy!Stephanie invites us into the Lord’s prayer to taste fresh flavors of humility and practical tips on how to experience the presence of God. She invites us to make our lives a continual practice for heaven as the convergence of all that we have seen through our series—all the pathways to the Presence of God converge in the place of intimacy with Him through Jesus Christ our Lord and King.Finally, we take our place around the table of the Lord’s Supper, our final moments together in the series, to embrace our life as an other-centered witness for the glory of God. Stephanie says, “I hope our times together have help you find answers to become the person God has crafted you to become, the person you know you want to be when you meet Jesus on that glorious day at the end of the path, only to discover that the path will have only just begun and that, in the words of CS Lewis I already quoted in an earlier episode: “Now at last they were beginning Chapter One of the Great Story which no one on earth has read: which goes on for ever: in which every chapter is better than the one before.”THERE ARE SEVERAL WAYS TO PARTNER WITH GOSPEL SPICE TODAY!First, PAY Gospel Spice Forward: Give a tax-deductible gift so others can experience our ministry for free, just like you! You can pay it forward with any debit, credit card, or via PayPal. See below for more details about your impact.Also, PLAY Gospel Spice Forward: SHARE the podcast and the studies with your friends and family. FOLLOW, RATE & REVIEW on your favorite podcast app (leave a comment + a star rating on Apple Podcast, Spotify, Pandora, IHeart, Google Podcast, etc…). It REALLY is the best way to help others find this content-rich podcast. And, last but not least, PRAY Gospel Spice Forward: We pray for you weekly. We covet your prayers for our ministry, the thousands we reach, and our team! Contact us to let us know you are praying for us!NEW!Another way to partner with us is to purchase our workbooks and online Bible studies. We keep them at the lowest possible cost, but they require a lot of work from us! For example, - a complete Bible Study requires an average of 500 man-hours. - a workbook for a series requires almost 100 man-hours.MORE ABOUT PARTNERING WITH US FINANCIALLY:Gospel Spice Ministries is a non-profit organization registered under the tax-exempt 501c3 status.Our goal is to provide in-depth, high-quality, free Bible resources for all. They are free, but expensive to create! We need your financial support to keep producing and distributing them. Please pay Gospel Spice forward today! For example, a podcast episode takes close to 10 hours of work (and we release 2 each week). They come to you completely free, but we would truly love your support.We want the

A SPECIAL MESSAGE FROM STEPHANIE:I want to share a special invitation with you. You may have heard that I will be releasing my first book with IVP on July 28, 2026. It’s a big deal and I am so overwhelmed with God’ goodness in allowing me to share such an essential message about delighting in Him as the true essential foundation for all our spiritual growth and maturing. Truly, when we delight in the Lord, He promises to give us the desires of our hearts – namely, more of Himself!So, here's the invitation. If you feel this message is indeed important, and you know people – including yourself perhaps – who need to be encouraged to awaken and cultivate their delight in God, would you consider joining my book launch team? It’s a great and super easy way to share the good news of God's love for us in Christ, Jesus, our Lord.**If you’re interested, please go to gospelspice.com/awakendelight and find the section about joining the launch team, or email me at [email protected] **Together, let’s encourage everyone we know with the wonderful news that, in Christ, God delights in us and invites us to delight in Him!You are in for a super special treat today as Stephanie welcomes back her all-time favorite guest and friend, Os Guinness, to discuss his latest book, which you do not want to miss, and also to celebrate 50 years since the publication of his first book. The book they are discussing today is going to go down in history as one of the most influential books for our generation, Stephanie is absolutely sure of it. It is simple yet so powerful. You will read it quickly, yet you will find yourself pondering it for months. You will want to gift it to every spiritual seeker you know, as well as every serious believer, because it has something to tell each one of us about the meaning of life. Stephanie read right through it the first time and could not put it down. Then she went back and reread it slowly, savoring its stories and discovering deeper meaning. She is currently enjoying her third read through, and is even more inspired than before. Oh, please make sure to enjoy this absolute treat.Through the course of our conversation, Os gives us his take on what has been happening in Asbury, and what we need from there. Os calls us to pray for a true spiritual awakening and challenges our culture’s understanding of “legacy” and they discuss the meaning of a truly successful life. Os even reveals what he thinks is his favorite book among his many!You can watch the whole conversation on video at youtube.com/gospelspice - make sure to subscribe so you never miss another exciting Gospel Spice episode!SUPER SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT! WE WOULD LOVE TO FEATURE YOU ON GOSPEL SPICE! For our 200th episode, Stephanie will compile a handful of stories from our beloved listeners. How has the Lord met you recently, and has Gospel Spice played a role? Email us at [email protected] today to apply! Deadline is March 25, 2023. Thank you!EXCLUSIVE OFFER FOR ALL GOSPEL SPICE LISTENERS!Go to IVPRESS.COM and enter the coupon code SPICE to receive 30% off all of Os’ books until March 24, 2023!WIN ALL OF OS GUINNESS’ BOOKS WITH IVPRESS THROUGH GOSPELSPICE at gospelspice.com/giveaway Gospel Spice and IVPress are celebrating 50 years of Os’ books by giving away an entire LIBRARY of all of Os Guinness’ books published by IVPress, and a beautiful organic canvas Gospel Spice tote to carry them all! The tote features the Gospel Spice motto that Stephanie and Os discuss in the interview: “God’s glory, our delight.” Go to gospelspice.com/giveaway to enter for a chance to win the bundle. Giveaway is open until March 24, 2023. Winner will be picked among all the valid entries.Let us tell you a bit more… This year, 2023, marks fifty years since Os Guinness published his first book back in 1973, “The Dust of Death.” It started what has become a prolific writing career for the well-known social critic. Today in our time with Os, we hope to introduce (or reintroduce) you to Os Guinness, and his profound contributions to discussions about freedom, culture, faith, and the quest for meaning and purpose.Stephanie and Os start by discussing Os’ latest book, a truly brilliant, magnificent little gem for all of us to be inspired by, and titled, Signals of Transcendence.The modern world is a place of great distraction, and it can be difficult to make sense of our human existence. But at some point in our lives, we may experience particular moments that prompt us to search for something deeper. Sociologist Peter Berger described these hints and clues as “signals of transcendence” that awaken us to unseen realities. In Signals of Transcendence: Listening to the Promptings of Life, Os Guinness tells stories of people who experienced signals of transcendence and followed them to find new meaning and purpose in life. Notable figures such as Leo Tolstoy and C. S. Lewis as well as lesser-known individuals experienced a variety of promptings that signaled to them

A SPECIAL MESSAGE FROM STEPHANIE:I want to share a special invitation with you. You may have heard that I will be releasing my first book with IVP on July 28, 2026. It’s a big deal and I am so overwhelmed with God’ goodness in allowing me to share such an essential message about delighting in Him as the true essential foundation for all our spiritual growth and maturing. Truly, when we delight in the Lord, He promises to give us the desires of our hearts – namely, more of Himself!So, here's the invitation. If you feel this message is indeed important, and you know people – including yourself perhaps – who need to be encouraged to awaken and cultivate their delight in God, would you consider joining my book launch team? It’s a great and super easy way to share the good news of God's love for us in Christ, Jesus, our Lord.**If you’re interested, please go to gospelspice.com/awakendelight and find the section about joining the launch team, or email me at [email protected] **Together, let’s encourage everyone we know with the wonderful news that, in Christ, God delights in us and invites us to delight in Him!Today is the episode where we tackle all sorts of countercultural concepts, like fasting, silence and solitude, and rest as a form of worship. So let’s get to it!First, Stephanie reminds us that fasting is expected – not mandated. She also says that fasting requires a biblical purpose – otherwise it’s just going hungry. Fasting is a fast-track to intimacy with God, for the primary reason that He has declared it so. He has wired us to be body, soul and spirit, and in some mysterious way when we go without food, it nourishes our spirit. So fasting has to be undertaken with a deeply-rooted purpose that has to be biblical, otherwise it doesn’t fall under God’s ordained blessing, and don’t expect anything from it except going hungry and being miserable.You can watch Stephanie give this lesson on video format on our YouTube channel at https://youtu.be/3qGg1gv7z2o She says, "Fasting is an accelerator of spiritual growth." Stephanie shares that fasting is a joyful privilege. WE GET TO FAST and when we do, as Christians, we access the ear of God in ways that He said work mysteriously. If you want the ear of God attentively tuned to your words, then fast. He always listens and hears you, of course. But He also promises that He bends His ear in undivided attention when we fast. Why would we not enjoy this privilege?Stephanie gives us the details of fasting – what it is and what it is not; the purposes within it; and some tips and best practices for the proper focus and perspective. She says, “Fasting is super-charging God’s answers to our prayers, so fasting is also us inviting God to answer prayers as HE sees fit in even more powerful ways.”She also reminds us that “fasting is an acquired taste” and it will require practice and growth. Fasting is a way to discover easter eggs in God’s plan for you—extra, special blessings that He will reveal only to those who enter into this most intimate privilege. So the question is not, Should we fast? But the question becomes, When do we start?Throughout the rest of the episode, we cover Bible memorization, the disciplines of silence and solitude, and then focus on rest and sabbath. Rest is another countercultural concept, like fasting, silence and solitude. Stephanie focuses on the aspects of rest and the deep-seated freedom it brings. She brings up a few points: First, rest feels like it goes against our nature. Also, rest is countercultural. And finally, rest puts us face to face with our sin. Rest requires perseverance, and promises a plentiful yield of peace and harmony. Rest requires accountability, before God, before one another, as well as before our own souls and hearts.How intentional are we about setting time to rest, and just as importantly, entering true rest in experience?Stephanie says, “Rest is doing something you don’t normally do during the week, something you really enjoy, not to escape your life and empty your mind, but to live life to the fullest and fill your mind and heart with what brings you joy and pleasure.”Let’s then focus on Jesus, who was after all, the Lord of Rest, the Lord of the Sabbath. Rest is a mindset. Just like work is a mindset. The world would have us believe that we should always work. That is bondage and slavery. But rest in Christ is available every day – not just once a week, or whenever you choose to incorporate patterns of rest in your life. A good rule of thumb, like with silence and solitude, is to incorporate daily rest, weekly rest, seasonal rest, and annual rest. Weave rest into your rhythms.As you travel the pathway of rest deeper into God’s presence, you begin to acquire the perspective or worldview of heaven on rest. It is constantly available to the Christ-follower. Follow Christ on this pathway of rest because he is the Lord of the Sabbath. He knows the way. He will show you what it looks like for you specifically in

A SPECIAL MESSAGE FROM STEPHANIE:I want to share a special invitation with you. You may have heard that I will be releasing my first book with IVP on July 28, 2026. It’s a big deal and I am so overwhelmed with God’ goodness in allowing me to share such an essential message about delighting in Him as the true essential foundation for all our spiritual growth and maturing. Truly, when we delight in the Lord, He promises to give us the desires of our hearts – namely, more of Himself!So, here's the invitation. If you feel this message is indeed important, and you know people – including yourself perhaps – who need to be encouraged to awaken and cultivate their delight in God, would you consider joining my book launch team? It’s a great and super easy way to share the good news of God's love for us in Christ, Jesus, our Lord.**If you’re interested, please go to gospelspice.com/awakendelight and find the section about joining the launch team, or email me at [email protected] **Together, let’s encourage everyone we know with the wonderful news that, in Christ, God delights in us and invites us to delight in Him!Today we are tackling some big topics in our Pathways to God’s Presence series. Our focus is on what God calls us to do, and specifically how we are called to do it. We are not going to emphasize trying harder or striving deeper or hustling a bit longer. These are not pathways to the presence of God. These are the counterfeit ways of the world to trick you into exhaustion, dryness and uselessness and then defeat when we finally realize it was a dead end.We are free to choose – God’s way of patience, waiting, praying, trusting, or the world’s way of hustling. It is truly our choice. We have that much freedom and power. And the truly wise will choose the pathways of God. Love and humility and surrender in joyful obedience are the hallmarks of the believer’s fullness of life. Now, If love requires freewill then humility requires freewill too. Love is a choice, and in the same way humility is a choice. Jesus role-modeled both for us when He left heaven for earth.The last act of the will is surrender to God. Humility is surrender of our will to God. As you have probably heard us say before here on GSP, the voluntary loss of our freewill and our free choice to the will of God is our ultimate act of love and the proof of our growing humility.You can’t measure your growth in humility but you can measure your growth in genuinely other-centered love and it’s connected. Genuine Love is the visible manifestation of authentic humility. We know that Love is one of God’s most essential characteristics, which means God is the most humble Being. We are made in His image and are never happier than when we are behaving from the identity He created us to have. It follows that love and humility go hand in hand in our very being too.We are looking at Prayer in the form of intercession and supplication in this episode. We ponder the prayers of Paul and of Jesus as inspiration to pray for others and for ourselves. That is the power of Scripture at your fingertips to alter eternity and change the course of people’s lives for their good and the glory of God!We ponder Bible intake in the context of community. Finally, we look at service as an act of worship today. Humility and service go hand in hand, and the Apostle Paul role-models these in poignant ways. He is our example today. You are invited to watch Stephanie teach this episode on video at https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/I_xR5YUsBRU?feature=oembed Paul’s prayers have it all. They are intercession and supplication. They show deep intimacy with the Father and exhibit profound Christlikeness. They are rooted in Scripture and have become Scripture – this is Bible intake to the next level. Paul’s prayers are rooted in serving and loving the people he is praying for. Often, the deepest service we can give someone is to pray for them the words of Scripture over them. Paul’s prayers are true, Christ-focused worship of the highest order.This is fellowship. This is community. This is love.This is worship.Paul shows us that service – which in his case was pastoring the churches – that service that feels like sacrifice, because it is sacrifice, is worship. We don’t hear any overtones of bitterness from Paul. He is sacrificing a lot, and he is doing it gladly.We are called to grow IN grace. We are already fully walking the path of grace because we are IN Christ. So we are called to keep taking the next step on our journey in grace and towards deeper experience of grace. Not find another pathway into grace. You cannot walk into something you are already fully immersed in. That’s the thing. Many Christians seem to believe that we have to find this grace. That we have received salvation, but that it is now up to us to grow in sanctification. That we are to grow into the grace we have already received. That sounds exhausting. But that’s the thing about being IN Christ and growing

A SPECIAL MESSAGE FROM STEPHANIE:I want to share a special invitation with you. You may have heard that I will be releasing my first book with IVP on July 28, 2026. It’s a big deal and I am so overwhelmed with God’ goodness in allowing me to share such an essential message about delighting in Him as the true essential foundation for all our spiritual growth and maturing. Truly, when we delight in the Lord, He promises to give us the desires of our hearts – namely, more of Himself!So, here's the invitation. If you feel this message is indeed important, and you know people – including yourself perhaps – who need to be encouraged to awaken and cultivate their delight in God, would you consider joining my book launch team? It’s a great and super easy way to share the good news of God's love for us in Christ, Jesus, our Lord.**If you’re interested, please go to gospelspice.com/awakendelight and find the section about joining the launch team, or email me at [email protected] **Together, let’s encourage everyone we know with the wonderful news that, in Christ, God delights in us and invites us to delight in Him!Do you often feel stuck battling the same fears, temptations, lies, and doubts, wondering if you’ll ever overcome them? Does it seem as if you’re in that battle alone? Stephanie welcomes Judy Dunagan to discuss Christ-centered solutions to these problems that plague most of us. How do we live in the victory that Christ has purchased for us? How does it become our reality TODAY? Judy has traversed many valleys of anxiety, burnout, relational conflicts, and more. She is well-equipped from the trenches to give us insights on how to walk the pathways to God’s presence that Jesus opened for us. In this conversation, Judy focuses on the nature and power of prayer, as well as the essential foundation of a high Christology. You are invited to experience Jesus as the mighty Lion of Judah today!Judy says, “Take heart. The enemy’s roar is but a whisper in the presence of our mighty God.”In The Loudest Roar, you’ll marvel at the power, majesty, and authority of our Lord Jesus and learn how to stand in the unshakable victory He’s already won for you. In that victory, you will:- Discern God’s voice over the lies of the enemy- Stand firm in faith rather than give way to fear- Dwell in the cover of God’s armor over you and your loved ones- Keep your thoughts captive to truthFind victory over cycles of sin in your life God’s roar over you will become your roar, diminishing the lies of the enemy . . . to a whisper.You are invited to watch Judy and Stephanie on video at https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/MEmLfVLN4DA?feature=oembed MEET JUDY DUNAGANJUDY DUNAGAN is an acquisitions editor for the women’s Bible studies and books at Moody Publishers. A wonder seeker of God and His Word, Judy is passionate about discipleship and making God’s Word and prayer come alive in everyday life. She is a speaker and Bible teacher and serves on the Board of Deeper Walk International, the ministry her father Mark I. Bubeck founded. Judy and her husband Rick live in Colorado.Connect with Judy at: www.JudyDunagan.comEndorsements for The Loudest Roar“The Loudest Roar is a much-needed book for today, filled with truth and wisdom. Judy writes with clarity, strength, and warmth, inviting the reader to take hold of everything that Christ has taken hold of for us. Reading it will empower you to understand your position of authority in Christ and how to live in the victory that Jesus has won for us. Read it. Underline it. Marinate in it. Take it to heart. Make it your own.” —Stasi Eldredge, New York Times bestselling author, Captivating“If you want to rise up and make a difference for yourself, those you love, and your community, read this book. To be victorious, which God wants for you, you must appropriate God’s strengths and weap[1]ons. I benefited from so many of Judy’s explanations, stories, and challenges, and you will, too. I need[1]ed her insights and refreshing, vulnerable, and accurate explanations of relevant Scripture. Passages came alive! And her prayers! They’ll mature me and give me hope. I’ll be reading them often. Truths here will allow you to become who you know you want to be—an equipped and powerful warrior in God’s army!” —Kathy Koch, founder of Celebrate Kids, Inc., and author of Five to Thrive, 8 Great Smarts, and other titles“If you long for courageous faith, authentic truth, righteous living, and a prayer life that faces fear and uncertainty head-on, look no further. In The Loudest Roar author Judy Dunagan teaches us to defeat the enemy and stand firm in the mighty strength of our powerful Lion of Judah! This book gave me tools to develop my ‘roar’ in the face of disappointment, discouragement, temptation, and unfulfilled expectations. Read this treasure on your own, or better yet, with a group of friends who will explore the ‘Going Deeper’ section together. The prayers in the back of the book give you everything need

A SPECIAL MESSAGE FROM STEPHANIE:I want to share a special invitation with you. You may have heard that I will be releasing my first book with IVP on July 28, 2026. It’s a big deal and I am so overwhelmed with God’ goodness in allowing me to share such an essential message about delighting in Him as the true essential foundation for all our spiritual growth and maturing. Truly, when we delight in the Lord, He promises to give us the desires of our hearts – namely, more of Himself!So, here's the invitation. If you feel this message is indeed important, and you know people – including yourself perhaps – who need to be encouraged to awaken and cultivate their delight in God, would you consider joining my book launch team? It’s a great and super easy way to share the good news of God's love for us in Christ, Jesus, our Lord.**If you’re interested, please go to gospelspice.com/awakendelight and find the section about joining the launch team, or email me at [email protected] **Together, let’s encourage everyone we know with the wonderful news that, in Christ, God delights in us and invites us to delight in Him!With the overwhelming pace of life, many of us struggle to stop long enough to be present. Too often we live our lives more at the pace of the culture in self-interest, drivenness, empty excitement and anxiety. Alan Fadling has spent years coaching leaders and communities how to live an unhurried life, teaching that productivity and success are not our chief end, but rather living at the pace that our true self longs to live. So, he and Stephanie discuss how to follow the pace of Jesus Christ. Jesus never hurried, yet He accomplished everything He needed. How can we run counterculture and embrace rest as part of our spiritual roots? Alan invites us to ponder the essential nature of slowing down in a culture that tells us that productivity is the measure of our worth.Brew yourself a cup of your favorite hot drink, curl up with a blanket and join this slow, purposeful conversation about worshipping Jesus Christ through rest. As part of our “Pathways to God’s presence” series, Stephanie and Alan invite you to slow down enough to hear the whisper of God’s presence in your day.You are invited to watch Alan and Stephanie on video at https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/2-byU4PN32s?feature=oembedMEET ALAN FADLINGAlan Fadling is president and founder of Unhurried Living, Inc. in California. He speaks and consults internationally with organizations such as Saddleback Church, InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, Cru, Halftime Institute, Apprentice Institute, and Open Doors International.He is the award-winning author of An Unhurried Leader and An Unhurried Life, which was honored with a Christianity Today Award of Merit in spirituality. He is also coauthor (with Gem Fadling) of What Does Your Soul Love? Alan speaks from his award-winning book, An Unhurried Life, about unhurried life with God, in community, in leadership development, in solitude, silence and prayer, and in doing the hard work of continued growth. From his book, An Unhurried Leader, he speaks on leading from overflow, working and leading with God, grace-empowered leadership, and leadership vision. He addresses the intersection between personal spiritual formation and fruitful leadership engagement. People leave these gatherings inspired, encouraged and energized for their life and work with God.Alan consults with groups of leaders to provide training in a way of planning, strategizing and leading that is well-rooted in deep intimacy with God. Incorporate a “seek the kingdom first” approach to leadership. Learn to plan events from a center of listening to God and seeing people through His eyes. Learning these patterns contributes to the sustainability of your leadership, and can produce “much fruit that lasts (Jn 15:16).”Alan offers coaching to focus individual attention on issues of personal spiritual and leadership formation. He has served as a sabbatical coach to many. He brings decades of leadership experience to those he coaches. His coaching combines the essence of a spiritual director and the practicality of a leadership formation coach. Alan can help you get unstuck and find your unhurried and fruitful way forward in leadership and ministry.GO TO https://www.unhurriedliving.com/ for more. Buy Alan’s new book at https://www.unhurriedliving.com/ayearofslowingdown Alan says, “These devotionals had their beginnings in my personal journal. I began to practice the regular discipline of spiritual journaling in my twenties. Since then, I’ve journaled thousands of pages and millions of words. My journal is a place where I wrestle, meditate, reflect, create, and, in it all, pray. It’s a place where I acknowledge the presence of God with me. I trust that the Spirit of God with me along the way will be with you as you read.”Endorsements for “A year of slowing down”:"The brilliance in this book cannot be overstated. Resting takes time. Lord knows, it t

