Attention - We Have a New Word for Pietistic Cell Groups - Grow Groups

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.

So many lop-sided smiles.

Luvs, Luvs, Luvs, the New NIV - Dah Best One for UOJ

NOT ALL BIBLES ARE THE SAME

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.
  

Virtue Online - Obama Invites Robinson To Meet Pope Francis, SJ

Bishop Robinson and his second wife are now splitsville.

Episcopal Bishop Gene Robinson invited by President Obama to meet Pope
Other invitees include transgendered and LGBT leaders. No orthodox Anglicans invited
COMMENTARY
By David W. Virtue DD

ELCA works closely with the Episcopalians;
LCMS and WELS work closely with ELCA.

www.virtueonline.org

September 16, 2015

CRUX carries an AP story reporting that President Obama has invited a whole range of religious leaders to the White House to meet Pope Francis when he comes next week. Among them is former New Hampshire Episcopal Bishop Gene Robinson, the first openly gay bishop in The Episcopal Church.

Robinson, you will recall, divorced his wife Boo, so he could marry his boyfriend Mark Andrew. Before "marrying" Mark Andrew, he and his wife went to the church where they were married and made up a ceremony in which they "released" one another from their vows. Then Robinson (who also struggles with alcoholism) "married" his boyfriend Mark and later divorced him too. It has been a rocky, public road for the bishop that no amount of public humiliation seems to have caused him to reflect on his behavior. Robinson, currently a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress, has attended a number of religious events with the Obama administration, providing a prayer at President Obama's inauguration in 2009 and taking part in the 2014 National Prayer Breakfast. His hubris knows no end.

At the last General Convention in Salt Lake City, following the passage of gay marriage in the Church, he was heard to cry in the House of Bishops, "It is finished!" seeing himself, once again, the martyr being sacrificed on the phallic cross of his desires and of his own making. He has achieved what no bishop (not even the Borgia popes succeeded in doing) has done -- denying the creed and still holding onto his job and pension.
Robinson's consecration to Bishop of New Hampshire in 2003 was the cause of the single biggest exodus from The Episcopal Church since it was organized after the American Revolution, when it separated from The Church of England.

Over the next decade following his ordination, more than 200,000 practicing Episcopalians left the Episcopal Church, fleeing to safer spiritual climes like the Anglican Church in North America, the Roman Catholic Church, The Ordinariate, the Lutheran Church, and a number of other smaller orthodox denominations. It has been the worst flight in TEC's history with zero chance of recovery. There are less than 700,000 Episcopalians worshipping in some 6700 churches weekly, with two thirds of them made up of women over 60. Nearly half of all these churches have neither a full time rector nor a part time non-stipendiary priest.

Other invitees include a pro-abortion nun, and at least two openly gay Catholic activists who will be among the thousands greeting Pope Francis, thanks to decisions by the Obama administration.

LifeSiteNews has confirmed that Mateo Williamson, a biological woman who identifies as a man, and former co-chairman of the Transgender Caucus for Dignity USA, received an invitation to the White House when Pope Francis visits next week. Williamson declined to speak with LifeSiteNews about the invitation, instead commending invitation organizer Vivian Taylor.

Taylor is the executive director of the national LGBT advocacy arm of the Episcopal Church and a biological male.
Rev. Stephanie Spellers, an Episcopal theologian wasn't able to register for the event in time, but told CNS News she "did get the invite." Spellers is the author of "Radical Welcome: Embracing God, the Other, and theSpirit of Transformation."

Dissident Catholic nun, Sister Simone Campbell, executive director of the social justice group NETWORK and pro-abortion leader of "Nuns on the Bus," will also attend. Campbell is widely credited with undermining the abortion concerns of U.S. bishops when the Affordable Care Act was being debated five-and-a-half years ago.
An investigation of Campbell's organization, started by Pope Benedict XVI, ended earlier this year with few repercussions for the organization.

Perhaps most famously, gay Catholic blogger Aaron Ledesma -- who claims that Pope Francis drew him back to the Church earlier this year -- will be in the large crowd on White House grounds. Ledesma, 23, writes a blog called "The Gay Catholic."

