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.
In the newest episode of Life and Books and Everything, Collin, Justin, and I look at several specific phenomena that would cause despair. And then what we can do now to move from that despair and into hope. Plus, there are some great book recommendations!
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

Kevin DeYoung (PhD, University of Leicester) is senior pastor of Christ Covenant Church in Matthews, North Carolina, Council member of The Gospel Coalition, and associate professor of systematic theology at Reformed Theological Seminary (Charlotte). He has written numerous books, including Just Do Something. Kevin and his wife, Trisha, have nine children: Ian, Jacob, Elizabeth, Paul, Mary, Benjamin, Tabitha, Andrew, and Susannah.

Below is the pastoral prayer I offered this morning in our worship service at Christ Covenant. Several members of the congregation asked for a copy of the prayer, so I thought I would post it here on my blog. Perhaps it will be edifying to others and can inform the prayers of God’s people.
Gracious heavenly Father, on this day where we celebrate the 245th anniversary of the independence of the United States of America, we come before you to pray for this country.
We give thanks for the many blessings and evidences of divine favor that belong to us in America. We live in what may be the most powerful and most prosperous nation ever on the face of the earth. For hundreds of years, for millions of people from all over the world, this has been a land of hope–the hope of religious freedom, the hope of self-government, the hope of liberty. In the Declaration of Independence, our Founding Fathers spoke of certain unalienable rights–rights not granted by the government, but given to us by you, our Creator, which our government is obliged to protect.
The United States of America began with the conviction that a nation should be founded upon truth. Not opinions or preferences or feelings, but upon truths. Self-evident truths that remain true no matter the time, the place, or the culture. And central among these truths is the Christian belief that all men are created equal. Made in your image, no one possesses more intrinsic worth for being born rich or poor, male or female, black or white, aristocrat or artisan, financier or farmer. We give thanks for the God-given rights and hard-fought freedoms we enjoy in this country.
And we repent as a people for all the times–past and present–where we have squandered your blessings, where we have not lived up to our national ideals, where we have treated persons equal in your eyes as unequal in ours. Forgive our country for the sins of chattel slavery, Jim Crow, and racism. Forgive us for the legalized killing of the unborn. Forgive us for rampant, brazen sexual immorality. Forgive us for poor memories and hard hearts. Forgive us for our ingratitude, for hardly any people at any time anywhere in the world has had access to as much biblical truth as we have.
We ask for your grace to be shed abroad in our land. We do not deserve your favor. You have made no promise that the United States of America will long endure. And yet, if it be for the good of your heavenly kingdom, would you see fit to deal kindly with this our earthly country.
Give wisdom and humility to the governing authorities. Grant to them the fear of the Lord, which is the beginning of wisdom. Protect those who protect us at home and abroad. Renew in us a desire to love one another and so fulfill the law of Christ. Make us a virtuous people, a courageous people, a reasonable and resolute people.
Frustrate the plans of all those who promote what is false and celebrate what is wicked. Defend the rights of the weak and the cause of those facing injustice.
Give us an appropriate patriotism–giving thanks for the blessings you have poured out on America–without ever trading the riches of the gospel for the thin gruel of mere civil religion.
Strengthen the church of Jesus Christ. Send your Spirit to descend with power upon every Bible-preaching pulpit. Bring true revival to our land–healing our divisions, leading us to repentance, teaching us the truth, and bringing us together to the cross.
For as many more years as you give us as a nation, may we be a land where the truth of Christ is known, the good news of Christ is sent out, and the body of Christ is made strong. We ask, then, in the deepest biblical sense possible, O God, that you would truly bless America.
We pray all this in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, the only King and Head of his church, Amen.

Kevin DeYoung (PhD, University of Leicester) is senior pastor of Christ Covenant Church in Matthews, North Carolina, Council member of The Gospel Coalition, and associate professor of systematic theology at Reformed Theological Seminary (Charlotte). He has written numerous books, including Just Do Something. Kevin and his wife, Trisha, have nine children: Ian, Jacob, Elizabeth, Paul, Mary, Benjamin, Tabitha, Andrew, and Susannah.

In this latest episode of LBE, Dr. Joel Beeke, president of Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary, a pastor of the Heritage Reformed Congregation in Grand Rapids, and editorial director of Reformation Heritage Books joins us to dive into the theological and historical world of the Puritans, providing reading suggestions for both beginners and experts. We also talk about improving your preaching through expository and experiential content.

Timestamps:
Gift Ideas [0:00 – 2:00]
Accomplishing Much [2:00 – 8:57]
Family Foundation [8:57 – 11:30]
Denominations & Hyper-Calvinism [11:30 – 16:58]
Experiential Preaching [16:58 – 34:21]
The Weary, Wayward, Lazy, & Lost [34:21 – 37:21]
Puritans [37:21 – 57:24]
Book Recommendations [57:24 – 1:04:30]
Books and Everything:
Gift Ideas:
Good News of Great Joy: 25 Devotional Readings for Advent, by John Piper
Be Thou My Vision: A Liturgy for Daily Worship, by Jonathan Gibson
ESV Concise Study Bible
New Morning Mercies: A Daily Gospel Devotional, by Paul David Tripp
George Whitefield: God’s Anointed Servant in the Great Revival of the Eighteenth Century, by Arnold Dallimore
Spurgeon, by Arnold Dallimore
Lectures to My Students, by Charles Spurgeon
Preaching & Preachers, by Martyn Lloyd-Jones
Pastoral Theology, by Thomas Murphy
The European Reformations, by Carter Lindberg
Worldly Saints: The Puritans As They Really Were, by Leland Ryken
Gentle and Lowly: The Heart of Christ for Sinners and Sufferers, by Dane C. Ortlund
The Suffering Savior: Meditations on the Last Days of Christ, by F.W. Krummacher
Christ Our Mediator, by Thomas Goodwin
By Our Guest:
Reformed Systematic Theology, Volume 3: Spirit and Salvation, by Joel R. Beeke and Paul M. Smalley
Reformed Preaching: Proclaiming God’s Word from the Heart of the Preacher to the Heart of His People, by Joel R. Beeke
A Puritan Theology: Doctrine for Life, by Joel R. Beeke and Mark Jones
Meet the Puritans, by Joel R. Beeke and Randall Pederson
Living for the God’s Glory: An Introduction to Calvinism, by Joel R. Beeke
Puritans for Beginners:
Puritan Treasures for Today
Triumphing Over Sinful Fear, by John Flavel
Stop Loving the World, by William Greenhill
The Works of John Owen
Heaven Taken by Storm, by Thomas Watson
The Works of Thomas Watson
The Puritan Documentary
Letters of Samuel Rutherford

Kevin DeYoung (PhD, University of Leicester) is senior pastor of Christ Covenant Church in Matthews, North Carolina, Council member of The Gospel Coalition, and associate professor of systematic theology at Reformed Theological Seminary (Charlotte). He has written numerous books, including Just Do Something. Kevin and his wife, Trisha, have nine children: Ian, Jacob, Elizabeth, Paul, Mary, Benjamin, Tabitha, Andrew, and Susannah.