2007 June | Kubecki.com

SHAZAM! Or, Now, I Can Be President!

I turned 35 yesterday. What does this mean?

According to the very first line of Dante’s Inferno, it means that I am “Midway in the journey of our life,” a reference to Psalm 90:10.

According to the U. S. Constitution, it means I am now eligible to become President of the United States.

Shazam Cake

But in our household, it means one thing bigger than both of those…

It means SHAZAM CAKE!

Blowing Out the Candles

Yep, that’s right. Shannon made me an awesome Captain Marvel cake
for my birthday. This is, of course, the DC Captain Marvel, not the Marvel Captain Marvel. She did an outstanding job on the cake, and as I ate his head, I was taken back in time to Saturday mornings, when I would watch Billy Batson transform himself into Captain Marvel by saying that magic word, Shazam!

Eating Shazam

So, what did I get? Well, having the Amazing Grace: The History and Theology of Calvinism, and a really nice new ESV Single-Column Reference Bible, she got me the following from the Puritan Paperbacks series:

Dying Thoughts, by Richard Baxter
The Spirit and the Church, by John Owen
Communion With God, by John Owen
The Art Of Prophesying, by William Perkins
The Acceptable Sacrifice , by John Bunyan
The Godly Man’s Picture, by Thomas Watson
A Sure Guide To Heaven, by Joseph Alleine
The Doctrine of Repentance, by Thomas Watson
All Loves Excelling, by John Bunyan
The True Bounds Of Christian Freedom, by Samuel Bolton
The Sinfulness of Sin, by Ralph Venning
Christian Love, by Hugh Binning
The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment, by Jeremiah Burroughs
The Glory of Christ, by John Owen
Come and Welcome to Jesus Christ , by John Bunyan

Wow. How cool is my wife?

Well, I’d talk more, but obviously, there’s plenty o’ reading to be done! I better get crack-a-lackin!

(Side note: How sad is it that this is my longest post in a while? Sorry!)

Posted by James Kubecki on Jun 29, 2007 in Family, Fun, The Puritans | 1 comment

Hyper-Calvinism

On the heels of Tuesday’s post about Reformed theology…

Tim Challies today takes up the issue of Hyper-Calvinism… What it is, what it isn’t, why it’s wrong -i.e., “it undermines evangelism and/or somehow distorts the gospel message.” Amen.

Bonus random thought: I sometimes think that Calvinists and Arminians are both guilty of the exact same issue with regard to sharing the Gospel – the fear of man. They just confront the fear differently – Calvinists fail to evangelize as much as they should, while Arminians evangelize, but with a seriously weakened or even broken evangel.

Posted by James Kubecki on Jun 28, 2007 in Christianity | 1 comment

Joe Thorn on Reformed Theology and Being RIGHT

joethorn.net � Blog Archive � Founders Fresh!

…I do believe that more people, especially within our younger generations, will discover and embrace a more Reformed theology because they do not feel a sense of obligation to tradition, or title, but rather have a radical dependence on the Scripture. Instead of asking, �Is this Southern Baptist?� they are asking, �Is this right?� We should all be asking such questions and allow the Scripture to give us the answer. For the record, I believe we all need to ask this question from within every perspective. Especially within our Reformed traditions. It is far too easy to become proud and think one system has settled every question. As a Calvinist I must not ask, �Is this Reformed?� but, �Is this right?�

Posted by James Kubecki on Jun 26, 2007 in Christianity | 0 comments

9 Marks

Every once in a while, you stumble across a really good resource on the web that you just know you’re going to return to again and again.

I’ve always known the 9 Marks web site (from Mark Dever, pastor of Capitol Hill Baptist Church and author of 9 Marks of a Healthy Church and The Deliberate Church) has some excellent resources, but I’ve only recently become aware of their wonderful section of book reviews. These reviews are thorough, balanced, and well-thought out. Check them out!

Also, while you’re there, you might take a look at…