YouTube -- Festival of St. Luke, Evangelist (October 18, 2026)

Here is the Divine Service from Sunday, October 18, 2026.  My apologies for the feedback on the mic at the beginning of the service.

Sermon -- Festival of St. Luke, Evangelist (October 18, 2026)

ST. LUKE WROTE THE HISTORY SO YOU CAN HAVE CERTAINTY.

LUKE 1:1-4

In the name + of Jesus.

     More and more these days, I am becoming a skeptic.  I wish I did not have to be, but I know that people often tell their stories with an agenda.  Different news outlets can report on the same story, but you would never guess they are covering the same thing.  They report the version of the story that favors their audience.  That is on purpose.  CNN and FOX both know what their audiences are looking for.  To keep their audience, they cater to their political leanings.  Sadly, it is to the point where I will listen to a report and say, “Well, that’s good (or bad)—if it’s true.”

     If you have become more skeptical over time, that is no surprise.  No one wants to be played for a fool.  No one likes being lied to.  So, every story is treated with suspicion.  We learn to be careful.  News is reported, and then we investigate to see if it is accurate or if it is biased.  Sometimes, we have no way of knowing, and that is frustrating.  It is also a terrible way to live, never really trusting anyone. 

     When St. Luke wrote his Gospel, it was written to someone named “Theophilus.”  Theophilus means “Friend of God.”  His Gospel may have been written to Christians in general; for each of us is a “Friend of God.”  But even if St. Luke wrote to a specific individual named Theophilus, his Gospel was intended for Christians everywhere.  I don’t know if Theophilus was a skeptic or not, but St. Luke wrote to remove any doubts about Jesus Christ.  He wrote, “It seemed good to me … to write an orderly account to you, most excellent Theophilus, so that you may know the certainty of the things you were taught” (Luke 1:3-4).  St. Luke wrote the history so that you can have certainty.

     The Bible calls Luke a doctor, which he was.  But he was also an incredible historian.  Luke places Jesus firmly in a historical time and place.  This is no “Once upon a time in a land far, far away.”  This is “while Quirinius was governing Syria” (Luke 2:2).  This is “in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar—while Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod was tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip was tetrarch of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias was tetrarch of Abilene—during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas” (Luke 3:1-2).  This is in places like Nazareth, Bethlehem, Capernaum, and Jerusalem.  If this were a mythical tale, Luke would not have named people and places that could be verified.  But Luke presented details.  He logged specific dates.  He labeled specific places.  He named specific people.  St. Luke wrote the history so that you can have certainty.

     Many writers have attempted to teach virtues, morals, and even spiritual insights.  Aesop wrote fables, almost all of which include talking animals.  Aesop’s Fables may help teach morals, but they are fictional.  Mohammed’s writings have no historical placement at all.  They are statements which cannot be verified by any historian.  Joseph Smith, the founder of the Mormons, claimed to receive his revelation from golden tablets that no one has seen, written in a language that no one had ever heard of.  By contrast, the writers of the Bible included historical and geographical information.  They practically beg you to verify what they are writing.  Historians and archaeologists have vindicated the Biblical record over and over again.  There is no need for skepticism.  The Bible records the history so that you can have certainty.

     Even if people do not believe it, the Bible records some certainties that all people acknowledge.  For example: No one is perfect.  That’s why we have erasures on pencils and delete buttons on our computers.  These can correct our mistakes.  Of course, no one goes to hell for mispronouncing a word or being bad at algebra.  But our imperfections go far beyond grammar, spelling, or math.  The Bible asks, “Who can say, ‘I have made my heart pure; I am clean from my sin’” (Proverbs 20:9)?  In case you get stuck on that question, the Bible gives you the answer: “There is surely not a righteous man on earth who does good and does not sin” (Ecclesiastes 20:7).  With every spiteful, petty act, with every obscene word, with every unkind or envious thought we sin against our fellow man and against our God.  No one is perfect.  No heart is clean.  No mouth is pure.

     Our sinfulness leads to another certainty: All people die.  The Bible states why: “The wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23).  Death is the curse we must suffer because we are sinners.  But there is a greater reason that death fills us with dread.  The Bible reminds us, “It is appointed for people to die only once and after this comes the judgment” (Hebrews 9:27).  God gave our lives to us, and he holds us accountable for what we think, say, and do.  Since the world he created and the people he put in it were perfect, that is what he still demands of us.  And that is why people are terrified of death.  For, no one is perfect.  No heart is clean.  No mouth is pure.  Death is certain.  Judgment is certain.  And we certainly have earned a sentence of condemnation.

