
Love Is
How Messy Stories Can Meet in the Heart of God
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
$0.99/mo for the first 3 months

Buy for $19.79
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Jefferson Bethke
-
Alyssa Bethke
About this listen
Retitled, repackaged, and including new content, Love Is delivers a compelling message that urges Christians to reject the distorted views of love that have damaged our hearts, minds, and souls and to embrace God’s biblical definition of what love truly is.
So many young people enter adulthood with expectations of blissful dating followed by a romantic marriage but then discover they’ve been duped. Because they learned about love and sexuality from faulty sources - social media, their friends, Disney fairy tales, pornography, or even their own rocky past - they have no idea what healthy, lifelong love is supposed to be like. The results are often disastrous, with this generation becoming one of the most relationally sick, sexually addicted, and divorce-ridden in history.
Looking to God’s design while drawing lessons from their own successes and failures, the Bethkes explode the fictions and falsehoods that have led to broken relationships. One by one, they peel back lies that include:
- The belief that every person has only one soul mate,
- That marriage will complete you,
- And that pornography and hook-ups are harmless.
Drawing from Jeff’s “prodigal son” personal history and from Alyssa’s “True Love Waits” experience, the Bethkes blend personal storytelling with biblical teaching to offer listeners an inspiring, realistic vision of love, dating, marriage, and sex. Including a new chapter filling listeners in on the Bethke’s married relationship today, this updated edition offers a solidly biblical view of romantic love.
©2022 Jefferson Bethke and Alyssa Bethke (P)2022 Thomas NelsonListeners also enjoyed...
-
Take Back Your Family
- From the Tyrants of Burnout, Busyness, Individualism, and the Nuclear Ideal
- By: Jefferson Bethke
- Narrated by: Jefferson Bethke
- Length: 4 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Toxic hyper-individualism. Widespread brokenness. America’s family model isn’t working. Ever wonder if it’s time to opt out? New York Times best-selling author Jefferson Bethke gives you the tools you need to grow your family with intention and delight. The practical ideas and true stories from families in all walks of life will give you the push you need to discover a completely new yet ancient way to do family.
-
-
Don’t waste your money / time
- By Chris on 02-24-22
By: Jefferson Bethke
-
Love That Lasts
- How We Discovered God's Better Way for Love, Dating, Marriage, and Sex
- By: Jefferson Bethke, Alyssa Bethke
- Narrated by: Jefferson Bethke, Alyssa Bethke
- Length: 5 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Young people today enter adulthood with expectations of blissful dating followed by romantic, fulfilling marriages only to discover they've been duped. They learned about love and sexuality from social media, their friends, Disney fairy tales, pornography, or even their own rocky pasts, and they have no idea what healthy, lifelong love is supposed to be like. The results are often disastrous, with this generation becoming one of the most relationally sick, sexually addicted, and divorce-ridden in history.
-
-
Excellent!!
- By Greenleaf on 10-17-17
By: Jefferson Bethke, and others
-
To Hell with the Hustle
- Reclaiming Your Life in an Overworked, Overspent, and Overconnected World
- By: Jefferson Bethke
- Narrated by: Jefferson Bethke
- Length: 4 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This is your wake-up call to resist the Hustle culture and embrace the slowness of Jesus. Our culture makes constant demands of us: Do more. Accomplish more. Buy more. Post more. Be more. In following these demands, we have indeed become more: More anxious. More tired. More hurt. More depressed. More frantic. What we are doing isn't working! In a society where hustle is the expectation, busyness is the norm and information is king, we have forgotten the fundamentals that make us human, anchor our lives, and provide meaning.
-
-
Meh. Listen to John Mark Comer instead.
- By Mackenzie W on 01-30-20
By: Jefferson Bethke
-
Jesus > Religion
- Why He Is So Much Better Than Trying Harder, Doing More, and Being Good Enough
- By: Jefferson Bethke
- Narrated by: Jefferson Bethke
- Length: 4 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Jefferson Bethke burst into the cultural conversation in 2012 with a passionate, provocative poem titled “Why I Hate Religion, But Love Jesus.” The four-minute video of Bethke’s spoken-word performance literally became an overnight sensation, with seven million YouTube views in its first forty-eight hours (and 24+ million within a year). The message hit like a blizzard on social-media sites and in forwarded e-mails, triggering an avalanche of responses running the gamut from encouraged to enraged.
