These practices are not a checklist for earning God's favor – they are Spirit-led invitations into the transforming work God is already doing in your marriage. The goal is not performance but partnership with the Lord. Work through these together, adapt them to your season of life, and reflect regularly on the fruit they are producing.

Partnering in the Lord's Work of Sanctification

  • Practice Love… Put to Death Apathy & Hate

    "Love one another as I have loved you." – John 15:12

    Love in marriage is not primarily a feeling – it is a daily, chosen, costly action rooted in Christ's sacrificial love for the Church (Ephesians 5:25-27). These practices train the heart and hands toward that kind of love.

    Practice Love

  • Practice Humility… Put to Death Pride

    "In humility value others above yourselves." – Philippians 2:3

    The ancient church fathers frequently described pride as the root of all sin and humility as the soil of all virtue. In marriage, pride is the most common destroyer – humility is its antidote.

    Practice Humility

  • Practice Confession & Repentance… Put to Death Hiding Sin & Unrepentance

    "Confess your sins to one another and pray for each other so that you may be healed." – James 5:16 

    The Reformers called the ongoing confession examen – an examination of conscience before God and trusted others. Marriage is the most intimate community of confession God ordains for most people.

    Practice Confession

  • Practice Forgiveness & Reconciliation… Put to Death Self-righteousness & Unforgiveness

    "Forgive one another, just as in Christ God forgave you." – Ephesians 4:32

    The Christological standard of forgiveness – as God in Christ forgave you – makes marital forgiveness one of the most Gospel-saturated acts in human life. It is not minimizing sin; it is absorbing the cost as Christ did.

    Practice Forgiveness

  • Practice Encouragement… Put to Death Ridicule & Condescension

    "Spur one another on toward love and good deeds." – Hebrews 10:24

    Encouragement is not passive cheerfulness but an active, intentional stirring of one another toward Christlikeness. Spouses are meant to be each other's primary encouragers.Description goes here

    Practice Encouragement

  • Practice Generosity… Put to Death Selfishness & Greed

    "Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver." – 2 Corinthians 9:7

    Generosity in marriage operates at two levels: generosity toward each other and generosity practiced together as a household unit for the Kingdom.

    Practice Generosity

  • Practice Gratitude & Thanksgiving… Put to Death Envy

    "Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." – 1 Thessalonians 5:18

    Gratitude is not merely a positive emotion – in the Christian tradition, it is a theological posture. It is the acknowledgment that everything received is grace. In marriage, ingratitude is one of the primary paths toward contempt and hardness of heart.

    Practice Gratitude

  • Practice Prayer & Dependence… Put to Death Self-reliance

    "Pray continually." – 1 Thessalonians 5:17

    Of all the practices, prayer together may be the single most powerful and most neglected practice in Christian marriages. Prayer is the practice of dependence – it declares that God is the source of everything the marriage needs.Description goes here

    Practice Prayer