A SPECIAL MESSAGE FROM STEPHANIE:I want to share a special invitation with you. You may have heard that I will be releasing my first book with IVP on July 28, 2026. It’s a big deal and I am so overwhelmed with God’ goodness in allowing me to share such an essential message about delighting in Him as the true essential foundation for all our spiritual growth and maturing. Truly, when we delight in the Lord, He promises to give us the desires of our hearts – namely, more of Himself!So, here's the invitation. If you feel this message is indeed important, and you know people – including yourself perhaps – who need to be encouraged to awaken and cultivate their delight in God, would you consider joining my book launch team? It’s a great and super easy way to share the good news of God's love for us in Christ, Jesus, our Lord.**If you’re interested, please go to gospelspice.com/awakendelight and find the section about joining the launch team, or email me at [email protected] **Together, let’s encourage everyone we know with the wonderful news that, in Christ, God delights in us and invites us to delight in Him!With our current series, we hope we can learn to do community together as the body of Christ because we share the same experiences of these pathways we travel on together. So, this series is less of an in-depth approach to Scripture, and more a simple framework for deeper intimacy with God through the pathways He has ordained.Today we are talking about discouragement and how God stewards our times of dryness for His glory, our transformation, and the growth of the fruit of the spirit in our lives.Discouragement can take many forms. Did you know that courage comes from the French for heart? Coeur is the heart of the word courage. So to be encouraged is to have an increase of heart – and discouragement is the opposite. It’s when you lose heart. You lose perspective. Discouragement can feel like darkness, or confusion, or chaos, or loneliness. Or all the above. Or so many more things. Discouragement breeds anxiety, depression, fear, shame, guilt – especially in us Christians.As Christians we should be the most joyful people on earth – so encouraged, in fast, that we are a constant source of encouragement for others. That is true. But it is not our experience every day. So how can we remedy that, but in a way that brings consistent victory over discouragement?When we are in a season of discouragement, and its manifestations of anxiety, depression, fear, shame, guilt – that is when we need to travel the pathways to God’s presence more faithfully and consistently than ever.We cannot learn to walk when there is an earthquake. We cannot learn to swim in the stormy ocean. We need to practice the pathways to God’s presence in peaceful circumstances, so that when the earthquakes and the storms hit, we can recall what has become second nature.Discouragement can come when you feel you have been in this same storm before. It’s not your first trip to the darkness of depression or the pit of anxiety. You are all too familiar with the taste of fear or the burden of guilt. The cloak of shame fits just too well around your shoulders because it’s been there before. Why are we going through this again, God? haven’t I learned the lesson last time?Learn to walk the pathways before the crisis hit, so that you will have created pathways within your brain, actual physical pathways of neurons that will help you in your body, soul and spirit when storms hit. You will have created habits of intimacy with God that will become your lifeline.Discouragement is rooted in many trials of many colors and shapes.You are not alone.Stephanie shares her heart, “I shared in the first episode of the series that I have been going through a tough patch in 2022, and I have heard from several of you that it was encouraging for you to hear because you can relate. Thanks for reaching out and letting me know. Hearing from you is super encouraging. And hearing that our times together are helpful to you – well, that’s the best thing you can tell me, because if it doesn’t serve you, then what is the point of all this?”Thanksgiving is the most potent antidote to discouragement. It might feel like a cliché, but it is a truth bomb. We have heard it so many times we are numb to it.But try it one more time. because it does transform us. It really has that much power. No wonder the enemy of our soul wants to portray thanksgiving and gratitude as blasé cliches. Don’t fall for it.Gratitude is not a spiritual gift because it is not given to a few. It is for all. It takes many forms. In essence, it is remembering all the good things in our lives. That is the easy part.And then, the hard part. Try thanking God for the hard things. For the discouraging things. For the darkness. because winter is a blessing too. darkness prunes our hearts from the shallow delights to remind us where our true desire for delight lays – in God Himself. When God strips your life, be gra

A SPECIAL MESSAGE FROM STEPHANIE:I want to share a special invitation with you. You may have heard that I will be releasing my first book with IVP on July 28, 2026. It’s a big deal and I am so overwhelmed with God’ goodness in allowing me to share such an essential message about delighting in Him as the true essential foundation for all our spiritual growth and maturing. Truly, when we delight in the Lord, He promises to give us the desires of our hearts – namely, more of Himself!So, here's the invitation. If you feel this message is indeed important, and you know people – including yourself perhaps – who need to be encouraged to awaken and cultivate their delight in God, would you consider joining my book launch team? It’s a great and super easy way to share the good news of God's love for us in Christ, Jesus, our Lord.**If you’re interested, please go to gospelspice.com/awakendelight and find the section about joining the launch team, or email me at [email protected] **Together, let’s encourage everyone we know with the wonderful news that, in Christ, God delights in us and invites us to delight in Him!Welcome back! We cover much in our Pathways to God’s presence series today. We invite you to grow into the moment by moment surrender to God’s will and whisper as, together, we practice the presence of God today.Stephanie says, “There is a virtuous cycle between what we believe and who we become. We develop this strategy of turning belief into identity through habits of spiritual disciplines.”You are invited to watch Stephanie teach this lesson live on YouTube at https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/HJpqEyLh7O4?feature=oembed After establishing the dangers we face as we walk the pathways towards God – namely, the flesh, the world and the devil –, Stephanie takes us on a trip through the French language to experience spiritual disciplines as holy clothing to be worn daily. Then, we dive into the three aspects of prayer, Bible intake and worship we will cover today. They include,CONFESSION AS PRAYER: Confession is the path to freedom. Confession is not groveling before an angry God. It focuses on removing sin from self. It is an essential pathway to humility, self-knowledge. Honestly assess your heart before the Lord, daily, or more. Whenever you feel that little twinge of the heart, this little prick from the Holy Spirit who kindly informs you that you have need for forgiveness. He knows, and he lets you know. not to condemn you, but to bring you to freedom through releasing the burden for Him to carry and cancel. The habit of confession is powerful. It is the gateway to true, lasting freedom.MEDITATION AS BIBLE INTAKE: When we meditate upon Scripture, we practice the presence of God. We enter His presence, we remain and dwell there. It is a good foundation for a good day, and little by little the daily puzzle pieces of Christ-centered meditation color our lives with freedom, gratitude and no small measure of humility and patience.EVANGELISM AS WORSHIP: Pondering Scripture is a form of worship, too, in the sense that we are preaching the Word of Truth to our own hearts. It is a form of evangelism! And evangelism, which is the sharing of the truth of Scripture, is a powerful and effective form of worship.Confession in prayer. Meditation of Scripture. Evangelization as worship. They are all encapsulated in the dedication of the temple by Solomon, and they are rooted in the presence of God whose glory has come to dwell in our hearts and lives through the HS.Jesus has clothed you with garments of salvation, and equipped you with everything you need to walk the pathways to His presence. You are dedicated for holy use, set apart as a vessel created to honor your Lord and King.We are all priests and priestesses to God, in Christ. He has dressed you with the habit befitting your priestly set-apart position: “the victor will be dressed in white clothes, and I will never erase his name from the book of life but will acknowledge his name before My Father and before His angels” (Revelation 3:5, HCSB). You are dressed in Christ with white robes of purity, victory, and eternal life. Your robe is your habit.THERE ARE SEVERAL WAYS TO PARTNER WITH GOSPEL SPICE TODAY!First, PAY Gospel Spice Forward: Give a tax-deductible gift so others can experience our ministry for free, just like you! You can pay it forward with any debit, credit card, or via PayPal. See below for more details about your impact.Also, PLAY Gospel Spice Forward: SHARE the podcast and the studies with your friends and family. FOLLOW, RATE & REVIEW on your favorite podcast app (leave a comment + a star rating on Apple Podcast, Spotify, Pandora, IHeart, Google Podcast, etc…). It REALLY is the best way to help others find this content-rich podcast. And, last but not least, PRAY Gospel Spice Forward: We pray for you weekly. We covet your prayers for our ministry, the thousands we reach, and our team! Contact us to let us know you are praying for us!NE

A SPECIAL MESSAGE FROM STEPHANIE:I want to share a special invitation with you. You may have heard that I will be releasing my first book with IVP on July 28, 2026. It’s a big deal and I am so overwhelmed with God’ goodness in allowing me to share such an essential message about delighting in Him as the true essential foundation for all our spiritual growth and maturing. Truly, when we delight in the Lord, He promises to give us the desires of our hearts – namely, more of Himself!So, here's the invitation. If you feel this message is indeed important, and you know people – including yourself perhaps – who need to be encouraged to awaken and cultivate their delight in God, would you consider joining my book launch team? It’s a great and super easy way to share the good news of God's love for us in Christ, Jesus, our Lord.**If you’re interested, please go to gospelspice.com/awakendelight and find the section about joining the launch team, or email me at [email protected] **Together, let’s encourage everyone we know with the wonderful news that, in Christ, God delights in us and invites us to delight in Him!Stephanie invites you into her conversation with beloved friend Jennifer Hand to discuss how to approach 2023 and most importantly, how to keep God at the very center of our lives, our hearts, our passions and, yes, our fears and anxiety. They have an honest, raw conversation about our fears, our God-sized challenges, and what can hold us back from the fullness of God’s good will for us. Jenn is a seasoned warrior in the Kingdom of God, and Stephanie holds the high honor of calling her friend. Together, they invite you to say YES to all that God has for you in 2023.What's holding you back as you envision 2023? The risk? The unknown? The unwillingness to shake up the comfortable status quo? Whatever it is, if you're not in God's best place, you're missing out on something great. The Lord is calling you into a Promised Land. But it's going to take some faith steps to get there.Jenn Hand wants you to be able to say to God, "My yes is on the table." Not halfheartedly. Not half the time. Not halfway there. Jenn wants you to go all in with God—because God is all in for you. You can also watch the live video of the conversation on our YouTube channel, and make sure to subscribe: https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/SQMyyDPlYYU?feature=oembedMORE ABOUT “MY YES IS ON THE TABLE”My Yes Is on the Table takes you into the story of the Israelites as they journeyed out of the wilderness and into the Holy Land that God had granted them. Each chapter will challenge you to move from a fear stop to a faith step. And once you've started taking those steps with God, there's no telling where you'll end up.For too long, you've been paralyzed by fear of the future. You feel God calling. You want to go forward with His plans. Yet fear has stopped you from taking the leap. No more! Instead of letting fear stop you short, let faith call you forward with newfound confidence and holy boldness. Put your "yes" on the table and watch God do more in your life than you could have ever imagined. MEET JENNIFER HANDJENNIFER HAND, Executive Director of Coming Alive Ministries, founded the ministry in 2012 and loves the honor of traveling nationally and internationally, inviting people to come alive in Christ through conferences, retreats, written resources, and counseling. She has had the joy of serving in over thirty countries. With a Master's degree in trauma counseling, God has opened a unique door for her to respond after natural disasters around the world, providing trauma counseling and the hope of Christ on the holy ground of suffering. She would love to keep up with you in her cozy internet corner of the world at www.comingaliveministries.com or on social media @comingalivejenn or Jenn@comingaliveministries on Facebook.https://www.comingaliveministries.com/https://www.moodypublishers.com/authors/h/jennifer-hand/We invite you to check out the first episode of each of our series, and decide which one you will want to start with.Go to gospelspice.com for more, and go especially to gospelspice.com/podcast to enjoy our guests! Interested in our blog? Click here: gospelspice.com/blogIdentity in the battle | Ephesianshttps://www.podcastics.com/episode/372022/link/Malachi: Messenger to Messiahhttps://www.podcastics.com/episode/356130/link/Wisdom from the Book of Proverbshttps://www.podcastics.com/episode/324347/link/Come to the Table | The Feasts Jesus celebratedhttps://www.podcastics.com/episode/309956/link/Support us on Gospel Spice, PayPal and Venmo!

A SPECIAL MESSAGE FROM STEPHANIE:I want to share a special invitation with you. You may have heard that I will be releasing my first book with IVP on July 28, 2026. It’s a big deal and I am so overwhelmed with God’ goodness in allowing me to share such an essential message about delighting in Him as the true essential foundation for all our spiritual growth and maturing. Truly, when we delight in the Lord, He promises to give us the desires of our hearts – namely, more of Himself!So, here's the invitation. If you feel this message is indeed important, and you know people – including yourself perhaps – who need to be encouraged to awaken and cultivate their delight in God, would you consider joining my book launch team? It’s a great and super easy way to share the good news of God's love for us in Christ, Jesus, our Lord.**If you’re interested, please go to gospelspice.com/awakendelight and find the section about joining the launch team, or email me at [email protected] **Together, let’s encourage everyone we know with the wonderful news that, in Christ, God delights in us and invites us to delight in Him!Our goal is to enter and remain in the presence of God through the pathways He has ordained for this purpose. The presence of God is our path and our destination. In Hebrew, the word Presence and the word Face are the same. In the ancient world without zoom and facetime, you could only be in the presence of someone when you were face to face with them. There was no remote presence.Each week we are going to approach the pathways to God’s presence, or the spiritual disciplines, by linking one element of prayer with one aspect of Bible intake and one facet of worship.You are invited to watch today's episode on video on our YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/ti3IKJtTIRQ?feature=oembed This is our second episode in our Pathways to God’s presence series. If you missed our intro, please make sure to listen to last week’s episode, episode 185. We spent time laying out the land of what this series is about –the spiritual disciplines with a twist. We established that Jesus is the only pathway to God’s presence, and that He offers to teach us, through the Holy Spirit, how to nurture intimacy with God through the practice of timeless biblical principles that He himself role-modeled. If Jesus catered to His relationship with His Father through prayer, Scripture intake, and worship in various forms, then we too will benefit from the same.We are seeing today that prayer, in its essential form, is adoration. All the other elements of confession, thanksgiving and intercession are rooted in adoration. God is not safe confessing to, if he is not the utterly majestic Being we adore; God is not worthy of our thanks if He is not the resplendent glorious Being who gives us all things and works all things for our good; God is not safe coming to when we have needs, if He is not the perfectly omnipotent and otherworldly generous and gentle Sovereign who has chosen to be introduced to us with the meek and loving title of Father.About prayer, Stephanie says, “you are never more Christlike than when you adore God lavishly.”We consider the study of Scripture as the essential element to know God. We adore God most when we are most aware of His perfection, beauty, loveliness and holiness. In other words, when we are saturated with the knowledge of Him. And we can only know God from the place where He has specifically revealed Himself – Scripture.It means, we need to spend time in Scripture. We need to read it widely, and deeply both. We need to rake for leaves and dig for diamonds, as countless Bible teachers have described over many centuries.We interact with Scripture first and foremost to know God. Yes, the Bible gives us much about our relationships with one another, and about ourselves too. We will discuss these elements in the weeks to come. But the main, primary, most essential purpose of the Bible is to draw us into the presence of God. When the Holy Spirit who lives within our hearts opens the words of the Scriptures to us, we are allowed into the presence of God. We get a glimpse of His face and behold His presence. It transforms us forever because, like the light that shone on Moses face when he came down the mountain after having spent time with God, the light of the knowledge of the glory of God is found in the radiant face of Christ Jesus our Lord (2Cor 4:6).So, we read and study Scripture to know who God is.The essence of this approach is actually worship. My primary goal is to meet God through the pages that He wrote. I want to know Him more. If I can discern a new glimpse into His face, if I can learn something new about the depths of His love and kindness and majesty and power, then I am a happy camper. A happy worshiper. Bible intake should always stem from adoration and lead to worship, which are essentially the same thing.So today we looked at the element of adoration in prayer, and we

A SPECIAL MESSAGE FROM STEPHANIE:I want to share a special invitation with you. You may have heard that I will be releasing my first book with IVP on July 28, 2026. It’s a big deal and I am so overwhelmed with God’ goodness in allowing me to share such an essential message about delighting in Him as the true essential foundation for all our spiritual growth and maturing. Truly, when we delight in the Lord, He promises to give us the desires of our hearts – namely, more of Himself!So, here's the invitation. If you feel this message is indeed important, and you know people – including yourself perhaps – who need to be encouraged to awaken and cultivate their delight in God, would you consider joining my book launch team? It’s a great and super easy way to share the good news of God's love for us in Christ, Jesus, our Lord.**If you’re interested, please go to gospelspice.com/awakendelight and find the section about joining the launch team, or email me at [email protected] **Together, let’s encourage everyone we know with the wonderful news that, in Christ, God delights in us and invites us to delight in Him!Welcome to our winter 2023 series, "Pathways to God's presence." How do we keep our relationship with God fresh and not stale? How do we avoid being disappointed or dissatisfied with our relationship with God? How do we explore fresh avenues to meet with Him especially when it’s dry or painful? How do we keep vibrant faith in the valley, in the pit, in the darkness, and also in the high places – how do we make God the center of our lives?Jesus walked with God perfectly at all times – in perfect harmony and communion. He tells us to imitate Him. How can we do that? how do we grow spiritually so that we experience the freshness and vibrancy that Jesus had with His Father? His connection to His Father was so obvious, especially when He prayed, that the disciples begged Him to show them how to pray. His connection to His Father was so deep, there was no disconnect ever. He always knew the Father’s will for all situations at all times. He could orchestrate healings and miracles at will, because He was so finely tuned in to His Father. We will never experience this measure of connection to the Father this side of heaven – because of sin – but Jesus still promised much intimacy with the Father through Him was possible, and even the normal life for the believer. In my experience and in talking with hundreds of people, I don’t think most of us live in the fullness of this promise of unbroken connection to our heavenly Father through Jesus Christ our Lord. Many times we live the low Christian life. Nothing wrong with that – but there is so much more that is possible, attainable for us. We are called to a high Christian life, one that is characterized by love, humility, victory, and much fruit.You are welcome to watch Stephanie teach this lesson on video at https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/ti3IKJtTIRQ?feature=oembedOur series is called, “Pathways to God’s presence.” Let me be clear: Jesus is the way to the Father. The only way to the Father. Apart from Him we have no access. He is also our Advocate, interceding for us even now, and we know that His prayers are always welcomed and answered from the fullness of the Father’s abundance. So, when we are going to be pondering pathways to God’s presence, we must always remember – Jesus is the One who makes these pathways possible. That is why he is our role model, our guide. He is the way. He is also the destination. We are doing all that we do to cultivate intimacy with God, ONLY From Christ and in Christ and for Christ and through Christ. I think we underestimate this dimension of our spiritual life when we don’t place front and center the model that Jesus has given us. Jesus, before time began and before the incarnation, was perfectly intimate and one and united with the Father. That is the Trinity. We cant understand it, but we can apprehend just enough of it to see its matchless harmony and radiance. Then at the incarnation, and for the thirty-some years that followed, Jesus who was God and had been with God since before time was (see John 1:1), this Jesus took on fullness of humanity. And he walked among us, not lessening in any way the depth of intimacy He had always enjoyed with His Father. Only at the cross, and momentarily though thoroughly, was it severed—for our sake. So, yes, Jesus is indeed the only Pathway to God’s presence. But He also gave us means to grow in intimacy with God, just like He did as a human – He prayed and fasted and studied Scripture and had fellowship with others and served and loved and discipled and evangelized and role-modeled all the things He is inviting us to develop in our own lives as pathways to His presence. He is the way and He is the destination.The secret to the high Christian life, a life of satisfaction in God regardless of circumstances – good or bad, internal or external – the secret to the high Christian life is

A SPECIAL MESSAGE FROM STEPHANIE:I want to share a special invitation with you. You may have heard that I will be releasing my first book with IVP on July 28, 2026. It’s a big deal and I am so overwhelmed with God’ goodness in allowing me to share such an essential message about delighting in Him as the true essential foundation for all our spiritual growth and maturing. Truly, when we delight in the Lord, He promises to give us the desires of our hearts – namely, more of Himself!So, here's the invitation. If you feel this message is indeed important, and you know people – including yourself perhaps – who need to be encouraged to awaken and cultivate their delight in God, would you consider joining my book launch team? It’s a great and super easy way to share the good news of God's love for us in Christ, Jesus, our Lord.**If you’re interested, please go to gospelspice.com/awakendelight and find the section about joining the launch team, or email me at [email protected] **Together, let’s encourage everyone we know with the wonderful news that, in Christ, God delights in us and invites us to delight in Him!Naomi Zacharias joins Stephanie again on Gospel Spice to provide insights on the global fight against human trafficking and towards the restoration of dignity—one life at a time. She also shares how her faith has allowed her to make it through the last couple of years.Make sure to watch the live recording of this conversation and to subscribe to our YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/yuSfxAnzoUw?feature=oembed Naomi starts by sharing the stories of her ministry, Third Ladder, to serve the abandoned, the unloved, the forgotten of this world. In her incomparably gentle way, Naomi also draws our attention to the importance of little acts of kindness as we share the light of Christ with a world in need, one person at a time, one next-door neighbor at a time. Gospel Spice is proud to partner with Third Ladder financially.In the second half of the conversation, Naomi transparently shares how her family is doing after a couple of years of unparalleled struggles. She shares her perspective on living in the deserted valley, remembering what really matters. She shares how hard this has been, and how the Lord has been holding on to her. Naomi says, “I believe He is real, and He is who He says He is. I do believe He is faithful and good and true. When you are in the middle of the valley, you have to come back to what you know to be true.”Naomi says, “it is not faith if it all makes sense. Real is not always smooth and easy, but it’s deep and it’s got roots.” This deeply inspiring, raw conversation will draw you in, to give you hope in darkness, hopelessness, and loneliness. Naomi reminds us that the things that flatten us, break us, shred us are the perfect setting for God to use us. “This life will break us, and we will not have all the answers we long for. But He actually told us that, He gave us that foresight. He is faithful, and He doesn’t leave. He will sit with us through it, and this is not the end of the story.” Naomi reminds us that our stories matter especially when they are not (yet) tied up with a pretty bow and ending. We live most of our lives in the middle of the unresolved stories. And the places that don’t make sense force us to believe that faith matters in the middle of the darkness, the desert, the valley. Naomi reminds us of the importance of the body of Christ, and also that church hurt is real. We need community, and we have a deep desire to right the wrongs of this world. We also have so much at our fingertips to bring healing to the ones right around us.MORE ABOUT NAOMI ZACHARIASNaomi Zacharias received a BA in Business/Economics from Wheaton College. Her first job out of college was in Brand Development for Chick Fil A and she soon transitioned to Sales for The Coca-Cola Company to accept what was her perceived dream job. It was fantastic training under a superb manager, but a restlessness remained. She moved into the non-profit sector, seeking to apply herself to a cause she believed in. Following an internship in the Office of Public Liaison at the White House where she helped to organize presidential briefings for constituency groups, Naomi considered staying in Washington DC to focus on international justice issues. Instead, in a decision that surprised herself, she declined an opportunity at the US Department of Justice to return to Atlanta in 2004 to develop and launch a humanitarian initiative with a robust application process to evaluate international grant requests and distribute approximately 16M USD in grant funding over 16 years for rehabilitation for victims of human trafficking, healthcare, education, poverty-related issues, war-related issues, support for victims of domestic violence and gender-based violence, refugee aid and issues related to child welfare and orphan care in approximately 17 countries. This work led her into refugee and displace

