The Castle of Giant Despair

Renewing Your Mind

Ligonier Ministries

Religion & Spirituality, Christianity

4.8 • 5.3K Ratings

🗓️ 23 January 2025

⏱️ 26 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

God’s people are not immune to doubt and discouragement. But even in these dreaded moments, we have hope in Christ. Today, Derek Thomas considers one of the darkest yet most profound scenes in The Pilgrim’s Progress.

Get Derek Thomas’ teaching series The Pilgrim’s Progress: A Guided Tour on DVD, plus lifetime digital access to the messages and study guide, for your donation of any amount:

https://gift.renewingyourmind.org/3883/donate

Meet Today’s Teacher:

Derek Thomas is a Ligonier Ministries teaching fellow and Chancellor’s Professor of Systematic and Pastoral Theology at Reformed Theological Seminary. He is featured teacher for the Ligonier teaching series The Life of Peter and author of many books, including Heaven on Earth, Strength for the Weary, and Let Us Worship God.

Meet the Host:

Nathan W. Bingham is vice president of ministry engagement for Ligonier Ministries, executive producer and host of Renewing Your Mind, host of the Ask Ligonier podcast, and a graduate of Presbyterian Theological College in Melbourne, Australia. Nathan joined Ligonier in 2012 and lives in Central Florida with his wife and four children.

Renewing Your Mind is a donor-supported outreach of Ligonier Ministries. Explore all of our podcasts: https://www.ligonier.org/podcasts

Transcript

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0:00.0	You think you've seen it all in Pilgrine's Progress,
0:03.0	and you've been in the valley of the shadow of death,
0:06.0	which was a pretty dark place,
0:08.0	and you've been in Vanity Fair, which was a dark place,
0:10.0	and now you're coming to perhaps an even darker place,
0:13.0	the dungeon of the castle of giant despair.
0:18.0	They're locked in a dungeon without food and without water and without light.
0:27.6	Christians can find themselves captured by giant despair in the basement of Dowding Castle.
0:35.6	It's a dark place and perhaps you've been there or someone you know.
0:40.1	So the question is, how do you get out if you're there?
0:44.2	Hi, I'm Nathan W. Bingham and you're listening to Renewing Your Mind.
0:48.5	This week, we've been exploring John Bunyan's classic The Pilgrim's Progress.
0:53.8	Taking us on this tour has been
0:55.6	Ligonier teaching fellow Derek Thomas. And if you're just joining us, this allegory follows a man
1:01.3	named Christian and his journey to the celestial city. Today is the final day that you'll be hearing
1:07.7	from Dr. Thomas, so it's also the final day that you can request
1:11.3	access to the complete 19 message study of this masterful piece of literature.
1:17.2	Request digital access and the DVD set with your donation of any amount at
1:22.3	renewingyourmind.org before midnight tonight.
1:26.0	Well, on this leg of the journey, Christian does find himself in
1:29.7	Doughton Castle, but thankfully there is a way out, and that's a truth we all need to remember.
1:35.9	Here's Dr. Thomas.
	...

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