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

Episode 23 - Stephanie is delighted to welcome bestselling author, international speaker and ministry founder Pam Farrel to Gospel Spice today! In this very special interview, they explore how to deepen intimacy with God through the study of Scripture by discovering the roots of hope and joy. Then marriage is on the menu--how to develop a lasting relationship!

Pam and her husband Bill have been married for over 40 years and have a thriving marriage ministry to come alongside all of us in this unique journey. Pam shares insights and wisdom tips on how to do just that! Men are like waffles--they compartmentalize and love to think in boxes, while women are like spaghetti--they love to connect everything to everything else!

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Episode 22 -Last week, Stephanie opened the first-century Jewish custom of betrothal to our 21st century western minds. We focused on the betrothal ceremony's elements--the proposal, the bride-price, and the drinking of the cup as covenantal agreement. We followed the bride-to-be as she took up to twelve months to prepare and adorn herself in every way--physical, and spiritual. Now, 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!

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Episode 21 - 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!?! 🙂

Stay tuned for Part 2 of this series, The Groom has come, next week!

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Episode 20 -Stephanie is delighted to welcome Pastor Ron Moore today! Ron is the Senior Pastor of the Bible Church, a multi-site megachurch in Pittsburgh. More personally, Ron baptized Stephanie as a baby Christian over 25 years ago!

Traveling down memory lane in light of this new decade, Ron shares about how he heard God's calling on his life, and how we can hear ours, too. How can we identify and develop our spiritual gifts? It's here, too! In danger of burnout? Check this out! And how do we face the good times, and the hard times, while clinging to the Lord? Ron shares deeply personal episodes of his life as a husband and father, and how he learned to cling to God when life is tough. As if this was not enough, he throws in there some super practical, useful tips on effective leadership and stewardship of what truly matters!

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Episode 19 -you know that the entire gospel message is spelled out in Jesus' temptation?

Stephanie wraps up our mini two- part series on Jesus' temptation as found in Matthew 4. But we will roam far and wide in Scripture today as we ponder the what, the why and the how of His temptation. If He is God, it can't have been that bad to face temptation, right? Hum. But if He faced temptation as God, then it does not help us an awful lot when WE are faced with our own temptations... because they're just so awfully tempting! 

How can we learn to cling to Jesus and draw on His strength to face our temptations? And why did He need to face His own, anyway?

All this, and more--that's Gospel Spice Forged in Fire today!

Shownotes:

As you know, we rely on word of mouth to get Gospel Spice in the hands and ears of those who will enjoy it! If you appreciate it, then please share it! It's pretty simple: you can share the link on social media, or email it to your friends and family! You can follow Stephanie on Facebook and Instagram, and share her Gospel Spice posts. As believers, we help one another as a team to spread the message of the gospel to the ends of the earth.

At the time this episode is published, Gospel Spice is downloaded in 20 countries on all continents, with a vast majority in the US. Keep spreading the good news... it will take all of us to reach the world for Christ!

www.stephanie-rousselle.com

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Episode 18 -We know that sin is not good for our track record: it separates us from God. Everyone knows that anger, envy, jealousy or malice are wrong. We won't even talk about the "bad" sins--murder, thief, adultery, etc. But what about the "good" sins? Another slice of cake when I'm already full. Another binge of my favorite shows when I have pressing deadlines. Another glass of wine. Another approximation in the office finances. A half-truth on my resume. A word well placed to make myself look good at the expense of someone else. Choosing to gratify my desires--right now, even if it means more credit. Being so grateful I'm not as bad as them--whoever them are.

We all do it.

The problem with sin, is that it's just so tempting! How bad can a little white lie be, really? In the great scheme of things, how wrong is it to smudge truth just a tad, if it helps the greater cause? And anyway, compared to the worst offenders, we are pretty good people. So God should just let us in to heaven. After all, we're trying to be good people. Doesn't that count?

Hum.

Stephanie recently had a conversation with a dear friend who believes just that. What would you answer? How do you reconcile God's justice with His love, in the face of temptation? Today we are looking at what it means to smudge the lines a little. In the next episode, we will look at how Jesus handled temptation when it came knocking.

