Octoberfest at Good Shepherd -- September 28, 2025

          Octoberfest will be Sunday, September 28.  (Yes, I know, September. But that’s when they do it in Munich, so there!) 

          The schedule for our Octoberfest is:

               5:00 PM -- Vespers
               5:30 PM – A bratwurst dinner
               6:30 PM – Luther Lecture

          This year's Luther Lecture will focus on someone whom our Lord used to protect Martin Luther, enabling the Lutheran Reformation to take hold.  The theme is: "Frederick the Wise, elector of Saxony, protector of Luther."

          Good Shepherd will provide the bratwurst, buns, condiments, bottled water, lemonade, and coffee.  In order to make sure we will have enough food on hand for this event, please RSVP to welsnovi@aol.com, indicating your name and how many will be coming to this event. If you would be so willing, please bring a salad, side dish, or dessert to round out the meal.

         We hope that all guests of our Octoberfest celebration will gain a greater appreciation for the confessors and the confession of the Evangelical Lutheran Church.

Octoberfest and Luther Lecture

Our Saviour Evangelical Lutheran Church

(33333 Warren Road, Westland)

invites you to a

Reformation Celebration

Sunday, October 24

5:00 PM             Vespers


5:30 PM             Bratwurst Dinner


6:30 PM             Luther Lecture

This year’s 

Luther Lecture will be:

"Temporal Authority:  

To What Extent 

It Should Be Obeyed"

          "God has subjected them to the sword so that, even though they would like to, they are unable to practice their wickedness, and if they do practice it they cannot do so without fear and with success and impunity....If this were not so, men would devour one another." 

— Martin Luther

          We hope that all guests of our Reformation celebration will gain a greater appreciation for the confessors and the confession of the Evangelical Lutheran Church. A free-will offering will be taken to offset meal expenses.

          In order to be sure that we will have enough food for all who attend, please RSVP to revguypurdue@yahoo.com no later than October 17. Be sure to include how many will be in your party.

Sermon -- Octoberfest Vespers (October 6, 2019)

JOHN 4:46-54

THE WORD DOES AS THE WORD SAYS.

In the name + of Jesus.

     Jesus returned to Cana where he had performed his first miraculous sign.  Word got around that Jesus had returned.  One official in Capernaum had hoped that this would mean more miracles.  When Jesus had changed water into wine at the wedding in Cana, it was not a life-and-death problem.  The official, however, was trying to resolve a life-and-death problem.  His son was dying.  He traveled about 20 miles from Capernaum to Cana to plead with Jesus to come with him and perform a miracle.
     The official was right in turning to Jesus for aid, but Jesus' rebuke tells us that the official was misguided in his hope.  The official's hope was only for one thing—for his son to be healed.  He did not want a Messiah; he wanted a magician.  As far as the official was concerned, Jesus could have been world-renowned physician, a magic potion, or Aladdin's lamp.  He just wanted a miracle to save his son.
     After the official appealed to Jesus, Jesus replied, “Unless you see signs and wonders you will not believe.” (John 4:48)  In fact, Jesus did not give this man a sign at all.  He only gave him a word.  The official pleaded, “Sir, come down before my child dies.” Jesus said to him, “Go; your son will live.”  The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and went on his way. (John 4:49-50)  
     The editors did not translate Jesus' word correctly.  It is not a future tense, “Your son will live.”  It is a present tense, “Your son lives.”  It was likely translated as a future tense because the man did not find out that his son was healed until the next day.  But Jesus gave an authoritative word, and the word does as the word says.  “Your son lives,” means that he survives and is healed.  It is like God saying the sun in the sky shines.  When we say it, it is an observation.  When God say it, it is a decree.  The sun shines because God says so.  The official's son lives because Jesus says so.
     The word does as the word says.  So when the Bible says that the law is good, it is not just an observation—as if to say, “If we followed God's law, it would be good for us.”  God's Law IS good.  It shows us what good is.  And since we cannot keep it, it shows that we are not good.  God is good.  He is the standard of good.  All he thinks, says, and does is good.  But we all fall short of the glory of God.  We are not good.  We have no place in God's presence because God finds no delight in what is not good.
     But Jesus gives us a new word.  He does not dazzle us with signs and wonders.  He preaches good news.  He takes away our sin and dies our death.  He endures our curse and puts an end to God's wrath.  And he then gives an authoritative word.  He declares that our sins are forgiven; and they are.  He attaches his word to water and says, “By this, you are cleansed;” and you are.  He attaches his word to bread and wine and says, “This is my body and blood;” and it is.  “For you for the forgiveness of sins”—so it does.  The word does as the word says.  So, when Jesus declares that you are children of God, this is what you are.  When the Bible assures you that God sees you as blameless, then you are.  It doesn't matter whether you feel like or look like it, Jesus says you are.  And the word does as the word says.
     The official and his family believed in Jesus because he had been given a word to cling to.  The word which healed the son also delivered the family.  By the word of Jesus, the son lives, and so did the family.  And so do you.  Only Jesus has the words of eternal life.  The word does as the word says.  And so, it saves you.

