Today we are facing a global crisis when it comes to families. Marriages are under more pressure than ever. Many children are growing up without experiencing the security of their parents' love and commitment—and as a result are finding it harder to receive God's unconditional love. There is an urgent need to invest in marriage and family life, for strong societies are built on strong families, and strong families are built on strong marriages. The Marriage Book, developed by Nicky and Sila Lee of Alpha, has been revised and updated to address these needs and provides practical tools to help couples at every stage of their relationship. Along with the companion seven-session Marriage Course, this resource will help couples: Better understand each other's needs Communicate more effectively Grow closer by learning methods to resolve conflicts Recover from the way they may have hurt each other Recognize how their upbringing has affected their relationship Improve relationships with parents and in-laws The Marriage Book is based on a Christian understanding of love and serves to strengthen marriages within the church while, at the same time, being accessible for all couples from any cultural background. Full of practical advice, it will help couples prepare, build, and even mend their marriages.

Full of practical advice, this revised and updated edition of the bestselling Alpha Marriage Book is easy to read and designed to prepare, build, and even mend marriages. The book is the basis of the newly revised and updated Alpha Marriage Course, a seven-week course that includes a video teaching, study journal, and leader's guide.

Sexual Happiness in Marriage is for those who are missing the fulfillment God intended marriage to provide and who are unaware of the true joy and love that can be achieved through understanding basic sexual principles. In this frank, honest, discussion of the role of sex in marriage, Dr. Herbert J. Miles thoroughly and carefully examines attitudes and techniques essential to sexual compatibility. Those who read it and follow its suggestions will be able to analyze and correct sexual problems in their marriages. Topics include: - sexual expectations - first sexual experiences - sexual adjustment - contraceptives - sexual problems - keeping marriage fresh and exciting.

In the early 2000's, Mark Achtemeier embarked on a personal journey with the Bible that led him from being a conservative, evangelical opponent of gay rights to an outspoken activist for gay marriage and a fully inclusive church. In The Bible's Yes to Same-Sex Marriage, Achtemeier shares what led to his change of heart: the problems with excluding groups of people and the insights into the Bible's message that led him to recognize the fullness of God's love and support for LGBT persons. Readers will discover how reading snippets of Scripture out of context has led to false and misleading interpretations of the Bible's message for gay people. Achtemeier shows how a careful reading of the whole Scripture reveals God's good news about love, marriage, and sexuality for gay and straight people alike. This new edition includes a study guide and a new introduction from the author that reflects on the U.S. Supreme Court ruling and changes within the church. Perfect for groups or self-reflection, the study guide directs readers over four sessions to explore both Achtemeier's book and the Bible.

The definitive anthology of wisdom and wit about one of life’s most complex, intriguing, and personal subjects. When and whom do you marry? How do you keep a spouse content? Do all engaged couples get cold feet? How cold is so cold that you should pivot and flee? Where and how do children fit in? Is infidelity always wrong? In this volume, you won’t find a single answer to your questions about marriage; you will find hundreds. Spanning centuries and cultures, sources and genres, The Marriage Book offers entries from ancient history and modern politics, poetry and pamphlets, plays and songs, newspaper ads and postcards. It is an A to Z compendium, exploring topics from Adam and Eve to Anniversaries, Fidelity to Freedom, Separations to Sex. In this volume, you’ll hear from novelists, clergymen, sex experts, and presidents, with guest appearances by the likes of Liz and Dick, Ralph and Alice, Louis CK, and Neil Patrick Harris. Casanova calls marriage the tomb of love, and Stephen King calls it his greatest accomplishment. With humor, perspective, breadth, and warmth, The Marriage Book is sure to become a classic.

“You will see God do miracles when you pray to the God of miracles believing that He hears you and will answer…Your faith-filled prayers can strengthen your marriage so that it lasts a lifetime.” —Stormie Omartian This companion to The Power of Prayer to Enrich Your Marriage will help you reach out to the Lord with your desire for a strong, supportive, and satisfying marriage. As you pray through each of these 60 Scripture-based prayers, you will… ask for God’s protection against 14 of the most common yet serious marital problems discover how to better know, love, and communicate with your spouse find peace where there was once tension, both in your heart and in your marriage Featuring a daily verse to inspire reflection, this little book will show you how to surrender your marriage to your heavenly Father, knowing He will walk with you through whatever lies ahead. As you and your spouse pray together, you will grow closer than ever before—to God and to each other.

Under one cover, this booklet combines "The Celebration and Blessing of a Marriage," from the Book of Common Prayer, with all the suggested scripture readings from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible. a very helpful resource for clergy and couples as they plan for weddings celebrated in the Episcopal Church. (Includes "The Declaration of Intention.").

The revised edition of the bestselling Christian guide to a happy marriage For more than fifteen years, Scott Stanley's A Lasting Promise has offered solutions to common problems—facing conflicts, problem solving, improving communication, and dealing with core issues—within a Christian framework. Thoroughly revised and updated, this new edition is filled with sacred teachings of scripture, the latest research on marriage, and clear examples from the lives of couples. The book's strategies are designed to help couples improve communication, understand commitment, bring more fun into their relationship, and enhance their sex lives. Lead author Scott Stanley is co-director of the Center for Marital and Family Studies at the University of Denver and coauthor of Fighting for Your Marriage, which has sold more than a million copies. Offers reflections on how to enhance anyone's marriage over the long term and avoid divorce Covers recent cultural shifts, such as dealing with the endless technological distraction and issues with social networking New themes include the chemistry of love, the life-long implications of having bodies, and how to support one another emotionally Uses illustrative examples from couples’ lives and rich integration of insights from scripture This important book offers an invaluable resource for all couples who want to honor and preserve the holy sacrament of their union.

Is marriage the foundation of family life? Many people today would say, ಜNo!ಝ Others would say, ಜYes!ಝ, but they would define ಜfamilyಝ and ಜmarriageಝ in ways at odds with how the words have been used almost throughout human history. In this revised and expanded edition of Marriage: The Rock on Which the Family is Built, internationally-renowned theologian William E. May makes the case for marriageಙs foundational role for family, with marriage defined as the union of one man and one woman. Drawing on Pope John Paul IIಙs ಜtheology of the bodyಝ, he explains the person-affirming, love-enabling, life-giving, and sanctifying nature of marriage. He shows how marriage is necessarily a complementary union of man and woman and how this rules out the idea of ಜsame-sexಝ marriage. May argues, drawing on Popes Paul VI, John Paul II and Benedict XVI, that marriage fully respects the equal dignity of husband and wife as persons, while recognizing their unique, exclusive, enduring, complementary contributions to their union. Likewise, he shows how marriage honors the truth that each new human life brought about by sexual union is a person equal in dignity to his mother and father. Whatಙs more, both reason and revelation are used to show that only the family, founded on marriage as an enduring, mutually-exclusive union of one man and one woman, provides the proper context for begetting and raising children. Reproductive technologies are also critically examined and the author argues that human beings ought to be begotten in an act of spousal love, not made through in vitro fertilization. Furthermore, the role of the family as the ಜdomestic churchಝ, a community of holiness, is explored. This expanded edition includes new chapters: ಜಘMan and Woman He Created Themಙ: Pope John Paul IIಙs Catechesis on Human Sexualityಝ and ಜPope Benedict XVI and Marriage,ಝ the latter summarizing Benedictಙs thought on marriage, particularly as found in his first encyclical Deus Caritas Est. Also included is Pope John Paul IIಙs ಜLetter to Familiesಝ.