A SPECIAL MESSAGE FROM STEPHANIE:I want to share a special invitation with you. You may have heard that I will be releasing my first book with IVP on July 28, 2026. It’s a big deal and I am so overwhelmed with God’ goodness in allowing me to share such an essential message about delighting in Him as the true essential foundation for all our spiritual growth and maturing. Truly, when we delight in the Lord, He promises to give us the desires of our hearts – namely, more of Himself!So, here's the invitation. If you feel this message is indeed important, and you know people – including yourself perhaps – who need to be encouraged to awaken and cultivate their delight in God, would you consider joining my book launch team? It’s a great and super easy way to share the good news of God's love for us in Christ, Jesus, our Lord.**If you’re interested, please go to gospelspice.com/awakendelight and find the section about joining the launch team, or email me at [email protected] **Together, let’s encourage everyone we know with the wonderful news that, in Christ, God delights in us and invites us to delight in Him!Stephanie welcomes Vivian Mabuni for a heart-to-heart conversation about God, passion for Jesus, and an all-out life of surrender to His plan and goodness. As He invites us into a new year, how would He have us depend on Him this year? What does it mean to have “open hands and a willing heart” (the title of her book)? Vivian is an Asian American Christian woman, wife, mom, and cancer survivor. Just like Stephanie, her different worlds influence who she is, how she leads, and the way she connects with God and others.We know that the center of God's will is the best place to be, but surrender is easier said than done. A host of hurdles, from busyness and bitterness to complacency and control, can prevent us from moving where He directs. As we cross over to 2023, Vivian Mabuni provides an authentic look at what it means to willingly risk saying yes to whatever God asks--and highlights a practical path to the deeper joy of a yielded life.Vivian and Stephanie also discuss living at the intersection of Scripture and culture, and how our culture influences our experience of Scripture, as well as how discovering cultures outside the European/Western circle will open up your eyes to the culture of Scripture and of Jesus Himself! You can also watch the live video of the conversation on our YouTube channel, and make sure to subscribe: https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/fWpXuLymFlQ?feature=oembedMORE ABOUT VIVIAN MABUNIVivian Mabuni is a national speaker, author, bible teacher and podcast host. Her writing has appeared in Christianity Today, SheReadsTruth, Our Daily Bread, Propel Sophia and her teachings have been featured on the YouVersion Bible App’s “Verse of the Day”. With over 30 years on staff with Cru, Viv loves teaching about the Bible and its practical application to ministry and life. She has been a keynote speaker at IF:Gathering, QCommons, Cru Winter Conferences, Family Life’s “Weekend To Remember”, and Biola University. Author of "Open Hands, Willing Heart”, she also serves on the Board of Trustees for Denver Seminary and is the founder & host of “Someday Is Here” a podcast for AAPI (Asian American Pacific Islanders) leaders. Viv loves drinking coffee with her husband of 30 years, Darrin, and marveling at their three young adult kids.Connect with her on Instagram/Twitter @vivmabuni or on her website www.vivianmabuni.comWe invite you to check out the first episode of each of our series, and decide which one you will want to start with.Go to gospelspice.com for more, and go especially to gospelspice.com/podcast to enjoy our guests! Interested in our blog? Click here: gospelspice.com/blogIdentity in the battle | Ephesianshttps://www.podcastics.com/episode/372022/link/Malachi: Messenger to Messiahhttps://www.podcastics.com/episode/356130/link/Wisdom from the Book of Proverbshttps://www.podcastics.com/episode/324347/link/Come to the Table | The Feasts Jesus celebratedhttps://www.podcastics.com/episode/309956/link/THERE ARE SEVERAL WAYS TO PARTNER WITH GOSPEL SPICE TODAY!First, PAY Gospel Spice Forward: Give a tax-deductible gift so others can experience our ministry for free, just like you! You can pay it forward with any debit, credit card, or via PayPal. See below for more details about your impact.Also, PLAY Gospel Spice Forward: SHARE the podcast and the studies with your friends and family. FOLLOW, RATE & REVIEW on your favorite podcast app (leave a comment + a star rating on Apple Podcast, Spotify, Pandora, IHeart, Google Podcast, etc…). It REALLY is the best way to help others find this content-rich podcast. And, last but not least, PRAY Gospel Spice Forward: We pray for you weekly. We covet your prayers for our ministry, the thousands we reach, and our team! Contact us to let us know you are praying for us!NEW!Another way to partner with us is to purchase our workbooks and online Bible

A SPECIAL MESSAGE FROM STEPHANIE:I want to share a special invitation with you. You may have heard that I will be releasing my first book with IVP on July 28, 2026. It’s a big deal and I am so overwhelmed with God’ goodness in allowing me to share such an essential message about delighting in Him as the true essential foundation for all our spiritual growth and maturing. Truly, when we delight in the Lord, He promises to give us the desires of our hearts – namely, more of Himself!So, here's the invitation. If you feel this message is indeed important, and you know people – including yourself perhaps – who need to be encouraged to awaken and cultivate their delight in God, would you consider joining my book launch team? It’s a great and super easy way to share the good news of God's love for us in Christ, Jesus, our Lord.**If you’re interested, please go to gospelspice.com/awakendelight and find the section about joining the launch team, or email me at [email protected] **Together, let’s encourage everyone we know with the wonderful news that, in Christ, God delights in us and invites us to delight in Him!Stephanie reads her favorite passages about Jesus, both in the Old and in the New Testaments. Her goal is to magnify Him in your heart and life, to make this your most Christ-centered Christmas yet. We at Gospel Spice hold to a very high-christology, which is a fancy way of saying that we worship Jesus as our King, Lord, Savior, and Friend.Jesus is the most beautiful gift we can give one another, so here is your King.Suggestion: consider playing this episode as a family on Christmas day or any time this week! These Scripture passages will generate wonderful conversations about the meaning of the Incarnation, and will lead you to worship and adoration. We are praying for you, and are so grateful for the privilege to serve you this year!Also, check out our Gospel Spice Christmas playlist exclusively on Spotify for free here, or by searching "Gospel Spice Christmas playlsit" in your Spotify app.https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0S4BcfaOfjg2CGH7VBa8mm THERE ARE SEVERAL WAYS TO PARTNER WITH GOSPEL SPICE TODAY!First, PAY Gospel Spice Forward: Give a tax-deductible gift so others can experience our ministry for free, just like you! You can pay it forward with any debit, credit card, or via PayPal. See below for more details about your impact.Also, PLAY Gospel Spice Forward: SHARE the podcast and the studies with your friends and family. FOLLOW, RATE & REVIEW on your favorite podcast app (leave a comment + a star rating on Apple Podcast, Spotify, Pandora, IHeart, Google Podcast, etc…). It REALLY is the best way to help others find this content-rich podcast. And, last but not least, PRAY Gospel Spice Forward: We pray for you weekly. We covet your prayers for our ministry, the thousands we reach, and our team! Contact us to let us know you are praying for us!NEW!Another way to partner with us is to purchase our workbooks and online Bible studies. We keep them at the lowest possible cost, but they require a lot of work from us! For example, - a complete Bible Study requires an average of 500 man-hours. - a workbook for a series requires almost 100 man-hours.MORE ABOUT PARTNERING WITH US FINANCIALLY:Gospel Spice Ministries is a non-profit organization registered under the tax-exempt 501c3 status.Our goal is to provide in-depth, high-quality, free Bible resources for all. They are free, but expensive to create! We need your financial support to keep producing and distributing them. Please pay Gospel Spice forward today! For example, a podcast episode takes close to 10 hours of work (and we release 2 each week). They come to you completely free, but we would truly love your support.We want the money to go to those who really need it. Once our operating costs are paid, 100% of your donation is redistributed to our partners who fight human trafficking. Each year, we aim to give as much as we can. For example, Stephanie works more than full time for Gospel Spice, entirely for free. All board members and volunteers are donating time. We limit our operational expenses to the bare minimum.Your pay-it-forward donations are tax-deductible under IRS Section 170.We want to be the best possible stewards of your financial support. Thank you!Go to gospelspice.com for more, and go especially to gospelspice.com/podcast to enjoy our guests! Interested in our blog? Click here: gospelspice.com/blogThe perfect gift for everyone - apparel, drinkware, stickers and more for all the women, men and kids in your life!https://www.gospelspice.com/merchGo to gospelspice.com for more, and go especially to gospelspice.com/podcast to enjoy our guests! Interested in our blog? Click here: gospelspice.com/blogSupport us on Gospel Spice, PayPal and Venmo!

A SPECIAL MESSAGE FROM STEPHANIE:I want to share a special invitation with you. You may have heard that I will be releasing my first book with IVP on July 28, 2026. It’s a big deal and I am so overwhelmed with God’ goodness in allowing me to share such an essential message about delighting in Him as the true essential foundation for all our spiritual growth and maturing. Truly, when we delight in the Lord, He promises to give us the desires of our hearts – namely, more of Himself!So, here's the invitation. If you feel this message is indeed important, and you know people – including yourself perhaps – who need to be encouraged to awaken and cultivate their delight in God, would you consider joining my book launch team? It’s a great and super easy way to share the good news of God's love for us in Christ, Jesus, our Lord.**If you’re interested, please go to gospelspice.com/awakendelight and find the section about joining the launch team, or email me at [email protected] **Together, let’s encourage everyone we know with the wonderful news that, in Christ, God delights in us and invites us to delight in Him!Stephanie welcomes Megan B. Brown, founder and executive director of MilSpo Co (Military Spouse Coalition), a non-profit organization dedicated to sharing Christ with the military communities worldwide. Megan shares her own story, her heart, and passion for building the Kingdom of God in original, powerful ways. This conversation will stretch, inspire, and challenge you! Megan says, "MilSpo Co. is a place where people can meet Jesus, engage in life-giving community, and everyone is welcome. We believe in creating a space where people can have authentic encounters with Christ, discover their gifts and use them for God's glory."MilSpo Co. began with a commitment to see military spouses gain access points to the gospel through getting connected, building a faith community, and to develop the skill of walking out their faith as they moved from place to place. Nearly a decade ago, a handful of military spouses began gathering around the Word of God in a military housing neighborhood. Their goal was simple: to know God and learn how to make Him known. The result was immense. These women were learning how to create friendships, building relationships inside of their local church, and starting to see how God would use their lifestyles to serve Him as missionaries.MilSpo Co.'s Founder, Megan Brown, began leading small and intimate Bible studies from her living room. What began with six women at Keesler AFB on the Gulf Coast of Mississippi has now become a ground movement. Women all over the globe are now meeting in homes, serving inside of the church, and using their gifts for the glory of God. The next step in mission for MilSpo Co. is to continue to raise up leaders in the military spouse space. By raising up indigenous leaders in the military spouse community who are directly connected to the local church, women in this space can lead others into meaningful connections, biblical community in the family of God, and facilitate their discipleship toward the task of fulfilling the Great Commission. You can also watch the live video of the conversation on our YouTube channel, and make sure to subscribe: https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/rzY9BMMoa-4?feature=oembedABOUT MILSPOCOMegan is a seasoned military spouse, mother of four, and military missionary. Graduating from Moody Bible Institute with a Bachelor's of Science in Ministry Leadership with a focus in Ministry to Women, she is passionate about leading women to pursue fulfilling The Great Commission. MilSpo Co. exists to intentionally disciple the U.S. Armed Forces through recruiting, raising up, and releasing an army of military spouses as paid and prepared vocational missionaries. These women are sent in partnership with the local church, collaborate with civilian communities for evangelism, and are ready to serve God at operational military installations worldwide. Find Megan at http://milspoco.com/DISCOVER THE GOSPEL SPICE MINISTRIES The Gospel Spice Podcast is part of a larger range of tools given to you by Gospel Spice Ministries.In a nutshell, we exist to inspire Christ-followers to delight in God.In more details: we provide resources to empower Christian leaders across generational, social, ethnic and geographical boundaries towards more intimacy with Jesus Christ and discipleship effectiveness through a Biblical Christocentric foundation. The Gospel-Spice Ministries provide a safe environment for spiritual and community growth empowering people to know Christ more intimately, serve one another more powerfully, and reach the world for Jesus.PLAY IT FORWARD by SHARING the link with friends and family.PRAY IT FORWARD by praying for us and those you share it with!PAY IT FORWARD!! Would you consider supporting this show today to help others enjoy it for free? It comes to you completely free, but is labor-intensive to produce, and we want to keep put

A SPECIAL MESSAGE FROM STEPHANIE:I want to share a special invitation with you. You may have heard that I will be releasing my first book with IVP on July 28, 2026. It’s a big deal and I am so overwhelmed with God’ goodness in allowing me to share such an essential message about delighting in Him as the true essential foundation for all our spiritual growth and maturing. Truly, when we delight in the Lord, He promises to give us the desires of our hearts – namely, more of Himself!So, here's the invitation. If you feel this message is indeed important, and you know people – including yourself perhaps – who need to be encouraged to awaken and cultivate their delight in God, would you consider joining my book launch team? It’s a great and super easy way to share the good news of God's love for us in Christ, Jesus, our Lord.**If you’re interested, please go to gospelspice.com/awakendelight and find the section about joining the launch team, or email me at [email protected] **Together, let’s encourage everyone we know with the wonderful news that, in Christ, God delights in us and invites us to delight in Him!Stephanie invites us to join her for a cup of Christmas tea alongside Mary the mother of Jesus. Let us ponder her life and legacy. Starting at he Annunciation (when the Angel told her the news of Jesus' impending arrival!), she lived a journey to faith, of faith, and in faith. How can we emulate this hero of our faith? Her journey to faith is marked with reasonable questions, born of ignorance. We are so grateful God does not condemn us for ignorance! Unlike Zechariah, Mary didn't exhibit unbelief--only ignorance. She chose to embrace that which she may not completely understand, though she tried to understand as much as she could. This role-models a healthy balance of faith and knowledge! Her journey of faith is marked with a deep rooting in Scripture, and flavored with deep joy and profound astonishment at being a part of God's plan--again, something we are invited to emulate! When was the last time you were astonished to be a Christian? We are called to daily rejoice that we are part of the Body of Christ. Joyful disbelief is the trademark of the grateful heart in Christ.Her journey in faith involves a movement from her intellect to her heart and emotions. She chooses painful grace in surrender.Jesus offers to incarnate in our lives too. How can He be born in you and in me today? What does Mary teach us about surrendering and inviting the Son to be born in our lives?Finally, Mary ponders all manner of things --events, people, Scripture, her Son's life, as well as her own practicaly daily life too. In doing so, she invites us to the same. The message of Christmas is at the very least that God has come to dwell with you and with me--within, indeed.Let us rejoice, give Him glory, and delight in Him today and forever!ABOUT THE GOSPEL SPICE LEADERSHIP TRAININGStephanie mentioned the Winter 2023 Gospel Spice leadership training program in this episode. This free, in-depth resource equips leaders who want to take their leadership skill to the next level. It is free, and has a very small number of available seats. Find more at gospelspice.com/leadership. NEW GOSPELSPICE CHRISTMAS PLAYLIST ON SPOTIFY!Enjoy our team's selection of favorite Christ-centered Christmas hymns this season. Search Gospel Spice on Spotify, or click here: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0S4BcfaOfjg2CGH7VBa8mm?si=grkc-ZS6TBu75sByFPvwfw&nd=1(note - there is also a Gospel Spice Worship playlist for all the other months of the year!)THERE ARE SEVERAL WAYS TO PARTNER WITH GOSPEL SPICE TODAY!First, PAY Gospel Spice Forward: Give a tax-deductible gift so others can experience our ministry for free, just like you! You can pay it forward with any debit, credit card, or via PayPal. See below for more details about your impact.Also, PLAY Gospel Spice Forward: SHARE the podcast and the studies with your friends and family. FOLLOW, RATE & REVIEW on your favorite podcast app (leave a comment + a star rating on Apple Podcast, Spotify, Pandora, IHeart, Google Podcast, etc…). It REALLY is the best way to help others find this content-rich podcast. And, last but not least, PRAY Gospel Spice Forward: We pray for you weekly. We covet your prayers for our ministry, the thousands we reach, and our team! Contact us to let us know you are praying for us!NEW!Another way to partner with us is to purchase our workbooks and online Bible studies. We keep them at the lowest possible cost, but they require a lot of work from us! For example, - a complete Bible Study requires an average of 500 man-hours. - a workbook for a series requires almost 100 man-hours.MORE ABOUT PARTNERING WITH US FINANCIALLY:Gospel Spice Ministries is a non-profit organization registered under the tax-exempt 501c3 status.Our goal is to provide in-depth, high-quality, free Bible resources for all. They are free, but expensive to create! We need your financial support to keep produ

A SPECIAL MESSAGE FROM STEPHANIE:I want to share a special invitation with you. You may have heard that I will be releasing my first book with IVP on July 28, 2026. It’s a big deal and I am so overwhelmed with God’ goodness in allowing me to share such an essential message about delighting in Him as the true essential foundation for all our spiritual growth and maturing. Truly, when we delight in the Lord, He promises to give us the desires of our hearts – namely, more of Himself!So, here's the invitation. If you feel this message is indeed important, and you know people – including yourself perhaps – who need to be encouraged to awaken and cultivate their delight in God, would you consider joining my book launch team? It’s a great and super easy way to share the good news of God's love for us in Christ, Jesus, our Lord.**If you’re interested, please go to gospelspice.com/awakendelight and find the section about joining the launch team, or email me at [email protected] **Together, let’s encourage everyone we know with the wonderful news that, in Christ, God delights in us and invites us to delight in Him!Jill Briscoe is a prolific author, speaker and poet. Today she brings us two Christmas poems as well as the context that led her to write them. She and Stephanie have enjoyed many phone conversations over the past few years, and Jill was eager to bring our Gospel Spice listeners a special Christmas gift of encouragement, wisdom, wit, and humility! In the second half of this episode, recorded separately, Jill shares her thoughts on the legacy that her recently departed husband Stuart Briscoe has equipped her to continue building. She shares about how she had to learn that we each are called to carry our own cross as we are invited to enter into the fellowship of the sufferings of Jesus Christ. She shares her own vulnerabilities and fears with her trademark authenticity. She leaves us with a compelling challenge to embrace the fullness of the life we have been called to--and to do it afraid when needs be. You can also watch the live video of the conversation on our YouTube channel, and make sure to subscribe: https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/WMfaKi21rHI?feature=oembedJill was a guest on Gospel Spice in episode 83 where she shared about overcoming fear with faith. We invite you to (re)visit this highlight of our show! Click here: https://www.podcastics.com/episode/70360/link/ NEW GOSPELSPICE CHRISTMAS PLAYLIST ON SPOTIFY!Enjoy our team's selection of favorite Christ-centered Christmas hymns this season. Search Gospel Spice on Spotify, or click here: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0S4BcfaOfjg2CGH7VBa8mm?si=grkc-ZS6TBu75sByFPvwfw&nd=1 (note - there is also a Gospel Spice Worship playlist for all the other months of the year!)The perfect gift for everyone - apparel, drinkware, stickers and more for all the women, men and kids in your life!https://www.gospelspice.com/merchGo to gospelspice.com for more, and go especially to gospelspice.com/podcast to enjoy our guests! Interested in our blog? Click here: gospelspice.com/blogSupport us on Gospel Spice, PayPal and Venmo!

A SPECIAL MESSAGE FROM STEPHANIE:I want to share a special invitation with you. You may have heard that I will be releasing my first book with IVP on July 28, 2026. It’s a big deal and I am so overwhelmed with God’ goodness in allowing me to share such an essential message about delighting in Him as the true essential foundation for all our spiritual growth and maturing. Truly, when we delight in the Lord, He promises to give us the desires of our hearts – namely, more of Himself!So, here's the invitation. If you feel this message is indeed important, and you know people – including yourself perhaps – who need to be encouraged to awaken and cultivate their delight in God, would you consider joining my book launch team? It’s a great and super easy way to share the good news of God's love for us in Christ, Jesus, our Lord.**If you’re interested, please go to gospelspice.com/awakendelight and find the section about joining the launch team, or email me at [email protected] **Together, let’s encourage everyone we know with the wonderful news that, in Christ, God delights in us and invites us to delight in Him!Stephanie invites us to ponder an original perspective to help us determine how to invest our time, money and talents wisely, with heaven in mind. What does Jesus mean when He urges us to "accumulate treasures in heaven"? Surely He does not mean we will need money in eternity. What are these treasures? And most importantly, HOW do we accumulate treasures in heaven?Scripture teaches we are saved by grace alone, and faith in Christ alone, and that we cannot earn salvation. So, this is not about salvation. This is about living a life of delight in the glory of God on THIS side of heaven, and a life of investing wisely in what GOD says matters eternally.Stephanie uses a fresh analogy and describes our life this side of heaven as a garden in which we live and work and move and play. But there is a great wall, so high we cannot peek over it, and it separates us from eternal life. This wall is death and, apart from Christ, it is terrifying. It casts its shadows of pain and suffering, hardship and afflictions, disease and sickness over us all. This wall has a door for each one of us--we will not cross over until our time comes, but we will not be able to avoid that door when our time comes. What awaits us on the other side of it and, more importantly since you already know what awaits you in Christ, how do we invest our lives wisely, this side of the wall? Jesus tells us to accumulate treasures in heaven. In other words, He tells us there are ways to toss our treasure over the wall of death, and into eternity. What can we toss? And HOW do we toss it?In this episode, Stephanie invites us to ponder what it looks like to toss treasure over the wall, and then to discover how we will use it on the other side. What will this treasure look like? How will we use it in heaven?We at Gospel Spice hope and pray that this episode will encourage you to keep running the race set before you, and to fix your eyes on Him who has crossed over to bring you from death to life.NEW GOSPELSPICE CHRISTMAS PLAYLIST ON SPOTIFY!Enjoy our team's selection of favorite Christ-centered Christmas hymns this season. Search Gospel Spice on Spotify, or click here https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0S4BcfaOfjg2CGH7VBa8mm?si=grkc-ZS6TBu75sByFPvwfw&nd=1(note - there is also a Gospel Spice Worship playlist for all the other months of the year!)THERE ARE SEVERAL WAYS TO PARTNER WITH GOSPEL SPICE TODAY!First, PAY Gospel Spice Forward: Give a tax-deductible gift so others can experience our ministry for free, just like you! You can pay it forward with any debit, credit card, or via PayPal. See below for more details about your impact.Also, PLAY Gospel Spice Forward: SHARE the podcast and the studies with your friends and family. FOLLOW, RATE & REVIEW on your favorite podcast app (leave a comment + a star rating on Apple Podcast, Spotify, Pandora, IHeart, Google Podcast, etc…). It REALLY is the best way to help others find this content-rich podcast. And, last but not least, PRAY Gospel Spice Forward: We pray for you weekly. We covet your prayers for our ministry, the thousands we reach, and our team! Contact us to let us know you are praying for us!NEW!Another way to partner with us is to purchase our workbooks and online Bible studies. We keep them at the lowest possible cost, but they require a lot of work from us! For example, - a complete Bible Study requires an average of 500 man-hours. - a workbook for a series requires almost 100 man-hours.MORE ABOUT PARTNERING WITH US FINANCIALLY:Gospel Spice Ministries is a non-profit organization registered under the tax-exempt 501c3 status.Our goal is to provide in-depth, high-quality, free Bible resources for all. They are free, but expensive to create! We need your financial support to keep producing and distributing them. Please pay Gospel Spice forward today! For example, a podcast episode takes c

