The Christian Lover
Overview
Marriage is under siege in our time, and Christian unions are not going unscathed. Michael A. G. Haykin believes that love letters written by Christian husbands and wives of the past can help strengthen the ties that bind believing spouses today. In this anthology, he brings together letters from one or both parties in 12 significant relationships from church history. The contents range from courtship communications to proposals of marriage to final words before dying, but most have to do with the ups and downs of married life. In the end, The Christian Lover is a celebration of marriage, an intimate window into the thoughts of men and women who were deeply in love with both God and one another.
With the Logos edition, The Christian Lover is fully integrated with the other resources in your digital library, including Bibles, maps, dictionaries, and numerous other Bible study tools. All Scripture references are linked directly to the text of your favorite Bible translation, making your Bible study and teaching preparations more effective and rewarding. You can also explore Scripture on a deeper level with powerful search features, Passage Guides, and all the other interactive features in your Logos library. That makes this important book more useful than ever before for pastors, teachers, Bible study leaders, and anyone else desiring to get deeper into the truth of God’s Word.
Key Features
- Study of the history of love and marriage
- Letters from significant relationships from church history
- Suggestions for further reading
Top Highlights
“Thomas Adams (fl. 1612–1653), a renowned Puritan preacher, declared, ‘There is no such fountain of comfort on earth, as marriage.’” (Page xvii)
“‘She lies in his bosom, and his heart trusts in her, which forceth all to confess, that the stream of his affection, like a mighty current, runs with full tide and strength.’” (Page xvii)
“As I have told you many, many times, the passing of the years does nothing but deepen and intensify my love for you” (Page 88)
“she was the faithful helper of my ministry. From her I never experienced the slightest hindrance” (Page 10)
“‘There can be no greater society or company, than is between a man and his wife.’” (Page xvii)
Praise for the Print Edition
The Christian Lover is both insightful and inspirational. Your heart will be touched as you gain a brief glimpse into the love shared by these heroes of the faith. Be prepared for the unexpected. The passions of these couples will surprise you, but you will not be disappointed.
—Dr. Daniel L. Akin, president, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, Wake Forest, N.C.
Michael Haykin is to be congratulated for compiling this remarkable collection of beautiful love letters from some of the most significant and faithful Christian leaders in the history of the church. These inspiring letters, along with the informative introductions, will provide great strength and guidance for Christian couples at a time when the institution of marriage is facing challenges from numerous directions. I heartily commend this wonderful volume.
—Dr. David S. Dockery, president, Union University, Jackson, Tenn.
The Christian Lover portrays some of our most revered historical personalities as men of deep marital love. Haykin’s work enhances (rather than diminishes) the pictures we have of them as towering scholars, faithful pastors, pioneering missionaries, and bold martyrs. This epistolary anthology of the Puritan and Reformed divines’ marital love may serve as a great buttress to the continued testimony of the goodness of marriage as the Creator’s provision for a companionship of joy in the highest order. May all in the church who read these accounts of love be awakened to the passionate pursuit of the lifelong, unbreakable, satisfying relationship every marriage should be. My heart was stirred more with each letter.
—Rev. Eric C. Redmond, pastor, Hillcrest Baptist Church, Temple Hills, Md.
Product Details
- Title: The Christian Lover
- Author: Michael Haykin
- Publisher: Reformation Trust
- Publication Date: 2009
- Pages: 101
About Michael Haykin
Michael Haykin is a professor of church history and biblical spirituality and director of the Andrew Fuller Center for Baptist Studies at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky. He is also a research fellow at the Jonathan Edwards Centre Africa, University of the Free State, South Africa. His numerous books include The Spirit of God: The Exegesis of 1 and 2 Corinthians in the Pneumatomachian Controversy of the Fourth Century, The God who draws near: An introduction to biblical spirituality, and Jonathan Edwards: The Holy Spirit in Revival.