Moving Past Despair

Life and Books and Everything — Clearly Reformed

Moving Past Despair

May 5, 2021

Life and Books and Everything

Life and Books and EverythingClearly Reformed

When you consider the prospects for Christians right now, you might think they would be in despair. And you might be right. There is a lot of evidence that things are not going well. Kevin, Collin, and Justin look at several specific phenomena that would cause despair. And then they give us things that we can do now to move from that despair and into hope. Plus, there are some great book recommendations!

Life and Books and Everything is sponsored by Crossway, publisher of Rejoice and Tremble: The Surprising Good News of the Fear of the Lord by Michael Reeves.

Rejoice and Tremble examines the difference between sinful and godly fear and corrects the negative perception of the fear of God. It is part of a series created in partnership with Union School of Theology to teach Christians to delight in God, grow in Christ, serve the church, and bless the world.

For 30% off this book and all other books and Bibles at Crossway, sign up for a free Crossway+ account at crossway.org/LBE.

Timestamps:

Have you heard of Michael Reeves? [0:00 – 3:56]

Life & Football & Everything [3:56 – 7:22]

How’s COVID-19 going? [7:22 – 25:41]

Reasons for Current Earthly Despair [25:41 – 44:54]

* Declining Fertility Rate

* Declining Church Membership Rate

* Cultural Institutions Aligned Against Christianity

* The Speed of the Collapse

* Race Relations Getting Worse

Now what do we do? [44:54 – 1:01:56]

Books & Everything [1:01:56 – 1:15:29]

Books and Everything:

Uprooted: Recovering the Legacy of the Places We've Left Behind, by GraceOlmstead

A Holy Baptism of Fire and Blood: The Bible and the American Civil War,by James Byrd

Churchill: Walking with Destiny, by Andrew Roberts

Surviving Religion 101, by Michael Kruger

The Life of John Murray, by Iain H. Murray

Survival and Resistance in Evangelical America: Christian Reconstruction in the Pacific Northwest, by Crawford Gribben

The Soul of Abraham Lincoln, by William Eleazar Barton

Gilead, by Marilyn Robinson

The Only Plane in the Sky: An Oral History of September 11, 2001, byGarrett M. Graff

Share

Transcript

More From Life and Books and Everything

"Lament for a Father," with Marvin Olasky

"Lament for a Father," with Marvin Olasky

Life and Books and Everything

In his new book, Lament for a Father: The Journey to Understanding and Forgiveness, Marvin Olasky, editor of WORLD Magazine , puts all his journalisti

The Meaning of America

The Meaning of America

Life and Books and Everything

For this special Independence Day bonus episode, Kevin goes solo to talk about what America means and how Christians should relate to our nation. The

Afghanistan, Olympics, & Mars Hill

Afghanistan, Olympics, & Mars Hill

Life and Books and Everything

August 16, 2021

Catching up with friends after a long summer is one of the great joys of life. In this first episode of Season 4, Kevin, Collin, and Justin chat about

Gospelbound, with Sarah Zylstra

Gospelbound, with Sarah Zylstra

Life and Books and Everything

The only way we can move forward in the church is by going back to the Gospel. Journalism and education have become intrinsically destabilizing forces

Men and Women in the Church

Men and Women in the Church

Life and Books and Everything

There is much at stake in God making humanity male and female. Created for one another yet distinct from each other, a man and a woman are not interch

Who’s to Blame for the Atlanta Shootings?

Who’s to Blame for the Atlanta Shootings?

Life and Books and Everything

Kevin DeYoung podcasts solo this time to help us understand from a Biblical perspective the wickedness of the Atlanta shootings. He picks apart four t

More From "Life and Books and Everything"

More on OpenTheo

When I Can’t Stop Thinking About Something, Is That God Speaking?

When I Can’t Stop Thinking About Something, Is That God Speaking?

