Five of Mike’s favorite or most interesting things on the Internet this week
Here is this week’s FIVE.
- VIDEO (60 min)
Christian Manifesto
By: Dr. Francis Schaeffer
Dr. Francis August Schaeffer (January 30, 1912 – May 15, 1984) was an American evangelical theologian, philosopher, and Presbyterian pastor. He co-founded the L’Abri community in Switzerland with his wife Edith Schaeffer. Opposed to theological modernism, Schaeffer promoted what he claimed was a more historic Protestant faith and a presuppositional approach to Christian apologetics, which he believed would answer the questions of the age.
I highly recommend any book, audio recording, video or any other kind of media that you can get a hold of by Francis Schaeffer, but in particular three works that are now often sold together as a trilogy. They are: “The God Who Is There,” “Escape from Reason,” “He Is There and He Is Not Silent.”
In the clip above Dr. Schaeffer addressed the members of Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church in 1982. His remarks in this sermon/address are not only applicable to our day, but they are now proved proverbially prophetic and are still fresh for us today. This sermon is worth listening to in its entirety even if it takes several sittings and is also worthy of sober reflection as it pertains to our own attitudes concerning God, government, and the cause of Christ in the world.
This, again, is one of those pieces of media that I re-visit every so often.
- ARTICLE (5 min) and a SONG (3min)
Let Us With a Gladsome Mind
Article By: Anthony Esolen – Song By: John Milton
Anthony M. Esolen is a Roman Catholic professor, writer, social commentator, translator of classical poetry, and Writer-in-Residence at Magdalen College of the Liberal Arts, his writings generally contain an identifiable conservative or traditionalist perspective.
I was first introduced to Anthony Esolen through his book, “Out of the Ashes: Rebuilding American Culture.” I highly recommend the book as well as following Anthony online through social media and the various periodicals and blogs he writes for.
John Milton (9 December 1606 – 8 November 1674) was an English poet and intellectual. His 1667 epic poem Paradise Lost, is often considered the greatest English poem to ever be written and maintains his reputation as one of history’s greatest poets.
If you have never read Paradise Lost I highly recommend taking the time to read through it.
This article is in reference to a hymn written by John Milton when he was only 15 years old, (exactly 400 years ago this year), and acts as a kind of paraphrase as it follows the pattern of Psalm 136
Verse 1 captures the heart and thrust of the whole song which is worthy of faithful meditation.
“Let us with a gladsome mind
John Milton, 1623
Praise the Lord, for he is kind,
For his mercies shall endure,
Ever faithful, ever sure.”
Amen!
Additionally, I believe that the only way that we can carry out a Christian Manifesto effectively is with a gladsome mind, praising the Lord, confident that his mercies shall endure, and that HE ALONE is ever faithful.
- RESOURCE (3 min)
Matthew Henry’s Method for Prayer
By: Matthew Henry
Matthew Henry (18 October 1662 – 22 June 1714) was a British Nonconformist minister and author who was born in Wales but spent much of his life in England. He is best known for the six-volume biblical commentary Exposition of the Old and New Testaments, which are still widely used to this day.
At the link above, not only can you read Matthew Henry’s entire book on prayer for free online, you can also sign up for the Matthew Henry’s Method for Prayer Daily Email, and you will receive an email every morning to help you work your way through Matthew Henry’s “6 parts of prayer” and his elaboration of the Lord’s Prayer by signing up to receive daily devotional emails. Each day you’ll receive a self-contained unit of a particular chapter of Henry’s book, about 1 to 1.5 book pages long. Instead of moving you through the book consecutively, the emails will cycle you through the different parts of prayer nearly every week: Adoration, Confession, Petition, Thanksgiving, Intercession, and Conclusion (coupled with the chapter on the Lord’s Prayer). These emails will take you through the heart of the book (Chapters 1-7) twice in a single year.
Praying the thoughts, concerns, and language of the Scriptures back to the true and living God who breathed them out: What a great way to root your heart and mind in truth as you begin each day!