A SPECIAL MESSAGE FROM STEPHANIE:I want to share a special invitation with you. You may have heard that I will be releasing my first book with IVP on July 28, 2026. It’s a big deal and I am so overwhelmed with God’ goodness in allowing me to share such an essential message about delighting in Him as the true essential foundation for all our spiritual growth and maturing. Truly, when we delight in the Lord, He promises to give us the desires of our hearts – namely, more of Himself!So, here's the invitation. If you feel this message is indeed important, and you know people – including yourself perhaps – who need to be encouraged to awaken and cultivate their delight in God, would you consider joining my book launch team? It’s a great and super easy way to share the good news of God's love for us in Christ, Jesus, our Lord.**If you’re interested, please go to gospelspice.com/awakendelight and find the section about joining the launch team, or email me at [email protected] **Together, let’s encourage everyone we know with the wonderful news that, in Christ, God delights in us and invites us to delight in Him!Stephanie sits down with Dr. Richard Blackaby, who co-authored Experiencing God with his father Henry Blackaby. Richard and Stephanie talk about their common passion for Scripture, for The Lord of the Rings, and much more! They connect on the power of the spice of the gospel, and a common passion for delight in the glory of God as the ultimately most satisfying definition of a successful spiritual life in the Messiah. If you have experienced staleness in your relationship with God... this is the episode for you!The key topic of this conversation is the power of a godly legacy through several generations. Richard and Stephanie start off by discussing some key elements of parenting through Richard’s own growing-up years in the Blackaby family. Richard shares precious family memories, and experiences of faith from his parents. He highlights the essential presence of joy and laughter in their household. These are precious insights for today’s parents of young and teen children! Richard says, “I can’t think of a better compliment than when your grown children say they want to carry your own family traditions into their own new families.”Richard and Stephanie talk about Experiencing God, and the power of legacy through several generations being moved by this ground-breaking Bible Study, published in the early 1990’s. Through this conversation, you are invited to experience the power of God’s faithfulness, and the challenges of being in full-time ministry. Richard tells us the story of his father, and the process of writing Experiencing God.Finally, they also talk about the brand new CSB Experiencing God Bible, its unique features, and what Richard hopes it will provide for a new generation of Christ-followers. Might the CSB Experiencing God Bible be the perfect Christmas gift for yourself and/or your loved ones? MORE ABOUT BLACKABY MINISTRIES INTERNATIONALBlackaby Ministries International (BMI) was founded in 2004 to encourage Christians worldwide to know and experience God through spiritual leadership, coaching, renewal and revitalization of churches, online classes, church-wide weekend retreats, and cultural engagement. Born in British Columbia, Henry Blackaby studied English and History at the University of British Columbia and earned his Bachelor of Divinity (B.D.) and Th.M from Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary (now called Gateway Seminary) in Phoenix, Arizona. Henry and Marilynn Blackaby served in several churches in California before relocating to Saskatchewan, Canada, to lead a struggling congregation that had dwindled to only 10 members in 1970. During their 18 years in Canada, they saw God work in miraculous ways, helped plant numerous churches, and reared their five children. Through those experiences, God taught the Blackabys truths about Himself that became the basis for the best-selling book, Experiencing God: Knowing and Doing the Will of God, publishing in 1990 and selling more than seven million copies.Over the last 30+ years, more than eight million people participated in the Experiencing God Study. Both the book and workbook have been publishing in over 75 languages and used by almost every denomination. Blackaby also won the Gold Medallion Award for the devotionals, Experiencing God Together and Experiencing God Day by Day. Blackaby went on to serve in a variety of leadership positions at ministries such as the North American Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention, the International Mission Board and LifeWay Christian Resources. He also served as President of Canadian Baptist Theological College for seven years.After growing up in a spiritually rich environment, all five of Henry and Marilynn’s children sensed God calling them into full-time ministry. Their oldest son, Dr. Richard Blackaby, is the president of the Atlanta-based Blackaby Ministries International and is th

A SPECIAL MESSAGE FROM STEPHANIE:I want to share a special invitation with you. You may have heard that I will be releasing my first book with IVP on July 28, 2026. It’s a big deal and I am so overwhelmed with God’ goodness in allowing me to share such an essential message about delighting in Him as the true essential foundation for all our spiritual growth and maturing. Truly, when we delight in the Lord, He promises to give us the desires of our hearts – namely, more of Himself!So, here's the invitation. If you feel this message is indeed important, and you know people – including yourself perhaps – who need to be encouraged to awaken and cultivate their delight in God, would you consider joining my book launch team? It’s a great and super easy way to share the good news of God's love for us in Christ, Jesus, our Lord.**If you’re interested, please go to gospelspice.com/awakendelight and find the section about joining the launch team, or email me at [email protected] **Together, let’s encourage everyone we know with the wonderful news that, in Christ, God delights in us and invites us to delight in Him!If you know anything about Stephanie, you know she is a huge The Chosen fan! So what a joy to welcome Lara Silva to Gospel Spice! Lara plays Eden, who is the feisty, faith-filled, big-dream wife of Simon-Peter in the show. Lara tells us about how her own personality influences the character of Eden, and how her own personal life experiences have prepared her for this role (Lara even gets emotional when sharing such deep intimate details!). She tells us about her faith, her spiritual routine, and how Jesus has truly transformed her life, giving her a purpose and a passion. She seeks to glorify Him and delight in Him, and that makes her a true Gospel Spice girl!Lara invites us to obey and follow Jesus all the way, letting Him come near to transform us. She looks back at who she used to be, and looks forward to the person God is shaping her to become. Lara shares about her favorite spice, of course, and how her Brazilian roots and culture are so much a part of her daily experience of Scripture.Binge more exclusive The Chosen | Gospel Spice content! In the past Stephanie has welcomed Dallas and Amanda Jenkins (episode 88 | listen here) as well as Chad Gundersen and Chris Juen, who are the executive producers for the show (episode 123 | listen here). Watch this conversation on video and make sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel at https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/XCH6r7cXqNA?feature=oembed The perfect gift for everyone - apparel, drinkware, stickers and more for all the women, men and kids in your life!https://www.gospelspice.com/merchGo to gospelspice.com for more, and go especially to gospelspice.com/podcast to enjoy our guests! Interested in our blog? Click here: gospelspice.com/blogGOD'S GLORY, OUR DELIGHT | THE GOSPEL SPICE SERIESDelighting in the glory of God. Does this concept strike you as reserved for spiritual contemplatives? What if, instead, it proved the highly practical, deeply foundational perspective you need right now?Why does God’s glory even matter in our day and age? How can we learn from Jesus to make His glory our true North and lifelong quest? What keeps us from fully stepping into this God-ordained purpose for our life? How do we kindle delight for God on a daily basis? And, once we have embraced God’s glory as our heart’s true delight, how can we then come alongside others?Join us to cultivate a sincere delight for God’s glory, rooted in an honest, hard look at the depth of our need, and in the much deeper Reality of His grace. Trace the glory of God through Scripture and in your own life. Behold the exact radiance of God’s glory, revealed in Jesus. Learn to see yourself as Christ does—through the lens of the Father’s love at the cross. Jesus offers to overwhelm our deadly self-centeredness with His resurrection power. He carries us every step of the way, even as He calls us to true humility on the path to glory.Who has time to cultivate the delight that comes from pondering the glory of God? And yet, nothing could be more urgent today. Marthas and Marys, Peters and Johns—we are all invited to dare to dream of a lifestyle of God-centered delight. Nothing could be more practical.Go to gospelspice.com for more, and go especially to gospelspice.com/podcast to enjoy our guests! Interested in our blog? Click here: gospelspice.com/blogSupport us on Gospel Spice, PayPal and Venmo!

A SPECIAL MESSAGE FROM STEPHANIE:I want to share a special invitation with you. You may have heard that I will be releasing my first book with IVP on July 28, 2026. It’s a big deal and I am so overwhelmed with God’ goodness in allowing me to share such an essential message about delighting in Him as the true essential foundation for all our spiritual growth and maturing. Truly, when we delight in the Lord, He promises to give us the desires of our hearts – namely, more of Himself!So, here's the invitation. If you feel this message is indeed important, and you know people – including yourself perhaps – who need to be encouraged to awaken and cultivate their delight in God, would you consider joining my book launch team? It’s a great and super easy way to share the good news of God's love for us in Christ, Jesus, our Lord.**If you’re interested, please go to gospelspice.com/awakendelight and find the section about joining the launch team, or email me at [email protected] **Together, let’s encourage everyone we know with the wonderful news that, in Christ, God delights in us and invites us to delight in Him!This is our final episode in our much-beloved series, God's Glory, our delight! What a journey! Our conclusion today calls us to step from darkness to glory. Stephanie spends a moment reminiscing on the journey we have undertaken together. Over the 12 episodes of this series, we have sought to create a new perspective through which to view the world, our life, our circumstances, our choices, and our identity –by learning to see God as He is.We have wondered, How can I delight in God’s glory in…- My identity- My choices + behaviors + thoughts = ever deepening work of the Cross in me- My circumstances – past, present, future.- My relationship with God- OthersWe've looked at understanding what keeps us from delighting in God’s glory - misunderstandings about...- who He is- His heart for us- the depth of our sin nature and ability to overcome and our need for Him- His utter ability to save us from ourselves and give us His resurrection power.- who we truly are in His sight- what glory is, and what delight is- what humility isWe've pondered our lack of beholding the perspective of heaven, through His eternal purpose in creating us and our eternal glorified state (in body, soul, spirit). We've started on the path to step into His ultimate purpose for our life – delight in His glory. We've studied practical habits of growth in Christlikeness, individually (with a focus on humility as meekness; dependence on Him; correct beholding of Reality/Truth; love), delight through individual spiritual disciplines of Bible intake, prayer/fasting, journaling, worship) and corporately (church, mentoring, love).We've tried to approach a definition of the glory of God – who He is, and who we are. He says, " I am, and there is no other." So we are called to choose: His glory, or mine?What a journey! So today we are pondering: How can I be different because I delight in His glory? How delighting in His glory changes me?Today's verses: "Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit." (2Corinthians 3:17-18)Let's be practical...- Reminder – there are listening guides for each episode. They allow you to follow with pen and paper, or with your phone to take notes from the app. These listening guides are part of the workbook you can download for free as a member.- Today and each GGOD episode has a listening guide as well as questions for either group discussions or your own personal time, inviting you to ponder what you heard in the days to come.- Today we are introducing a new feature which is a listener suggestion: about halfway through the episode, there will be a 30-second musical interlude to allow you to pause and reflect on the lesson. You are also invited to use the second music break at the end of the episode, it is newly expanded, if you feel the need to chew on the lesson some more.- Also use our membership page to muse, ask questions, ponder, reflect, connect with us!- Please do remember that you can go back and listen again. We aim to give you the best quality content we can teach so it is intense and deep – that is because we highly respect you and your time, and we want to honor you as you seek to deepen your faith. There are all sorts of people listening alongside you, from overseas missionaries to seminary students to brand new believers, people listening as they drive or jog or run errands or do the dishes. So you are welcome, at whatever stage of your spiritual journey you find yourself in. If it means listening twice or taking notes using the listening guide, that’s awesome! Take it slow. These epsidoes are more akin to a slow cooked French meal than a McDonalds drive-thru!- Finally, there will be a Gos

A SPECIAL MESSAGE FROM STEPHANIE:I want to share a special invitation with you. You may have heard that I will be releasing my first book with IVP on July 28, 2026. It’s a big deal and I am so overwhelmed with God’ goodness in allowing me to share such an essential message about delighting in Him as the true essential foundation for all our spiritual growth and maturing. Truly, when we delight in the Lord, He promises to give us the desires of our hearts – namely, more of Himself!So, here's the invitation. If you feel this message is indeed important, and you know people – including yourself perhaps – who need to be encouraged to awaken and cultivate their delight in God, would you consider joining my book launch team? It’s a great and super easy way to share the good news of God's love for us in Christ, Jesus, our Lord.**If you’re interested, please go to gospelspice.com/awakendelight and find the section about joining the launch team, or email me at [email protected] **Together, let’s encourage everyone we know with the wonderful news that, in Christ, God delights in us and invites us to delight in Him!Ruth Chou Simons joins Stephanie today to invite families into an unconventional, life-changing Advent season. How can we prepare for a DIFFERENT kind of Advent - when Jesus is truly the center? How can we cultivate a posture of gratitude, an attitude of receiving goodness from the Lord, and a desire of deeper delight in His glory this Christmas season? How can we live an Advent season that is a true experience of what we do know about the goodness of the Lord? And, how can we carry Advent into all our other seasons of life - from January to November? Why and how is Christmas relevant in March, in July, in September--and every other season?Don't miss Ruth's powerful prayer for you towards the end of their conversation! You can also watch the live video of the conversation on our YouTube channel, and make sure to subscribe: https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/B3nF0fd4wac?feature=oembed The Advent season, brimming with glad tidings and great joy, is often followed by disappointment, post-holiday letdown, dashed expectations, and exhaustion. Box up the ornaments and take down the garland; put away the artificial trees and cheery red bows and flannel sheets: Christmas, with all its hustle and bustle, tinsel and twinkle lights, carols and celebrations, is over. But shouldn’t post-Christmas feel more like an afterglow and less like an aftershock? Why don’t even the best of celebrations feel like enough? After receiving so many gifts—including the birth of Christ, why is unfulfillment still lurking?Bestselling author, speaker and gifted artist behind GraceLaced Co., Ruth Chou Simons once asked those same questions at the end of the Advent season. She found herself wanting, in search of something that outlasted the month of December. In her new devotional, Emmanuel: An Invitation to Prepare Him Room at Christmas and Always, Ruth offers a fresh take on the Advent experience, showing readers that the birth of Jesus—the Christmas story—is only the beginning. And that the resurrection—often overlooked in December—is the most life-changing event. She guides readers on a beautifully-illustrated 25-day journey that changes the way they celebrate the season and live the rest of the year. “If Jesus is the reason for the season, then the resurrection is really the most life‐changing event we can celebrate. The baby Jesus born to Mary and Joseph in Bethlehem is truly a miracle only because he was the promised Messiah,” she writes. “Without the cross, the baby in the manger is but novel and fascinating, not life‐changing. And what we long for right now, in the midst of the hustle, the mess, and the mundane, is life-changing. We want the Christmas miracle to change our lives and not just our wallets … Perhaps when we struggle to experience that kind of heart change at Christmas it is because we’ve left the resurrection out of our celebration of the incarnation.”In Emmanuel, Ruth combines her beautiful original artwork with personal insight and practical application. Each day in the book highlights a Bible passage, question to ponder, Christmas carol, and prayer. She helps readers understand they were created to know much more than the bustle, or even the magic, of Christmas; they were made to know Christ—the answer they have been longing for. “When you see an infant lying in a manger this Christmas—a popular visual image representing the miraculous story in Scripture—don’t let your affections remain there,” writes Simons. “Jesus is more than a baby, more than a beautiful miracle in a harsh world. He is more than a familiar figure sung about in festive tunes. Jesus is God with us—Immanuel, just as the angel of the Lord told Joseph.” “The true miracle of Christmas isn’t simply the virgin birth; it’s much greater than even such an impossibility. No, the miracle of Christmas is in this: that a holy God made a way for all w

A SPECIAL MESSAGE FROM STEPHANIE:I want to share a special invitation with you. You may have heard that I will be releasing my first book with IVP on July 28, 2026. It’s a big deal and I am so overwhelmed with God’ goodness in allowing me to share such an essential message about delighting in Him as the true essential foundation for all our spiritual growth and maturing. Truly, when we delight in the Lord, He promises to give us the desires of our hearts – namely, more of Himself!So, here's the invitation. If you feel this message is indeed important, and you know people – including yourself perhaps – who need to be encouraged to awaken and cultivate their delight in God, would you consider joining my book launch team? It’s a great and super easy way to share the good news of God's love for us in Christ, Jesus, our Lord.**If you’re interested, please go to gospelspice.com/awakendelight and find the section about joining the launch team, or email me at [email protected] **Together, let’s encourage everyone we know with the wonderful news that, in Christ, God delights in us and invites us to delight in Him!Stephanie invites us today to continue the conversation about depth of faith through trials and tribulation and hardship and suffering this side of heaven. She then moves to a glorious reality: Scripture is quite clear: there is a glorious inheritance that awaits us.Warning! This episode is particularly chockfull of Bible verses! It might maybe even contain mentions of some of Stephanie's favorite books- namely, The Lord of the Rings, The Pilgrim's Progress and The Chronicles of Narnia! She explains that Christian fantasy books can be a powerful drawing to point us to the reality of the perspective of heaven!So first, we discuss hardships. Hardships force us to decide if we’re going to trust God or self. Trusting self can take many different shapes in afflictions:- Plowing through and trying harder- Swallowing your emotions and pushing through- Crumbling in despair and despondency- Blaming everyone- Self-loathing- Choosing to distrust God.Or trusting God. It’s both harder and easier. It has to do with surrender and rest, and it does lead to greater delight in God through the hardship. If you trust God through your affliction, you will find yourself delighting in Him more on the other side of your affliction—and maybe even while you are still in it.If you have truly decided to make the glory of God your priority at any cost, then like Paul you can begin to see afflictions and thorns as blessings. Instead of recoiling, you can start embracing and maybe even welcoming afflictions. Don’t go looking for them—Scripture says they will come soon enough. But when God, in His perfect timing, allows afflictions your way, what if we had enough faith to say, “God thank you for this opportunity to learn to trust you, love you, delight in you.” That is exotic faith. It’s not your plain vanilla, slap-on faith that makes you feel good. This is exotic faith from deep inside the trenches.Resting in Him means knowing at a deeper, new, more profound level that He is trustworthy AND omnipotent. And then we start pondering our inheritance in Christ. A smattering of deep truth:Romans 8:17 - Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.Ephesians 3:6 - through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus.Gal 3:29 - If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.Listen to the whole episode for the whole truth! Let's be practical...- Reminder – there are listening guides for each episode. They allow you to follow with pen and paper, or with your phone to take notes from the app. These listening guides are part of the workbook you can download for free as a member.- Today and each GGOD episode has a listening guide as well as questions for either group discussions or your own personal time, inviting you to ponder what you heard in the days to come.- Today we are introducing a new feature which is a listener suggestion: about halfway through the episode, there will be a 30-second musical interlude to allow you to pause and reflect on the lesson. You are also invited to use the second music break at the end of the episode, it is newly expanded, if you feel the need to chew on the lesson some more.- Also use our membership page to muse, ask questions, ponder, reflect, connect with us!- Please do remember that you can go back and listen again. We aim to give you the best quality content we can teach so it is intense and deep – that is because we highly respect you and your time, and we want to honor you as you seek to deepen your faith. There are all sorts of people listening alongside you, from overseas missionaries to seminary students to brand new believers, people listening as they

A SPECIAL MESSAGE FROM STEPHANIE:I want to share a special invitation with you. You may have heard that I will be releasing my first book with IVP on July 28, 2026. It’s a big deal and I am so overwhelmed with God’ goodness in allowing me to share such an essential message about delighting in Him as the true essential foundation for all our spiritual growth and maturing. Truly, when we delight in the Lord, He promises to give us the desires of our hearts – namely, more of Himself!So, here's the invitation. If you feel this message is indeed important, and you know people – including yourself perhaps – who need to be encouraged to awaken and cultivate their delight in God, would you consider joining my book launch team? It’s a great and super easy way to share the good news of God's love for us in Christ, Jesus, our Lord.**If you’re interested, please go to gospelspice.com/awakendelight and find the section about joining the launch team, or email me at [email protected] **Together, let’s encourage everyone we know with the wonderful news that, in Christ, God delights in us and invites us to delight in Him!Has reading the Bible ever felt like a chore? Have you ever wondered how to delight in God? How can love for God be your most tangible reality? How can we nurture a culture of curiosity and learning from one another, rather than be afraid of our differences? Stephanie welcomes Tara Leigh Cobble, the founder and CEO of D-Group and host of the Bible Recap podcast—and, most importantly, fellow lover of Jesus Christ! Together they weave an impromptu conversation that invites you to TASTE the delight AND SEE the beauty of knowing Christ more deeply! Their contagious passion for Scripture, their eclectic experiences of cultures, and their common excitement about knowing Jesus more will inspire you to delight in Him in fresh, spicy new ways. Tara-Leigh shares about recent archeological discoveries in Israel - including a synagogue in Magdala where Jesus most likely taught, and the very palace of King David. She shares her passion for Israel because it is a great way to fall deeper in love with Jesus!!Tara-Leigh shares her concerns for our generation, and her perspective on how to inspire our generation to delight in God. She explains how the Bible went from boring and unpleasant, to delightful and her ultimate delight! She also draws out attention to the dangers of taking Bible verses out of context and the essential nature of placing our Bible readings within context. Finally, Tara-Leigh gives us a clear call to unity, humility, and curiosity. What can we learn from one another? How do cultures and personality differences enrich our lives instead of creating fear of difference?Join them over a cup of coffee, with your Bible open and your heart ready to hear from God about how to grow your intimacy with Him today! Stephanie teared up and Tara-Leigh could not stop smiling from ear to ear—these are unmistakable pointers to God’s presence and goodness!Watch the live conversation on our YouTube channel and make sure to subscribe: https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/3RyztkQQKbQ?feature=oembed MORE ABOUT TARA-LEIGH COBBLETara-Leigh Cobble's zeal for Biblical literacy led her to create D-Group (Discipleship Group), which has grown into an international network of 300+ Bible studies that meet every week in homes, churches, and online. She also writes and hosts a daily radio show called "The God Shot", as well as a daily podcast called "The Bible Recap" to guide listeners through a chronological 1-Year Bible reading plan. The podcast has crossed over 140 million downloads and reached #2 on the Apple Podcast Top Overall Charts. More than 20,000 churches around the world have joined their reading plan to know and love God better. Her book The Bible Recap (Baker / Bethany House) and Bible study He’s Where the Joy Is (Lifeway) aim to help people not only understand Scripture but to love God more as a result!For more information: taraleighcobble.com | thebiblerecap.com | mydgroup.orgSocial media: @taraleighcobble | @thebiblerecap | @mydgroupWe invite you to check out the first episode of each of our series, and decide which one you will want to start with.Go to gospelspice.com for more, and go especially to gospelspice.com/podcast to enjoy our guests! Interested in our blog? Click here: gospelspice.com/blogIdentity in the battle | Ephesianshttps://www.podcastics.com/episode/372022/link/Malachi: Messenger to Messiahhttps://www.podcastics.com/episode/356130/link/Wisdom from the Book of Proverbshttps://www.podcastics.com/episode/324347/link/Come to the Table | The Feasts Jesus celebratedhttps://www.podcastics.com/episode/309956/link/GOD'S GLORY, OUR DELIGHT | THE GOSPEL SPICE SERIESDelighting in the glory of God. Does this concept strike you as reserved for spiritual contemplatives? What if, instead, it proved the highly practical, deeply foundational perspective you need right now?Why does God’s glory even matter in our

