Describes what marriage should be according to the Bible, arguing that marriage is a tool to bring individuals closer to God, and provides meaningful instruction on how to have a successful marriage.

Reflecting on forty years of matrimony, John Piper exalts the biblical meaning of marriage over its emotion, exhorting couples to keep their covenant for all the best reasons. Even in the days when people commonly stayed married "'til death do us part," there has never been a generation whose view of marriage was high enough, says Pastor John Piper. That is all the more true in our casual times. Though personal selfishness and cultural bondage obstruct the wonder of God's purpose, it is found in God's Word, where his design can awaken a glorious vision capable of freeing every person from small, Christ-ignoring, romance-intoxicated views. As Piper explains in reflecting on forty years of matrimony: "Most foundationally, marriage is the doing of God. And ultimately, marriage is the display of God. It displays the covenant-keeping love between Christ and his people to the world in a way that no other event or institution does. Marriage, therefore, is not mainly about being in love. It's mainly about telling the truth with our lives. And staying married is not about staying in love. It is about keeping covenant and putting the glory of Christ's covenant-keeping love on display." This Momentary Marriage unpacks the biblical vision, its unexpected contours, and its weighty implications for married, single, divorced, and remarried alike.

Timothy and Kathy Keller will show you a portrait of marriage as it's meant to be according to the Bible...by first throwing out most of what we've been taught about love. Modern culture would have you believe that everyone has a soul mate; that romance is the most important part of a successful marriage; that marriage does not mean 'til death do us part, but merely for as long as my needs are being met; and that when serious differences arise, divorce is the best solution. But all of these modern-day assumptions miss what marriage is really about. In this six-session video-based Bible study (DVD/digital video sold separately), Timothy Keller, along with Kathy, his wife of forty years, draws a profound portrait of marriage from the pages of Scripture that neither idealizes nor rejects the institution but points us back to the relationship between God and man. The result is a vision for marriage that is refreshingly frank and unsentimental, yet hopeful and beautiful. This study is for anyone from singles to couples considering marriage to those who have been married for any length of time. Sessions include: Service: Marriage Isn't about You Covenant: Created to Make Promises Roles: Loving through Mutual Submission Singleness: Strengthening the Spiritual Family Sex: The Act of Covenant Renewal Hope: Seeing the Great Horizon Designed for use with The Meaning of Marriage Video Study (sold separately).

The New York Times bestselling author of The Prodigal Prophet uncovers the essential message of Jesus, locked inside his most familiar parable. Newsweek called renowned minister Timothy Keller "a C.S. Lewis for the twenty-first century" in a feature on his first book, The Reason for God. In that book, he offered a rational explanation of why we should believe in God. Now, in The Prodigal God, Keller takes his trademark intellectual approach to understanding Christianity and uses the parable of the prodigal son to reveal an unexpected message of hope and salvation. Within that parable Jesus reveals God's prodigal grace toward both the irreligious and the moralistic. This book will challenge both the devout and skeptics to see Christianity in a whole new way.

The Meaning of Marriage ...in 30 Minutes is your guide to quickly understanding the lessons in Timothy Keller's best-selling book, The Meaning of Marriage:Facing the Complexities of Commitment with the Wisdom of God. In The Meaning of Marriage, Timothy Keller uses the wisdom from his marriage of over thirty-seven years to explain how to increase the success of a Christian marriage. He posits that modern society creates expectations about marriage that are distorted and unrealistic, preventing married couples from finding true happiness. Using studies and statistics about marriage as well as the wealth of knowledge between him and his wife, Kathy Keller, the author challenges commonly held views on marriage, and proves that with hard work and realistic expectations, a marriage can be the most unique and glorious way to experience God's love on Earth. Use this helpful guide to understand The Meaning of Marriage in a fraction of the time, with tools such as: Practical applications for how to overcome everyday obstacles and create realistic expectations within a marriage Insights into the different roles men and women have in a Christian marriage Personal stories about marriage and the importance of faith in everything from sex to raising children to everyday chores A synopsis of The Meaning of Marriage, definitions of key terms, and both positive and negative critical reception of the book An overview of why modern culture's idea of a soul mate is wrong As with all books in the 30 Minute Expert Series, this book is intended to be purchased alongside the reviewed title, The Meaning of Marriage:Facing the Complexities of Commitment with the Wisdom of God.

"One part The Beauty Myth . . . and one part Backlash"*--a provocative exploration of who and what a wife really is. There is a wife crisis in North America, a brewing storm of conflicting forces swirling around what it means to be a wife at the beginning of the 21st Century. The word is so fraught with ambiguity that it has become a litmus test, eliciting from women emotions ranging from longing to antipathy, anxiety to derision. This crisis is at the heart of Anne Kingston's The Meaning of Wife. Delving into the complex, troubling, and sometimes humorous contradictions, illusions, and realities of contemporary wifehood, Kingston takes the reader on a fascinating journey into the wedding industrial complex, which elevates the bride to a potent consumer icon; through the recent romanticization of domesticity; and across the conflicted terrain of wifely sexuality. She looks at "wife backlash," and the new wave of neo-traditionalism that urges women to marry before their "best-before" dates expire; explores the apotheosis of abused wives and the strange celebration of wives who kill; and muses on the fact that Oprah Winfrey and Martha Stewart, two of the world's wealthiest and most influential women, are both non-wives whose success has hinged on thier understanding of wives. The result is an entertaining mix of social, sexual, historical, and economic commentary that is bound to stir debate even as it reframes our view of both women and marriage.