Related Message

What Is Marriage? (and why do we care so much?)

Isn't love enough?

Welcome to your space to Read. What you'll find here are two different kinds of reading recommendations, resources to read in order to encounter God's revelation of himself in more in depth and personal ways: a list of daily Bible readings to sustain your personal time with God throughout the week, and a few book recommendations to more deeply explore the themes we encountered in worship. "Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path," (Ps. 119:105).

Daily Bible Readings for May 6 to May 12, 2012
Faithfully follow this reading plan in 2012 and by the end of the year you will have read through the entire Bible, cover to cover, having encountered the New Testament twice! Sit with God's word. Let it soak into your soul. Listen for God revealing who he is, who he desires you to be, and the life he is calling you into.

For an introduction to 1 Thessalonians, click here.
 

Book Recommendations for What Is Marriage (And Why Do We Care)?
Dig deeper and explore further the themes we encountered in worship this weekend. Grab a good book, a pencil and a journal and thoughtfully open yourself up to more intentionally and deeply love God with all of your mind.

There has never been a marriage book like The Meaning Of Marriage. This book shows everyone-Christians, skeptics, singles, long-time married couples, and those about to be engaged-the vision of what marriage should be according to the Bible. Culture suggests that everyone has a soul-mate; that romance is the most important part of a successful marriage; that your spouse is there to help you realize your potential; that marriage does not mean forever, but merely for now; that starting over after a divorce is the best solution to seemingly intractable marriage issues. And all those modern-day assumptions are… wrong.
 

In The Three Big Questions For A Frantic Family, business consultant and New York Times best-selling author, Patrick Lencioni turns his sights on the most important organization in our lives—the family. As a husband and the father of four young boys, Lencioni realized the discrepancy between the time and energy his clients put into running their organizations and the reactive way most people run their personal lives. Having experienced the stress of a frantic family firsthand, he and his wife began applying some of the tools he uses with Fortune 500 companies at home, and with surprising results.
 

Your marriage is more than a sacred covenant with another person. It is a spiritual discipline designed to help you know God better, trust him more fully, and love him more deeply. Everything about your marriage is filled with prophetic potential, with the capacity for discovering and revealing Christ's character. The respect you accord your partner; the forgiveness you humbly seek and graciously extend; the ecstasy, awe, and sheer fun of lovemaking; the history you and your spouse build with one another--in these and other facets of your marriage, Sacred Marriage uncovers the mystery of God's overarching purpose.

For this week's spiritual exercises, check out REFLECT.