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11th out of 43 books
—
31 voters
This Momentary Marriage: A Parable of Permanence
by
John Piper
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 tru...more
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 tru...more
Hardcover, 191 pages
Published
April 3rd 2009
by Crossway Books
(first published January 1st 2009)
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Since I gave it only two stars, I suppose I should explain. While I thought the book did a bang-up job of outlining the permanence view of marriage in the closing chapters, and while I support and agree with the theology of marriage he outlines in the other chapters, this book was COUNFOUNDINGLY repetitive. Frankly, the content could easily have been put into a pamphlet of 20 pages or less and I just got the impression that the manuscript was padded with unnecessary Bonhoeffer quotes (a guy whos...more
This volume (This Momentary Marriage by John Piper) leaves other marriage books in the dust as it rises above the usual 10-steps-to-doing-better approach. It also manages to use Scripture rather than psychology to make its heart-searching message come alive. I must warn you, however, that if you are like me, you might find yourself under enormous conviction.
Notice I didn’t say guilt. I can provide that for myself, can’t you? I refer to spot-on analysis of me with real challenge to seize the Bibl...more
Notice I didn’t say guilt. I can provide that for myself, can’t you? I refer to spot-on analysis of me with real challenge to seize the Bibl...more
"So it is with marriage. It is a momentary gift. It may last a lifetime, or it may be snatched away on the honeymoon. Either way, it is short. It may have many bright days, or it may be covered with clouds. If we make secondary things primary, we will be embittered at the sorrows we must face. But if we set our face to make of marriage mainly what God designed it to be, no sorrows and no calamities can stand in our way. Every one of them will be, not an obstacle to success, but a way to succeed....more
Not a specific how-to, at all. I loved this book because it didn't promise the moon and the stars and the happiest marriage you could ever imagine. John Piper didn't talk about how he had trouble in his marriage but it's all fixed now. He has and continues to have a difficult marriage. He's stuck with his difficult marriage for 40 years and in this book he (not directly- this book is not about him) explains why. The book has almost no specifics, it's all the theology and general statements, a re...more
After seeing a video posted on Desiring God dot org, presenting a couple with a disabled husband and the powerful love of Jesus, I had to read this book. I was not disappointed.
Pastor John Piper writes, "The most foundation thing to see from the Bible about marriage is that it is God's doing. And the ultimate thing to see from the Bible about marriage is that it is for God's glory." (21) Placing these two thoughts together, he draws the conclusion that, "The highest and the most ultimate purpos...more
Pastor John Piper writes, "The most foundation thing to see from the Bible about marriage is that it is God's doing. And the ultimate thing to see from the Bible about marriage is that it is for God's glory." (21) Placing these two thoughts together, he draws the conclusion that, "The highest and the most ultimate purpos...more
Invaluable. Priceless.
I couldn't stop talking about this book since I picked it up yesterday. I know I drove my husband and friends crazy, but I just can't. Must buy for everyone; single, married, young, older -- whatever the case may be.
Sometimes a book like this can be excellent, but what really tops it in my eyes is all the information points RIGHT to the Bible. You will have the same verses over and over, and over again. I really had been praying, what does leadership and submission REALLY...more
I couldn't stop talking about this book since I picked it up yesterday. I know I drove my husband and friends crazy, but I just can't. Must buy for everyone; single, married, young, older -- whatever the case may be.
Sometimes a book like this can be excellent, but what really tops it in my eyes is all the information points RIGHT to the Bible. You will have the same verses over and over, and over again. I really had been praying, what does leadership and submission REALLY...more
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I love John Piper, and I love God even more! I am grateful for John Piper's ministry, his desire to apply God's Word to our lives and help us live rightly. I found this book very helpful in reminding me that I am a living message to this fallen world. My husband read this book, and said, "He keeps saying the same thing over and over again! 'Marriage is a picture of Christ's relationship to the church.'" Yes, Piper does keep saying that, because we need to understand and remember and embrace that...more
If marriage is such a wonderful gift from God, then why does it cease to exist in heaven? I've asked this question as a child, a teenager, and even up to now, as a young Christian adult, starting to see the beauty of God's design for marriage through the lens of cross. The question is still there, a constant reminder that there's still a major piece of the puzzle that I'm missing in my quest to understand marriage. Why does marriage have to end?
In this book, God has used John Piper to answer thi...more
In this book, God has used John Piper to answer thi...more
This is a very helpful book, precisely because it is not a 'practical' or 'pragmatic' book.
