The Sacred Search Study Resource

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.

In his new book, The Sacred Search, best-selling author Gary Thomas tackles the topic of love and dating by asking the question: What if it's not about who you marry, but why? The Sacred Search Study Resource is a DVD-driven Bible study for small groups of single, dating, or engaged people to unpack this message even further. In this dynamic companion to the book, Gary will help singles move on from the idea of finding a "soul mate" and adopt the more biblical idea of finding their "sole mate," as they seek to dedicate their future marriages to God. Eight thought-provoking video sessions featuring Gary Thomas lead groups through the study. This DVD also includes study questions designed to facilitate group discussion, interaction, and practical application.

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.

Your marriage is much more than a union between you and your spouse. It is a spiritual discipline ideally suited to help you know God more fully and intimately. Sacred Marriage shifts the focus from marital enrichment to spiritual enrichment in ways that can help you love your mate more. Whether it is delightful or difficult, your marriage can become a doorway to a closer walk with God. Everything about your marriage—everything from the history you and your spouse create, to the love you share, to the forgiveness you both offer and seek by turn—is filled with the capacity to help you grow in Christ's character. This six-session, small group DVD curriculum will equip you to love God more passionately, reflect the nature of his Son more precisely, and fulfill God's overarching purpose for your marriage.

"Grant, Lord, that I may know myself that I may know thee." —Augustine Much is said in Christian circles about knowing God. But Christians throughout the ages have agreed that there cannot be deep knowledge of God without deep knowledge of the self. Discerning your true self is inextricably related to discerning God's purposes for you. Paradoxically, the more you become like Christ, the more you become authentically yourself. In this profound exploration of Christian identity, psychologist and spiritual director David G. Benner illuminates the spirituality of self-discovery. He exposes the false selves that you may hide behind and calls you to discover the true self that emerges from your uniqueness in Christ. Freeing you from illusions about yourself, Benner shows that self-understanding leads to the fulfillment of your God-given destiny and vocation. Rest assured, you need not try to be someone you are not. But you will deepen your experience of God through discovering the gift of being yourself. This expanded edition, one of three titles in The Spiritual Journey trilogy, includes a new epilogue and an experiential guide with questions for individual reflection or group discussion.

The perfect gift for engaged, newlywed, or married couples! This two-in-one book and devotional from bestselling author Gary Thomas helps couples discover how marriage can become a doorway to a closer walk with God and each other. Marriage is much more than a union between you and your spouse. From the love you share to the forgiveness you both offer and seek in turn, it is a spiritual discipline ideally suited to help you know God more fully and intimately. Shifting the focus from marital enrichment to spiritual enrichment, Thomas offers practical tools and techniques to make your marriage happier by becoming holier husbands and wives. This special-edition two-in-one book and devotional includes: Sacred Marriage Starting with the discovery that the goal of marriage goes beyond personal happiness, writer and speaker Gary Thomas invites you to see how God can use your marriage as a discipline and a motivation to love him more and reflect more of the character of his Son. Devotions for a Sacred Marriage A companion to Sacred Marriage, this book of 52 devotions encourages you to build your marriage around God's priorities. From learning to live with a fellow sinner to the process of two becoming one to sharing our lives as brothers and sisters in Christ, Devotions for a Sacred Marriage challenges couples to embrace the profound and soul-stretching reality of Christian marriage.

Walk in the footsteps of the first Latter-day Saints with this spiritual guide to Church historical sites. This immersive guide draws from first-hand accounts and the expertise of leading Church historians to guide you through the rich history of significant locations of the Restoration. For these sacred sites, authors Casey Griffiths, Mary Jane Woodger, and Bryan Ready provide the background knowledge behind each site, the importance each property has in Church history, and a short devotional that prompts reflection and invites the Spirit. With this guide you can • experience the beauty of the Nauvoo Temple and learn its history and symbolism. • visit the Red Brick Store where the Relief Society was first organized and the first temple ordinances were performed. • explore Carthage Jail where the Prophet Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum sealed their testimony with their blood. • see the final resting places of Joseph, Hyrum, Emma, and many of the early Saints. • walk down the Trail of Hope and reflect on the sacrifices of the Saints as they left their beloved city Nauvoo and traveled West. Immerse yourself in the spiritual history of the Restoration. You've never traveled like this before!

Scholars rethink the translation of environmental concepts between East and West, particularly ideas of nature and culture; what conservation might mean; and how conservation policy is applied and transformed in the everyday landscapes of Southeast Asia.