Lasting Love: How to Avoid Marital Failure [Paperback]

Alistair Begg (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1, 2002

If you fail to plan, you plan to fail. Months, even years, before the wedding, couples start planning their special day. She finds the perfect dress; he refines the details of their honeymoon get-away. They test the caterer's delicacies and listen to endless music choices. This will be the first day of the rest of their beautiful life together. Yet even with all that planning, statistics say their marriage has only a 50% chance of surviving. While no one takes that blissful walk down the isle with a mapped-out plan to destroy their marriage, most of us will never take the time and effort required to preserve our marriages before they hit rock-bottom. In Lasting Love, Alistair Begg urges all married couples and those contemplating marriage to take to heart what God has told His people about creating and preserving a fulfilling marriage. Realize that marital failure can happen to anyone - even you Listen to your spouse Don't take your mate for granted Be daring and imaginative in displaying your affection Work hard to make your marriage a success Let Alistair Begg teach you how to guard your marriage and stand firm against anything or anyone that would draw your attention away from your spouse. God created marriages to last. Will yours?

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

MARITAL FAILURE CAN HAPPEN TO ANYONE—EVEN YOU!

No one enters into marriage with the intention of failing. Each person who says “I do” hopes for a long and beautiful life together with their spouse. But as time passes, couples forget the basics. Too often they become so wrapped up in their own lives they neglect the essentials critical to a healthy marriage.

In this candid book Alistair Begg reveals important building blocks for ensuring that your marriage is one that will last a lifetime including:
• How to remain sexually faithful to your mate
• How singles can recognize good qualities in a prospective mate
• Biblical guidance for maintaining a lasting love
• Listening to each other
• Becoming imaginative and daring in displaying your affection

Our culture is confused about marriage. Too often divorce is an acceptable norm. But Begg reminds us that when men and women understand their roles of leadership, submission, team-work, and mutual respect, love can last a lifetime.

ALISTAIR BEGG was born in Scotland and spent the first thirty years of life in the United Kingdom. Since September 1983, he has been the senior pastor at Parkside Church in suburban Cleveland, Ohio. He is the daily speaker on the national radio program Truth For Life which airs on over 900 radio outlets and is the author of the Moody Publishers titles, Made For His Pleasure, The Hand of God, On Being a Pastor and Pathway to Freedom. He and his wife, Susan, have three grown children.

 

About the Author

ALISTAIR BEGG has been the senior pastor at Parkside Church in the suburban Cleveland, Ohio, since 1983. He is the daily speaker on the national radio program Truth for Life, which airs on 700 radio outlets, and travels extensively in a ministry of evangelism and Bible teaching. Alistair and his wife, Susan, have three grown children.
2004

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Product Details

• Paperback: 263 pages
• Publisher: Moody Publishers (July 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0802434053
• ISBN-13: 978-0802434050
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #278,104 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

ALISTAIR BEGG served two churches in his native Scotland before answering the call in 1983 to become senior pastor at Parkside Church in suburban Cleveland, OH. A graduate of the London School of Theology, he has written several books and is heard daily on the national radio program Truth for Life.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great truths for marriage, but lackluster!, October 6, 2002

By 

Donald S. Meador "imthman" (Novo Hamburgo, Brazil) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Lasting Love: How to Avoid Marital Failure (Paperback)

I looked forward to reading "Lasting Love." I had hoped to find the book to be as good as Alistair Begg's sermons. He comes across wonderfully when speaking, but this book seemed lackluster to me.

Begg tackles the subject of marriage from the Bible, and rightly so, for God designed marriage. I believe he has written about marriage with biblical accuracy. Begg draws his examples from more than 20 years of counseling couples as a pastor. And, he has addressed many of the social issues related to marriage. I especially like the way he deals with the issue of submissive wives - addressing correctly the passage vs. feminist perversions of it.

The flow of the book is straightforward:

The reader gets an introduction to the fact that we have marriage problems that must be addressed. This is followed by a chapter on the prospects of staying single, rather than getting married. I felt this chapter needed more work. Begg does stay biblical, but I felt there is more to what the Bible says about this topic than I got. The third chapter was very good. Begg provides a commentary on the traditional wedding vows. I have never seen this done and I loved it. This is followed by a chapter on the wife's role in the marriage and then one on the man's role in the marriage. The chapter on the man's role is excellent and should be read by every man. Another chapter is on pulling weeds in your marriage and it is insightful. The final chapter is on planting hedges - taking proactive steps to strengthen your marriage.

Overall this book has some great biblical advice for marriage. However, it seemed to be lacking something. This could be due to the fact that Begg began this work as a prolonged "note to self" about keeping his own marriage strong. Perhaps I am accustomed to hearing his Scottish accent and did not get it from the words of his book. Either way, I would still recommend this book to married couples and singles contemplating marriage. I just want to forewarn the reader that it is not the most dynamic book they will read about marriage. The content is pretty solid though.

If you have never heard Alistair Begg preach,...listen to one of his sermons. He is the best preacher on the radio today. You will enjoy his preaching!

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars great, "down to earth", easy to understand, March 20, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Lasting Love: How to Avoid Marital Failure (Hardcover)

Pastor Begg's usage of "easy to understand examples" is great.
This book offers a good foundation to build on based on Scriptures.
The style of writing, while showing great intellect, makes for easy reading.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Prerequisite for long lasting marriage!, November 3, 2008

By 

Joel D. Weber (Loveland, CO USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Lasting Love: How to Avoid Marital Failure (Paperback)

This is yet another excellent book (word) from an insightful yet highly practical preacher: Alistair Begg.
This ought to be top of any pre-marital reading list. Amazingly, so few who enter this lifelong relationship make any preparations at all. I would encourage those in serious dating, those engaged or currently married to take a good a serious read and find Scripturally-backed practical applications needed to commence and maintain a solid marriage.
There is nothing difficult to read, but it will become apparent that marriages last due to the will and determination of its participants.
Alistair Begg offers truths from Scripture to guide our marriages and help prevent potential pitfalls.
Everybody marrying wishes for a happy marriage, but so few take any time to prepare - this book is a valuable step to setting a strong foundation.