It focuses on the central and most ultimate truth about marriage, that marriage is an image, a drama, a display of the covenant-keeping love between Christ and his church. Getting the most ultimate and main truth about marriage right will help us handle thousands of practical issues. Which is why if husbands, wives and single Christians are gripped by the truth presented in this book, many marriages (and...more
It focuses on the central and most ultimate truth about marriage, that marriage is an image, a drama, a display of the covenant-keeping love between Christ and his church. Getting the most ultimate and main truth about marriage right will help us handle thousands of practical issues. Which is why if husbands, wives and single Christians are gripped by the truth presented in this book, many marriages (and...more
A good book focusing us on marriage as a picture of Christ and the church. Very rich in pointing us to our status before God, and Christ's love and faithfulness in covenant love as a foundation for our committing to covenant love together. It wasn't the focus, so I can't blame him, but the children section was kinda underdeveloped. Piper holds a minority position that Christian's shouldn't re-marry after a divorce, even for biblically justified reasons. His argument doesn't seem consistent as he...more
A thorough examination of the doctrine of Christian marriage. As always, Piper reduces sound theology to practical, easy-to-understand language. My one quibble with this book is that Piper repeats himself excessively. I surmised that this was a technique to reinforce his main points. I found it distracting and boring. Nonetheless, those points themselves more than made up for this deficiency. Piper shows the magnificient meaning behind marriage, lifting every marriage far above the ordinary. Be...more
This book is so excellent so far! This book as the author says, is more of a "why marriage" than a "how to" marriage book. I have really enjoyed the wonderful mission it gives marriages that are determined to be founded upon the Lord and mirror Christ and the Bride. My favorite chapter so far was the one that said the pretty controversial statement that "Marriage is not mainly about being or staying in love. It's mainly about telling the truth with our lives, It's about potraying something true...more
This is not a self-help marriage book. Far from it, because Piper continues to drive the point that marriage has a higher meaning, that is tied with the gospel and the imagery of Christ and his church. And from this understanding of the truth comes servant hood, headship, submission, sacrifice, discipleship and all other important aspects of the Christian faith. As I was reading, I was constantly moved time and time again of with the remainder Christ's sacrificial love for us and how it should b...more
As with most Piper books I've read, he begins by immediately challenging the reader to consider this topic in a much richer, deeper way than ever before. Never afraid to shock his reader, he suggests the concept that marriage can be seen in light of martyrdom. He reminds the believer that marriage is a much higher calling than the temporal joys it can and should bring us as Christians. It is, in fact, a mini-church, built for the glory of God. Piper continues to be very thought-provoking as he d...more
This honest and biblical approach to marriage is so fiercely beautiful that to most people in our society today, mired with their obsessions with their own happiness and the paranoia that comes from being vulnerable in a fundamentally selfish relationship system, will seem like looking at the sun. Our society we worship self above everything else and this book describes what marriage is when Jesus is above everything else. Everyone who wants to get married or is married or knows someone who is m...more
I've always been a hopeless romantic but not the starry-eyed dreamer of a perfect wedding. I was always dreaming, however, of a tall, handsome groom.
I never fully understood why marriage was 'invented' or why weddings were necessary for it never explicitly say in the Bible. I am not a theologian but I am continually learning how to apply Scripture truth to help me navigate my daily life in close connection with the God of the Bible.
I am really thankful for the ministry of John Piper and desiring...more
I never fully understood why marriage was 'invented' or why weddings were necessary for it never explicitly say in the Bible. I am not a theologian but I am continually learning how to apply Scripture truth to help me navigate my daily life in close connection with the God of the Bible.
I am really thankful for the ministry of John Piper and desiring...more
John Piper's book, This Momentary Marriage: A Parable of Permanence was written by a theologian whose forty years have proven the biblical truths exposed in its pages. Piper admits his frailty as a husband, and shares some interesting ways of dealing with idiosyncrasies and flaws. Using a word picture of a compost pile, Piper recommends forgiveness and forbearance as a means of overlooking faults. There are times when one must lovingly shovel "cow patties" into a compost pile and choose to leave...more
Another John Piper classic.
I haven't read very many marriage books, but I deeply appreciated almost every chapter in this book. Piper's main idea throughout the book is about the marriage covenant representing or pointing to the covenant of Christ's love and pursuit of His church. I loved this!
It was truly refreshing to read a book that reinforces most of my personal beliefs on marriage. I love, love, love, loved the last two chapters on divorce and found Piper's stance to not only be encouragi...more
I haven't read very many marriage books, but I deeply appreciated almost every chapter in this book. Piper's main idea throughout the book is about the marriage covenant representing or pointing to the covenant of Christ's love and pursuit of His church. I loved this!
It was truly refreshing to read a book that reinforces most of my personal beliefs on marriage. I love, love, love, loved the last two chapters on divorce and found Piper's stance to not only be encouragi...more
This is a short book with short chapters that is a worthy read. However, I am still in search of the "must read" Christian marriage book.