-
-
Reestablished My Calling
- By Chris Darius on 05-18-14
By: Jefferson Bethke
-
It's Not What You Think
- Why Christianity Is So Much More Than Going to Heaven When You Die
- By: Jefferson Bethke
- Narrated by: Jefferson Bethke
- Length: 4 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Jesus was most upset at people for seeing but not seeing. For succumbing to the danger and idolatry of forcing God into preconceived human ideals. But what if there were a better way? What if Jesus came not to help people escape the world but instead to restore it? It's Not What You Think tells the familiar stories of the scripture in a radically new light, presenting God's unchanging truths from the Old and New Testaments as the challenging story that it is: a mysterious, compelling narrative with God at the center.
-
-
Great Read
- By Janette Hartmann on 12-10-15
By: Jefferson Bethke
-
Holier Than Thou
- How God’s Holiness Helps Us Trust Him
- By: Jackie Hill Perry
- Narrated by: Jackie Hill Perry
- Length: 4 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
If God is holy, then he can’t sin. If God can’t sin, then he can’t sin against you. If he can’t sin against you, shouldn’t that make him the most trustworthy being there is? Best-selling author Jackie Hill Perry, in her much anticipated follow-up to Gay Girl, Good God, helps us find the reason we don’t trust God - we misunderstand his holiness. In Holier Than Thou, Jackie walks us through Scripture, shaking the dust off of “holy” as we’ve come to know it and revealing it for what it really is: good news.
-
-
Holy Holy Holy
- By Simplified Lifestyle With Zee on 08-24-21
-
Take Back Your Family
- From the Tyrants of Burnout, Busyness, Individualism, and the Nuclear Ideal
- By: Jefferson Bethke
- Narrated by: Jefferson Bethke
- Length: 4 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Toxic hyper-individualism. Widespread brokenness. America’s family model isn’t working. Ever wonder if it’s time to opt out? New York Times best-selling author Jefferson Bethke gives you the tools you need to grow your family with intention and delight. The practical ideas and true stories from families in all walks of life will give you the push you need to discover a completely new yet ancient way to do family.
-
-
Don’t waste your money / time
- By Chris on 02-24-22
By: Jefferson Bethke
-
Love That Lasts
- How We Discovered God's Better Way for Love, Dating, Marriage, and Sex
- By: Jefferson Bethke, Alyssa Bethke
- Narrated by: Jefferson Bethke, Alyssa Bethke
- Length: 5 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Young people today enter adulthood with expectations of blissful dating followed by romantic, fulfilling marriages only to discover they've been duped. They learned about love and sexuality from social media, their friends, Disney fairy tales, pornography, or even their own rocky pasts, and they have no idea what healthy, lifelong love is supposed to be like. The results are often disastrous, with this generation becoming one of the most relationally sick, sexually addicted, and divorce-ridden in history.
-
-
Excellent!!
- By Greenleaf on 10-17-17
By: Jefferson Bethke, and others
-
To Hell with the Hustle
- Reclaiming Your Life in an Overworked, Overspent, and Overconnected World
- By: Jefferson Bethke
- Narrated by: Jefferson Bethke
- Length: 4 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This is your wake-up call to resist the Hustle culture and embrace the slowness of Jesus. Our culture makes constant demands of us: Do more. Accomplish more. Buy more. Post more. Be more. In following these demands, we have indeed become more: More anxious. More tired. More hurt. More depressed. More frantic. What we are doing isn't working! In a society where hustle is the expectation, busyness is the norm and information is king, we have forgotten the fundamentals that make us human, anchor our lives, and provide meaning.
-
-
Meh. Listen to John Mark Comer instead.
- By Mackenzie W on 01-30-20
By: Jefferson Bethke
-
Jesus > Religion
- Why He Is So Much Better Than Trying Harder, Doing More, and Being Good Enough
- By: Jefferson Bethke
- Narrated by: Jefferson Bethke
- Length: 4 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Jefferson Bethke burst into the cultural conversation in 2012 with a passionate, provocative poem titled “Why I Hate Religion, But Love Jesus.” The four-minute video of Bethke’s spoken-word performance literally became an overnight sensation, with seven million YouTube views in its first forty-eight hours (and 24+ million within a year). The message hit like a blizzard on social-media sites and in forwarded e-mails, triggering an avalanche of responses running the gamut from encouraged to enraged.
-
-
Reestablished My Calling
- By Chris Darius on 05-18-14
By: Jefferson Bethke
-
It's Not What You Think
- Why Christianity Is So Much More Than Going to Heaven When You Die
- By: Jefferson Bethke
- Narrated by: Jefferson Bethke
- Length: 4 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Jesus was most upset at people for seeing but not seeing. For succumbing to the danger and idolatry of forcing God into preconceived human ideals. But what if there were a better way? What if Jesus came not to help people escape the world but instead to restore it? It's Not What You Think tells the familiar stories of the scripture in a radically new light, presenting God's unchanging truths from the Old and New Testaments as the challenging story that it is: a mysterious, compelling narrative with God at the center.