In the name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen. 

Octoberfest -- Sunday, October 6

Good Shepherd Evangelical Lutheran Church

(41415 W. 9 Mile Road, Novi) invites you to join us for our annual

Octoberfest

Sunday, October 6

5:00 PM  Vespers

5:30 PM Bratwurst Dinner

6:30 PM  Luther Lecture

This year’s Luther Lecture will be:

“Free Will – Who Really Has It?”

Luther and Erasmus: A Theological Smackdown

The Bondage of the Will. (1525)

“The Holy Spirit is no skeptic, and the things He has written in our hearts are not doubts or opinions, but assertions—surer and more certain than sense and life itself.”

— Martin Luther, 

The Bondage of the Will, December, 1525 

We hope that all guests of our Octoberfest celebration will gain a greater appreciation for the confessors and the confession of the Evangelical Lutheran Church.
There is no cost for Octoberfest, but we will have a free-will offering to offset any expenses incurred from our festival.
In order to be sure that we will have enough food for all who attend, please RSVP to Good Shepherd at (248) 349-0565 or at welsnovi@aol.com.  Be sure to include how many will be in your party.

Sermon -- Octoberfest Vespers (October 2, 2016)

DEUTERONOMY 6:4-9

TALK ABOUT THESE THINGS.

In the name + of Jesus.

      While the Lord supplies us with many blessings in this life, most do not have any enduring value.  Even though we value our possessions, we are reminded: You can't take it with you.  That is true of every blessing we get, even our children.  You will not take your children with you when you die, but your children are the one thing that God gives you in this world which you hope to see in heaven.  If you truly want to see them there, then you will make it your highest priority to bring them to Jesus and declare the wonders of God to them.
     What is why Moses told the Israelites to make God's word a regular part of their daily conversations.  The word of the Lord is not like the fine china.  The fine china is special and precious, but it only gets used two or three times a year on the most special occasions.  God's word is like the every day place setting.  It serves what we need day after day.  And we are right to feel comfortable with it.  God's word is precious in that it reveals our Savior, Jesus Christ, who was crucified to redeem sinners.  But God's word is not reserved for rare occasions.  Just as we sin daily, so we also daily need the Lord's mercy and salvation.  That does not come by mere reflection or meditation.  Faith comes by hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ. (Romans 10:17)  If the message is going to be heard—and more, if the message is going to be familiar—it needs to be spoken.  Talk about these things.
     What do you say?  You say what God reveals.  Who is God?  What is he like?  What does he want?  What does he do for us?  You don't have to guess at these answers, and you surely don't want your children to be ignorant of them—not if you want to see them in heaven.  God tells us in his word, and if you need it simplified any more than that, turn to your catechism.
Who is God?  I believe in God the Father Almighty, and in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord, and in the Holy Spirit.
What is God like?  Maker of heaven and earth.  He has redeemed me, a lost and condemned creature.  He daily and fully forgives all sins to me and all believers in Jesus Christ.
What does he want?  You shall have no other gods.  Honor your father and mother.  You shall not murder, commit adultery, steal, or covet.
What does he do for us?  Our Father, your will be done.  Give us today our daily bread.  Forgive us, for we forgive others.  Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
Talk about these things.  Make them familiar and comfortable.  In fact, commit them to memory.  They are, indeed, most precious because they save.  But they are necessary for daily use, for we daily need this mercy and direction.  Talk about them in your homes and on the road.  Keep them in your mind and in front of your eyes.  Let them guide your hands, your feet, and your mouth.  While God's many gifts are good for a while, these are good for eternity.

In the name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen. 

Octoberfest is coming to Good Shepherd!

Good Shepherd Evangelical Lutheran Church

(41415 W. 9 Mile Road, Novi) invites you to join us for our annual

Octoberfest

Sunday, October 2

5:00 PM Vespers


5:30 PM         Bratwurst Dinner


6:30 PM Luther Lecture

This year’s Luther Lecture will be:

“What Does This Mean?” 

Confession and Catechesis (1526-1529)

 

“We have no small reasons for constantly preaching the catechism and for both desiring and begging others to teach it.”  

