The Joy of a Sacred Marriage: Insights and Reflections from Sacred Marriage
By Gary Thomas
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The Joy of a Sacred Marriage - Gary Thomas
A gift for:
From:
0310817412_content_0003_001
ZONDERVAN
The Joy of a SACRED Marriage
Copyright © 2007 by Gary Thomas
ISBN 978-0-310-8174-3
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: 0-310-86273-6
Excerpts taken from: Sacred Marriage. Copyright © 2000 by Gary L. Thomas. Published by Zondervan.
Excerpts taken from: Devotions for a Sacred Marriage. Copyright © 2005 by Gary L. Thomas. Published by Zondervan.
All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise noted, are taken from the Holy Bible: New International Version ®, (North American Edition). Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.
The NIV
and New International Version
trademarks are registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by International Bible Society.
Scriptures marked MSG are from The Message. Copyright © by Eugene H. Peterson 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.
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.
Requests for information should be addressed to:
Inspirio, the gift group of Zondervan
Grand Rapids, Michigan 49530
www.inspiriogifts.com
Compiler: Robin Schmitt
Project Manager: Kim Zeilstra
Production Manager: Matt Nolan
Cover image: PhotoDisc
07 08 09/ 3 2 1
Introduction
Dear Readers:
Since the release of Sacred Marriage, I have had many requests for a format that could be given as a wedding gift. Out of your suggestions, this book was born. The Joy of Sacred Marriage contains excerpts from both Sacred Marriage and Devotions for a Sacred Marriage so that newlyweds can grasp the most important and relevant topics without needing to sit down and read a whole chapter. My hope is that this book will touch the lives of the newly married, giving them an entirely new outlook on the depth and meaning of Christian marriage.
The peace of Christ,
Gary
SACRED Marriage
Cover page
Title Page
Copyright
Makes Us Holy
Teaches Us About God
Teaches Us to Love
Teaches Us to Respect Others
Fosters Good Prayer
Exposes Our Sin
Teaches Us to Persevere
Builds Our Character
Teaches Us to Forgive
Teaches Us to Serve
Promotes Spiritual Growth through Sexuality
Makes Us Aware of God’s Presence
Develops Our Sense of Purpose
About the Publisher
Share Your Thoughts
Makes Us Holy
This book looks at how we can use the challenges, joys, struggles, and celebrations of marriage to draw closer to God and to grow in Christian character.
To spiritually benefit from marriage, we have to be honest.
We have to look at our disappointments, own up to our ugly attitudes, and confront our selfishness. We also have to rid ourselves of the notion that the difficulties of marriage can be overcome if we simply pray harder or learn a few simple principles. Most of us have discovered that these simple steps
work only on a superficial level.
Why? Because there’s a deeper question that needs to be addressed beyond how we can improve
our marriage: What if God didn’t design marriage to be easier
? What if God had an end in mind that went beyond our happiness?
What if God designed marriage to make us holy more than to make us happy?
We can use the challenges,
joys, struggles,
and celebrations of marriage
to draw closer to God
and to grow in
Christian character.
Romantic love," which is so celebrated in movies, songs, and cheap paperbacks, was virtually unknown to the ancients. There were exceptions, but taken as a whole, the concept that marriage should involve passion and fulfillment and excitement is a relatively recent development on the scale of human history.
This is not to suggest that romance itself or the desire for more romance is necessarily bad; good marriages work hard to preserve a sense of romance. But the idea that a marriage can survive on romance alone, or that romantic feelings are more important than any