-
-
Great Read
- By Janette Hartmann on 12-10-15
By: Jefferson Bethke
-
Holier Than Thou
- How God’s Holiness Helps Us Trust Him
- By: Jackie Hill Perry
- Narrated by: Jackie Hill Perry
- Length: 4 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
If God is holy, then he can’t sin. If God can’t sin, then he can’t sin against you. If he can’t sin against you, shouldn’t that make him the most trustworthy being there is? Best-selling author Jackie Hill Perry, in her much anticipated follow-up to Gay Girl, Good God, helps us find the reason we don’t trust God - we misunderstand his holiness. In Holier Than Thou, Jackie walks us through Scripture, shaking the dust off of “holy” as we’ve come to know it and revealing it for what it really is: good news.
-
-
Holy Holy Holy
- By Simplified Lifestyle With Zee on 08-24-21
-
Don't Give the Enemy a Seat at Your Table
- It's Time to Win the Battle of Your Mind...
- By: Louie Giglio
- Narrated by: Louie Giglio
- Length: 7 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Enemy is constantly seeking to fill your mind with destructive and harmful thoughts - whether of fear, worry, insecurity, anxiety, temptation, envy.... It’s all too easy for Satan to manipulate his way into a seat at the table intended for only you and Jesus, and to try making himself at home in your mind. It’s an ongoing battle, but one you can win! Best-selling author and pastor Louie Giglio shares practical ways to overcome the Enemy’s lies and instead find peace and security in any challenging circumstance or situation.
-
-
amazing!!!
- By Anonymous User on 05-21-21
By: Louie Giglio
-
Satisfied
- Finding Hope, Joy, and Contentment Right Where You Are
- By: Alyssa Joy Bethke
- Narrated by: Alyssa Joy Bethke
- Length: 4 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Touching on topics like fear, worry, dissatisfaction, anxiety, and body image, Alyssa Bethke walks you through issues that rob you of your joy and helps you recognize them for what they are: distractions. With all of its expectations and contradictions, this world can take a major toll on us. Be skinny, but not too skinny. Work and hustle, but stay home and be a good mom. Be wild and free while tidy and pure. Love your husband, but be independent. Alyssa Bethke shares a compelling collection of relatable essays that will help you embrace and cultivate beauty in your life.
-
-
Good book but….
- By Amazon Customer on 06-30-21
-
The Circle Maker
- Praying Circles Around Your Biggest Dreams and Greatest Fears
- By: Mark Batterson
- Narrated by: Mark Batterson
- Length: 7 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It's time you learned from the legend of Honi the Circle Maker. When his land was drought-stricken in ancient times, Honi ha-M'agel drew a circle in the sand, stepped inside it, and wouldn't budge until God answered his petition for rain. Honi's story transformed author Mark Batterson's own experience with prayer and inspired him to document his journey to praying more powerful prayers in The Circle Maker.
-
-
This has changed my prayer life.
- By Sheri on 09-18-13
By: Mark Batterson
-
The Mingling of Souls
- God's Design for Love, Marriage, Sex, and Redemption
- By: Matt Chandler, Jared C. Wilson
- Narrated by: Kyle Tait
- Length: 5 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Song of Solomon offers strikingly candid - and timeless - insights on romance, dating, marriage, and sex. We need it. Because emotions rise and fall with a single glance, touch, kiss, or word. And we are inundated with songs, movies, and advice that contradicts God's design for love and intimacy. Matt Chandler helps navigate these issues for both singles and marrieds by revealing the process Solomon himself followed: attraction, courtship, marriage...even arguing. The Mingling of Souls will forever change how you view and approach love.
-
-
OUTSTANDING!
- By MATHEW MORGAN STONE on 09-25-21
By: Matt Chandler, and others
-
Undistracted
- Capture Your Purpose. Rediscover Your Joy.
- By: Bob Goff
- Narrated by: Bob Goff
- Length: 6 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Through the pithy and inspiring storytelling that has endeared him to millions, New York Times bestselling author Bob Goff invites you to laugh with more gusto, dream with more confidence, and love with more intention in this disarming call to live Undistracted. Bob's stories are like the rumble strips on the road that make you suddenly alert to how far you have drifted from your lane. From visiting friends in San Quentin to accidentally getting into a stalker's car at the airport to establishing Uganda's first space program, Bob shows you the way back to an audaciously attentive life.