December 1, 2025

Questions about whether having a recurring thought is an indication God is speaking to you, what to say to someone who says they sinned because “God t

Can You Recommend Good Books with More In-Depth Information and Ideas?

Can You Recommend Good Books with More In-Depth Information and Ideas?

January 22, 2026

Questions about good books on Christian apologetics, philosophy, and theology with more in-depth information and ideas, and resources to help an intel

Does God Really Need a “Pound of Flesh” to Forgive Sins?

Does God Really Need a “Pound of Flesh” to Forgive Sins?

January 12, 2026

Questions about how to answer the challenge that God doesn’t need a “pound of flesh” to forgive sins but can simply forgive, and whether the claim in

How Would You Convince Someone That Evil Exists?

How Would You Convince Someone That Evil Exists?

November 17, 2025

Questions about how to convince someone that evil exists, whether Charlie Kirk’s murder was part of God’s plan, whether that would mean the murderer d

Are You Accursed If You Tithe?

Are You Accursed If You Tithe?

December 15, 2025

Questions about whether anyone who tithes is not a Christian and is accursed since Paul says that if you obey one part of the Mosaic Law you’re obliga

Isn’t the Covenant in Scripture Explicitly with Israel and Not the Gentile Nations?

Isn’t the Covenant in Scripture Explicitly with Israel and Not the Gentile Nations?

Questions about what gives modern Christians confidence that they’ve inherited the Jews’ covenant with God if Scripture explicitly says it was with Is

Why Should We Pray If God Already Knows What’s Going to Happen?

Why Should We Pray If God Already Knows What’s Going to Happen?

January 29, 2026

Questions about why we should pray if God already knows what’s going to happen, how the effectiveness of prayer is measured, and whether or not things

Protestants and Catholics: What’s the Difference? With Chad Van Dixhoorn, Blair Smith, and Mark McDowell

Protestants and Catholics: What’s the Difference? With Chad Van Dixhoorn, Blair Smith, and Mark McDowell

Life and Books and Everything

November 26, 2025

How should Protestants think about the Catholic Mass? About the Eucharist? About the history and development of the papacy? In this panel discussion,

Is Greg Placing His Faith in the Wrong Thing?

Is Greg Placing His Faith in the Wrong Thing?

February 12, 2026

Questions about Greg placing his faith in his personal assessment of which truth claims best match reality rather than in the revelation of God in Jes

Kingdom Priorities: Following the Teachings of Jesus

Kingdom Priorities: Following the Teachings of Jesus

Knight & Rose Show

February 14, 2026

Wintery Knight and Desert Rose discuss Jesus' teachings from the Gospels, emphasizing truth, evidence, self-denial, and forgiveness. They explore pass

How Do You Justify Calling Jesus the Messiah?

How Do You Justify Calling Jesus the Messiah?

December 18, 2025

Questions about how one can justify calling Jesus the Messiah when he didn’t fulfill the Hebrew messianic prophecies, and whether the reason for the v

How Do I Determine Which Topics at Work Are Worth Commenting On?

How Do I Determine Which Topics at Work Are Worth Commenting On?

January 5, 2026

Questions about how to determine which topics at work are worth commenting on, and a good way to respond when you’re in a group Bible study and hear e

Is This an Argument for Relativism?

Is This an Argument for Relativism?

Questions about whether the fact that the truth about one’s age changes over time is an argument for relativism, and how to ground virtues like courag

Why Is It Necessary to Believe Jesus Is God?

Why Is It Necessary to Believe Jesus Is God?

February 19, 2026

Questions about why it’s necessary to believe Jesus is God, whether belief in the Trinity is required for salvation, and why one has to believe in the

Are Demon Possessions and Exorcisms in the New Testament Literal?

Are Demon Possessions and Exorcisms in the New Testament Literal?

December 11, 2025

Questions about whether references to demon possessions and exorcisms in the New Testament are literal, how to talk to young children about ghosts, an