     St. Luke recorded the history of Jesus so that you can be certain of a better future.  St. Luke began his gospel describing how our Lord entered history for the benefit of mankind.  Luke was not merely telling his version of how it may have happened.  Luke testified, “I followed everything closely from the beginning” (Luke 1:3).  The verb suggests that Luke investigated everything.  It seems likely that he interviewed those who were eyewitnesses.  Twice Luke commented that Mary pondered all these things in her heart (Luke 2:19,51).  That suggests that Luke interviewed Mary about all she had seen and heard.  Luke recorded the history so that you can have certainty.

     In fact, Luke had to record these things because the way our Lord entered the world was miraculous.  Mary did not understand it either.  Having heard that she would conceive and give birth to a son, Mary replied, “‘How will this be, since I am a virgin?’  The angel answered her, ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.  So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God’” (Luke 1:34-35).  The Lord revealed the mystery to Mary so that she could be certain about her inexplicable pregnancy.  St. Luke recorded this so that you can be certain too.  He recorded the mystery not so that you could understand it, but so that you would know it.  Luke recorded the history so that you can have certainty.

     For many, the incarnation of our Lord is offensive and worthy of mockery.  Many also dismiss the accounts of Jesus’ miracles and his teachings.  Unbelief despises everything about Jesus, even things that can be verified.  Some deny that Jesus ever existed.  But ancient historians who have no allegiance to Jesus of Nazareth, such as Josephus and Tacitus, acknowledge that he was a real man and that he was crucified.  St. Luke and all the apostles testify that Jesus’ crucifixion pays for the sins of all, but all who reject Jesus also reject the benefit of Jesus’ saving work and his deliverance from damnation. 

     The skeptic may have questions about Jesus, his teachings, and the entire Bible.  Such questions are not inherently evil; and chances are, you have some of those questions yourself.  Some of Jesus’ teachings are hard.  They may be hard to understand, or they may be hard to put into practice.  If you have questions about such things, you are not alone.  Anyone who is a skeptic craves certainty.  And even the faithful long for greater certainty.

     Beware.  The devil uses that skepticism to seduce you into unbelief.  He speaks through people who challenge you: “You know, if you can’t find a reasonable solution to the mysteries of God, they are not worth your time.  You are too smart to believe such nonsense.”  “You know, the people who challenge God’s word are asking really good questions.  The fact that you do not know how to answer those questions proves that there are no good answers to those questions.  You are a fool to keep on believing the Bible.”  Some of these challenges sound very compelling.  We expect that God’s will and God’s ways should match our own.  We think that everything about God should make sense to us.  We think that God should be like we are. 

     Repent.  It is a lie.  The Bible proves that God is not like us.  And God be praised for that!  We are not as powerful, wise, or merciful as our Lord us.  If we were, we would use our power and wisdom to exalt ourselves.  The Lord uses his power and wisdom for the benefit of sinners.  St. Luke records how God’s mercy is not merely a theory.  God’s mercy is real—displayed in a historical time in a historical place by a historical man, Jesus Christ.  Luke recorded the history so that you can have certainty.

     Before Jesus ascended into heaven, he told his apostles, “Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms. … This is what is written and so it must be: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations” (Luke 24:44,46-47).  St. Luke recorded how Jesus fulfilled the promises of old.  He recorded how Jesus suffered and died to be the atoning sacrifice for sinners—for the penitent, the skeptic, and even the atheist.  Jesus has paid the price for all sinners and has taken away all sins.  He rose from the dead and “presented himself alive to the apostles with many convincing proofs” (Acts 1:3).  Those who were witnesses of all these things suffered torture, persecution, and death rather than deny it.  Jesus sent them into the world to preach about the death that pays for sins and the resurrection that opens heaven to all who believe.  And so that you would have this testimony made known to you, it was written down for your benefit.

     St. Luke recorded the history so that you can have certainty.  He testified about a real Jesus who suffered real torment and died a real cursed death for sinners.  He overcame a real death with a real body to bestow real mercy and give real hope to sinners.  This is good.  For our Lord does not come to save theoretical sinners.  He comes for real sinners.  He grants a full pardon for all your sin.  He speaks tenderly to you when your heart is full of doubts.  He reveals his wisdom in the Scriptures to answer your questions about life and death, good and evil, wisdom and foolishness.  Not being able to trust anyone is a terrible way to live.  God be praised!  You don’t have to, not with God and his word.  St. Luke recorded the history so that you can have certainty of the facts, comfort for your spirit, and confidence on the Last Day.

