Premarriage Online Workbook

This online workbook is designed to be filled out after reading assigned chapters of the book “Catching Foxes: A Gospel-Guided Journey to Marriage” by John Henderson. Please review the reading schedule that your pre-marriage counselor has given you and complete each chapter’s assigned questions below by the due date. Please note that you cannot answer some questions and then return later to complete the form. You must complete each question and submit the form in one sitting. Because of this, it may be best to answer these questions in a journal, notebook, or digitally and then put your answers into the form when you have answered all of them.

Chapter 1: Telling Your Story

Name

First Name

Last Name

Please share about your life growing up in your home. What were some defining events, whether good or bad?

What family experiences do you believe were most profound in shaping who you are today? How do you think they have shaped your expectations for marriage?

How has marriage been viewed, talked about, and treated in your family?

What particular “foxes” might your family bring to your “vineyard”? What particular foxes have you brought from your family into your engagement?

Is your faith in Jesus Christ for your salvation? Please explain your answer.

Briefly share how you were drawn to Jesus Christ.

Who were the people God used to bring about your initial faith in Jesus Christ?

How have you seen the Holy Spirit growing you in Christ over time?

Share the areas of life in which you continue to need serious transformation.

What does life with Christ look like for you, hour by hour and day by day? Describe your relationship with Him.

Briefly share how you came to meet the man or woman you are preparing to marry.

How did you get to know your fiancé? How did you come to know that this was the person you wanted to marry?

What do you enjoy about your fiancé? What have been the greatest delights of your relationship?

Share how you have handled pain and difficulties as a couple.

What are your dreams for your marriage? What do you expect your marriage to be like?

Where do you see your life going? Share what you expect of yourself in the future. Share what you expect of your fiancé.

What dreams might you need to give up in order to honor God’s purposes for marriage and your future mate?

What fears do you bring to your relationship? What terrifies you? Share how you intend to respond to these anxieties.

How has God gifted you for marriage? How has He gifted your fiancée?

Chapter 2: The Reason for Everything, Even Marriage

Name

First Name

Last Name

Please share about your life growing up in your home. What were some defining events, whether good or bad?

What family experiences do you believe were most profound in shaping who you are today? How do you think they have shaped your expectations for marriage?

Share any areas of bitterness, resentment, and shame that remain in your heart concerning your childhood and adolescence.

How has marriage been viewed, talked about, and treated in your family?

What particular “foxes” might your family bring to your “vineyard”? What particular foxes have you brought from your family into your engagement?

Chapter 3: Understanding Who You Are

Name

First Name

Last Name

Take a few minutes to read Romans 7:21–25. When you read this passage, what sinful attitudes and ways of living do you see in your own life?

Do you believe that you see yourself clearly and truthfully? Do you believe you see others clearly and truthfully? Please explain.

Who helps you to clear your vision? Who loves you enough to tell you when you’re walking against Christ?

Share ways that you try to earn God’s favor and establish a righteousness of your own, whether through job performance, moral performance, knowledge performance, or anything else.

Share areas of your life in which you try to appear or feel more righteous than others are.

Think of a recent time that you sinned. Whom did you blame? What “garment” did you make to cover yourself? In other words, how did you justify your sin and avoid confession?

What do you tend to run after for comfort, refuge, and deliverance?

Have you been maturing in Jesus Christ? In what ways has God transformed your way of thinking, feeling, and acting from day to day?

Do you and your fiancé carry a zeal for the eternal purposes of God? Share some ways you could encourage each other to live more eternally-minded.

How could marriage and family tempt you to become preoccupied with houses, cars, schools, bank accounts, and other temporal things? How do you plan to face this temptation?