Gospel-Shaped Marriage Resources

Knowledge

• Book: Gospel-Shaped Marriage: Grace for Sinners to Love Like Saints — Chad Van Dixhoorn & Emily Van Dixhoorn (Crossway, 2022). The source text for this course. 9 chapters tracing marriage through Scripture (Gen 1–3, Eph 5, 1 Pet 3, 1 Cor 7). ISBN 978-1-4335-8071-0. Available from Crossway and major retailers. Use for: every lesson's structure and theological framing.
• The Bible (ESV). The book's primary source and the backbone of every lesson. All quoted Scripture in lessons is ESV. Use for: reading the chapters the book recommends alongside each lesson.
• William Gouge, Of Domestical Duties (1622/1634). The 17th-century Puritan source the Van Dixhoorns lean on most, especially the principle of studying your spouse's duties in order to make them a joy. Available free at archive.org. Modern abridgment: Building a Godly Home (Reformation Heritage Books). Use for: deeper background on the "make the other's duty a joy" principle cited in chapter 3 onward.
• John Stott, The Message of Ephesians (IVP, 1979). Cited in the book (note 2 of chapter 3) for the line that a wife is designed to submit to a lover, not an ogre. Use for: background on Ephesians 5.

Wisdom (Communities)

• The couple's local church. The strongest setting for working through this material is under the care of pastors and elders and in community with other married couples. The book and these lessons assume church membership, weekly worship, and access to pastoral counsel. Use for: accountability, prayer, and the "winning" counsel of 1 Peter 3 when a marriage is hard.
• An older mentor couple. The book itself was shaped by the Van Dixhoorns' premarital counselors (Craig and Carol Troxel) and by couples in their congregations. Use for: a flesh-and-blood model of a long, grace-shaped marriage and a safe place to bring real questions.