- FB Post (3 min)
Twelve Ways to Encourage Your Children Today
By: Brian Sauvé
Twelve ways to encourage your children today:
- Smile at them more.
- Ask them about something they’re interested in and listen to their answer attentively.
- Look them in the eyes and tell them something you’re proud of them for.
- Refuse to raise your voice when correcting them. Speak with a gentle tone even when that gentle tone is firm.
- Put away all sarcasm in talking to your kids.
- Put your phone down, turn it off—whatever it takes to be fully present—and read them a book, bake a treat together, go for a walk, etc.
- Give them the gift of a cheerful mother and father. Make an effort to fight sullenness, moodiness, fussiness, complaining, etc. in your own spirit and attitude.
- Do a search for clean, funny jokes (we’ve done this with “knock knock” jokes) and tell them at the dinner table. Little kids think this is the most hilarious thing in the world.
- As a boy gets older, probably around 10 or so, give him a quest that shows you trust him. We recently asked our oldest to walk to the corner shop and get some eggs for mom. He was so encouraged by our trust, and we set him up to make sure it was safe beforehand.
- If there is a book a child particularly loves, especially a classic like Lord of the Rings or Narnia, get them a special edition of it just for them.
- Give your daughter a fun homemaking job to do all on her own. Baking is one we’ve done for our daughter, and she loves it.
- Make time for a special father/son or father/daughter one-on-one excursion. Even short ones to the hardware store for a home project are special for littles.
“Being a father who provides well and a mother who makes the home a joy is hard work—trust me, we know. But don’t neglect these years.
They are fleeting, precious, and you will never get a do-over.
Brian Sauvé
I couldn’t agree more, but I will say that some of these are more difficult than they may appear at first glance and already today I have failed at more than one. My hope and prayer is that over the course of time, while my kids are in my home, that they will in general have felt that they received these things and this kind of care from me and my wife.
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**BONUS**
Brian Sauvé is a Pastor, song writer, and podcast host from Ogden Utah. We sing a few of his songs in Church and I listen to several podcasts that he is either a contributor or co-host on, with some degree of regularity. Those include:
- The Hard Men Podcast – A podcast about Biblical masculinity in a world of softness; extolling virtue, courage, masculinity, and excellence.
https://www.ericconn.com/listen
- The Kings Hall – A podcast about making self-ruled men to rule well and win the world.
- The Bright Hearth Podcast – A podcast from husband and wife co-hosts about recovering the lost arts of homemaking and the productive Christian household. (Homemakers in particular will find this podcast helpful, practical, and encouraging in their important work as we frankly discuss everything from lovemaking to bread baking, gardening to dying, childbearing to child-rearing—and a whole lot more).
https://www.briansauve.com/bright-hearth
- The Haunted Cosmos Podcast – A podcast about exploring the high strangeness woven into the fabric of God’s spoken world. Where the podcasts hosts investigate a world that isn’t just stuff finding the cross section between christianity, high strangeness, and the general weirdness of God’s embattled cosmos collide. This podcast explores everything from dragons to cryptids, sea serpents to sleep paralysis, giants to megaliths, and everything in between, including, (most recently), ALIENS! This podcast has quickly become and entertaining favorite.
https://www.thehauntedcosmos.com/
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- PICTURE (30 sec)
Physical Matter is Music Solidified
“Physical matter is music solidified”
Pythagoras, C. 570BC – C. 495BC
The top image is a graph of the first nine harmonics of a harmonic series. The bottom image is an x-ray of the inner structure of a seashell.
File this under, “Isn’t God amazing?!”
That’s my five! 🤚🏼
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Did you see something inspiring, challenging, convicting, or just plain funny on the internet this week? Let me know your requests and suggestions on Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook and just maybe they will make, “The Five,” next week. Which of the Five was your favorite this week? Let me know! Just comment on FB or send a tweet or instagram msg to @mikehooperjr be sure to tag #TheFive
Thanks for reading! Have a wonderful weekend, and I’ll see you in church on the Lord’s Day!
~ Pastor Mike Hooper