A SPECIAL MESSAGE FROM STEPHANIE:I want to share a special invitation with you. You may have heard that I will be releasing my first book with IVP on July 28, 2026. It’s a big deal and I am so overwhelmed with God’ goodness in allowing me to share such an essential message about delighting in Him as the true essential foundation for all our spiritual growth and maturing. Truly, when we delight in the Lord, He promises to give us the desires of our hearts – namely, more of Himself!So, here's the invitation. If you feel this message is indeed important, and you know people – including yourself perhaps – who need to be encouraged to awaken and cultivate their delight in God, would you consider joining my book launch team? It’s a great and super easy way to share the good news of God's love for us in Christ, Jesus, our Lord.**If you’re interested, please go to gospelspice.com/awakendelight and find the section about joining the launch team, or email me at [email protected] **Together, let’s encourage everyone we know with the wonderful news that, in Christ, God delights in us and invites us to delight in Him!Stephanie enjoins us to embrace exotic faith with the goal of developing the perspective of heaven in our hearts - namely, in order to start perceiving our life and circumstances and relationships the way God does.God sees us as He created us to be—not as we are today, right now, with all our imperfections. He sees the finished product. One of Stephanie's favorite descriptions of ourselves? "We are half-baked masterpieces."Masterpieces? That’s how God calls us:Ephesians 2:10 - For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.Psalm139:14 - I am fearfully and wonderfully made;Genesis1:27 - So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.But half-baked, because we are a work under construction.Philippians 2:12-13 - continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.Ephesians 4:24 - put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.Half baked masterpieces. That’s you and me today. Stephanie shares, "The more I see myself as God sees me, the easier I will find it to delight in His glory."So in this context, how do we approach suffering, and how does humility give us the proper perspective when trials and pain hit home? Humility is both the soil that allows faith to grow, and the fruit that grows from that tree of faith. And it all points to delight in the glory of God as our ultimate goal and purpose.Paul tells us of his amazing revelations. He says he was caught up in the third heaven (2Cor 12:2). He literally got the perspective of Heaven. And it was so glorious, that he was actually at risk of developing pride. At risk of thinking he was better than others for having been granted such a perspective. So God, in His wise goodness, afflicted Paul with a thorn. Paul asks for the affliction to be taken away.That’s the context for a few famous verses from the pen of Paul, when God tells Paul, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” (2Corinthians 12:9) and Paul’s conclusion, verse 10: For when I am weak, then I am strong.This is a lesson we all must learn if we truly seek to delight in the glory of God. Pride has no place in this quest. So Paul went from pride of place to delight in God. He didn’t regret it for a minute: the moment he understood why this affliction was not taken away, but that it was given as a grace, then he stopped asking for it to be removed.He actually started thanking God for it. Not because he was masochistic or loved being in pain, or wanted to be pitied, or wanted to tell us how amazing he is for handling such pain. But Because he wanted to live in God’s strength, not his own. DISCOVER THE GOSPEL SPICE MINISTRIES The Gospel Spice Podcast is part of a larger range of tools given to you by Gospel Spice Ministries.In a nutshell, we exist to inspire Christ-followers to delight in God.In more details: we provide resources to empower Christian leaders across generational, social, ethnic and geographical boundaries towards more intimacy with Jesus Christ and discipleship effectiveness through a Biblical Christocentric foundation. The Gospel-Spice Ministries provide a safe environment for spiritual and community growth empowering people to know Christ more intimately, serve one another more powerfully, and reach the world for Jesus.PLAY IT FORWARD by SHARING the link with friends and family.PRAY IT FORWARD by praying for us and those you share it with!PAY IT FORWARD!! Would you consider supporting this show today to help others enjoy it for free? It comes to you completely free, but is labor-intensive to produce, and we want to keep putting it in the ears of people!Gospel Spice Ministrie

A SPECIAL MESSAGE FROM STEPHANIE:I want to share a special invitation with you. You may have heard that I will be releasing my first book with IVP on July 28, 2026. It’s a big deal and I am so overwhelmed with God’ goodness in allowing me to share such an essential message about delighting in Him as the true essential foundation for all our spiritual growth and maturing. Truly, when we delight in the Lord, He promises to give us the desires of our hearts – namely, more of Himself!So, here's the invitation. If you feel this message is indeed important, and you know people – including yourself perhaps – who need to be encouraged to awaken and cultivate their delight in God, would you consider joining my book launch team? It’s a great and super easy way to share the good news of God's love for us in Christ, Jesus, our Lord.**If you’re interested, please go to gospelspice.com/awakendelight and find the section about joining the launch team, or email me at [email protected] **Together, let’s encourage everyone we know with the wonderful news that, in Christ, God delights in us and invites us to delight in Him!Stephanie welcomes a guest teacher as part of our God's Glory, our Delight series. Steve Laube is joining us as a theologian and Bible teacher. Among many other things, Steve is a Sunday Class teacher with deep passion for delight in the glory of God, and decades of study in theology. He brings to us today his passion for Scripture and his eye for detail as we join Peter, James and John on the mountain to witness the once-in-history Transfiguration of our Lord Jesus Christ. Peter's inkling to build "three tabernacles" (or "booths" or "tents") when he witnessed the event and the presence of Moses and Elijah, might indicate that the transfiguration took place in the general season of the "fall festivals" of Jewish faith - the festival of succoth, or festival of booths, being preeminent among the Jewish fall festivals. Succoth starts in 2022 on October 9, so we are releasing this episode in conjunction with this beautiful celebration.The transfiguration is the most paramount event in the earthly life of Jesus Christ to reveal His glory. Through the eyes of Peter, James and John we are invited to experience delight in the glory of the One and Only begotten Son of the Father, on whom His glory and delight dwell. So we ask,Why does the transfiguration matter to our faith today?Why does it matter that Moses and Elijah showed up on the mountain with Jesus?Why could they (and we) not stay on the mountaintop? Why do we need to descend back into the valley?What does the Jewish festival of Succoth have to do with the Transfiguration?Steve opens the texts of Scripture to us today to beckon us into experience of delight in the glory of Jesus Christ.You will find the notes Steve mentions, in the Gospel Spice Library available to all members! Join for free at gospelspice.com to access this, and much more!MEET STEVE LAUBESteve is also an influential figure in the world of Christian publishing as a veteran of the bookselling industry with over 40 years of experience. In the 80s he was a bookstore manager; then spent over a decade with Bethany House Publishers; later, he became a literary agent, founding The Steve Laube Agency. He was also inducted into the Grand Canyon University Hall-of-Fame by their College of Theology. He is married with three grown children and two grandsons.Steve is the President of The Christian Writers Institute and publishes the annual Christian Writers Market Guide. In addition, he is the Publisher for Enclave Publishing, a division of Oasis Family Media, one of the premier publishers of science fiction and fantasy written from a Christian worldview.You will find more about Steve and his literary agency at https://stevelaube.com/If you want to listen to Steve's teachings, check out inneraltar.com where you can listen from the device of your choice and also as a podcast format.You will find the notes Steve mentions, in the Gospel Spice Library available to all members! Join for free at gospelspice.com to access this, and much more!DISCOVER ENCLAVE PUBLISHINGEnclave is a leading publisher of Christian speculative fiction. Whether it’s Christian science fiction you love, or fantasy, time travel, steampunk, alternate history, spiritual warfare, superhero, or technothriller—if it’s speculative and it comes from the Christian worldview, Enclave is the place to go. We strive to get Christian speculative fiction into the hands of the fans who love and devour great stories.An enclave is a group of like-minded people in a place where they are surrounded by those who are not like-minded. It is not a place to hide, instead, Enclave is a place where authors and fans of Christian Fantasy and Science Fiction can come together and then go out and make a difference through worlds of words. Our stories can seem strange but underneath they contain powerful expressions of Redemption, Truth, and Hope.You will find

A SPECIAL MESSAGE FROM STEPHANIE:I want to share a special invitation with you. You may have heard that I will be releasing my first book with IVP on July 28, 2026. It’s a big deal and I am so overwhelmed with God’ goodness in allowing me to share such an essential message about delighting in Him as the true essential foundation for all our spiritual growth and maturing. Truly, when we delight in the Lord, He promises to give us the desires of our hearts – namely, more of Himself!So, here's the invitation. If you feel this message is indeed important, and you know people – including yourself perhaps – who need to be encouraged to awaken and cultivate their delight in God, would you consider joining my book launch team? It’s a great and super easy way to share the good news of God's love for us in Christ, Jesus, our Lord.**If you’re interested, please go to gospelspice.com/awakendelight and find the section about joining the launch team, or email me at [email protected] **Together, let’s encourage everyone we know with the wonderful news that, in Christ, God delights in us and invites us to delight in Him!Stephanie welcomes Pastor Jim Cymbala from the Brooklyn Tabernacle for a powerful conversation about the essential power of the Holy Spirit in our lives as believers. There is no life in Christ apart from the Spirit, and this is deeply transformational. This episode releases on the official anniversary of the Gospel Spice podcast! So we are gifting you a very special bonus episode that Stephanie is particularly giddy about.In his new book FAN THE FLAME, Pastor Jim calls us to a return to a holy experience and study of Scripture and a renewed dependence on the Holy Spirit. We need a heart that searches after Him – the heart of the truly “poor in spirit” from Jesus’ Beatitudes. How do we then keep up this spirit of “Lord, I need you today and every day”? It starts with listening to God as He speaks to us through His word. It’s daring to pray, “Lord, whatever you want me to do, I will do it.”In the context of our Gospel Spice series GOD'S GLORY, OUR DELIGHT, Pastor Jim describes for us today the essential nature of humility and dependence on the Holy Spirit. Pastor Jim's first book, Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire, was one of those books that deeply influenced Stephanie and her theology and approach to the Holy Spirit in the days of her young faith. She still reads it every few years, so she is celebrating the release of this new book for a new generation of believers.Pastor Jim says, “The Holy Spirit watches carefully how we treat the Book He Himself wrote.” Everything has to be judged by the Word of God. Amen! Pastor Jim shows us how the enemy of our soul works in the extremes – emphasizing either only Scripture or only the Spirit – and how balance is essential.Pastor Jim clearly spells out the illnesses that plague the church today. He says, “God uses people, not programs, to bring about his kingdom on earth.” He addresses Pastors and people in roles of spiritual leadership to call for a return to our first love and passion for Christ under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. He calls away from burnout and discouragement, from greed and self-interest, and towards humility, love, and other-centeredness.Pastor Jim reminds us of the essential nature of unity in the Spirit, and the bond of peace. We discuss the works of the enemy to cause slander and division, and the healing power of the Spirit in unity and against discord. “Once there is discord, then you know Satan is working. And God is the God of peace. We are not all going to agree on the secondary matters. But take the essential things, like discrimination and racial tensions. It is just shameful, we need to repent, so we see people the way God does.”Pastor Jim reminds us that we are all influencers, which comes with privileges as children of God, but also with the responsibility to steward this influence well. How do we as Christians enter this stewardship? He says that we are to be full of His Spirit and of His love so that our very presence will lead people to seek Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.Pastor Jim and his wife Carol began serving at the Brooklyn Tabernacle when just 20 people attended, and today thousands attend weekend services. The Cymbalas have seen seasons of discouragement become gateways to spiritual revival, and Jim longs to encourage weary and disheartened pastors to stay the course. Cymbala began working on his first new book in a decade, Fan the Flame: Let Jesus Renew Your Calling and Revive Your Church, while counseling pastors during the COVID-19 pandemic. The book’s message is crafted for both pastors and church members. “We Christians are all on the same team. If one hurts, we should all feel it; and if one is blessed, we should all rejoice,” writes Cymbala. “Fan the Flame is my heartfelt endeavor to bring encouragement to the body of Christ and especially to church leaders. It has no magic formula or personal vision I wish to commun

A SPECIAL MESSAGE FROM STEPHANIE:I want to share a special invitation with you. You may have heard that I will be releasing my first book with IVP on July 28, 2026. It’s a big deal and I am so overwhelmed with God’ goodness in allowing me to share such an essential message about delighting in Him as the true essential foundation for all our spiritual growth and maturing. Truly, when we delight in the Lord, He promises to give us the desires of our hearts – namely, more of Himself!So, here's the invitation. If you feel this message is indeed important, and you know people – including yourself perhaps – who need to be encouraged to awaken and cultivate their delight in God, would you consider joining my book launch team? It’s a great and super easy way to share the good news of God's love for us in Christ, Jesus, our Lord.**If you’re interested, please go to gospelspice.com/awakendelight and find the section about joining the launch team, or email me at [email protected] **Together, let’s encourage everyone we know with the wonderful news that, in Christ, God delights in us and invites us to delight in Him!Stephanie welcomes Jo Saxton to discuss issues of leadership, and the general feeling from many leaders today of being overwhelmed, overburdened, and maybe even on the deep end of burnout. What happens when you don’t show up for your calling, because you are too busy or burned out to step into the fullness of it? And what does it look like to be faithful with what we have been given – for the long run? We discuss the perfect storm we have traversed and where we are today. Jo brings wisdom, encouragement, truth and brutal sincerity. She shares her own survival tips and how to thrive in the desperate times we have traversed. She is humble and honest - and Stephanie deeply appreciates that!What about the idea that we should haved our act together inthis day and age and should know exactly what to do these days as if we were perfect? As leaders, most of us have more responsibilities than ever — often in BOTH our personal lives and our professional lives. And, yet, many of us might feel like imposters even as the growing responsibilities continue. Many of us might be ignoring, downplaying, or shelving our God-given abilities, influence, gifts, and dreams. Many of us would not consider ourselves to be influential — even though we are impacting so many others for the good. Many of us don’t live beyond our own narratives of what we believe to be true about ourselves. Many of us would feel uncomfortable with the word “leader” — even as we guide our families and teams.Desperation for God is grounds for hope. Jo shares her own passion to delight in God and how it has been her anchor and survival technique. You can also watch the live video of the conversation on our YouTube channel, and make sure to subscribe: https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/B9yecAGWUZI?feature=oembedMORE ABOUT JO SAXTONJo Saxton is a speaker, podcaster, author, guest TV host and leadership coach. She hosts a digital coaching community and is the founder of the Ezer Collective,two initiatives dedicated to investing in women leaders around the world, equipping them to own their voice, and boldly step into their calling.Born to Nigerian parents and raised in London,England,Jo now lives in Minneapolis with her husband and two daughters. She loves the everyday stuff like good music, good food, and good friends.And Target. She really, really loves Target.https://www.josaxton.com/Twitter/Insta/Linked In - @josaxtonFacebook: josaxton1CONNECT WITH THE EZER COLLECTIVEhttps://www.josaxton.com/ezer-collectiveJO SAXTON HAS SOMETHING TO TELL YOU… LET’S TALK MORE ABOUT THE CHALLENGE — OR CHALLENGES — YOU MIGHT BE EXPERIENCINGMany women know they were created and commissioned to lead, but they are often left feeling stuck, overlooked, and limited. After working directly with thousands of women and evaluating my own experiences, here are a few reasons why women in leadership struggle (even in a supportive, encouraging organizational culture):· Leadership simply wasn't the primary path for women in previous generations, so we don't always have accessible role models to illuminate our path forward.· With the realities of family life — marriage and/or children — a woman's career path is rarely linear. Statistically, it's more likely that a woman will have to take an extended leave from work. This is a unique challenge for women to navigate as they often return to greet a new environment at work with more responsibilities at home. Even if you have a supportive male leader, he can't and won't understand how to navigate the challenges and realities of leadership as a woman.· What's expected from women in society, what women are allowed to do in your organization or industry, and what's required of women outside of work, requires different tools, different practices, and a different process for women to develop their leadership.WHY WOMEN IN LEADERSHIP NEED COAC

A SPECIAL MESSAGE FROM STEPHANIE:I want to share a special invitation with you. You may have heard that I will be releasing my first book with IVP on July 28, 2026. It’s a big deal and I am so overwhelmed with God’ goodness in allowing me to share such an essential message about delighting in Him as the true essential foundation for all our spiritual growth and maturing. Truly, when we delight in the Lord, He promises to give us the desires of our hearts – namely, more of Himself!So, here's the invitation. If you feel this message is indeed important, and you know people – including yourself perhaps – who need to be encouraged to awaken and cultivate their delight in God, would you consider joining my book launch team? It’s a great and super easy way to share the good news of God's love for us in Christ, Jesus, our Lord.**If you’re interested, please go to gospelspice.com/awakendelight and find the section about joining the launch team, or email me at [email protected] **Together, let’s encourage everyone we know with the wonderful news that, in Christ, God delights in us and invites us to delight in Him!Welcome back to our Gospel Spice fall 2022 series, God's glory our delight! We took a break from this theme over the summer with our "summer inspirations" but this is officially our "back to school" episode as we dive back into our favorite series to date. "God's glory, our delight" is Stephanie's personal motto. Today we are pondering 6 steps as practical stepping stones to grow in our delight of God. This is not a guaranteed recipe - it is between you and God! Here are the 6 steps that Stephanie invites you to step into, with much expectation, humility and deep gratitude:First, Ponder the life of delight in the glory of God.1- Believe it’s possible and real.2- Embrace the promise for yourself personally.Then, look at yourself.1- Admit we’re still in the wilderness.2- Realize we can’t do this on our own strength.Finally, enter the promised land.1- Cross the Jordan.2- Expect God to show up.Jews believed that the Temple was the place where heaven met earth—literally. They didn’t think of heaven as a galaxy far far away on the other side of the wardrobe. They understood heaven as being closer to us than our own breath. Heaven and earth overlap in intertwining circles, and meet in the Temple. We are the Temple of God because of Christ in us, the hope of all glorious things to come (Colossians 1:27). We are jars of clay, but we hold the surpassing treasure that is the uncontainable God Himself.Let's be practical...- Reminder – there are listening guides for each episode. They allow you to follow with pen and paper, or with your phone to take notes from the app. These listening guides are part of the workbook you can download for free as a member.- Today and each GGOD episode has a listening guide as well as questions for either group discussions or your own personal time, inviting you to ponder what you heard in the days to come.- Today we are introducing a new feature which is a listener suggestion: about halfway through the episode, there will be a 30-second musical interlude to allow you to pause and reflect on the lesson. You are also invited to use the second music break at the end of the episode, it is newly expanded, if you feel the need to chew on the lesson some more.- Also use our membership page to muse, ask questions, ponder, reflect, connect with us!- Please do remember that you can go back and listen again. We aim to give you the best quality content we can teach so it is intense and deep – that is because we highly respect you and your time, and we want to honor you as you seek to deepen your faith. There are all sorts of people listening alongside you, from overseas missionaries to seminary students to brand new believers, people listening as they drive or jog or run errands or do the dishes. So you are welcome, at whatever stage of your spiritual journey you find yourself in. If it means listening twice or taking notes using the listening guide, that’s awesome! Take it slow. These epsidoes are more akin to a slow cooked French meal than a McDonalds drive-thru!- Finally, there will be a Gospel Spice online Bible Study starting in a few weeks – go to gospelspice.com for more. It is free, live, weekly for 6 weeks, and on a private Facebook group. Small scale. In depth. More details to come. Sign-up now.- Also Sign-up for our newsletter so you know about those things before everyone else! This will also give you access to all our content for free, including a video version of this teaching. All in one easy place: https://www.gospelspice.com/sign-up-to-be-a-member This week’s key verses are:2Corinthians 4:7 - We have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.John 5:44 - How can you believe since you accept glory from one another but do not seek the glory that comes from the only God?We invite you to check out the first episode of each of o

A SPECIAL MESSAGE FROM STEPHANIE:I want to share a special invitation with you. You may have heard that I will be releasing my first book with IVP on July 28, 2026. It’s a big deal and I am so overwhelmed with God’ goodness in allowing me to share such an essential message about delighting in Him as the true essential foundation for all our spiritual growth and maturing. Truly, when we delight in the Lord, He promises to give us the desires of our hearts – namely, more of Himself!So, here's the invitation. If you feel this message is indeed important, and you know people – including yourself perhaps – who need to be encouraged to awaken and cultivate their delight in God, would you consider joining my book launch team? It’s a great and super easy way to share the good news of God's love for us in Christ, Jesus, our Lord.**If you’re interested, please go to gospelspice.com/awakendelight and find the section about joining the launch team, or email me at [email protected] **Together, let’s encourage everyone we know with the wonderful news that, in Christ, God delights in us and invites us to delight in Him!Stephanie welcomes apologist and author Alisa Childers for a lively conversation about the absolute truth of the gospel in the context of the current views that emerge from progressive Christianity and deconstruction movements.You have heard these. In our culture, we hear so much self-help and self-praise: “you are all you need”; “put yourself first;” “you are the hero of your own story”; “it’s all about you”; “you only live once”; “you can be your own best self”; “live your own truth”; “you do you;” “you are perfect just as you are.” And so much more… These meme-like, social-media friendly statements seem so nice and innocuous, but what if they were the beginning of a slippery slope towards unbiblical Christianity? Alisa is a powerful apologist who unwittingly embraced this faulty theology for a while, until she grounded herself in Christ again through thorough study and reflection. She tells us how she acquired what she calls her “guided, self-taught knowledge” and how she keeps up with what is happening in our rapidly changing world. She invites us in her journey and helps us identify red flags, and shares with us how she deepens her intimacy with God on a daily basis.Alisa Childers says of herself, “As a lifelong church-goer, follower of Jesus, and former CCM recording artist with the Dove award-winning group ZOEgirl, I experienced a period of profound doubt about my faith in my mid-thirties. I felt as though I had been tossed in a stormy ocean of uncertainty with no life jacket or lifeboat in sight. I didn't know where to find answers to my questions, or if answers existed at all. Did I have to accept it all on some kind of blind faith? I began to investigate my faith intellectually—I took seminary classes and read everything I could get my hands on. This began my journey from unreasoned doubt into a vibrant, rational, and informed faith.” You can also watch the live video of the conversation on our YouTube channel, and make sure to subscribe: https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/_d9yg3WDsjU?feature=oembedMEET ALISA https://www.alisachilders.com/https://www.facebook.com/alisachildershttps://www.instagram.com/alisachilders/ ABOUT “LIVE YOUR TRUTH AND OTHER LIES”buy hereAre you tired of feeling like you have to check social media to find out what you’re supposed to think? Are you weary of the latest self-help books that promise to set you free but only imprison you with laundry lists of studies to consider, positive affirmations to recite, and Facebook groups to join?We’ve all seen the memes that populate the internet: live your truth, follow your heart, you only have one life to live. They sound nice and positive. But what if these slogans are actually lies that unhinge us from reality and leave us anxious and exhausted? Another Gospel? author Alisa Childers invites you to examine modern lies that are disguised as truths in today’s culture. Everyday messages of peace, fulfillment, and empowerment swirl around social media. On the surface, they seem like sentiments of freedom and hope, but in reality they are deeply deceptive.In Live Your Truth (and Other Lies), Alisa will help you to: · uncover the common lies repeated within progressive circles· hold on to the soul-restoring truths that God’s Word offers· be empowered to live the way your Creator designed youBeing the captain of your own destiny and striving to make your dreams a reality is a huge burden that you were never meant to bear. Discover true freedom instead.ABOUT “ANOTHER GOSPEL?”buy hereA movement seeks to redefine Christianity. Some think that it is a much-needed progressive reformation. Others believe that it is an attack on historic Christianity.Alisa Childers never thought she would question her Christian faith. She was raised in a Christian home, where she had seen her mom and dad feed the hungry, clothe the homeless, and love