We are in Matthew 4 today, and before we tackle the temptation of Jesus next week, we are taking a look at what temptation is, and what God has to say about it.

Shownotes:

This was not the most fun of episodes! Stay tuned for next week--the second half! Sometimes it's difficult to hear hard truth. Feel free to reach out to Stephanie to ask your questions or make your comments! This episode is part of Season 1 of Gospel Spice, so please take the other episodes as context to understand this one! If this is your first episode of Gospel Spice, we warmly invite you to check out some other ones!

On another note...

You've been asking how to support Gospel Spice... well, honestly it's very simple. First of all, if you have not subscribed, please click on the "subscribe" button on your Podcast App! It's completely free, and it makes it super easy for you to access new episodes, because they will appear directly in your podcast library on your phone.

What we need most of all, are reviews (stars system) and comments on ITunes: every positive review and comment pushes Gospel Spice up the search results... so people who are typing in the word, "Gospel" will find us easily! That is a simple way for you to share the gospel with people you don't even know--and all you have to do, is rate and review.

Another super helpful action would be for you to subscribe to Stephanie's newsletter at www.stephanie-rousselle.com: it's free, and packed with insights. This way, she can interact with you directly! And that will definitely put a smile on her face as she works tirelessly to bring you new episodes of Gospel Spice each week!

One last thing you can do, is also start listening to Gospel Spice on your laptop or tablet, which provides you with additional settings to enjoy the Spice of the Gospel! To do so, simply go to www.gospel-spice.com and register there. It will take a couple of minutes, and it's entirely free. Feel free to comment on there as well!

Thank you so much! We look forward to seeing you again soon!

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Episode 17 -Stephanie is joined today by Karol Ladd, who is widely known as the "Positive Lady." Karol has written over 35 books to encourage us all to adopt a positive perspective on life, as we grow ever-closer to our Lord Jesus Christ. Today, we are discussing practical ways to approach this new decade starting in 2020: how do we keep our lives simple, straightforward, and yet powerfully effective for the Kingdom? How do we keep the main thing the main thing, in a world that demands our every moment? How do we make JOY our main attitude? And how do we become a sincere, profound source of encouragement to others?

Karol shares practical tips and easy-to-implement advice to make 2020 your most peaceful yet effective year to date! Pinky promise--it works!

Karol also encourages us to embrace the power of something as simple as a smile--the gift you can freely give every day, and that will always bless you back, too!

Shownotes:

Find out more about Karol on her website: https://positivewomanconnection.com/

And here are all her positively inspired (and inspiring!) books: https://positivewomanconnection.com/books/

Connect with Karol on Social Media!

Instagram & Twitter - @karolladd

Facebook - www.facebook.com/KarolLaddAuthor

You will also find out everything you need to know about Stephanie here: http://www.stephanie-rousselle.com/ 

Support us on Gospel Spice, PayPal and Venmo!

Episode 16 -Stephanie invites you to continue the journey to understand and plumb the depths of the meaning of baptism today, as we close our two-part mini series on the meaning of Jesus' baptism as recounted by Matthew in the third chapter of his gospel. We're taking an unusual road today as we focus on Jonah, and specifically, the sign of Jonah, as Jesus introduces it in Matthew 12: why is Jonah's story the only one that Jesus used as an illustration of His upcoming death and resurrection, since we all know that Jonah didn't even die? And then, why would Jesus say that He will be in the tomb for three days and three nights, when He was there from Friday evening to Sunday morning? Have you ever wondered...?

A Dove. The Holy Spirit. Water. Baptism. Death. And then, resurrection life bursting forth in glorious light. This is the message of Jesus' baptism--and it is ours, too.

Take a listen to find out more! 

Shownotes:

You've been asking how to support Gospel Spice... well, honestly it's very simple. First of all, if you have not subscribed, please click on the "subscribe" button on your Podcast App! It's completely free, and it makes it super easy for you to access new episodes, because they will appear directly in your podcast library on your phone.

