Summary Of Gary Thomas S The Sacred Search

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Sample Book Insights: #1 Every marriage takes time and effort, but some marriages sap the spouses’ strength, while others generate joy and enthusiasm and intimacy. You need to ask why you want to get married before you decide who to marry. #2 The person you marry is the last person you will see before you go to sleep. Their face is the first one you will see when you wake up in the morning. Their words will encourage or discourage you, their humor will make you laugh in amusement or cry in shame, and their presence will be a healing balm or a reminder of all that could have been. #3 A home established on Matthew 6:33, which is a command as well as a promise of a rich and meaningful life, is only possible if the two people involved are committed to Christ and committed to building together. Otherwise, they will eventually become bored with each other and their marriage. #4 It is crucial to be cautious and discerning when choosing a spouse. You don’t want to miss out on the great rewards of a rich, satisfying, and soul-building marriage. Ask yourself: Ten years from now, what kind of tears do I want to be crying. Tears of joy, or tears of pain.

Bestselling author Gary Thomas transforms the way you look at romantic relationships. His unique perspective on dating will prepare you for a satisfying, spiritually enriching marriage. In the revised edition of his hit book The Sacred Search, Gary Thomas helps single people of all ages make wise marital choices by rethinking what basis those choices should be made on. You will be encouraged to think beyond finding your “soul mate” and instead adopt a more biblical search for a “sole mate”—someone who will walk with you on your spiritual journey. Thomas asks, What if we focused on why we should get married more than on who to marry? What if being “in love” isn’t a good enough reason to get married? And most of all, what if God designed marriage to make us holy more than to make us happy? The Sacred Search casts a vision for building a relationship around shared spiritual mission—and making marriage with eternity at its heart.

God calls women to influence and move their husbands in positive ways. Applying the concepts from his bestseller, Sacred Marriage, Gary Thomas offers a view through a man’s eyes. Here’s the inside scoop on what men find motivating—with inspiring real-life stories of women who are employing this knowledge to transform their marriages. Sacred Influence doesn’t flinch from difficult marital problems. But by using this faith-focused approach, you’ll see how to help your husband become the man God intends him to be. At the same time, God will shape you to be the woman he designed you to be. God has given godly women a wonderful power to influence and encourage their husbands. What’s the secret? This book will provide challenges, examples, and hope to women who want to love their husbands well and be loved well in return. --Dennis Rainey, President of Family Life

Sacred Pathways reveals nine distinct spiritual temperaments--and their strengths, weaknesses, and tendencies--to help you improve your spiritual life and deepen your personal walk with God. It's time to strip away the frustration of a one-size-fits-all spirituality and discover a path of worship that frees you to be you. Experienced spiritual directors, pastors, and church leaders recognize that all of us engage with God differently, and it's about time we do too. In this updated and expanded edition of Sacred Pathways, Gary Thomas details nine spiritual temperaments and--like the Enneagram and other tools do with personality--encourages you to investigate the ways you most naturally express yourself in your relationship with God. He encourages you to dig into the traits, strengths, and pitfalls in your devotional approach so you can eliminate the barriers that keep you locked into rigid methods of worship and praise. Plus, as you begin to identify and understand your own temperament, you'll soon learn about the temperaments that aren't necessarily "you" but that may help you understand the spiritual tendencies of friends, family, and others around you. Whatever temperament or blend of temperaments best describes you, rest assured it's not by accident. It's by the design of a Creator who knew what he was doing when he made you according to his own unique intentions. If your spiritual walk is not what you'd like it to be, you can change that, starting here. Sacred Pathways will show you the route you were made to travel, marked by growth and filled with the riches of a close walk with God. A Sacred Pathways video Bible study is also available for group or individual use, sold separately.

In his popular book, 9 Essential Conversations before You Say I Do, author and pastor Gary Thomas, marriage and family therapist Dr. Steve Wilke and Rebecca Wilke, EdD help couples explore: What marriage means to each individual and whether this is a wise match How to engage in essential relational pursuits such as healthy conflict, sexual intimacy, and spiritual intimacy How to discuss in advance crucial aspects of marriage such as childrearing, finances, and marital roles Why asking hard questions now is better than asking them five years from now With thoughtful questions that encourage couples to examine themselves and their relationships, 9 Essential Conversations before You Say I Do will help couples thrive not only in the early months of their marriage but also in the years to come. Includes Guides and Questions.