Other confirmed attenders at the White House reception are the Rev. Joel Hunter, an evangelical megachurch pastor from Florida who is a confidant of Obama on spiritual matters; the Rev. Leith Anderson, president of the National Association of Evangelicals, which represents about 40 conservative Christian denominations; and the Rev. Samuel Rodriguez, president of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference, a major US Latino evangelical group that, along with the US Roman Catholic bishops, has pressed lawmakers for immigration reform.
There will be thousands at this "audience" with Pope Francis. It's doubtful that Gene Robinson will be in the line up to meet Pope Francis personally, but I wouldn't be at all surprised to see him maneuvered into place for a photo with the Pope, which the mainstream media will then publish with the caption, "Pope Francis and Gay Bishop: Who Am I to Judge?" writes Catholic convert Dwight Longenecker.

Robinson has been a one man wrecking crew that got away with it because conservatives in The Episcopal Church kept drawing lines in the sand in the hope that the Episcopal Church would see reason, come to its senses and its leaders repent of their ways. It never happened.

FOOTNOTE. I have received press credentials to report on the Pope when he comes to Philadelphia -- as far as I know, the only Anglican journalist to obtain credentials. I will report first on the Synod on the Family, followed by the Pope's visit. I will file stories daily. You can see them at www.virtueonline.org
END

Myth and Revolution

I used to teach a class on myth, a term that can have different meanings for various people. A fairly neutral definition would be "a compelling idea that shapes the thoughts and actions of large groups, whether it is true or not."

I found a high school production of Les Miserables, which I prefer in many ways over the bombastic movie production. This Victor Hugo novel was one of my first big reads, many years ago, probably in high school. I found a used book store where I could buy classics for very little. They are still in business in Davenport, Iowa - The Source.

But there is a vast difference between the modern treatment and the novel. In the original, the future son-in-law Marius Pontmercy is tricked onto the barricades, looking for Valjean's daughter. There he almost dies from a wound, but is carried to safety through the sewers of Paris.

In the movie, the same man is now one of the revolutionary leaders, who is willing to set aside his romance to kick some royalists around. He even shows up after the carnage and bawls about his friends and what they died for. True, there is some debate about the meaning of violence, but the overall effect of the movie is to extol revolution and praise its martyrs. The ending makes revolution jolly good fun because the entire cast, living and dead, sings "One More Day." Yes, revolution is just around the corner but it will not be as pleasantly tuneful as the movie.

This graphic is from Dr. Lito Cruz, math and logic expert, Lutheran pastor.

The myth of evolution has displaced the doctrine of Creation. Everything is 455 millions years old or developed 300 million years ago, and so forth. I keep thinking, "But I read the original."

In our limo I carry Zion on the Mississippi, a carefully researched early history of the Missouri Synod. The person who bought it said of the gift to the younger generation in a signed inscription, "We are from the Buenger and Stellhorn families."

Stellhorn was a key figure in The Error of Modern Missouri. Ludwig Fuerbringer wrote favorably about him as a respected leader and teacher. Did everyone agree about Stephan and Walther's UOJ? Certainly not, but Missouri began kicking out those who dissented, losing the Lenski family in the split caused by Walther's false doctrine.

And to make everything look nice for the innocent - and those unlikely to read more than Christian News - the Missouri Synod has erased its early history as a sex cult following a bishop with syphilis. Everything about the early years is recast into the myth of  Walther as the savior of Lutheranism in America, not the truth about Walther and the clergy leaders backing Stephan 100% until they found an excuse to threaten his life, rob him of everything (rescuing them from insolvency), and kidnap him at the point of a gun to Illinois.

The myth is cast in stone and the myth-keepers guard it with ever-vigilant eyes, like the Watchers at the gates of Mordor.

• If someone questions UOJ, "you have criticized Walther, Pieper, the Brief Confession, and our Beloved synod."
• If someone teaches justification by faith, "you have criticized Walther, Pieper, the Brief Confession, and our Beloved synod."
• If someone mentions the strange conflicts between the historical record and the Missouri Synod version, "you have criticized Walther, Pieper, the Brief Confession, and our Beloved synod."

The Missouri Synod began as an abusive, controlling, and deviant cult,
perpetuated by the fake discovery of Stephan's adultery
and the convenient theft of all his gold, land, books, and personal possessions.
Walther led the mob that instigated so many felonies,
not exactly the Biblical remedy for adultery.