What we need most of all, are reviews (stars system) and comments on ITunes: every positive review and comment pushes Gospel Spice up the search results... so people who are typing in the word, "Gospel" will find us easily! That is a simple way for you to share the gospel with people you don't even know--and all you have to do, is rate and review.

Another super helpful action would be for you to subscribe to Stephanie's newsletter at www.stephanie-rousselle.com: it's free, and packed with insights. This way, she can interact with you directly! And that will definitely put a smile on her face as she works tirelessly to bring you new episodes of Gospel Spice each week!

One last thing you can do, is also start listening to Gospel Spice on your laptop or tablet, which provides you with additional settings to enjoy the Spice of the Gospel! To do so, simply go to www.gospel-spice.com and register there. It will take a couple of minutes, and it's entirely free. Feel free to comment on there as well!

Thank you so much! We look forward to seeing you again soon!

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.

(*ListenNotes ranking, 2023)

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Episode 15 -Stephanie starts by reading the account Jesus' baptism according to Matthew... in the unusual The Message translation! 

Today we start by looking at the meaning of the word baptism in the original Greek--and it's not as nerdy and geeky as you might think! It has to do with wearing your favorite team jersey... Let's take a stroll down baptism memory lane, and discover that this ancient custom took a new meaning with John--yes, the Baptizer!

If baptism has to do with repentance, among other things, and with joining a team... then what do you make of Jesus' baptism? He didn't need to repent, since He is sinless. And what team was He joining?

This is the first episode of a mini two-part series on the meaning of baptism. Today we are specifically looking at Jesus' baptism, and what it means to us today. As we are launching into the new year, let's make a clean start under the baptismal waters!

Shownotes:

You've been asking how to support Gospel Spice... well, honestly it's very simple. First of all, if you have not subscribed, please click on the "subscribe" button on your Podcast App! It's completely free, and it makes it super easy for you to access new episodes, because they will appear directly in your podcast library on your phone.

What we need most of all, are reviews (stars system) and comments on ITunes: the way it works is that every positive review and comment pushes Gospel Spice up the search results... so people who are typing in the word, "Gospel" will find us easily! That is a simple way for you to share the gospel with people you don't even know--and all you have to do, is rate and review.

Another super helpful action would be for you to subscribe to Stephanie's newsletter at www.stephanie-rousselle.com: it's free, and packed with insights. This way, she can interact with you directly! And that will definitely put a smile on her face as she works tirelessly to bring you new episodes of Gospel Spice each week!

One last thing you can do, is also start listening to Gospel Spice on your laptop or tablet, which provides you with additional settings to enjoy the Spice of the Gospel! To do so, simply go to www.gospel-spice.com and register there. It will take a couple of minutes, and it's entirely free. Feel free to comment on there as well!

Thank you so much! We look forward to seeing you again soon!

Support us!

Episode 14 -Have you ever wondered how Matthew and the early church experienced the first Christmases in a culture that fiercely opposed them? What can we learn from how they celebrate Christmas with each other?

Lisa spent over two decades experiencing Christmas the way the early church did—under conditions that called for wisdom in how to share Jesus with an unbelieving culture. Her story reminds us of what the first believers, like Matthew, might have experienced. How do you create your own Christmas when December 25 is a business day?

Join Stephanie and Lisa today, and sit together with them in the safety and comfort of an American home, with cookies, a fire and a cup of tea.

We start with Christmas trees and cookies, but then move on to exploring how a Christian minority in a Muslim country experiences the beauty of Christmas—and what we can learn from them!

A growing Christian family in an opposing culture. Lessons about Christmas to someone who has never experienced it. A scrawny Christmas tree that becomes a family heirloom. Christmas cookies for Muslim teachers—no angels, please!

And it gets better—how does one become a blessing to local believers in a country that might not completely accommodate them?

We don’t name the country out of respect. No need to try to guess. These timeless stories show us how to share Jesus at Christmas time today and remind us of what the very first believers went through to experience Christmas in the early church!

If you are free to celebrate Christmas this week, be grateful! And would you take a moment to pray for our brothers and sisters across the world, who will not enjoy this freedom this year?

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