A SPECIAL MESSAGE FROM STEPHANIE:I want to share a special invitation with you. You may have heard that I will be releasing my first book with IVP on July 28, 2026. It’s a big deal and I am so overwhelmed with God’ goodness in allowing me to share such an essential message about delighting in Him as the true essential foundation for all our spiritual growth and maturing. Truly, when we delight in the Lord, He promises to give us the desires of our hearts – namely, more of Himself!So, here's the invitation. If you feel this message is indeed important, and you know people – including yourself perhaps – who need to be encouraged to awaken and cultivate their delight in God, would you consider joining my book launch team? It’s a great and super easy way to share the good news of God's love for us in Christ, Jesus, our Lord.**If you’re interested, please go to gospelspice.com/awakendelight and find the section about joining the launch team, or email me at [email protected] **Together, let’s encourage everyone we know with the wonderful news that, in Christ, God delights in us and invites us to delight in Him!Welcome back to our Gospel Spice fall 2022 series, God's glory our delight! We took a break from this theme over the summer with our "summer inspirations" but this is officially our "back to school" episode as we dive back into our favorite series to date. "God's glory, our delight" is Stephanie's personal motto. In the spring, with episodes 146 through to 155, we entered into the deep waters of defining the glory of God and the quest of our hearts. Now with the second half of the series, we are going to the more practical side of delight. Stephanie invites us to ponder two illustrations to help us wrap our minds around the scope of our ambition to make the glory of God the delight of our heart. She quotes one of her favorite authors and theologians, Andrew Murray: “Humility is simply the disposition which prepares the soul for living on trust.”Stephanie says, "The Christian life is about growing in our experience of what we know to be true." She adds, "The glory IS there, and it IS real, and it IS delightful." She brings us back to Andrew Murray: “Faith is the organ or sense for the perception and apprehension of the heavenly world and its blessings.” Finally, she invites us to wonder: "how can we live a life that is the practical application of this objective reality?"Let's be practical...- Reminder – there are listening guides for each episode. They allow you to follow with pen and paper, or with your phone to take notes from the app. These listening guides are part of the workbook you can download for free as a member.- Today and each GGOD episode has a listening guide as well as questions for either group discussions or your own personal time, inviting you to ponder what you heard in the days to come.- Today we are introducing a new feature which is a listener suggestion: about halfway through the episode, there will be a 30-second musical interlude to allow you to pause and reflect on the lesson. You are also invited to use the second music break at the end of the episode, it is newly expanded, if you feel the need to chew on the lesson some more.- Also use our membership page to muse, ask questions, ponder, reflect, connect with us!- Please do remember that you can go back and listen again. We aim to give you the best quality content we can teach so it is intense and deep – that is because we highly respect you and your time, and we want to honor you as you seek to deepen your faith. There are all sorts of people listening alongside you, from overseas missionaries to seminary students to brand new believers, people listening as they drive or jog or run errands or do the dishes. So you are welcome, at whatever stage of your spiritual journey you find yourself in. If it means listening twice or taking notes using the listening guide, that’s awesome! Take it slow. These epsidoes are more akin to a slow cooked French meal than a McDonalds drive-thru!- Finally, there will be a Gospel Spice online Bible Study starting in a few weeks – go to gospelspice.com for more. It is free, live, weekly for 6 weeks, and on a private Facebook group. Small scale. In depth. More details to come. Sign-up now.- Also Sign-up for our newsletter so you know about those things before everyone else! This will also give you access to all our content for free, including a video version of this teaching. All in one easy place: https://www.gospelspice.com/sign-up-to-be-a-member This week’s key verses are:2Corinthians 4:7 - We have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.John 5:44 - How can you believe since you accept glory from one another but do not seek the glory that comes from the only God?We invite you to check out the first episode of each of our series, and decide which one you will want to start with.Go to gospelspice.com for more, and go especially to gospelspi

A SPECIAL MESSAGE FROM STEPHANIE:I want to share a special invitation with you. You may have heard that I will be releasing my first book with IVP on July 28, 2026. It’s a big deal and I am so overwhelmed with God’ goodness in allowing me to share such an essential message about delighting in Him as the true essential foundation for all our spiritual growth and maturing. Truly, when we delight in the Lord, He promises to give us the desires of our hearts – namely, more of Himself!So, here's the invitation. If you feel this message is indeed important, and you know people – including yourself perhaps – who need to be encouraged to awaken and cultivate their delight in God, would you consider joining my book launch team? It’s a great and super easy way to share the good news of God's love for us in Christ, Jesus, our Lord.**If you’re interested, please go to gospelspice.com/awakendelight and find the section about joining the launch team, or email me at [email protected] **Together, let’s encourage everyone we know with the wonderful news that, in Christ, God delights in us and invites us to delight in Him!Stephanie welcomes like-minded soul sister Nicole Jacobsmeyer for a raw, deep conversation about pain, suffering, God’s role in it, and ours. Though they just met over this conversation, they clicked in deep ways. Throughout a decade of trials—from assault and depression to miscarriage and cancer— Nicole Jacobsmeyer really began to wonder: Is God giving me more than I can handle?Nicole's books is indirectly a powerful answer to the problem of evil and suffering in the world. While it is not a book for Christian apologetics, stephanie highly recommends it for anyone who seeks to answer these questions for themselves or for a loved one.In Take Back Your Joy, Nicole shares her story of questioning God - but falling more in love with Him than ever. Without sugarcoating her own struggles or yours, she equips you in your darkest moments to:· Embrace a clear sense of purpose.· Stay grounded in God’s Word.· Serve others with gratitude.· Choose forgiveness—again and again.· Discover the freedom of giving up control…and more!Nicole says, “We are not defined by the trials we face, and you are not alone in your suffering, doubts, and questions. I’ve been there. Take Back Your Joy invites you to see your life through a fresh lens as you glimpse the big picture of God’s work. Because I honestly believe that sometimes one of the greatest gifts is to have more than we can handle—so we can find a deeper joy in Christ who can handle it all.”Nicole wrote this book for you if...You’re wondering where is God in your painYou’re struggling to find hope and joyYou’re questioning your faithYou’ve experienced deep pain and suffering that doesn’t make sense with what you read in the BibleYou’ve lost your sense of purpose in lifeSo join Stephanie and Nicole today for a hard but powerful conversation about God’s sovereignty in our trials.MEET NICOLE JACOBSMEYERHi! I’m Nicole and I am so happy you found my little space on the internet. Make sure you find me on Instagram or drop a comment here so I can get to know you!A little bit about me…Besides my relationship with Christ, the most important people in my life are: my husband Andrew, my three sons Wesley, Reid and Nate, and our newest bundle of love, Maddie! I love people, comfy clothes, chocolate chips cookies, babies in diapers, watching my kids play sports, writing, and a good glass of red wine.Since becoming a mom almost 8 years ago, my life mantra has been: Embrace the Chaos! With a husband in the medical field, four kids under 8, and lots of moves in between, I needed an outlet to write. The Embracing Chaos blog was started in 2016. Four years later, I launched nicolejacobsmeyer.com as my author hub.When it comes to ministry outside of the home, I have a passion for helping women walk in victory, joy, and faith in the face of trials, sorrow, and suffering. I want to help women understand that God is good no matter what life brings and that it’s possible to find lasting joy in Him.In other HUGE news, my first book is coming out October 4th, 2022, and I’d LOVE to have you be a part of the launch team. Stay tuned!https://www.nicolejacobsmeyer.com/https://www.instagram.com/nicole.jacobsmeyer/https://www.facebook.com/nicole.jacobsmeyer1ABOUT THIS EPISODEThis conversation is part of 3-episode Gospel Spice Summer Inspirations with partner David C Cook. Go to https://davidccook.org/ and https://davidccook.org/esther-press/ for more We invite you to check out the first episode of each of our series, and decide which one you will want to start with.Go to gospelspice.com for more, and go especially to gospelspice.com/podcast to enjoy our guests! Interested in our blog? Click here: gospelspice.com/blogIdentity in the battle | Ephesianshttps://www.podcastics.com/episode/372022/link/Malachi: Messenger to Messiahhttps://www.podcastics.com/episode/356130/link/Wisdom from the Book of Prover

A SPECIAL MESSAGE FROM STEPHANIE:I want to share a special invitation with you. You may have heard that I will be releasing my first book with IVP on July 28, 2026. It’s a big deal and I am so overwhelmed with God’ goodness in allowing me to share such an essential message about delighting in Him as the true essential foundation for all our spiritual growth and maturing. Truly, when we delight in the Lord, He promises to give us the desires of our hearts – namely, more of Himself!So, here's the invitation. If you feel this message is indeed important, and you know people – including yourself perhaps – who need to be encouraged to awaken and cultivate their delight in God, would you consider joining my book launch team? It’s a great and super easy way to share the good news of God's love for us in Christ, Jesus, our Lord.**If you’re interested, please go to gospelspice.com/awakendelight and find the section about joining the launch team, or email me at [email protected] **Together, let’s encourage everyone we know with the wonderful news that, in Christ, God delights in us and invites us to delight in Him!Stephanie welcomes Ainsley Britain to discuss teen and college dating. This conversation also welcomes anyone who plays an active role in the life of a teen or college girl--parents, mentors, friends, youth group leaders! In this Gospel Spice episode of our "Summer Inspirations with publisher David C Cook”, Ainsley explains that many young women enter or stay in relationships out of fear of being alone, shame, or insecurity which may cause them to lower their standards or expectations. What they find are men they normally would never have tolerated. Men they would have told their friends to avoid. What they find are BooBoo Dudes. While the term BooBoo Dude might be light-hearted, the concept behind them and the damage they cause women is serious. This term describes a man who portrays narcissistic and abusive behavior, which leads to confusion, shame, and eventual isolation.In her book, Ainsley describes red flags and also green flags - what to identify as harmful behavior, and what to look for in a healthy dating relationship. She explains to her teen and college-aged readers that they are worth fighting for--she connects them to Jesus in authentic, deep ways and challenges them to work through their pain towards wholesome healing. She and Stephanie also discuss the lies that these dear girls believe, and how being deeply rooted in our identity in Christ is the key to fulfilled living. Finally, Ainsley invites her audience to lend a hand and help someone else through their pain. She paints a stunning picture of grace and the purpose and power of a Christ-sized vision for her girls. She describes what dating can be, and gives advice to mentors of all ages!Before Ainsley ends the conversation by praying a beautiful blessing over you as you listen, she ends with practical tips to mentor teens and young adults:- establish the rules: trust is key!- ask the question WHY- be open to flexible conversations!- know the resources available to you- sometimes, go to the professionals!- warn them that you will disappoint them, and remind them that anything good is not from you as the leader, but from the Lord!Related through Ainsley’s humorous and vulnerable personal experiences, in the book you’ll learn about:- the often-unbelievable behaviors of BooBoo Dudes- how to exit a futureless relationship with higher standards- keeping or restoring your identity through Jesus- and reaching others trapped with BooBoo DudesWith wisdom rooted in the gospel, Ainsley tenderly brings the reader along her own journey toward confidence found only in Jesus. She embraced her identity and left BooBoo Dudes behind. Every woman can do the same.CONNECT WITH AINSLEY BRITAIN:Ainsley Britain has helped thousands of young adults embrace their confidence, date healthy, and discover their identity in Christ through her written words, podcast, and speaking engagements. Through extensive training from Belmont University, She Speaks Studio, Youth Speaker University, Compel Training, and more, she has advanced her God-given mission to help young adults all over the country. She is an Enneagram Coach through YourEnneagramCoach.com and is as real as one can get when it comes to talking about hard topics and fighting for oneself. Ainsley and her husband travel often and currently live in her home state of Louisiana.buy the book: "Don't Date a Booboo Dude" on Amazonwebsite: http://www.ainsleybritain.com/Facebook: Media and Parents Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/MediaAndParentsInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/ainsleyb/We invite you to enjoy a Christ-centered summer by experiencing Jesus through the lens of the body of Christ. We bring you a diversity of viewpoints on several issues, and invite you to discover Jesus through their own journey with Him.Our Summer series invite you to ponder important topics for daily living. Stepha

A SPECIAL MESSAGE FROM STEPHANIE:I want to share a special invitation with you. You may have heard that I will be releasing my first book with IVP on July 28, 2026. It’s a big deal and I am so overwhelmed with God’ goodness in allowing me to share such an essential message about delighting in Him as the true essential foundation for all our spiritual growth and maturing. Truly, when we delight in the Lord, He promises to give us the desires of our hearts – namely, more of Himself!So, here's the invitation. If you feel this message is indeed important, and you know people – including yourself perhaps – who need to be encouraged to awaken and cultivate their delight in God, would you consider joining my book launch team? It’s a great and super easy way to share the good news of God's love for us in Christ, Jesus, our Lord.**If you’re interested, please go to gospelspice.com/awakendelight and find the section about joining the launch team, or email me at [email protected] **Together, let’s encourage everyone we know with the wonderful news that, in Christ, God delights in us and invites us to delight in Him!Get ready for an out-of-the-ordinary conversation today! Stephanie is joined by dear friend and fellow Gospel Spice team member Roslyn Evans to discuss all things Jesus and Gospel Spice. This conversation is like a family reunion, and you are invited! They start off with a fun digression into the world of summer living, apologetics and personal passions, and then also raising kids, laundry lists and more. Then Stephanie gets pretty vulnerable and transparent as Ros asks her all the questions on her mind. A smattering:What are the concerns you see in the coming year for our world?How are you getting ready? And what is your advice for us?How are you doing personally? Give us an update on you and your family.For those of our listeners who are relatively new to Gospel Spice, can you give us your backstory from atheism to faith? And how did you end up in the US anyway?What is your heart for Gospel Spice this year?Stephanie and Ros end with an invitation to YOU our beloved audience, to connect with us because, as Stephanie says, it makes her day!THERE ARE SEVERAL WAYS TO PARTNER WITH GOSPEL SPICE TODAY!First, PAY Gospel Spice Forward: Give a tax-deductible gift so others can experience our ministry for free, just like you! You can pay it forward with any debit, credit card, or via PayPal. See below for more details about your impact.Also, PLAY Gospel Spice Forward: SHARE the podcast and the studies with your friends and family. FOLLOW, RATE & REVIEW on your favorite podcast app (leave a comment + a star rating on Apple Podcast, Spotify, Pandora, IHeart, Google Podcast, etc…). It REALLY is the best way to help others find this content-rich podcast. And, last but not least, PRAY Gospel Spice Forward: We pray for you weekly. We covet your prayers for our ministry, the thousands we reach, and our team! Contact us to let us know you are praying for us!NEW!Another way to partner with us is to purchase our workbooks and online Bible studies. We keep them at the lowest possible cost, but they require a lot of work from us! For example, - a complete Bible Study requires an average of 500 man-hours. - a workbook for a series requires almost 100 man-hours.MORE ABOUT PARTNERING WITH US FINANCIALLY:Gospel Spice Ministries is a non-profit organization registered under the tax-exempt 501c3 status.Our goal is to provide in-depth, high-quality, free Bible resources for all. They are free, but expensive to create! We need your financial support to keep producing and distributing them. Please pay Gospel Spice forward today! For example, a podcast episode takes close to 10 hours of work (and we release 2 each week). They come to you completely free, but we would truly love your support.We want the money to go to those who really need it. Once our operating costs are paid, 100% of your donation is redistributed to our partners who fight human trafficking. Each year, we aim to give as much as we can. For example, Stephanie works more than full time for Gospel Spice, entirely for free. All board members and volunteers are donating time. We limit our operational expenses to the bare minimum.Your pay-it-forward donations are tax-deductible under IRS Section 170.We want to be the best possible stewards of your financial support. Thank you!Go to gospelspice.com for more, and go especially to gospelspice.com/podcast to enjoy our guests! Interested in our blog? Click here: gospelspice.com/blogWe invite you to enjoy a Christ-centered summer by experiencing Jesus through the lens of the body of Christ. We bring you a diversity of viewpoints on several issues, and invite you to discover Jesus through their own journey with Him.Our Summer series invite you to ponder important topics for daily living. Stephanie and her occasional guests tell us about the importance of our definition of success, the key elements of leadership roles, the

A SPECIAL MESSAGE FROM STEPHANIE:I want to share a special invitation with you. You may have heard that I will be releasing my first book with IVP on July 28, 2026. It’s a big deal and I am so overwhelmed with God’ goodness in allowing me to share such an essential message about delighting in Him as the true essential foundation for all our spiritual growth and maturing. Truly, when we delight in the Lord, He promises to give us the desires of our hearts – namely, more of Himself!So, here's the invitation. If you feel this message is indeed important, and you know people – including yourself perhaps – who need to be encouraged to awaken and cultivate their delight in God, would you consider joining my book launch team? It’s a great and super easy way to share the good news of God's love for us in Christ, Jesus, our Lord.**If you’re interested, please go to gospelspice.com/awakendelight and find the section about joining the launch team, or email me at [email protected] **Together, let’s encourage everyone we know with the wonderful news that, in Christ, God delights in us and invites us to delight in Him!Have you recently wondered if you are going crazy, or if it is the world around us that has gone mad? Today, Stephanie welcomes dear friend and Gospel Spice team member Lindsay, who is a Christian psychotherapist with over 20 years of professional experience helping believers and non-believers through the struggles of life. Lindsay shares that she is seeing a greater than ever proportion of patients who struggle with anxiety, depression, and/or boundary concerns, and a lot of teenagers too. So, she describes for us some of the symptoms of these presentations in order to help each one of us assess if we are experiencing some form of anxiety or depression, or go to the root of some of our relational tensions. She then takes us to the origin of the problem in Genesis 3 before she offers simple, practical DIY tips to overcome early stages of anxiety, depression and relational boundary issues. You will leave this conversation, having identified if you are even mildly struggling with these issues, and having practical, daily tips to start or continue the journey out of these difficult struggles.Lindsay gives us permission to struggle, and hope to know it is only temporary. She reminds us of our deep identity IN CHRIST, in the great I AM in whose strength we rest. She reminds us of our role to be ambassadors and stand-ins for God to one another as image bearers. So, if you or a loved one are struggling with any of these descriptions, you will be encouraged as you are reminded of you true and deepest identity.The seemingly simple choices that Lindsay offers as practical solutions are indeed simple - but the key is in their daily, consistent implementation. It is simple, but not necessarily easy - which is why we need community with one another and most of all, with God Himself. We will discover once again that it all boils down to who we know and experience God to be.Lindsay referenced a most useful book, BOUNDARIES by Cloud and Townsend. In August 2022, it is on sale at Christianbook.com for $5!!! So grab it now. Otherwise, here is also an amazon link to purchase it: https://www.amazon.com/Boundaries-Updated-Expanded-When-Control/dp/0310351804/---------------------------------------------------Disclaimer - you may need professional help, and we warmly encourage you to seek it if you need it!We invite you to enjoy a Christ-centered summer by experiencing Jesus through the lens of the body of Christ. We bring you a diversity of viewpoints on several issues, and invite you to discover Jesus through their own journey with Him.Our Summer series invite you to ponder important topics for daily living. Stephanie and her occasional guests tell us about the importance of our definition of success, the key elements of leadership roles, the traps of comparison, the importance of theology, and much more! These stand-along episodes are meant to encourage you and challenge you to experience deeper fruitfulness in your various roles and ministries, in all the relationships and areas of your life. The topics we discuss are eternal and apply to both genders, across time and space and culture and age. So, join us for deep conversations with inspiring Christ-followers, conversations that will flavor your summer with the Gospel.Conversations about culture, leadership, success, dating, gender, and struggles with comparison, pride, and more: that is your Gospel Spice summer!Support us on Gospel Spice, PayPal and Venmo!

