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| The lopsided smile is dominant in the Jeske-Patterson Crime Family. |
Grow Groups are groups of 12-16 people that meet together weekly during the
semester. The fall semester starts in October and ends the week of November
29th. Here are the four groups this semester. If you are not sure, just choose "unsure" here.
- Meadows-Sillan at Randy & Gloria Sillans- Wednesdays at 7:00pm in the Meadows area-study based on that week's sermon.
- Meadows-Schmidt at Eric & Kristen Schmidts- Wednesdays at 7:00pm in the Meadows area-study based on that weeks sermon (last semester met at Witts)
- Parker-Whatley at Steve & Cindy Whatleys- Wednesdays at 7:00pm in the Parker area-sermon based study.
- Bible Basics at Pastor & Aimee's house (3252 Willowrun Drive) Tentatively meets every Tuesday or Thursday. If you are interested, talk to pastor. This is the class all new members take before joining Eternal Rock.
Eternal Rock, WELS, Colorado
JARED OLDENBURG, PASTOR
Jared Oldenburg (Pastor) I grew up in Appleton, Wisconsin where I attended Fox Valley Lutheran High School and met Aimee. (Yes, we started dating in 1991 when we were 14 and 15 years old!) Aimee went to the University of Wisconsin Lacrosse (BA in Psychology). I attended Martin Luther College and Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary graduating both with honors. We have worked with congregations in urban and suburban Milwaukee, WI; Santa Maria, California; and Thornton, Colorado (vicar/intern).
After graduation I was assigned to start a church in Maple Valley, Washington (near Seattle). With God's guidance and direction Light of Life grew from 3 people to to a flourishing preschool and congregation of 150. I love spending time with my family skiing, cycling, orange Tic-Tacs (is there any other flavor?), and working to present the message of Jesus in clearer and clearer ways.
We live in Castle Rock with our three kids (Isabella 14, Paytra 12 and Owen 8. We are so excited to be in Colorado again and especially excited to be part of the thriving, family-oriented community of Castle Rock. We can't wait to see what the Lord has in store as we share the message of Jesus.
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| So many lop-sided smiles. |
Luvs, Luvs, Luvs, the New NIV - Dah Best One for UOJ
I wish I could just recommend a single Bible and that would be the end of the post. However, that would be a bit simplistic. Different Bibles have different uses. (You can skip to the bottom to get my recommendations.)
PARAPHRASE VS. TRANSLATION
Before we go any further, I should note that not all versions of the Bibles are not the same. Maybe you have noticed this already. Bibles basically break down into two categories: translations and paraphrases. Translations are versions of the Bible that seek to give the reader the closest version to the original Greek and Hebrew text. Examples include:
- King James Version (KJV) this is the one with the thee’s and thou’s.
- New International Version (NIV) this is the most popular translation in the USA and the one we read in church most of the time.
- English Standard Version (ESV) this is good translation, but the wording feels strange at times to me.
The Second category includes paraphrases. Obviously, to have a version of the Bible called a “paraphrase” does not sound very good. However, the point of the paraphrase is to help the reader understand what the Bible means by conveying the idea of the text rather than a word-for-word rendering. Basically, this means an individual is doing some of the interpretation of the text for you. This is good and bad. The good is that it is often easier to understand. The bad is that you could be missing something from the original.
For example, I am sure you recognize this line from Shakespeare,”O Romeo, Romeo! wherefore art thou Romeo?” A paraphrase may instead say something like, “Where are you, Romeo?” Both phrases mean basically the same thing, but one is more understandable. I have both paraphrases and translations in my Bible collection. The two most popular paraphrases include:
- The Message-this is popular and makes the Bible sound like contemporary writing. I enjoy reading a passage or two from the message (especially the Epistle letters like 1 Corinthians), but I prefer not to read it in larger chunks.
- The New Living Translation-(NLT) This version is closer to a translation and makes reading the Bible a little easier.
RECOMMENDATIONS according to how you will may use them
- Mobile-AcroBible NIV-I know there are free versions, but I like the AcroBible because I don’t need a WiFi/Data connection to read. You can find a link to the various device versions here.
- General Reading and Study-NIV 2011 or NIV 1984 Study Bible with notes by CPH. The choice of which NIV Bible you chose comes down to preference. I have Bibles that range in size from pocket size to a few different study Bibles.
- Audio Bible–Inspired By…The Bible Experience. This version has a variety of performers. It is hardly perfect, but it is pretty easy to listen to and uses the Today’s NIV version. The link is to the New Testament. Generally, I have trouble staying focused to just the audio. I prefer to listen and follow along in the Bible.
