Haddon

The name “Haddon” is in honor of the great Baptist preacher, Charles Haddon Spurgeon (1834-1892). To learn more about Charles Haddon Spurgeon, the best resource on the web is Phil Johnson’s Spurgeon Archive at spurgeon.org.

There, you can find (among other things):

• A very brief biography of Spurgeon (with links to a ton of other biographies)
• A slightly longer, but still concise, bio
• A whole huge archive of Spurgeon’s writings and sermons

If you want to read a good short book by Spurgeon, I highly recommend All of Grace, available online for free.

Spurgeon once said that the secret to his highly regarded preaching was this: “I take my text and make a bee-line to the cross.”

Zerubbabel

According to Nelson’s New Illustrated Bible Dictionary:

ZERUBBABEL [zeh RUB uh buhl] (offspring of Babylon) — head of the tribe of Judah at the time of the return from the Babylonian Captivity; prime builder of the Second Temple.

Zerubbabel is a shadowy figure who emerges as the political and spiritual head of the tribe of Judah at the time of the Babylonian captivity. Zerubbabel led the first group of captives back to Jerusalem and set about rebuilding the Temple on the old site. For some 20 years he was closely associated with prophets, priests, and kings until the new Temple was dedicated and the Jewish sacrificial system was reestablished.

If you’d like to read more about Zerubbabel (and listen to his name pronounced), try these links:

• Zerubbabel leads the Jewish exiles back to Jerusalem and begins rebuilding the temple: Ezra 3-5
• Census of those who returned with Zerubbabel: Nehemiah 7, 12
• Prophecies concerning Zerubbabel: Haggai 1-2
• More prophecies: Zechariah 4
• Zerubbabel was also an ancestor of Christ. For his place in the genealogy, see Matthew 1:12-13 and Luke 3:27

Haggai 2:4-7

4 Yet now be strong, O Zerubbabel, declares the Lord. Be strong, O Joshua, son of Jehozadak, the high priest. Be strong, all you people of the land, declares the Lord. Work, for I am with you, declares the Lord of hosts, 5 according to the covenant that I made with you when you came out of Egypt. My Spirit remains in your midst. Fear not. 6 For thus says the Lord of hosts: Yet once more, in a little while, I will shake the heavens and the earth and the sea and the dry land. 7 And I will shake all nations, so that the treasures of all nations shall come in, and I will fill this house with glory, says the Lord of hosts. (ESV)

Zechariah 4:6-7

6 Then he said to me, “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of hosts. 7 Who are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain. And he shall bring forward the top stone amid shouts of ‘Grace, grace to it!’” (ESV)

Psalm 127:3-5

3 Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord,
the fruit of the womb a reward.
4 Like arrows in the hand of a warrior
are the children of one’s youth.
5 Blessed is the man
who fills his quiver with them!
He shall not be put to shame
when he speaks with his enemies in the gate. (ESV)

In the meantime, just waiting for the real show to begin. And so without further ado:

Random Thoughts, Labor Edition

• iMonk has an excellent commentary on Ed Young’s 7 day sex challenge
• Mark Driscoll offers up six essentials for Bible study
• Lydia Brownback enumerates biblical reasons for thanksgiving
• Terry Delaney reviews C. J. Mahaney’s latest book, Worldliness
• If the hospital didn’t block Flash video, I’d be watching this presentation from James White on New Testament textual reliability
• Gerald Hiestand contemplates the loss of God’s presence
• And just for fun, I will be trying this recipe sometime soon

It's a Boy...

We’re halfway there!

Week 4 and counting… ETA: 12/15/08.

Update, 4/9: In case anyone is wondering, we found out Sunday (4/6). I meant to include that originally.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=72rOXYd7g7M

Atticus James Kubecki was born January 31, 2007, at 4:17 PM EST. He weighed 7 lbs, 14 oz. at birth, and measured 20 inches. Mom and baby (and Dad, too!) are doing fine. Please pray for the continued health of the baby and Mom, as well as for his big sister McKaylyn, who spent the day in bed sick. (And praise God for friends like Chad and Jenny who are taking care of Mc during the delivery and hospital stay!)

We are all so very thankful to the Lord that He has blessed our family for the past year. We love you so much, Atticus, and we can’t wait to see what the next year brings!

(Note 1: I’ll post a recent picture later this evening, but I don’t have it with me.)

(Note 2: Yes, McKaylyn got better. She came and saw us at the hospital later that evening.)