A SPECIAL MESSAGE FROM STEPHANIE:I want to share a special invitation with you. You may have heard that I will be releasing my first book with IVP on July 28, 2026. It’s a big deal and I am so overwhelmed with God’ goodness in allowing me to share such an essential message about delighting in Him as the true essential foundation for all our spiritual growth and maturing. Truly, when we delight in the Lord, He promises to give us the desires of our hearts – namely, more of Himself!So, here's the invitation. If you feel this message is indeed important, and you know people – including yourself perhaps – who need to be encouraged to awaken and cultivate their delight in God, would you consider joining my book launch team? It’s a great and super easy way to share the good news of God's love for us in Christ, Jesus, our Lord.**If you’re interested, please go to gospelspice.com/awakendelight and find the section about joining the launch team, or email me at [email protected] **Together, let’s encourage everyone we know with the wonderful news that, in Christ, God delights in us and invites us to delight in Him!How can you make sure you have a well-spent summer? For today's episode, Stephanie has curated three of her most important not-so-secret secrets for a successful summer in particular, and a successful life in general:- Read your Bible to grow closer to the Lord and develop intimacy with Him;- Don't compare to others, but seek to serve them in humility;- Take time to rest, worship, and laugh.For each of these, Stephanie welcomes a dear friend to highlight each element today. So you're getting THREE conversations in this one episode! It is our special Summer gift to you, our beloved audience.First Stephanie welcomes Shadia Hrichi who shares with us her own journey towards deep intimacy with God. They discuss Hagar, a very special woman in the Bible who gets to give God one of His names - "the God who sees me." They also mostly focus on Tamar, whose powerful story of brokenness is redeemed by the only One who is able to deliver us from our bondage, fear, and trials. Do you need to be reminded that God is FOR you? You are not alone, and He is in every detail of your life. He is especially attentive when things are not going as you want them to - which is probably the case for most of us right now, in this season of the world when everything seems upside down and when it might feel that God is distant! He is closer than ever to the brokenhearted.Then Stephanie welcomes Shannon Popkin who reminds us that we are all attacked by the very real enemy of our soul who seeks to distract us from the Lord. Using the same old tricks that have worked for thousands of years, the devil seeks to entice us to compare to one another because that is exactly what he did with God - he wanted to be better than God Himself. We live in a culture that tells us that, unless we are number one, we are worthless. This is deeply damaging to the very fabric of our soul. With her book "Comparison Girl", Shannon reminds us that the cure towards wholesome healing is simple - yet not easy: we are never happier than when we take our eyes off of ourselves, and focus on another. Humility and other-centered service is the simple yet overlooked secret to a fulfilling life. Jesus role-modeled it for us, and invites us to step closer to His heart through selfless humility. How simple, yet how profound!Finally, Stephanie is thrilled to welcome Marci Seither who invites you to join her for a summer of pondering the goodness of God through rest, laughter and meditation. In her new devotional, Lakeside Retreat, Marci beckons us to experience God in the daily, to embrace Him in the simple, and to delight in Him in every moment. Her book is the perfect summer getaway to come back refreshed, renewed, and more in love with God than ever.MEET MARCI SEITHERMarci Seither’s writing career began after her humor article was published in a small-town newspaper. Since then she has authored two books and hundreds of articles for local papers, as well as for Guideposts, Light & Life, and Focus on the Family. She is a creative storyteller who has shared her love of stories with hundreds of schoolchildren as well as those attending one of her workshops. Besides writing, she enjoys trying new recipes, food photography, and capturing drone footage. Her biggest joy, besides being married to John for more than three and a half decades and raising six kids, is being grandma to six of the cutest kiddos in this hemisphere. Marci makes her home in the Nashville, Tennessee, area with John and their very spoiled miniature schnauzer—Pepper.website: http://marciseither.com/Social Media:https://www.facebook.com/marci.seither Instagram @marci_seitherMEET SHANNON POPKINShannon Popkin is a writer, speaker, and Bible teacher who loves to blend her gifts for storytelling and humor with her passion for Jesus. Shannon regularly speaks at Christian women's events and retreats, invit

A SPECIAL MESSAGE FROM STEPHANIE:I want to share a special invitation with you. You may have heard that I will be releasing my first book with IVP on July 28, 2026. It’s a big deal and I am so overwhelmed with God’ goodness in allowing me to share such an essential message about delighting in Him as the true essential foundation for all our spiritual growth and maturing. Truly, when we delight in the Lord, He promises to give us the desires of our hearts – namely, more of Himself!So, here's the invitation. If you feel this message is indeed important, and you know people – including yourself perhaps – who need to be encouraged to awaken and cultivate their delight in God, would you consider joining my book launch team? It’s a great and super easy way to share the good news of God's love for us in Christ, Jesus, our Lord.**If you’re interested, please go to gospelspice.com/awakendelight and find the section about joining the launch team, or email me at [email protected] **Together, let’s encourage everyone we know with the wonderful news that, in Christ, God delights in us and invites us to delight in Him!Our Summer series invite you to ponder important topics for daily living. Stephanie and her occasional guests tell us about the importance of our definition of success, the key elements of leadership roles, the traps of comparison, the importance of theology, and much more! These stand-along episodes are meant to encourage you and challenge you to experience deeper fruitfulness in your various roles and ministries, in all the relationships and areas of your life.Today's theme is leadership. We are all leaders, in one capacity or another. If you don't think you are ever in a position of leadership, think again! Leadership does not necessarily mean a large organisation. You lead as a parent, as a student, as a peer, and in many areas that might not feel like leadership as the world defines it! For example, a mother who is potty-training her child has to exhibit a certain and real set of leadership skills. A teacher in the classroom, or a small group leader at church, all have to learn how to improve their leadership skills. So... What is a good leader--and how can you spot a bad leader a mile away? What are the various traits of leadership, and how do they differ from styles of leadership? How can you learn from good and bad leaders? How do you identity bad leadership? How do you handle the various responsibilities that comes with your leadership?Stephanie gave this presentation to a group of Gospel Spice leadership trainees. You will get to hear their questions in the Q&A session at the end of this episode. If you are interested to participate in the next GospelSpice leadership training, email us at [email protected]. We hope to hold the next sessions in early 2023. If you wish to access the video that contains the deck of slides that Stephanie used, become a member at gospelspice.com (it's free) and you will find it on our member community board in "Stephanie's library."DISCOVER THE GOSPEL SPICE MINISTRIES The Gospel Spice Podcast is part of a larger range of tools given to you by Gospel Spice Ministries.In a nutshell, we exist to inspire Christ-followers to delight in God.In more details: we provide resources to empower Christian leaders across generational, social, ethnic and geographical boundaries towards more intimacy with Jesus Christ and discipleship effectiveness through a Biblical Christocentric foundation. The Gospel-Spice Ministries provide a safe environment for spiritual and community growth empowering people to know Christ more intimately, serve one another more powerfully, and reach the world for Jesus.PLAY IT FORWARD by SHARING the link with friends and family.PRAY IT FORWARD by praying for us and those you share it with!PAY IT FORWARD!! Would you consider supporting this show today to help others enjoy it for free? It comes to you completely free, but is labor-intensive to produce, and we want to keep putting it in the ears of people!Gospel Spice Ministries is a non-profit organization registered under the tax-exempt 501c3 status. Your donations are tax-deductible under IRS Section 170. We want to be the best possible stewards of your financial support. All donations above our minimal operating costs go to Christian organizations fighting human trafficking.Go to gospelspice.com for more, and go especially to gospelspice.com/podcast to enjoy our guests! Interested in our blog? Click here: gospelspice.com/blog(*ListenNotes ranking, 2023)THERE ARE SEVERAL WAYS TO PARTNER WITH GOSPEL SPICE TODAY!First, PAY Gospel Spice Forward: Give a tax-deductible gift so others can experience our ministry for free, just like you! You can pay it forward with any debit, credit card, or via PayPal. See below for more details about your impact.Also, PLAY Gospel Spice Forward: SHARE the podcast and the studies with your friends and family. FOLLOW, RATE & REVIEW on your favorite podcast app (le

A SPECIAL MESSAGE FROM STEPHANIE:I want to share a special invitation with you. You may have heard that I will be releasing my first book with IVP on July 28, 2026. It’s a big deal and I am so overwhelmed with God’ goodness in allowing me to share such an essential message about delighting in Him as the true essential foundation for all our spiritual growth and maturing. Truly, when we delight in the Lord, He promises to give us the desires of our hearts – namely, more of Himself!So, here's the invitation. If you feel this message is indeed important, and you know people – including yourself perhaps – who need to be encouraged to awaken and cultivate their delight in God, would you consider joining my book launch team? It’s a great and super easy way to share the good news of God's love for us in Christ, Jesus, our Lord.**If you’re interested, please go to gospelspice.com/awakendelight and find the section about joining the launch team, or email me at [email protected] **Together, let’s encourage everyone we know with the wonderful news that, in Christ, God delights in us and invites us to delight in Him!What are your thoughts on the importance of understanding culture to experience the teachings of Jesus at a deeper level? And, what about the gender debate in the church? And, pray tell, what on earth do these two questions have in common? Get ready for a meaty conversation today! Stephanie welcomes Dr Michelle Lee Barnewall, who is associate professor of biblical and theological studies at Talbot School of Theology, Biola University. A Korean-American who grew up in Minnesotta and have lived throughout the US, she has a unique perspective on culture and is the author of several books, two of which we are discussing today. One is about the evangelical gender debate around egalitarianism and complementarism; the other is about entering the parables of Jesus as He intended. What do these two topics have in common? Several things we discuss:- a humble approach to culture,- a spirit of teachability,- the ministry of reconciliation,- a focus away from individualism, and towards a spirit of community.This conversation will most likely challenge your perspective, and we hope and pray it is the springboard to growth, and deeper intimacy with the Spirit of the living God! As Michelle says, "let's welcome the tension so that we will grow through it. Let's be comfortable with tension."This conversation feels a little like a seminary class under Michelle's expert teaching... and that is something to enjoy deeply! MEET MICHELLE LEE BARNEWALLMichelle Lee-Barnewall (PhD, University of Notre Dame) is associate professor of biblical and theological studies at Talbot School of Theology, Biola University, in La Mirada, California. Besides the two books we are discussing in this episode, she is also the author of Paul, the Stoics, and the Body of Christ.Her next book? She brings her reflections on growing up as a minority race in America. It's a combination of personal experience and Biblical New Testament theology and it will come out in the future!ABOUT “NEITHER COMPLEMENTARIAN NOR EGALITARIAN: A Kingdom corrective to the evangelical gender debate"Regarding gender relations, the evangelical world is divided between complementarians and egalitarians. While both perspectives have much to contribute, the discussion has reached a stalemate. Michelle Lee-Barnewall critiques both sides of the debate, challenging the standard premises and arguments and offering new insight into a perennially divisive issue in the church. She brings fresh biblical exegesis to bear on our cultural situation, presenting an alternative way to move the discussion forward based on a corporate perspective and on kingdom values.Buy the book on Amazon now"Imagine using core biblical themes like corporateness, servant leadership, mutuality, and unity to discuss issues of the relationship of men and women to one another in the church. Imagine focusing not on power or rights but on the example of Christ. If you imagine reframing the gender discussion in helpful ways, then you will be interested in Neither Complementarian nor Egalitarian. When one serves while leading and pays special attention to corporate versus individual themes, things are transformed from the way the world (and sometimes the way the church on both sides of the debate) talks about them. Read this book no matter which side of the debate you are on--and think afresh."--Darrell L. Bock, Dallas Theological Seminary"The church's debate over gender and leadership has become an intractable problem because we have adopted the model of the world, where leadership is about equality, rights, privilege, power, and position. Michelle Lee-Barnewall calls for a radical paradigm shift that adopts the upside-down values of the kingdom of God, where humility, love, service, unity, and responsibility replace power, privilege, and position as the guiding principles for true servant leadership. If put int

A SPECIAL MESSAGE FROM STEPHANIE:I want to share a special invitation with you. You may have heard that I will be releasing my first book with IVP on July 28, 2026. It’s a big deal and I am so overwhelmed with God’ goodness in allowing me to share such an essential message about delighting in Him as the true essential foundation for all our spiritual growth and maturing. Truly, when we delight in the Lord, He promises to give us the desires of our hearts – namely, more of Himself!So, here's the invitation. If you feel this message is indeed important, and you know people – including yourself perhaps – who need to be encouraged to awaken and cultivate their delight in God, would you consider joining my book launch team? It’s a great and super easy way to share the good news of God's love for us in Christ, Jesus, our Lord.**If you’re interested, please go to gospelspice.com/awakendelight and find the section about joining the launch team, or email me at [email protected] **Together, let’s encourage everyone we know with the wonderful news that, in Christ, God delights in us and invites us to delight in Him!What is success? The world would have you embrace a particular definition. Even some teachings within Christendom might fall seriously short of the mark. What is the Biblical standard of success? Today's theme is success, its definition and application. Through her personal story and testimony, Stephanie invites you to embrace the most satisfying definition of success, and to apply it daily: You will measure success by the delight you take in God's glory! And when that becomes your quest, you are poised for a delightful, wildly successful life for the Kingdom.“God’s glory, our delight” is Stephanie’s motto and the beating heart of Gospel Spice Ministries, rooted in her personal encounter with God as a French teenage atheist. As believers, we face the daily challenge to ascribe glory where it belongs, and to delight in the process. What can we learn from Jesus to make His glory our true North and lifelong quest? How do we spice up our words to present them as a daily offering of delight to the glory of God? God sprinkles our stories with a dash of spice—and inimitable flair. Through her personal testimony and ever-growing devotion to Christ, Stephanie humbly invites you to delight in God’s glory today and every day.THERE ARE SEVERAL WAYS TO PARTNER WITH GOSPEL SPICE TODAY!First, PAY Gospel Spice Forward: Give a tax-deductible gift so others can experience our ministry for free, just like you! You can pay it forward with any debit, credit card, or via PayPal. See below for more details about your impact.Also, PLAY Gospel Spice Forward: SHARE the podcast and the studies with your friends and family. FOLLOW, RATE & REVIEW on your favorite podcast app (leave a comment + a star rating on Apple Podcast, Spotify, Pandora, IHeart, Google Podcast, etc…). It REALLY is the best way to help others find this content-rich podcast. And, last but not least, PRAY Gospel Spice Forward: We pray for you weekly. We covet your prayers for our ministry, the thousands we reach, and our team! Contact us to let us know you are praying for us!NEW!Another way to partner with us is to purchase our workbooks and online Bible studies. We keep them at the lowest possible cost, but they require a lot of work from us! For example, - a complete Bible Study requires an average of 500 man-hours. - a workbook for a series requires almost 100 man-hours.MORE ABOUT PARTNERING WITH US FINANCIALLY:Gospel Spice Ministries is a non-profit organization registered under the tax-exempt 501c3 status.Our goal is to provide in-depth, high-quality, free Bible resources for all. They are free, but expensive to create! We need your financial support to keep producing and distributing them. Please pay Gospel Spice forward today! For example, a podcast episode takes close to 10 hours of work (and we release 2 each week). They come to you completely free, but we would truly love your support.We want the money to go to those who really need it. Once our operating costs are paid, 100% of your donation is redistributed to our partners who fight human trafficking. Each year, we aim to give as much as we can. For example, Stephanie works more than full time for Gospel Spice, entirely for free. All board members and volunteers are donating time. We limit our operational expenses to the bare minimum.Your pay-it-forward donations are tax-deductible under IRS Section 170.We want to be the best possible stewards of your financial support. Thank you!Go to gospelspice.com for more, and go especially to gospelspice.com/podcast to enjoy our guests! Interested in our blog? Click here: gospelspice.com/blogWe invite you to enjoy a Christ-centered summer by experiencing Jesus through the lens of the body of Christ. We bring you a diversity of viewpoints on several issues, and invite you to discover Jesus through their own journey with Him.Our Summer series invite you to p

A SPECIAL MESSAGE FROM STEPHANIE:I want to share a special invitation with you. You may have heard that I will be releasing my first book with IVP on July 28, 2026. It’s a big deal and I am so overwhelmed with God’ goodness in allowing me to share such an essential message about delighting in Him as the true essential foundation for all our spiritual growth and maturing. Truly, when we delight in the Lord, He promises to give us the desires of our hearts – namely, more of Himself!So, here's the invitation. If you feel this message is indeed important, and you know people – including yourself perhaps – who need to be encouraged to awaken and cultivate their delight in God, would you consider joining my book launch team? It’s a great and super easy way to share the good news of God's love for us in Christ, Jesus, our Lord.**If you’re interested, please go to gospelspice.com/awakendelight and find the section about joining the launch team, or email me at [email protected] **Together, let’s encourage everyone we know with the wonderful news that, in Christ, God delights in us and invites us to delight in Him!Let's be honest today: do you look around and compare yourself to others? In other words, do you struggle with comparison? Do you feel shame because you compare to others and fall short? Who and what are you comparing yourself to? Are you trying to become the person you are comparing yourself to? And how is it working for you, really?What is the comparison ladder you are trying to climb? Physical appearance and body image? Career? Home status? Who are you trying to better? And, what does Jesus have to say to all these questions? Jesus does not place on us the burden and pressure of comparison, like we tend to. He has already finished all the work, and the finality of the cross is our reality to embrace. How do we then free ourselves from the pressure of comparison? We know the answer is Jesus, but seriously, how does that work?Today we are kicking off our Summer 2022 series with Stephanie's friend Heather Creekmore. They invite you to enter a comparison-free summer. Heather shares her struggle with comparison, and how toxic it was in her spiritual walk, and in every area of relationship. Heather's particular area of comparison was in body image -- she believed the lie that her life would be better if she looked a certain way. But comparison is something we can all be prone to, even if it is not body image (though, let's be honest - it is a problem many of us have, men and women both, regardless of what we actually look like!). As a man, do you feel you should look like Thor or Captain America to be accepted? As a woman, do you feel you should look like Wonder Woman to be loved? Does God care about our body image, our weight, our physical appearance? How can we honor Him in this area?Now, how about those of us who say, "I don't compare myself to others, but only to the ideal version of me." What does Heather have to say to that? She gives us a practical blueprint to overcome the toxic temptation of comparison.Heather says, "I spent two decades battling my body image. No matter how I changed my body, I couldn’t find contentment. I even became a fitness instructor thinking that would fix my body image issues. As a Christian, I knew that the Bible should have the answer, but I could never find it. I heard all the cliches, ‘I was fearfully and wonderfully made‘ and ‘It’s what’s on the inside that counts‘ but they never helped me. I still struggled with wanting more beauty."CONNECT WITH HEATHER CREEKMOREwebsite: https://comparedtowho.me/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HeatherCreekmoreblog/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/comparedtowho/Twitter: @comparedtowhoPinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/comparedtowho/_created/Her YouVersion reading plan "Compared to Who?": https://www.bible.com/reading-plans/29320-compared-to-who-a-10-day-plan-to-improvebody-imageWe invite you to check out the first episode of each of our series, and decide which one you will want to start with.Go to gospelspice.com for more, and go especially to gospelspice.com/podcast to enjoy our guests! Interested in our blog? Click here: gospelspice.com/blogIdentity in the battle | Ephesianshttps://www.podcastics.com/episode/372022/link/Malachi: Messenger to Messiahhttps://www.podcastics.com/episode/356130/link/Wisdom from the Book of Proverbshttps://www.podcastics.com/episode/324347/link/Come to the Table | The Feasts Jesus celebratedhttps://www.podcastics.com/episode/309956/link/We invite you to enjoy a Christ-centered summer by experiencing Jesus through the lens of the body of Christ. We bring you a diversity of viewpoints on several issues, and invite you to discover Jesus through their own journey with Him.Our Summer series invite you to ponder important topics for daily living. Stephanie and her occasional guests tell us about the importance of our definition of success, the key elements of leadership roles, the traps of comparison

A SPECIAL MESSAGE FROM STEPHANIE:I want to share a special invitation with you. You may have heard that I will be releasing my first book with IVP on July 28, 2026. It’s a big deal and I am so overwhelmed with God’ goodness in allowing me to share such an essential message about delighting in Him as the true essential foundation for all our spiritual growth and maturing. Truly, when we delight in the Lord, He promises to give us the desires of our hearts – namely, more of Himself!So, here's the invitation. If you feel this message is indeed important, and you know people – including yourself perhaps – who need to be encouraged to awaken and cultivate their delight in God, would you consider joining my book launch team? It’s a great and super easy way to share the good news of God's love for us in Christ, Jesus, our Lord.**If you’re interested, please go to gospelspice.com/awakendelight and find the section about joining the launch team, or email me at [email protected] **Together, let’s encourage everyone we know with the wonderful news that, in Christ, God delights in us and invites us to delight in Him!Why are we wired to seek glory for ourselves? Stephanie suggests to you that we are wired by God Himself to seek glory because this reveals our deep longing for identity. And we will find and keep our identity when we make God’s opinion of us, namely His delight in us, the deepest root cause of our identity and glory.We all seek our worth – our weight, our glory – in the eyes of another. We are born looking for someone looking for us, as we have seen with our recent guests Curt Thompson and James Bryan Smith. We seek to be safe, seen, soothed and secure. Only God is SAFE when it comes to placing our glory within His hands. Only God is the rational logical choice – why seek your identity in the mirror-eyes of others when His eyes are available? Only God can soothe/satisfy our longing for glory eternally. His opinion beats all others in quality, accuracy, depth, and power to transform. Why settle for less?So, next time we are tempted to find glory (it can look like a search and a hunger for meaning, identity, fame, approval, love…) let's not go to our usual escape mechanisms, our indulgences of choice: social media, food, drink, shopping, addictions of any kind like porn or alcohol or drugs or gaming; let's not go first to our wife or husband or children or best friends. Go to God and wrestle through the unbelief until you remember the extent of the delight God takes in you. Say this to your heart: “God’s delight of me is the source of my glory.”"Yahweh your God is among you, a warrior who saves. He will rejoice over you with gladness. He will bring you quietness with His love. He will delight in you with shouts of joy.” (Zephaniah 3:17, HCSB) Rejoicing. Gladness. Quietness. Love. Delight. Joy. That is literally how God feels about you. who are you to disagree with Him? If God doesn’t constantly think negative thoughts about you, why then should you?Stephanie offers practical questions to assess our hearts when we receive glory from another: does it please my Father? Is it in accord with my identity in Christ? Does it glorify God ultimately? What does it do to my heart and my intimacy with Jesus? Does it draw me closer from Him or further away? Finally, is this glory measured in the Kingdom of God, or in the world of man?Our legitimate, safe, appropriate glory is found in the delight God takes in us.THERE ARE SEVERAL WAYS TO PARTNER WITH GOSPEL SPICE TODAY!First, PAY Gospel Spice Forward: Give a tax-deductible gift so others can experience our ministry for free, just like you! You can pay it forward with any debit, credit card, or via PayPal. See below for more details about your impact.Also, PLAY Gospel Spice Forward: SHARE the podcast and the studies with your friends and family. FOLLOW, RATE & REVIEW on your favorite podcast app (leave a comment + a star rating on Apple Podcast, Spotify, Pandora, IHeart, Google Podcast, etc…). It REALLY is the best way to help others find this content-rich podcast. And, last but not least, PRAY Gospel Spice Forward: We pray for you weekly. We covet your prayers for our ministry, the thousands we reach, and our team! Contact us to let us know you are praying for us!NEW!Another way to partner with us is to purchase our workbooks and online Bible studies. We keep them at the lowest possible cost, but they require a lot of work from us! For example, - a complete Bible Study requires an average of 500 man-hours. - a workbook for a series requires almost 100 man-hours.MORE ABOUT PARTNERING WITH US FINANCIALLY:Gospel Spice Ministries is a non-profit organization registered under the tax-exempt 501c3 status.Our goal is to provide in-depth, high-quality, free Bible resources for all. They are free, but expensive to create! We need your financial support to keep producing and distributing them. Please pay Gospel Spice forward today! For example, a podcast episode takes clo