-
-
For a very specific demographic
- By Melissa Wood on 03-16-22
By: Bob Goff
-
Us Against the World
- Our Secrets to Love, Marriage, and Family
- By: David Mann, Tamela Mann
- Narrated by: David Mann, Tamela Mann, Justin Henry
- Length: 6 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
David and Tamela Mann have been married for 30 years, but the singers, actors, and entrepreneurs are just as, if not more than, happily in love as they were in the early days of their relationship. In their new audiobook, the couple will relate the story of their first encounters as teenagers, the importance of communication, and how they’ve been able to keep that spark burning through all these years.
-
-
Advice that'll carry you through any relationship
- By Masemom on 11-25-18
By: David Mann, and others
-
Embodied
- Transgender Identities, the Church, and What the Bible Has to Say
- By: Preston Sprinkle
- Narrated by: Preston Sprinkle
- Length: 5 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Compassionate, biblical, and thought-provoking, Embodied is an accessible guide for Christians who want help navigating issues related to transgenderism.
-
-
Best take away TONE
- By Hunt Family on 05-21-21
By: Preston Sprinkle
-
When Strivings Cease
- Replacing the Gospel of Self-Improvement with the Gospel of Life-Transforming Grace
- By: Ruth Chou Simons
- Narrated by: Ruth Chou Simons
- Length: 5 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this hustling, image-forward age of opportunity, we feel more anxious than ever. Despite all the affirming memes and self-reflections that dominate social media feeds, approval and worth often seem assigned to what we do rather than who we are. And we end up constantly feeling like we’re behind, lacking, and failing - at home, at work, with friends, with God.
-
-
Heart and Mind transforming
- By Kindle Customer on 10-03-22
By: Ruth Chou Simons
-
Vertical Marriage
- The One Secret That Will Change Your Marriage
- By: John Driver - contributor, Dennis Rainey - foreword, Barbara Rainey - foreword, and others
- Narrated by: Ann Wilson, Dave Wilson, Dennis Rainey
- Length: 6 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
As founders of a multicampus church and marriage coaches with 30 years of experience, Dave and Ann share the hard-earned but easy-to-apply biblical principles that ensure a strong marriage. Written in a funny and highly relatable dialogue between both husband and wife, Vertical Marriage will guide you toward building a vibrant relationship at every level including communication, conflict, intimacy, and romance - though Dave is still figuring that last one out.
-
-
Learned so much!
- By Linda Sue on 02-07-19
By: John Driver - contributor, and others
-
The Mystery
- Finding True Love in a World of Broken Lovers
- By: Lacey Sturm
- Narrated by: Lacey Sturm
- Length: 6 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Rock princess Lacey Sturm wants to share her journey from heartbreak to wholeness with young women. In The Mystery, Sturm helps listeners understand that any loving relationship begins with knowing your own identity in Christ. And yet, so many people have learned to define love through their own dysfunctional family, unhealthy relationships, the romances and wrecked relationships of mainstream pop culture, or, sadly, through pornography. Is it any wonder so many people end up brokenhearted, divorced, abused, abusive, or even suicidal?
-
-
Wow! Incredibly moving.
- By Mae on 12-30-19
By: Lacey Sturm
-
Am I Enough?
- Embracing the Truth About Who You Are
- By: Grace Valentine
- Narrated by: Misty Wells
- Length: 4 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Have you had enough, of not feeling enough? Start embracing the truth about who you really are. Young women today are constantly told they are not enough for this world - not pretty enough, not smart enough, not exciting enough, and just plain not good enough. Grace Valentine has felt the pressure of trying to survive in a toxic culture, let alone thrive. But she’s had enough.
-
-
Thanks Grace
- By Chimbusomma Eluka on 11-02-23
By: Grace Valentine
-
Finally the Bride: Finding Hope While Waiting
- The Single Woman’s Guide to the Wait for a Husband and Marriage
- By: Cheryl McKay
- Narrated by: Shawna M. Washabaugh
- Length: 7 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Written during a long wait, this book opens up Cheryl's painfully honest, personal journals. She explores what it's like to enlist in God's Marriage Boot Camp, and how to survive singlehood year after solitary year. She wrestles with her Creator over multiple best friends that never see her "that way." Then there are those lists of what she wanted - you know, the ones she revised a billion times then laminated for safekeeping. She watches, bewildered, as much younger women find love that seems to elude her.
-
-
Beautiful Book.
- By ruth on 08-26-16
By: Cheryl McKay