The bestselling author of Sacred Marriage offers hope to women who want to strengthen and transform their marriages into the profoundly deep relationships God intended. Women: you're not alone in your marriage. You never have been, and you never will be. While it may not always feel like it, God wants you to have a relationally healthy, emotionally engaged, and spiritually mature husband. In Loving Him Well--previously titled Sacred Influence--Gary Thomas builds on concepts from his bestselling book Sacred Marriage to reveal the inner workings of a man's heart and mind. He delves into Scriptures that help women gain biblical insight to influence their husbands. Exploring the research of neuroscientists, trained counselors, and abuse victim advocates, Gary also interviews dozens of wives to find what has worked and what hasn't as they've sought to build the best marriage possible. With new stories and fresh illustrations to help wives understand, love, and influence their husbands, Loving Him Well offers encouragement, biblically based support, and practical applications for the transformation of your marriage, drawing you and your husband closer together, the way God intended. Perfect for . . . Women in good marriages who want a great marriage Women who feel invisible or marginalized in their marriage Engaged or newly married women who want to start investing in their marriage from the start You'll discover the influence you can gain and the peace of mind you can build when you go first to God for your worth, validation, protection, and provision and then learn how to use that platform to help your husband draw closer to you and closer to God. Loving Him Well includes study questions at the end of each chapter and is also available in Spanish, Amándolo bien.

What if God designed marriage to make you holy instead of happy? What if your relationship isn't as much about you and your spouse as it is about you and God? In Sacred Marriage, bestselling author Gary Thomas uncovers the ways that your marriage can become a doorway to a closer walk with God and with each other. Join over one million others who have already uncovered Thomas's tips for fostering a sacred marriage. Within the pages of Sacred Marriage, Thomas invites you to see how God can use your relationship with your spouse as a discipline and a motivation to love God more and reflect more of the character of his Son. In addition to life-changing insights from Scripture, church history, and time-tested wisdom from Christian classics, you'll find practical advice and techniques to make your marriage happier by becoming holier husbands and wives. In Sacred Marriage, Thomas will give you all of the tools you need to: Turn marital struggles into spiritual and personal appreciation Love your spouse with a stronger sense of purpose Confront your weaknesses and sin in order to grow your relationship with God and with your spouse Partner in the spiritual growth and character formation of your spouse Transform a tired marriage into a relationship filled with awe and respect Thomas reveals that sacred marriages teach us to love God and others well by fostering a healthy sex life, a strong prayer life, and a rich spiritual life. God uses our marriages to help us grow in character, in prayer, in worship, and in service--we just have to recognize that the purpose of marriage is holiness, not happiness. Each copy also includes thought-provoking discussion questions designed to spark conversation between couples and small groups, allowing you to dive deeper into the lessons that Thomas shares in Sacred Marriage. Join the one million others who have already started on their journey to transforming their relationship with their spouses and with their Creator.

Ordained ministry, says Willimon, is a gift of God to the church--but that doesn't mean that it is easy. Always a difficult vocation, changes in society and the church in recent years have made the ordained life all the more complex and challenging. Is the pastor primarily a preacher, a professional caregiver, an administrator? Given the call of all Christians to be ministers to the world, what is the distinctive ministry of the ordained? When does one's ministry take on the character of prophet, and when does it become that of priest? What are the special ethical obligations and disciplines of the ordained? In this book, Willimon explores these and other central questions about the vocation of ordained ministry. He begins with a discussion of who pastors are, asking about the theological underpinnings of ordained ministry, and then moves on to what pastors do, looking at the distinctive roles the pastor must fulfill. The book also draws on great teachers of the Christian tradition to demonstrate that, while much about Christian ministry has changed, its core concerns--preaching the word, the care of souls, the sacramental life of congregations--remains the same. Ordained ministry is a vocation to which we are called, not a profession that we choose. To answer that call is to open oneself to heartache and sometimes hardship; yet, given the one who calls, it is to make oneself available to deep and profound joy as well.