— Martin Luther, 

Preface to the Large Catechism, 

April, 1529 

We hope that all guests of our Octoberfest celebration will gain a greater appreciation for the confessors and the confession of the Evangelical Lutheran Church.
There is no cost for Octoberfest, but we will have a free-will offering to offset any expenses incurred from our festival.
In order to be sure that we will have enough food for all who attend, please RSVP to Good Shepherd at (248) 349-0565 or at welsnovi@aol.com.  Be sure to include how many will be in your party.
         If you would be so inclined to bring food for the event, you can find a link at our Sign-Up Genius page here.

Octoberfest is coming on October 4!

Good Shepherd Evangelical Lutheran Church 

(41415 W. Nine Mile Road, Novi) 

invites you to our annual

Octoberfest

on Sunday, October 4.

5:00 PM  --  Vespers

5:30 PM  --  Bratwurst Dinner 

6:30 PM  --  Luther Lecture

This year's Luther Lecture is:

Love, War, and the Will to be Saved. (1525)

          “They have doubly deserved death in body and soul as highwaymen and murderers... they cloak this terrible and horrible sin with the gospel... thus they become the worst blasphemers of God and slanderers of his holy name.”
— Martin Luther; Against the Murderous, Thieving Hordes of Peasants, May, 1525.

  We hope that all guests of our Octoberfest celebration will gain a greater appreciation for the confessors and the confession of the Evangelical Lutheran Church.
  There is no cost for Octoberfest, but we will have a free-will offering to offset any expenses incurred from our festival.
  In order to be sure that we will have enough food for all who attend, please RSVP to Good Shepherd at (248) 349-0565 or at welsnovi@aol.com.  Be sure to include how many will be in your party.

Octoberfest is coming!!!

Octoberfest

Sunday, October 5

          5:00 PM     Vespers

          5:30 PM     Bratwurst Dinner

          6:30 PM     Luther Lecture

This year’s Luther Lecture will be:

The Reformation Produces Fruits … and Nuts.  (1522-1524)

            “But we dare not proceed against them by force or by law, for Christians—as you know—should not fight except with the power of the sword of the Spirit.  This is how I restrain people every day.”

— Martin Luther, An Order of Mass and Communion,

December, 1523

             We hope that all guests of our Octoberfest celebration will gain a greater appreciation for the confessors and the confession of the Evangelical Lutheran Church.

            There is no cost for Octoberfest, but we will have a free-will offering to offset the cost of the food being served.  In order to be sure that we will have enough food for all who attend, please sign up at the church and include how many will be in your party. 

            We also appreciate any who are willing to provide food for Octoberfest.  Food items are suggested at Sign-Up Genius. 

            To sign up, go to: www.SignUpGenius.com/go/8050A4FA8AA2EA64-octoberfest 

Octoberfest

This past Sunday, we enjoyed our annual Octoberfest celebration at Good Shepherd again.  This is the seventh one!  Each year, we consider the events of the Lutheran Reformation, taking about a year's worth of events at a time.  This year's Luther Lecture covered April 1521 to March 1522, entitled A Year at the Wartburg Castle, "My Patmos."

The past Octoberfests included these topics for the Luther Lecture.
          2012 -- Here I Stand: The Diet of Worms (1521)
          2011 -- The Word Did the Work: Significant Writings of Luther (1520)
          2010 -- Them's Fightin' Words: The Leipzig Debate (1519)
          2009 -- Luther's New Theology: The Heidelberg Disputation (1518)
          2008 -- The 95 Theses: What are they and do they matter anymore? (1517)
          2007 -- The Places of the Reformation (recruitment for a trip to Germany, taken Sept 2008)

The food was fantastic.  We had bratwurst, Bavarian red cabbage, two kinds of German potato salad, sauerbraten (!!!!), and other sumptuous desserts.  I wish I had four stomachs to enjoy all the food that was there!

We will have another Octoberfest in early October 2014.  Luther Lecture topic to be determined, but we should be covering 1522-1523 of the Lutheran Reformation.

Here are some photos from this year's Octoberfest.

 

Homily -- Octoberfest Vespers (October 6, 2013)

2 TIMOTHY 1:12-14

THE LORD WILL GUARD AND KEEP YOU.

In the name + of Jesus.

            But I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he is able to guard until that Day what has been entrusted to me.  Follow the pattern of the sound words that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.  By the Holy Spirit who dwells within us, guard the good deposit entrusted to you.