A SPECIAL MESSAGE FROM STEPHANIE:I want to share a special invitation with you. You may have heard that I will be releasing my first book with IVP on July 28, 2026. It’s a big deal and I am so overwhelmed with God’ goodness in allowing me to share such an essential message about delighting in Him as the true essential foundation for all our spiritual growth and maturing. Truly, when we delight in the Lord, He promises to give us the desires of our hearts – namely, more of Himself!So, here's the invitation. If you feel this message is indeed important, and you know people – including yourself perhaps – who need to be encouraged to awaken and cultivate their delight in God, would you consider joining my book launch team? It’s a great and super easy way to share the good news of God's love for us in Christ, Jesus, our Lord.**If you’re interested, please go to gospelspice.com/awakendelight and find the section about joining the launch team, or email me at [email protected] **Together, let’s encourage everyone we know with the wonderful news that, in Christ, God delights in us and invites us to delight in Him!Stephanie welcomes spiritual director, university professor and author James Bryan Smith to ponder the weight of God's love for us as His chosen creation. In his latest book, "The good and beautiful you" Jim invites us to peel back the layers of many lies we have commonly been fed in the church--about our worthlessness and predicament when our identity is primarily defined as "sinner." Jim likes to remind everyone - inlcuding himself - that Genesis 1 and 2 precede Genesis 3, and that grace and love precede sin and the fall! They discuss the difference between soul and self, and why the soul has such demanding needs. James tells us now the needs of our soul can be met in Christ alone.Jim describes ten things our soul cannot endure, and ten God-created longings. He says, "the soul is made to soar in trasncendance." Yet this is the furthest thing from self-help and narcissism! He invites us to "put to death our need ot establish our worth through what we accomplish." Who does not need to hear this in our generation of ever-hurried people? He talks of the sacredness of our God-bestowed body: "we cannot engage in a relationship with God apart from our bodies." Jim also talks about our deep-seated need to be wanted and desired. He says, "our identity is given by God - and it will find us! We don't have to search for significance; in Christ significance has found us." He prays and invites us to join him in asking the Lord, "O God help me believe the truth about myself, no matter how beautiful." Again, this is the furthest thing from narcissisim because it invites us to then consider every one around us in the same light - considering others as more important than ourselves, imitating Christ Jesus as Paul challenges us in Philippians 2.Jim says, "I am my own worst critic. I live under the tyranny of the ideal self." Anyone else can use a dose of truth against self-criticism? If God does not spend His days thinking negative thoughts about us, then why should we think those thoughts about ourselves - or others?Join Stephanie and James Bryan Smith for a profound and uplifting conversation about WHO YOU ARE IN GOD'S EYES.GOSPELSPICE AND IVPRESS GIFT TO YOU: GET 30% OFF AND FREE SHIPPING FOR "THE GOOD AND BEAUTIFUL YOU" only at ivpress.com by using the discount code SPICE22. This code is valid until July 4, 2022 - 2 weeks after the initial release of this episode. Enjoy this special gift! You can also watch the video of this episode on our YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/gospelspiceCONNECT WITH JAMES BRYAN SMITHwebsite: https://jamesbryansmith.com/the book, The Good and Beautiful You: https://www.ivpress.com/the-good-and-beautiful-youJames Bryan Smith is the author of the Good and Beautiful Series which includes The Good and Beautiful God, The Good and Beautiful You, The Good and Beautiful Life, and The Good and Beautiful Community. He earned his MDiv at Yale and his DMin at Fuller and is a theology professor at Friends University in Wichita, Kansas, where he also serves as the director of the Apprentice Institute for Christian Spiritual Formation.A founding member of Richard J. Foster's spiritual renewal ministry, Renovaré, Smith is an ordained United Methodist Church minister and has served in various capacities in local churches. He is the editor of A Spiritual Formation Workbook and Devotional Classics (with Richard Foster), and the author of Embracing the Love of God, Rich Mullins: An Arrow Pointing to Heaven, Room of Marvels, The Magnificent Story, and The Magnificent Journey.Follow him on Twitter: @jamesbryansmithMORE ABOUT THE BOOK:GOSPELSPICE AND IVPRESS GIFT TO YOU: GET 30% OFF AND FREE SHIPPING FOR "THE GOOD AND BEAUTIFUL YOU" at ivpress.com by using the discount code SPICE22. This code is valid until July 4, 2022 - 2 weeks after the initial release of this episode. Enjoy this special gift! T

A SPECIAL MESSAGE FROM STEPHANIE:I want to share a special invitation with you. You may have heard that I will be releasing my first book with IVP on July 28, 2026. It’s a big deal and I am so overwhelmed with God’ goodness in allowing me to share such an essential message about delighting in Him as the true essential foundation for all our spiritual growth and maturing. Truly, when we delight in the Lord, He promises to give us the desires of our hearts – namely, more of Himself!So, here's the invitation. If you feel this message is indeed important, and you know people – including yourself perhaps – who need to be encouraged to awaken and cultivate their delight in God, would you consider joining my book launch team? It’s a great and super easy way to share the good news of God's love for us in Christ, Jesus, our Lord.**If you’re interested, please go to gospelspice.com/awakendelight and find the section about joining the launch team, or email me at [email protected] **Together, let’s encourage everyone we know with the wonderful news that, in Christ, God delights in us and invites us to delight in Him!How can we actively develop humility in our spiritual life, the kind of genuine, precious humility that will put a smile on our Father's face? Genuine, relentless humility is a life-long commitment.Stephanie takes us on a journey to experience what has been called the "spiritual disciplines" in light of our quest to delight more in God. She quotes John Piper: “Now, THAT would be the greatest salvation imaginable—if God should offer us the greatest reality in the universe to enjoy, and then move in us to see to it that we could enjoy it with the greatest freedom and the greatest pleasure possible.”Truly, that’s all we need. Let this mindset seep deeply into your being, and it will bear fruit. Be relentlessly humble. Cultivate relentless humility. It’s the secret. It’s actually super easy, but it requires a lifetime of practice.Paul said, “by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me.” `1cor 15:10That’s the balance: God does ALL the work—THROUGH us. We’re not in charge. We’re the car, He’s the driver. Yet He chooses to use this car. So, today we’re going to look at the other side of this "delight-in-God" coin: our participation. God invites us to participate even as He teaches us HOW to delight in Him.Join us to relentlessly develop genuine humility today.IMPORTANT NOTE - WE WILL SWITCH TO FRIDAYS AS OUR EPISODE RELEASE DAY, STARTING ON JULY 1 WITH EPISODE 156. Stay tuned every FRIDAY!! DISCOVER THE GOSPEL SPICE MINISTRIES The Gospel Spice Podcast is part of a larger range of tools given to you by Gospel Spice Ministries.In a nutshell, we exist to inspire Christ-followers to delight in God.In more details: we provide resources to empower Christian leaders across generational, social, ethnic and geographical boundaries towards more intimacy with Jesus Christ and discipleship effectiveness through a Biblical Christocentric foundation. The Gospel-Spice Ministries provide a safe environment for spiritual and community growth empowering people to know Christ more intimately, serve one another more powerfully, and reach the world for Jesus.PLAY IT FORWARD by SHARING the link with friends and family.PRAY IT FORWARD by praying for us and those you share it with!PAY IT FORWARD!! Would you consider supporting this show today to help others enjoy it for free? It comes to you completely free, but is labor-intensive to produce, and we want to keep putting it in the ears of people!Gospel Spice Ministries is a non-profit organization registered under the tax-exempt 501c3 status. Your donations are tax-deductible under IRS Section 170. We want to be the best possible stewards of your financial support. All donations above our minimal operating costs go to Christian organizations fighting human trafficking.Go to gospelspice.com for more, and go especially to gospelspice.com/podcast to enjoy our guests! Interested in our blog? Click here: gospelspice.com/blog(*ListenNotes ranking, 2023)THERE ARE SEVERAL WAYS TO PARTNER WITH GOSPEL SPICE TODAY!First, PAY Gospel Spice Forward: Give a tax-deductible gift so others can experience our ministry for free, just like you! You can pay it forward with any debit, credit card, or via PayPal. See below for more details about your impact.Also, PLAY Gospel Spice Forward: SHARE the podcast and the studies with your friends and family. FOLLOW, RATE & REVIEW on your favorite podcast app (leave a comment + a star rating on Apple Podcast, Spotify, Pandora, IHeart, Google Podcast, etc…). It REALLY is the best way to help others find this content-rich podcast. And, last but not least, PRAY Gospel Spice Forward: We pray for you weekly. We covet your prayers for our ministry, the thousands we reach, and our team! Contact us to let us know you are praying for us!NEW!Another

A SPECIAL MESSAGE FROM STEPHANIE:I want to share a special invitation with you. You may have heard that I will be releasing my first book with IVP on July 28, 2026. It’s a big deal and I am so overwhelmed with God’ goodness in allowing me to share such an essential message about delighting in Him as the true essential foundation for all our spiritual growth and maturing. Truly, when we delight in the Lord, He promises to give us the desires of our hearts – namely, more of Himself!So, here's the invitation. If you feel this message is indeed important, and you know people – including yourself perhaps – who need to be encouraged to awaken and cultivate their delight in God, would you consider joining my book launch team? It’s a great and super easy way to share the good news of God's love for us in Christ, Jesus, our Lord.**If you’re interested, please go to gospelspice.com/awakendelight and find the section about joining the launch team, or email me at [email protected] **Together, let’s encourage everyone we know with the wonderful news that, in Christ, God delights in us and invites us to delight in Him!For Father's Day, Stephanie welcomes NFL chaplain and Pastor Jonathan Evans for a no-nonsense conversation about our investment as parents for the Kingdom of God. With his trademark candid and bold kindness, Jonathan shares his approach to parenting, as well as what he learned from his parents, Lois and Dr Tony Evans. We discuss fatherhood in particular, but these principles apply to all forms of parenting and for everyone who ministers to children of all ages! So, parents, grandparents, family members and all youth leaders -- this episode will inspire you, challenge you, and help you remember how eternal your investment is!Jonathan shares, “God is calling you to go further, rise higher, and achieve more in His name than you could ever imagine. But you will never get to experience all that God has for you unless you are willing to rise up out of the depths of your own disappointments, get up off the couches of your own comfort zones, and pursue His plan for this season. Now.”Beyond parenting, Jonathan shades his quest for a deeper intimacy with God. He remembers living life on “cruise control,” comfortable where he was, following in the footsteps of his well-known and respected father (Dr. Tony Evans), until one day he realized he didn’t know his own role or purpose in life. Jonathan didn’t wait to figure it out; he took action and pursued what God had in store for him. His book, Your Time is Now urges us to get out of the “comfort” rut and do the same. Using the Old Testament leader Joshua as a model for stepping up to God’s calling, Jonathan invites us to stop living at surface level, dig deeper, and step into our callings now, no matter what obstacles stand in our way. “Now is the time for you to live out your purpose for God,” says Jonathan. “Not when you’re older. Not when you’ve settled down. Not when you feel like you’ve got nothing else to do…Now is your season.” In Your Time is Now, Jonathan invites us to shift our perspectives from an outward concern about what the world thinks, to an inward focus on the only One whose opinion really matters: God.No matter the season we find ourselves in or the challenges we face, Jonathan encourages us to stand on the truth that God can and will use us and this season for His purpose, if only we intentionally and actively pursue Him.If you missed our Mother's Day episode, we invite you to check out the phenomenally inspiring convo between Molly De Frank and Stephanie about how to digitally detox your kids! Jonathan discusses the importance of keeping our kids grounded in real life and away from screens, so take a listen to Episode 147 (Digital Detox for kids with Molly DeFrank) for practical tips. MEET JONATHAN EVANSJonathan Evans is a pastor, speaker, mentor, and author who speaks passionately and powerfully about his relationship with God and has a burning desire to share his faith with others. He serves on the pastoral staff at Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship, a nondenominational church in Dallas, Texas, with his pastor, friend, and father, Dr. Tony Evans. Jonathan has roles in both the local church and in the national ministry, The Urban Alternative. Jonathan has a goal of building a legacy that leaves an impact. A dynamic speaker, he has shared at men’s conferences, youth events, churches, and other venues throughout the United States. Jonathan has also written several books, including Different, Get in the Game: A Spiritual Workout for Athletes (with Dr. Tony Evans), and Kingdom Family Devotional (with Dr. Tony Evans). Jonathan has also created powerful video and audio presentations to accompany his teaching, including spoken word videos that showcase his ability to deliver his messages with energy, creativity, and relevance.Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jonathanblakeevansInsta: https://www.instagram.com/jonathanblakeevans/https://jonathanblakeevans.c

A SPECIAL MESSAGE FROM STEPHANIE:I want to share a special invitation with you. You may have heard that I will be releasing my first book with IVP on July 28, 2026. It’s a big deal and I am so overwhelmed with God’ goodness in allowing me to share such an essential message about delighting in Him as the true essential foundation for all our spiritual growth and maturing. Truly, when we delight in the Lord, He promises to give us the desires of our hearts – namely, more of Himself!So, here's the invitation. If you feel this message is indeed important, and you know people – including yourself perhaps – who need to be encouraged to awaken and cultivate their delight in God, would you consider joining my book launch team? It’s a great and super easy way to share the good news of God's love for us in Christ, Jesus, our Lord.**If you’re interested, please go to gospelspice.com/awakendelight and find the section about joining the launch team, or email me at [email protected] **Together, let’s encourage everyone we know with the wonderful news that, in Christ, God delights in us and invites us to delight in Him!Episode 151 - Jesus' humility is the roadmap to glory. Stephanie humbly invites us to dive into the meaning and expression of humility in Jesus's life. It started even before His incarnation - when He left the beauty and perfection of heaven to come dwell on planet earth, with a human body, and for the express intent to die a horrific death, not only physically but mostly a spiritual death of separation from His heavenly Father. What love is this... and it is demonstrated in meekness and humility. So, since humility was so essential to Jesus, so must it be with us too! Except... it does not come to us naturally. So we look at delighting in God in the context of humility today.This is an in-depth look at the meaning of the cross, and how we are called to the ultimate beauty of surrendering our self-will to delight in glories unimaginable. Today is an invitation to see, maybe for the first time or at a deeper level, that a quest to delight in God is truly the most reasonable, and the most enthralling adventure that we are called upon.We look at what it means to "be in Christ," an expression that can be so overused, it is devoid of meaning. Yet, the key to delight in God in found in its meaning. What does it mean, truly, to "be in Christ"? We talk about the delight of surrender, and the surrender of delight. We invite you to insert Jesus in every practical aspect of your life, only to find He is already there. That is true delight. Join us!DISCOVER THE GOSPEL SPICE MINISTRIES The Gospel Spice Podcast is part of a larger range of tools given to you by Gospel Spice Ministries.In a nutshell, we exist to inspire Christ-followers to delight in God.In more details: we provide resources to empower Christian leaders across generational, social, ethnic and geographical boundaries towards more intimacy with Jesus Christ and discipleship effectiveness through a Biblical Christocentric foundation. The Gospel-Spice Ministries provide a safe environment for spiritual and community growth empowering people to know Christ more intimately, serve one another more powerfully, and reach the world for Jesus.PLAY IT FORWARD by SHARING the link with friends and family.PRAY IT FORWARD by praying for us and those you share it with!PAY IT FORWARD!! Would you consider supporting this show today to help others enjoy it for free? It comes to you completely free, but is labor-intensive to produce, and we want to keep putting it in the ears of people!Gospel Spice Ministries is a non-profit organization registered under the tax-exempt 501c3 status. Your donations are tax-deductible under IRS Section 170. We want to be the best possible stewards of your financial support. All donations above our minimal operating costs go to Christian organizations fighting human trafficking.Go to gospelspice.com for more, and go especially to gospelspice.com/podcast to enjoy our guests! Interested in our blog? Click here: gospelspice.com/blog(*ListenNotes ranking, 2023)GOD'S GLORY, OUR DELIGHT | THE GOSPEL SPICE SERIESDelighting in the glory of God. Does this concept strike you as reserved for spiritual contemplatives? What if, instead, it proved the highly practical, deeply foundational perspective you need right now?Why does God’s glory even matter in our day and age? How can we learn from Jesus to make His glory our true North and lifelong quest? What keeps us from fully stepping into this God-ordained purpose for our life? How do we kindle delight for God on a daily basis? And, once we have embraced God’s glory as our heart’s true delight, how can we then come alongside others?Join us to cultivate a sincere delight for God’s glory, rooted in an honest, hard look at the depth of our need, and in the much deeper Reality of His grace. Trace the glory of God through Scripture and in your own life. Behold the exact radiance of God’s glory, revealed in J

A SPECIAL MESSAGE FROM STEPHANIE:I want to share a special invitation with you. You may have heard that I will be releasing my first book with IVP on July 28, 2026. It’s a big deal and I am so overwhelmed with God’ goodness in allowing me to share such an essential message about delighting in Him as the true essential foundation for all our spiritual growth and maturing. Truly, when we delight in the Lord, He promises to give us the desires of our hearts – namely, more of Himself!So, here's the invitation. If you feel this message is indeed important, and you know people – including yourself perhaps – who need to be encouraged to awaken and cultivate their delight in God, would you consider joining my book launch team? It’s a great and super easy way to share the good news of God's love for us in Christ, Jesus, our Lord.**If you’re interested, please go to gospelspice.com/awakendelight and find the section about joining the launch team, or email me at [email protected] **Together, let’s encourage everyone we know with the wonderful news that, in Christ, God delights in us and invites us to delight in Him!Episode 150 - Why does it matter to delight in God? Why does God command us to delight in Him and enjoy Him forever? Doesn't that sound like the whinings of an egotistic tyrant, an insecure bully in search of affirmation, or a boastful narcissist? Stephanie invites us to discover the deeper meaning of delighting in God, and why it actually is the most logical, reasonable, and yes, delightful thing in the world.God is not human--it means He is the ultimate standard in all things beautiful and perfect and lovely and, yes, delightful. So, when He enjoins us to delight in Him, He is really inviting us to enjoy the ultimate best in all things. Doesn't sound so egotistic after all, does it?Jesus provides the perfect example for us--to absolutely no one's surprise! He role-models a life of perfect humility and delight in God. So we're taking a good look at delight in God as revealed in the light of the knowledge of the glory of God ... in the Face of Christ Jesus! That's one of the most foundational verses that Paul ever wrote, and it is one of our guides this week."God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,”made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ." - 2 Corinthians 4:6, NIV. DISCOVER THE GOSPEL SPICE MINISTRIES The Gospel Spice Podcast is part of a larger range of tools given to you by Gospel Spice Ministries.In a nutshell, we exist to inspire Christ-followers to delight in God.In more details: we provide resources to empower Christian leaders across generational, social, ethnic and geographical boundaries towards more intimacy with Jesus Christ and discipleship effectiveness through a Biblical Christocentric foundation. The Gospel-Spice Ministries provide a safe environment for spiritual and community growth empowering people to know Christ more intimately, serve one another more powerfully, and reach the world for Jesus.PLAY IT FORWARD by SHARING the link with friends and family.PRAY IT FORWARD by praying for us and those you share it with!PAY IT FORWARD!! Would you consider supporting this show today to help others enjoy it for free? It comes to you completely free, but is labor-intensive to produce, and we want to keep putting it in the ears of people!Gospel Spice Ministries is a non-profit organization registered under the tax-exempt 501c3 status. Your donations are tax-deductible under IRS Section 170. We want to be the best possible stewards of your financial support. All donations above our minimal operating costs go to Christian organizations fighting human trafficking.Go to gospelspice.com for more, and go especially to gospelspice.com/podcast to enjoy our guests! Interested in our blog? Click here: gospelspice.com/blog(*ListenNotes ranking, 2023)GOD'S GLORY, OUR DELIGHT | THE GOSPEL SPICE SERIESDelighting in the glory of God. Does this concept strike you as reserved for spiritual contemplatives? What if, instead, it proved the highly practical, deeply foundational perspective you need right now?Why does God’s glory even matter in our day and age? How can we learn from Jesus to make His glory our true North and lifelong quest? What keeps us from fully stepping into this God-ordained purpose for our life? How do we kindle delight for God on a daily basis? And, once we have embraced God’s glory as our heart’s true delight, how can we then come alongside others?Join us to cultivate a sincere delight for God’s glory, rooted in an honest, hard look at the depth of our need, and in the much deeper Reality of His grace. Trace the glory of God through Scripture and in your own life. Behold the exact radiance of God’s glory, revealed in Jesus. Learn to see yourself as Christ does—through the lens of the Father’s love at the cross. Jesus offers to overwhelm our deadly self-centeredness with His resurrection power. He carrie

A SPECIAL MESSAGE FROM STEPHANIE:I want to share a special invitation with you. You may have heard that I will be releasing my first book with IVP on July 28, 2026. It’s a big deal and I am so overwhelmed with God’ goodness in allowing me to share such an essential message about delighting in Him as the true essential foundation for all our spiritual growth and maturing. Truly, when we delight in the Lord, He promises to give us the desires of our hearts – namely, more of Himself!So, here's the invitation. If you feel this message is indeed important, and you know people – including yourself perhaps – who need to be encouraged to awaken and cultivate their delight in God, would you consider joining my book launch team? It’s a great and super easy way to share the good news of God's love for us in Christ, Jesus, our Lord.**If you’re interested, please go to gospelspice.com/awakendelight and find the section about joining the launch team, or email me at [email protected] **Together, let’s encourage everyone we know with the wonderful news that, in Christ, God delights in us and invites us to delight in Him!Episode 149 – Curt Thompson joins Stephanie to share in the experience of delighting in the glory of God through our eponymous series. They discuss the role of beauty in our identity—its creation and our awareness of it. They discuss the importance of crushing in our lives—how beauty often needs to be pulverized in order to attain its purpose, and how spice often delivers its best flavors and fragrance when heated and crushed. They ponder the importance to taste and see that the Lord is good—how sensing precedes our making sense of what we are sensing, and the importance of the five senses in our relationship with God and with one another. They dive into the cultural nuances of our brain formation and our mind transformation. They talk about shame, and desire, and delight, and beautyCurt invites us to experience Psalm 27:4 through the lens of delight in the glory of God:One thing I ask from the Lord, this only do I seek:that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life,to gaze on the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple.(NIV, Biblica)Finally, Curt invites us to “practice for heaven” and to discover what it means and how to train our hearts and minds to become ready for the indescribable beauty of delight in the glory of God for all of eternity.MEET CURT THOMPSONCurt Thompson (MD, Wright State University) is a board-certified psychiatrist and the founder of Being Known, an organization that develops resources for hope and healing at the intersection of neuroscience and Christian spiritual formation. He is also the author of The Soul of Shame, The Soul of Desire, and Anatomy of the Soul.Inspired by deep compassion for others and informed from a Christian perspective, psychiatrist Curt Thompson shares fresh insights and practical applications for developing more authentic relationships and fully experiencing our deepest longing: to be known.With a considerable dose of warmth (and surprising measure of humor), Curt weaves together an understanding of interpersonal neurobiology (IPNB) and a Christian view of what it means to be human — to educate and encourage others as they seek to fulfill their intrinsic desire to feel known, valued and connected. He understands that deep, authentic relationships are essential to experiencing a healthier, more purposeful life — but the only way to realize this is to begin telling our stories more truly.Curt’s unique insights about how the brain affects and processes relationships help people discover a fresh perspective and practical applications to foster healthy and vibrant lives, allowing them to get unstuck and move toward the next beautiful thing they’re being called to make.Through his workshops, speaking engagements, books, organizational consulting, private clinical practice and other platforms, he helps people process their longings, grief, identity, purpose, perspective of God and perspective of humanity, inviting them to engage more authentically with their own stories and their relationships. Only then can they can feel truly known and connected and live into the meaningful reality they desire to create.Thompson is board certified by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology and his main focus of clinical and research interest has been the integration of psychiatry, its associated disciplines, and Christian spiritual formation. He is actively engaged in learning and teaching as he supervises clinical employees and facilitates ongoing education groups for patients and colleagues. He also speaks frequently on the topic at workshops, conferences, and retreats.Serving as an elder at Washington Community Fellowship in Washington, DC, his duties have included preaching, teaching, and participation in the fellowship's healing prayer ministry. He and his wife, Phyllis, a licensed clinical social worker, are the parents of two children