So good to be with you again today! Stephanie here. Let’s join Jesus and His disciples on a certain mountainside to experience the greatest sermon ever taught. We'll uncover the true meaning behind the beatitudes, the Lord's prayer, the golden rule, and so much more. Get ready to listen to Jesus and allow Him to challenge and inspire you as we discover what it truly means to be a follower of Christ! So grab your Bible, open your heart, and let's dig deep into the transformative message of the Sermon on the Mount.

Jesus's words in this sermon challenge traditional beliefs and shed light on the true nature of the Gospel. Together, we will break down the key themes and highlights the contrasts between Jesus' teachings and those of the Pharisees.

Jesus emphasizes the importance of not just following the letter of the law, but living by its spirit. He calls his disciples (and us!) to a higher standard of righteousness — one that surpasses even that of the religious leaders of the day. Through Jesus, eternal life and salvation are offered to all who believe and accept him as their Savior.

The Sermon on the Mount is absolutely not a roadmap to salvation. It serves as a guide for how we should live as followers of Christ. We will meticulously explore each section of the sermon, from the Beatitudes to the Lord's Prayer and the Golden Rule. Let’s ask ourselves: how do these teachings challenge us to seek God's kingdom first, love our enemies, and go the extra mile in our relationships and interactions with others?

In His sermon, Jesus also tackles the topic of persecution and rejection that believers may face. He highlights the immense blessings that come to those who remain steadfast and true to the Father through Christ, even in the face of opposition. He reminds us that the Sermon on the Mount cannot be fully lived without a complete surrender to Him and a reliance on His grace.

Join us as we unpack the profound and life-changing words of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount. And don't forget to share it with your family, friends, and fellow believers who are seeking a deeper understanding of the Gospel.

Thank you for being a part of the Gospel Spice community. Together, let us continue to seek God's truth, grow in faith, and boldly live out the teachings of Jesus.

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to sit alongside Jesus and his initial audience? To experience the fresh spiritual flavors that the Messianic Jewish culture weaves into the four gospels? Well, that's exactly what we here aim to do through this original series, JESUS RABBI AND LORD. Stephanie invites you to dig deep into Scripture, unearthing raw diamonds that may need a little cleaning up, but will ultimately shine brightly.

So get ready to embark on this enlightening and transformative journey with Gospel Spice. Prepare to encounter Jesus in a way that resonates with our modern world and discover the richness of the gospel through the lens of Jewish culture. Let's dig deep, uncover the hidden spices, and experience the beauty of the Scriptures together. Welcome to Gospel Spice!

Grab your headphones, hit play, and let Gospel Spice be the catalyst for encountering Jesus in a way you've never experienced before!

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

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.

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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/blog

Do you enjoy Gospel Spice? Then let's deepen our relationship! There are 4 very simple ways to do that, and it would truly mean the world to us. 

1- If you’ve enjoyed this episode, you will love receiving our newsletter. It contains value-packed free gifts and rich content each month. It’s at gospelspice.com/signup. There is always something new and exciting happening around here, and I don’t want you to miss out! Sign up at Gospelspice.com/signup

2- Did you know Gospel Spice has a YouTube Channel? There’s exclusive content there too. So, join Gospel Spice on YouTube! It's at https://www.youtube.com/gospelspice

3- Also please give us a star rating and a comment on your podcast listening app. Your reviews actually really do make a difference to help others discover and experience Gospel Spice. You would be surprised how helpful these are! So please leave a star rating and a review of a sentence or two. Thank you!

4- As always, we are praying for you! You can confidentially email us your prayer requests and praise items at the email address contact@gospelspice.com. It is our privilege to pray for you!

So, would you please invest 3 to 5 minutes of your time, maybe even right now, to do one (or more!) of the following suggestions:

1-      signup on our website for our newsletter to receive gifts you’re going to love - at Gospelspice.com/signup

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3-      rate Gospel Spice on your listening app – it’s one of the easiest ways to share the gospel!

4-      and finally, tell us how we can pray for 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/blog

You are invited to join us on the Gospel Spice Prayer Bible Study, titled "The heart behind prayer" starting September 20, 2025! Details and registration here: https://www.gospelspice.com/prayer 

There are a few things in our Christian life that we know we should do more, or at least better – and prayer just might top the list. Prayer is a mystery. Why would a conversation with a human have any influence on God’s eternal, sovereign plan? It defies logic, and beckons love. How can God, the Almighty Lord of Hosts, be this close, this personal? It defies understanding, and beckons involvement.

But, lack of time, inspiration, and discipline, combined with the ruthless tyranny of our busy lives, push prayer to the periphery, to the “one day I’ll get to it” pile. And yet, we can excel at what we endeavor to undertake. So, why isn’t prayer more of a spiritual priority? Could we develop a mindset around prayer that made it attractive, inspiring, even maybe delightful? What if we attuned our spiritual ears to listen to God, and our spiritual eyes to see His provision?

As an unassuming student, I’m going to humbly offer to share the little I have learned from others about the joy of prayer. I will give us theology, practical tips, and useful resources, sharing what works for me as we, together, learn to pray.

If you find prayer intimidating, or if your lack of prayer makes you feel guilty or “less than,” then this is the place for you! If you have been a student of prayer for many years, this is the place for you too! If you have breath in your lungs, then prayer can become one of the deepest joys of your day. Don’t miss out!

A PERSPECTIVE ABOUT PRAYER

To pray is to believe that God not only hears, but that He responds. It is to stand in the gap for a broken world, wielding the authority of Christ, empowered by the Spirit, and trusting in the goodness of the Father. The question is not whether prayer works, but whether we are willing to pray the kinds of prayers that invite God’s Kingdom into the darkest places of the earth—and of our own hearts.

We may never fully understand the mechanics of prayer, or how it intersects with God's sovereignty, but we are not called to understand everything. We are called to be faithful. And faithfulness means showing up—in prayer, in persistence, in expectation.

So today, let us pray not only for the comfort of our hearts, but for the transformation of the world. Let us take our place as image-bearers, co-laborers, and co-heirs. Let us believe that God is still listening—and still acting. Because He is.

There’s only one way to find out what might happen when we truly pray like this.

Let’s begin.

THE MINDSET BEHIND THIS COURSE

Before we begin, let me tell you the obvious: I don’t really know how to pray. I’m a humble student and absolute beginner at the holy endeavor that is prayer. So, this course isn’t really about what I’ve learned, or any wisdom I might have gathered. But, I’ve sat at the feet of many prayer warriors over the decades, through books and teachings.

So, I’ll share what I learned from them. Humility is going to be our primary heart posture! With each lesson, I will offer a few thoughts, practices, and ideas – with much humility, and not taking myself too seriously. I will also share her favorite books and resources about prayer. FInally, I will introduce you to some of the most influential prayer warriors of our history as the Body of Christ.

Most importantly, I will invite YOU to pray! Learning to pray comes from praying. Our humble ambition is to inspire you to pray, and to give you a few tips on how to do that. Then, it’s up to you! Prayer is a lifelong endeavor. Let’s make it delightful together!

So, let’s get started.

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