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

City of Novi: The Watertower

Below is s video about the City of Novi's watertower.  If you've been here, you've almost certainly seen it.  Nice job, City of Novi!

Something from ... Cranach, the Blog of Veith

          This post on Gene E. Veith's blog, Cranach, is quite fitting for Good Friday and meditation on the crucifixion of our Lord.  It also illustrates the historical account of Christians who worshiped the crucified Christ, as well as documenting the reality of crucifixion and its gruesome nature.  These archeological finds are from the graffiti left by those who mocked the Christian faith, unwittingly giving a testimony of the Church's Gospel: We preach Christ crucified. 

         Veith also provides some links for further reading and contemplation (full disclosure: I have not checked those out yet).  But the article linked is worth a look.

          God bless your Good Friday meditation and worship.

Roman Drawings of Crucifixions (and What They Tell Us) | Gene Veith (patheos.com)

Schroeder Vacation, Part 1 -- Western Michigan: Muskegon

The end of June took some of the Schroeder family to western Michigan for a week of vacation.  We had hoped for a longer trek, but COVID-19 restrictions and concerns kept us close to home.  And while we did not get to travel far, we did get to explore parts of the state that we had not really visited before.  Having lived in Michigan now for only 24 years, we finally got to visit something new in such places as Muskegon, Holland, and South Haven.  

Our trip could be summed up in one blog post, but photographs demand that I break this up into 3 or 4 entries.  The first entry will focus on Muskegon and, in particular, the USS Silversides Museum.  Besides touring the submarine USS Silversides, there is a WWII museum.  If you go, plan on taking a few hours to read through all the history of WWII documented there.  It focuses mainly on action in the Pacific Theater, but there is a timeline that covers everything leading up to WWII and in more detail from events from 1941-1945.  

In addition to touring the USS Silversides submarine, they also had a Coast Guard vessel to walk through.

Muskegon has more to offer, but we limited ourselves to the museum for one day.  While it was worth the visit, we found it pretty hard to find.  The signs directing us were somewhat sparse, and we often wondered if we were on the right track.  Once we failed to decipher a particular direction and took a wrong turn (we blamed an arrow which pointed neither straight nor to the left, but in between those directions, and we guessed wrong).

For the particularly adventurous, you are able to sleep overnight on the USS Silversides.  We were not that adventurous, opting for a much more comfortable night's sleep at Hoffmaster State Park.  Here are some photos.

The history of Novi -- How Novi became a city

Novi celebrates its 50th anniversary this year.  Below is a video about how Novi Township became the city of Novi in 1969.

City of Novi -- 50th Anniversary: Police and Fire Departments

Here is another video from Novi's 50th Anniversary.  This one features the history of the Novi Police Department and Fire Department.  Novi's first responders are such a blessing to the city.  We often see the Novi Police parking in our parking lot, either logging official business or taking a break.  (I have never bothered them to learn what they are actually doing.)

Enjoy the history lesson.

Things that make me go, HMMMMMMM... and the city of Novi

Novi is celebrating its 50th anniversary, and the city has been putting out YouTube videos about the history of the city.  This month's installment has to do with the Novi Expo Center (now a vacant lot, but being developed for something new) and the Suburban Collection Showplace.

If you are driving into Novi from the west on I-96, you will notice a large water town with the word "Adell" on it.  It always made me go HMMMMM, wondering who or what Adell was.  The video below references (not much, but it does) Frank Adell, who was involved with the Novi Expo Center.  Mystery solved.

It also shows how Novi has grown.  Back when the Novi Expo Center had only one entry off of Novi Road, the traffic on weekends was horrendous.  It was best to avoid Novi Road and Grand River at all costs.  Traffic on Novi Road is a lot happier on weekends now that they have two different directions of entry into the Suburban Collection Showplace.

You can watch the video about the Novi Expo Center and the Suburban Collection Showplace here.

History of Novi -- Parks & Recreation

For the 50th anniversary of the city of Novi, a number of videos have been put together. 


Here is a neat one on the Novi Parks & Recreation history.


Enjoy!

Traveling with the Schroeders -- Summer 2019

We have tried to make the most of the summer with varying degrees of success.  I don't know if the rest of the family feels this way, but I am always more eager to do more than is probably realistic.  Nevertheless, we have managed to enjoy some camping, beach time, and other touristy activities.  Here are a few photos from our summer activities.

Greenfield Village, always a summer favorite

Peter at Mission Point Lighthouse with his cousins, Abby & AJ.

They are exactly half way between the North Pole and the Equator.

Laura enjoys some wine tasting with her brother, David.

Traverse City State Park

Swimming at Island Lake Recreational Area