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    Sacred Marriage Bible Study Participant's Guide
    Sacred Marriage Bible Study Participant's Guide
    Sacred Marriage Bible Study Participant's Guide
    Ebook77 pages47 minutes

    Sacred Marriage Bible Study Participant's Guide

    By Gary Thomas and Kevin & Sherry Harney

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    About this ebook

    Your marriage is much more than a union between you and your spouse. It is a spiritual discipline ideally suited to help you know God more fully and intimately. Sacred Marriage shifts the focus from marital enrichment to spiritual enrichment in ways that can help you love your mate more. Whether it is delightful or difficult, your marriage can become a doorway to a closer walk with God. Everything about your marriage—everything from the history you and your spouse create, to the love you share, to the forgiveness you both offer and seek by turn—is filled with the capacity to help you grow in Christ's character. This six-session, small group DVD curriculum will equip you to love God more passionately, reflect the nature of his Son more precisely, and fulfill God's overarching purpose for your marriage.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherZondervan
    Release dateAug 30, 2009
    ISBN9780310863816
    Sacred Marriage Bible Study Participant's Guide
    Author

    Gary Thomas

    Gary Thomas's writing and speaking draw people closer to Christ and closer to others. He is the author of twenty books that together have sold more than two million copies and have been translated into more than a dozen languages. These books include Sacred Marriage, Cherish, Married Sex, and the Gold Medallion-award winning Authentic Faith. Gary holds a bachelor's degree in English Literature from Western Washington University, a master's degree in systematic theology from Regent College (Vancouver, BC), and an honorary doctor of divinity degree from Western Seminary (Portland, OR). He serves as a teaching pastor at Cherry Hills Community Church in Highlands Ranch, Colorado.

    Read more from Gary Thomas

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    Reviews for Sacred Marriage Bible Study Participant's Guide

    4/5

    9 ratings6 reviews

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    • 3/5
      There was quite a bit of good material in the book. However, the author's continued focus on mystical / contemplative Christianity was a somewhat large distraction for me.
    • 5/5
      This is another great book by Gary Thomas. I recently finished Sacred Parenting and the Sacred Parenting bible study. I read this book in preperation for the bible study that goes with it. After finishing this book I am all the more eager to do the bible study at church! Gary Thomas does an excellent job of addressing the issue of marriage from a very practical and biblical point. It is easy to relate to the illustrations. This book is not a "how to" book on marriage but rather a book that points to the fact that marriage is designed by God and is essentially for God and the deepening of a relationship with God. As this personal relationship deepens so does the marriage and it also is fortified and strengthened by this personal relationship. God is a God of love and that is what marriage is all about. To better understand this one must seek out God on a personal level. This book is an excellent book to be read with your spouse, however, it is also worth reading even if your spouse does not wish to read it with you. Be challenged to apply God's word to your every day life.Thank you Zondervan for providing this review copy.
    • 4/5
      Originally I was hesitant to buy this book; I am not a fan of "self-help" books, but it isn't one. It's a treatment on the role of marriage in relationship to God and man. I read this before getting married, and frankly, it has helped us move beyond ourselves and grow closer to each other. I would recommend reading this before marriage; it will prepare you for issues. As someone else stated, the writing is a little light at times, but overall his insights are somewhat refreshing.
    • 5/5
      The subtitle is a good summary of the book. Despite traditions that say a person is more holy by remaining celibate and single, the author points out how the marriage relationship can be a training ground for becoming all that God wants us to be. For a society where marriage is no longer sacred and where Christians also seem to be giving up too easily, the author calls us to commitment. The book is full of great illustrations from history and individuals who the author counseled.Each chapter is on a different attribute that should be learned in marriage: forgiveness, service, prayer, love, perseverance, respect, etc. There is a chapter on sexual intimacy and one of balancing family responsibilities with our mission for God which is very appropriate for ministers.A great resource to have before teaching or preaching on marriage, doing any marital counseling, and just for your own marriage.
    • 3/5
      My wife and I haven't finished this yet, but for the most part we've enjoyed the book. It's a bit light, but makes enough useful points to be worth reading.
    • 4/5
      Brutally honest. Unlike any other marriage book I've ever read. Not a step-by-step, thank God!

    Book preview

    Sacred Marriage Bible Study Participant's Guide - Gary Thomas

    SACRED

    MARRIAGE

    PARTICIPANT’S GUIDE

    Books by Gary Thomas

    Authentic Faith

    Devotions for a Sacred Marriage

    Devotions for Sacred Parenting

    The Glorious Pursuit

    Holy Available

    Not the End but the Road

    Sacred Influence

    Sacred Marriage

    Sacred Parenting

    Sacred Pathways

    Seeking the Face of God

    0310291461_content_0003_006

    ZONDERVAN

    SACRED MARRIAGE PARTICIPANT’S GUIDE

    Copyright © 2009 by Gary L. Thomas

    All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of Zondervan.

    ePub Edition June 2009 ISBN: 0-310-86381-3

    Requests for information should be addressed to:

    Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49530

    ISBN 978-0-310-29146-6

    All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

    Any Internet addresses (websites, blogs, etc.) and telephone numbers printed in this book are offered as a resource. They are not intended in any way to be or imply an endorsement by Zondervan, nor does Zondervan vouch for the content of these sites and numbers for the life of this book.

    All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means — electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any other — except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior permission of the publisher.

    09 10 11 12 13 14 15 • 24 23 22 21 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

    CONTENTS

    Cover Page

    Title Page

    Copyright

    A WORD FROM GARY THOMAS

    Session One

    GOD’S PURPOSE FOR MARRIAGE: MORE THAN WE IMAGINE

    Session Two

    THE REFINING POWER OF MARRIAGE

    Session Three

    THE GOD-CENTERED SPOUSE

    Session Four

    SACRED HISTORY

    Session Five

    SEXUAL SAINTS

    Session Six

    MARRIAGE: THE LOVE LABORATORY

    About the Publisher

    Share Your Thoughts

    A WORD FROM GARY THOMAS

    In one of the sessions in this study, you’ll hear me recount a time when my wife and I began a vacation with radically different agendas. Neither one of us was very happy with the resulting compromise; I didn’t get near the amount of rest and recovery I was hoping for, and Lisa didn’t get to see half the places she wanted to see, but you know what?

    Maybe God’s agenda wasn’t for me to get all the rest I thought I needed, or for my wife to get all the excitement she desired. Maybe God wanted to confront the pride that rules both our hearts; he may well have been far more interested in both of us being shaped into the image of Christ than in having our immediate perceived needs met. Scripture teaches us that our goal should be to "do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own

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