Piper begins his book on marriage only as Piper can--with a chapter that links marriage and martyrdom. In short, the title of the book reveals Piper's main message--marriage is momentary and Christ is eternal. Don't major on your marriage, major on Christ and your marriage will be put in it's proper place. Piper is aware of the temptation for one's spouse or ma...more
Piper begins his book on marriage only as Piper can--with a chapter that links marriage and martyrdom. In short, the title of the book reveals Piper's main message--marriage is momentary and Christ is eternal. Don't major on your marriage, major on Christ and your marriage will be put in it's proper place. Piper is aware of the temptation for one's spouse or ma...more
What drives this book from beginning to end is the truth that marriage is a model of Christ’s relationship to the Church. According to Piper (p.42), this truth has the effect of (1) elevating the value of marriage; (2) providing a foundation of grace for our marriages; and (3) defining roles within marriage. By making this truth the backbone of his book, Piper has had the same three-fold effect on me.
Early in the book Piper shows that marriage is the doing of God and the display of God (21 – 26)...more
Early in the book Piper shows that marriage is the doing of God and the display of God (21 – 26)...more
Piper is one of the great theologians of our time. His writing is constantly upholding truth and love and grace. This book, for the most part, is no exception.
Piper is expounding on the truth that marriage is a reflection of Christ and the church. That the roles of husbands and wives are reflective of the way Christ and the church interact and relate. What a model men have for how to lead in a marriage and what an honour women have to submit in a marriage.
The one place I found grace lacking was...more
Piper is expounding on the truth that marriage is a reflection of Christ and the church. That the roles of husbands and wives are reflective of the way Christ and the church interact and relate. What a model men have for how to lead in a marriage and what an honour women have to submit in a marriage.
The one place I found grace lacking was...more
With refreshing honesty and candor, Piper examines marriage, singleness, divorce, sex, and gender roles from a Christian perspective. His conclusions are grounded firmly in Scripture and reveal that the highest purpose of marriage is to glorify Christ by modeling His covenant-keeping promise to His church. This book is helpful on many levels, and is highly recommended to anyone—married or not—who seeks to better understand the nature of self-sacrificial love and the bonds of covenant.
I’m beginning to notice that Piper can be incredibly redundant. It felt like he spent a lot of this book telling me what he was going to tell me, and then telling me over and over. Still, he made some arguments here that I’d never heard before, and his emphasis on the fleeting nature of marriage (in light of the glorious, eternal reality it depicts) provides a helpful and necessary counterpoint to the majority of books on marriage which seem to gloss over this truth.
While sometimes seemingly redundant, this book is a powerful statement of what marriage means. Unfortunately, our culture views marriage as disposble with a need to "leave an open door" in case things don't work out. This book reveals the antithesis of that view. It's encouraging and convicting and would be a terrific read for all single people and a good read for those of us already married. I've been married for 15 years (most days quite happily), but this book was still encouraging to me beca...more
A new go to book on marriage! One of the things I most appreciate about John Piper is his unflinching commitment to explain what the Bible says, regardless of expecations. This serves him very well as he writes about marriage. He holds up (as always) a very high standard, and thus turns quickly (as always) to our need for grace. The foundation of the book is marriage as a picture of the relationship between Christ and the church.
Goodreads just erased my original review, but suffice to say, this was the first marriage book I read in this engagement period and I found it to be a theologically sound and thought-provoking treatise on the Christian purpose and portrait of marriage that points to Christ and the church. Piper gets somewhat repetitive, but it's a rather quick read (and available for free online), so worth it.
Jul 17, 2011
Trisha
is currently reading it
So far I love it. He explains that marriage is a picture of Christ and the church and how that plays out in very realistic terms in our lives. This doesn't always look the way we think. I love the deep biblical truths I have encountered thus far and am challenged to walk in them and to view my marriage the way God does from a perspective in God's word not a christianized worldy one.
I want to get this book for all of my married friends. Piper's challenging and Biblically based worldview does not disappoint as he discusses the topic of marriage--but it's not just Piper on repeat; what he has to say on the topics of marriage, singleness and divorce is so crucial for this generation (as well as any other), and even if you've read a lot of Piper you will still benefit from this book.
This Momentary Marriage: A Parable of Permanence draws the reader into the real meaning of marriage, the Gospel. It shifts one's eyes off the temporal things of this momentary marriage and gives the reader a greater understanding of Christ and the Church. Single or married, each Christian is part of a grander marriage that Piper gives a glorious glimpse of.
This is clearly the best book on marriage I've ever read, hands-down. John Piper states so profoundly what I've been convicted is the real purpose of marriage, raising our thoughts to something much higher, and in the process giving us the power to live out a Christ-exalting marriage. This is a must-read for everyone who's married or knows someone who's married.
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| Question about divorce (Piper's "new radical obedience") | 2 | 28 | Jun 27, 2012 01:11pm |
John Stephen Piper is a Baptist theologian, preacher, and author, currently serving as Pastor for Preaching and Vision of Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He is the author of numerous books, including ECPA Christian Book Award winners What Jesus Demands from the World, Pierced by the Word, and God's Passion for His Glory, and bestsellers Don't Waste Your Life and The Passion of...more
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Aug 07, 2012 03:17pm