Preparing For Marriage God S Way A Step By Step Guide For Marriage Success Before And After The Wedding

The decision to marry a certain person is one of the most important you'll ever make. It's vital to go into that marriage informed and prepared! Preparing for Marriage God's Way is a marriage counseling resource that uses thoughtful self-examination to reveal the personalities, background, and expectations that you and your partner are bringing to your union. Through rigorous Bible study, you will learn about God's expectations for marriage and be equipped with his solutions for dealing with typical marriage conflicts. Three follow-up lessons after the wedding help you to reflect on all that's happened after you said, "I do."

You aren't a licensed marriage and family therapist. You didn't do a doctoral dissertation on pastoral counseling. You're simply God's person caring for God's people in the local church. And the marriages in your church need help. Many pastors feel ill-equipped to handle the challenges that arise when a couple is going through marital difficulties. They feel lost and inadequate. What do you say? What counsel do you offer? Should I say anything or just listen? Do I schedule a follow-up appointment? Do I ask questions? What questions? If you are or have been in this situation before, this book offers you a practical guide to get started with the first sessions and then offers specific guidance on nine of the most common topics that come up in marriage counseling. Author and pastor Jonathan Holmes offers a solid, biblical theology and methodology to help you navigate through the world of marriage counseling with the fundamental conviction that God's word is powerful enough to address the deepest of marital issues, and robust enough to handle whatever might come your way. In each chapter, you'll meet a new couple dealing with a different issue, much like the people in your church, office, and neighborhood. Through the book you'll also hear advice from several respected voices in the biblical counseling community. Whether you're a novice or already knowledgeable, Counsel for Couples provides theologically sound and biblically practical tools to help you as you help couples in need.

Pastors and counselors regularly minister to people whose marriages or families are in crisis. Tempers run high and feelings are brought low when a marriage is hurting or a family is in disarray. Pastors and counselors need practical, biblical help in order to connect their theological training to the reality of modern messy relationships. These how-to training manuals provide relevant, user-friendly equipping for pastors, counselors, lay leaders, educators, and students, enabling them to competently and compassionately relate God's Word to marriage and family life.

This valuable counseling aid for pastors can also be used with great benefit by couples on their own.

In America, the average amount of money, time, and energy spent on a wedding are astronomical. While thousands of dollars are spent for the wedding day, little if any money, time, and energy are spent in preparation for the marriage itself. To Have & To Hold: Preparing for a Godly Marriage offers a different approach from "pre-marital counseling." It is more of a marriage education helping and equipping couples to build smart marriages and healthy families. The days prior to a wedding can be busy and hectic. This Bible study book format maximizes the time couples have by focusing on important information in a simplified and condensed version. One of the biggest mistakes couples make is collecting great resources and then becoming overwhelmed by the amount of information gathered with little time to complete the reading. Oftentimes, those resources are put on the shelf for later, only to be pulled down when a crisis hits ... often too little, too late. This study may be used in a variety of ways including: For couples to do on their own as a pre-marriage study. For pastors or others to use in pre-marriage counseling with couples. For small groups where a leader has a group of young couples preparing to wed. For couples or small groups in the early years of marriage who did not receive pre-marriage preparation and counseling. Some of the weekly preparation is fun, creative, and light. It is a good escape from the wedding plans for a while helping couples find a balanced approach will help them gain insight during the fast-paced days. These weekly interactive prep activities will be focused on the specific topic for the week. They will encourage couples to look at scripture passages, do biblical words studies, listen to podcasts, go to a romantic place, or do some other activity to creatively challenge their thinking. These assignments are not a major time commitment, but they are vital as a couple works through issues. God''s purposes for marriage are much higher and greater than our own. In Genesis 2:18, God said, "It is not good for man to be alone," He created Eve as an answer to that aloneness. Even though Adam had a perfect relationship with God, a perfect environment, and had all the possessions he wanted, there was still a void of intimacy. Blending two individuals into oneness was the Divine goal. They were made to become suitable helpers, counterparts who could balance and back one another in every way. God ordained marriage to be an earthly picture of the relationship between Christ and the Church. Jesus Christ''s love for the Church, according to Ephesians 5, is sacrificial and unconditional. He laid down His life to present the church, His bride, whole, and complete. Likewise, when a husband and wife love each other as they do their own bodies, nurturing and caring for each other, they live out the beautiful picture of Christ''s oneness with the Church. Features: Interactive questions and tools to guide discussion and make the study personal for couples Practical and simple to equip couples for marriage not only the wedding Tools and suggestions for pre-marital education and counsel Bible study book for couples (sold separately) is included in the Leader Guide for Pastors, church staff, small group leaders, or facilitators Benefits: Understand God''s Biblical foundation and purpose for marriage in order to establish a foundation that provides stability and oneness in the marital relationship. Following God''s principles leads to oneness and freedom in the roles and responsibilities of the husband and wife. Help couples understand and follow God''s stewardship principles as they work to experience financial freedom. Challenge the thinking of couples regarding needs, intimacy, and oneness in marriage Encourage and challenge each partner to individually keep Christ as the first priority as well as to grow together in spiritual oneness as a couple Equip couples with tools to learn the necessary skills to effectively communicate through expressing oneself, listening, and managing conflict. Create healthy expectations for marriage and set a course action for the future. Join Byron and Carla Weathersbee in this eight-session study To Have & To Hold: Preparing for a Godly Marriage as they explore and focus on the keys to a healthy marriage.

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A candid, inspiring guide to finding lasting love and sustaining a healthy relationship by getting real about your goals—based on the viral, multi-million-view sermon series about dating, marriage, and sex “No matter where you are and no matter what stage of life you are in, Relationship Goals will be a game changer.”—Levi Lusko NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY COSMOPOLITAN You scroll through photo after photo of happy couples and think, I want a relationship like that! The thing is, those intimate relationships are a mirage—the closer you get to them, the more you realize they aren’t real at all. So what does a real relationship look like? And how do you get there? In Relationship Goals, Pastor Michael Todd digs deep to give you good news and real-life ideas for making the most of your most important relationships. Take a look at • what it means to choose intentional dating over recreational dating • how to move on from mistakes you’ve made in the past • why love gets stronger after marriage • what the Bible has to say about sex (hot take: it’s more sizzling than you think) • why the best friendships have God at the center Whether you are married, single, or it’s complicated, aiming for the right targets will make all the difference in finding true satisfaction. As it turns out, God’s got the best relationship goals of all for your life. Why settle for less?

Get Ready for the Marriage You've Always Dreamed Of Start planning now for life together after the cake is cut and the guests head home. That is when the real adventure begins--the adventure of creating an intimate, lasting, and biblical marriage! This third edition of the FamilyLife classic has been restructured and refreshed for today's couples. Centered around essential conversations about finances, sex, family, faith, and more, Preparing for Marriage is a fun, romantic study that will help you target areas for growth in your relationship. You can work through the book as a couple, with a pastor or premarital counselor, or with a small group. Don't just prepare for your wedding . . . prepare for your marriage!