            He was an outlaw, and he was imprisoned. 
            He would not confess that Caesar is Lord, because it was not true.  The previous Caesar had died.  The current one would too.  They were not Lord.  Jesus had conquered death, and therefore, he was Lord.  He lives and reigns; he IS Lord.
            They hated him, even though he preached God is love.
            They would have no mercy on him, even though he proclaimed forgiveness.
            They wanted him dead, even though he declared eternal life through Jesus Christ.
            St. Paul was despised and reviled and slandered – just like the Savior he proclaimed.  But he would not be put to shame no matter what.  They would try to destroy his reputation, his freedom, and his life.  But they could not change God’s verdict upon him.  He would not be put to shame, and he would not lose what God had given him.
            For the Lord held him in his hand.
            The Lord had deposited his grace and salvation and Holy Spirit in him.
            Though he was in enemy’s hands, even more he was in the Lord’s hands.  So no matter what they would do to him, they could not take away his salvation.  They could not overcome the word of the Lord, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection to eternal life, and the Lord’s own word about St. Paul – that he was a saint.
            And so are you.  Do not be ashamed of the confession you make.  Do not be ashamed of the truth you have been given.  Do not be ashamed of the One who saves you.  Let the world despise you; they cannot overrule your Savior.
            The word of the Lord stands.  You remain in his care.  He has deposited in you his Holy Spirit.  The Lord dwells within you, and they cannot put him to death.  The Lord has marked you as his own, and they cannot erase God’s memory.
           You will not be put to shame.  The Lord will guard and keep you, for you are his.  He is yours.  And the Lord does not forsake or forget those who are his own.  The Lord will guard and keep you.

 In the name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

Sermon -- Octoberfest Vespers (October 6, 2012)

God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.  (JAMES 4:6)

In the name + of Jesus.

     St. James speaks very strong words.  God opposes the proud.

     Now, chances are, you are not too fond of the proud.  We are generally annoyed by those who are full of themselves.  Very few people find arrogance to be an attractive quality.  But it is not that God is annoyed.  It is not that God is turned off.  God opposes the proud.  He stands against them.  He fights against them.  His wrath burns against them.

     And as long as the proud are referred to as “them,” you smile about it.  You have a streak of vengeance which giggles at the thought of God smiting those too-big-for-their-own-britches kind of people.  And, of course, you assume that those kinds of people are not you and your kind of people. 

     So tell me, isn’t this pride?  Lord, I thank you that I am not like them.  You will not see me be as arrogant, as boastful, as full of myself, as ego-centric as them.  I am better than them. 

     No, you are not.  Repent, for God opposes the proud. 

     Therefore, God is pleased with his Son, Jesus Christ.  He humbled himself to leave his heavenly throne and all its glory.  He humbled himself so that God made himself man, so that the immortal one would let himself be put to death, so that the blessed one would take on a curse, so that righteous one would make himself sin.

     God is pleased with Son, Jesus Christ, who, being in very nature God, being all glorious and all powerful, made himself nothing.  And he did it for you, who are reluctant to admit that you have sinned.  He did it to pay for all of your sin.  He covers over your shame.

     You know that you cannot do the works that Jesus did.  But these are the only works that have ever pleased God.  But now, he gives this all to you.  He gives you the benefits of his death.  He gives you the righteousness of his life.  He gives you these things because you have no other way to obtain them.

     God gives grace to the humble – to you who recognize that you have sinned, to you who know that you cannot meet God even part way, to you who know that the curse, the death, and the sufferings should be yours – after all, you’ve earned them.  God gives grace to the adulterous David, to the blasphemous Paul, to the rebellious Adam, to the belligerent James and John, and even to you.

     But God does not give you what you have earned.  God gives you what you have not earned.  More than quenching the fires of hell, God opens the glories of heaven. 

In the name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

OCTOBERFEST is coming!

Mark your calendars now.

OCTOBERFEST will be on Saturday, October 6.  The schedule is as follows:

                    5:00 PM          Vespers

                    5:30 PM          Bratwurst Dinner

                    6:00 PM          Luther Lecture

          This year’s Luther Lecture will be: “Here I stand.” – Luther at the Diet of Worms, at which Luther confessed his faith and took his stand on the word of God alone even if it meant defying the authority of Popes, Church Councils, and other authorities.  We hope that all guests of our Octoberfest celebration will gain a greater appreciation for the confessors and the confession of the Evangelical Lutheran Church.

          There is no cost for Octoberfest, but we will have a free-will offering to offset the cost of the food being served.  In order to be sure that we will have enough food for all who attend, please contact the church (248-349-0565) and let us know how many will be in your party.  We also appreciate any who are willing to provide food for Octoberfest.  Suggested foods are suggested on the sign-up sheet at the church.

          We will also have a Gemutlichkeit (fancy, German word suggesting a time of food and fellowship) at the parsonage after the Luther Lecture.  Snacks will be provided.  Bring your own beverages.