Your Marriage God's Way

 Title: Your Marriage God’s Way: A Biblical Guide to a Christ-Centered Relationship

Author: Scott LaPierre

Publisher: Harvest House Publishers

Genre: Self-Help, Marriage, Nonfiction

My review:

Your Marriage God’s Way: A Biblical Guide to a Christ-Centered Relationship is written by Scott LaPierre. Scott is a pastor, author, and speaker. He received an MA in Biblical Studies from Liberty University. Scott and his wife, Katie, have nine children.

Your Marriage God’s Way is broken into eight parts. Each part has several chapters that go along with the overall topic of the main section. The first part of the book is titled “Recognizing That,” and the author has put two chapters that he is going to be building the rest of the book on. He establishes the point, “Because our relationships with our spouses reflect our relationships with Christ, our marriage “problems” are merely symptoms. The actual problems are in our relationship with Christ.” This is an intriguing way of looking at marriage, and honestly not one I had considered before.

In another section of the book, the author also provides guidelines on how to handle your frustrations in your marriage. For example, if you get frustrated with your spouse, pray about it. This is a great way of dealing with the problems in your marriage. If you pray before letting your frustrations be known, you may not even need to speak to your spouse about them.

This book is grounded in Scripture and several parts have been well-researched. I appreciate the author has put notes in the back of the back letting the reader know where he got his research, so the reader can go read more about that topic if they want to.

One section of the book that surprised me was the topic of complementarianism and egalitarians. I have read about this before, but only in academic books, and was not expecting it here. I was also not expecting the discourses on a woman’s role in the church. I see where the author was going, but again, it was unexpected in a marriage book.

I did not agree with everything that the author stated in this book, and that is okay, as these are my opinions. I am from a denomination where women can be pastors and leaders in the church and the author believes they cannot be. I have heard/read MANY things on this topic, and it is best just to agree to disagree.

I think this was a very thorough book, especially as far as scripture goes. My wish is that it would have read less like a lecture and had more of a conversational tone. This book is best suited for Christians who are struggling in their marriage, or just want a better understanding of how the Bible portrays the roles of the husband and wife.

Thank you to Reedsy Discovery and the author for the opportunity to read this book. I was not required to give a favorable review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

★★★/5

 Synopsis (from Goodreads): 

Celebrate the Marriage God Made for You

Your most important earthly connection is with your spouse, and when you honor the person you married, you’re also honoring God. He created marriage to be one of life’s greatest gifts, and the instruction manual you need for a joyful, lasting union is found in His Word.

In Your Marriage God’s Way, author and pastor Scott LaPierre takes a close look at the principles for building a biblical marriage—one in which your relationship with Christ brings guidance and blessing into your relationship with your spouse. You’ll gain the tools to…
understand the unique roles and responsibilities of husbands and wives
recognize and resolve the conflicts you face with a heart of hope and compassion
follow God’s worthy command to love and cherish your spouse unconditionally
Whether you’re at the beginning of your journey or you’ve been on the road together for years, Your Marriage God’s Way will provide the helpful and encouraging insights you need to experience marriage as God intends it.