Marriage Ministry

For 30 years Randy Alcorn has been encouraging people - young and old - to pursue the rewards of sexual purity. Too often we settle for a compromised Christianity that's just a baptized version of the world's sad existence, rather than the abundant life to which God calls us.

T.D. Jakes doesn't just preach to his listeners, he gives them the psychological and practical tools that they need to realize their faith in their lives. Clear-sighted, realistic, and spiritually uplifting, Making Great Decisions is one of those rare books that can change lives. "Remember," writes T.D. Jakes, "your tomorrow is no better than the decisions you make today."

"Lord, here am I. Change him". "God, I'm trying. She started it". Common claims but they're so far from what a Christian marriage should look like. We invoke Christ at the wedding then seem to default to an alien theology afterward. In this simple and practical audiobook, Doug Wilson offers a richer and more comprehensive theology of marriage than in his prior works. Marriage is intended to be a glorious picture of the gospel, and marriages grounded elsewhere regularly create a small Hell on Earth.

Richard Gaillardetz creatively draws on the deep wisdom of our Christian tradition while reflecting on the lived experience of marriage. Chapter 1: The Shape of Christian Spirituality; Chapter 2: Marriage and the Life of Communion; Chapter 3: Marriage and Conversion; Chapter 4: Marriage and Sexuality; Chapter 5: Marriage and Parenthood.

Throughout Keep Showing Up, Karen includes ideas to implement in your marriage right now, such as powerful statements to speak to your spouse, date-night-on-a-shoestring suggestions, and discussion starters. Discover how your "incompatibility" can become the strength of your marital team in this real-life guide to both living with and loving your spouse - differences and all.

Drs. Les and Leslie Parrott and Dr. David Olson - renowned marriage experts and founders of the two largest marriage support organizations, SYMBIS and PREPARE/ENRICH - share what they have learned from decades of research involving more than five million couples. Packed with practical and proven methods, data-driven techniques, and immediately usable strategies, Helping Couples is the ultimate guide for coaches, counselors, and clergy who want to know what really works.

If you've tried Natural Family Planning and have discovered that your life is now awful - or if you feel judged or judgey, or if you trust NFP but your doctor doesn't, or if just you're trying to figure out how the heck to have a sex life that is holy but still human - you'll find comfort, encouragement, honesty, wit, and, most importantly, practical advice in The Sinner's Guide to NFP.

Laced with the Farrels trademark humor, The Marriage Code is packed with ideas for creative code-breaking so couples can connect at a richer, deeper level, enabling them to discover the real enemy of love, the pace that will energize their relationship, the plan that will get their lives in sync, the keys to creating great interactions, and the clues for discovering a satisfying sex life.

Sometimes it seems we just can't get what we want. Circumstances thwart our best-laid plans. We struggle to live a heartfelt life. Worst of all, says Eldredge, the modern church mistakenly teaches its people to kill desire (calling it sin) and replace it with duty or obligation (calling it sanctification).

The transition from "married" to "married with children" can be tough. Before they know it, a once youthful and energetic married couple finds themselves in a minivan loaded with noisy kids and littered with Cheerios, crusty Sippy cups, banana peels, and missing library books. As much as you love your children and work hard to nurture and train them for the future, the challenges that come with parenthood can make the "for better or for worse" promise a hard one to honor.

There is a secret formula for the best sex of your life, but you won't find the recipe in the pages of a checkout-line magazine. Popular relationship expert Dr. Gary Smalley, best-selling author of The Language of Love and The Blessing, finally tackles the topic that's on everybody's mind: sex. With his pastor and good friend, Ted Cunningham, Smalley nudges past our hang-ups and sacred cows to answer the question, How can I have the best sex of my life? The answer?

Pastor Scott Kedersha has worked with more than 5,000 premarital couples to prepare them for the biggest decision of their lives. In Ready or Knot?, he offers practical and Christ-centered guidance for couples for all of the days after the wedding day.

The Contraception Deception: Catholic Teaching on Birth Control by author Patrick Coffin is a comprehensive assessment of the Church's sexual ethic. In this expanded revised edition of Sex Au Naturel: What It is and Why It's Good for Your Marriage, Coffin demonstrates how the rejection of "humanae vitae" impacts more than just our national birth rates.

Jim Daly, president and CEO of Focus on the Family, is an expert in fatherhood - in part because his own 'fathers' failed him so badly. His biological dad was an alcoholic. His stepfather deserted him. His foster father accused Jim of trying to kill him. All were out of Jim's life by the time he turned 13. Isn't it odd - and reminiscent of the hand of God - that the director of the leading organization on family turned out to be a guy whose own background as a kid and son were pretty messed up?

Good communication is essential in a good marriage. In this unique book, best-selling author and pastor John Hagee and his wife, Diana, present a husband's and wife's point of view on communicating more effectively. Designed as two books in one, John's What Every Man Wants in a Woman and Diana's What Every Woman Wants in a Man will bless couples married for years, young and newly married couples, and even singles, who are seeking to gain a better understanding of their partner or improve their marriage in some way.

A mismatch blessed by heaven... If your husband does not share your faith, you may feel like you are walking a tightrope of spiritual survival - guarding the flame of your belief in Christ, yet unable to share it with the person you love most in the world. But your spiritually mismatched marriage can be a vibrant, blessed relationship where you’re free to grow in love with God and your man!

Over 90 percent of couples experience some level of tension around money. In fact, money issues are the number one stressor in relationships. So many books try to fix the surface problems, such as how to budget and what to prioritize when it comes to finances, but the issues go much deeper than just a simple spreadsheet. How do men and women view money differently? What do most couples fight about? How can they get on the same page?

In 1998, after 12 years of counseling the wives of men in sexual sin, Kathy Gallagher wrote the original version of When His Secret Sin Breaks Your Heart. Presented in the form of letters which addressed the most pertinent struggles wives deal with, this book proved to be a lifesaver for thousands of women over the years. The 20th anniversary edition of When His Secret Sin Breaks Your Heart adds nine chapters of new material, making it more compelling than ever.

Marriage is all about sharing: sharing space, sharing joys and sorrows, sharing hopes and dreams. Yet we often hold back a part of ourselves because we fear that being wholly transparent - about our past, our desires, our failures, our faults - will bring judgment, rejection, or even just unwanted friction to our relationship. We are afraid to be fully known. As a result, we never experience being fully loved. In this paradigm-shifting book, Ryan and Selena Frederick show you how to develop a see-through marriage, one that is marked by full transparency and confident vulnerability.

God has blessed Joel and Mary Beeke with a wonderful marriage. God has also given them the opportunity to counsel many people in troubled marriages as well as to provide premarital counseling to scores of engaged couples. In How Can We Build a Godly Marriage?, the Beekes share 10 principles they emphasize in their counseling. Perhaps you and your spouse are due for a checkup in your relationship. If so, carefully consider the important marks of a God-glorifying marriage found in this booklet. Strive to put these things into practice, and your marriage will be better for it!