The Shepherd’s Voice – Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, Tomah, WI

Lent 1 – Midweek (Absolution) February 25, 2026 Luke 7:36-50   Dear Brothers and Sisters,   This Lenten season, we will use the midweek services to meditate upon Confession and Absolution.   We began this evening’s service, as we’ll do each midweek service throughout this season of Lent, with confession and absolution from the service of Compline.   Now the service of Compline dates back to the fo...

Lent 1 (Invocabit) February 25, 2026 Matthew 4:1-11   Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,   I want to begin today by highlighting some of the first battles throughout American history.    So, to begin, the first battle of the Revolutionary War was the battles of Lexington and Concord on April 19, 1775.   The first battle of the Civil War was the bombardment of Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor, So...

Ash Wednesday February 18, 2026 Matthew 6:16-21   The Old Testament reading this evening from the prophet Joel began by saying, Yet even now, declares the LORD,                         return to me with all your heart,              with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning.   The prophet Joel is pleading for the people of Israel to repent and return to the Lord. He warns that if they continue...

Quinquagesima February 15, 2026 Luke 18:31-43     Many of you have sat in the doctor’s office as the death notice was handed out, as the words were spoken to your husband or wife, a father or mother.   “There’s nothing more we can do.”   The cancer has advanced past the point of reversal. The body is too weak to undergo treatments. The accident caused extensive damage to the body and its vital org...

Sexagesima Luke 8:4-15 February 8, 2026     The dirt and soil of the earth are where sin and death reside.   In the beginning, “The LORD God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.”   Martin Luther wrote in a commentary regarding the creation account that God formed man from a “Lump of earth.”   Of course, we k...

Septuagesima February 1, 2026 1 Corinthians 9:24-10:5   The Winter Olympics will begin this Friday, and athletes from around the world will gather to compete in various sporting events that test strength, endurance, discipline, and resilience—all in pursuit of winning a gold medal.     If you take a step back, the Olympics are truly remarkable; these athletes often dedicate their entire lives to t...

The Second Sunday after Epiphany January 18, 2026 John 2:1-11     Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,   This past fall, I officiated a wedding in Nashville, TN, and the groom requested an interesting wedding hymn, “At the Lamb’s High Feast We Sing.”   As I mentioned then, the hymn selection was unusual for a wedding; I had never sung it for such an occasion. However, as I ponder the hymn’s story...

The Funeral of Sharon Herried January 15, 2026 Psalm 23   Dear Don, family, friends, brothers, and sisters in Christ Jesus, grace, mercy, and peace be unto you this day.   Psalm 23 is probably the most well-known of all the Psalms. Since many children learn the Psalm early in life, many people can recite and pray it from memory throughout their entire lives.    This highlights a frequently overloo...

The Baptism of our Lord January 11, 2026 Matthew 3:13-17   We Lutherans talk about Baptism a lot, don’t we?   But over the years, how we talk about baptism has influenced our view of this sacrament and blessed gift.    Simply saying “I was baptized” shifts our perspective on baptism. While there is a specific moment—a date—when you were baptized, if you only see “I was baptized” as just a historic...

  Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.   The faith of children is a precious gift. Their faith often stays pure and untouched by the ways of the world. They do not seek truth but instead believe simply in what Jesus has done for them.   And for me as a child, I remember the story of Jesus being taught to me both in church and at home, often through reading Ar...

Funeral of Douglas (Doug) D. Murray January 5, 2026   Dear Ruth, family, friends, brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus, grace, mercy, and peace be unto you this day.   Shortly after arriving here at Good Shepherd, Doug and Ruth called up the church one day to see if I would be interested in a children’s table and chairs for my kids to use. Having a need, I said, “Sure!”   So, the two of them loade...

The Second Sunday after Christmas January 4, 2026 Matthew 2:13-23   The Gospel reading this morning feels like an action-packed story: a quick escape to Egypt to protect the Child who would be the Savior of the world, a tyrannical king who kills all male children under two out of fear that one of them might dethrone him, and a safe return home after the evil king dies.    The story is gripping and...

Christmas 1 December 28, 2025 Luke 2:22-40   ***Today, we had a baptism at the beginning of the Divine Service***   Have you noticed how everyone rightly focuses on the birth of Jesus at Christmas, but then forgets how the days that follow His birth are also important and continue to tell the story and purpose of the Christ Child’s arrival into the world?   To start with, we hear about Mary and Jo...

Christmas Day John 1:1-14   Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,   In 1968, the space shuttle Apollo 8 was orbiting the Moon. But on that Christmas, the astronauts onboard this space shuttle broadcasted a short, brief greeting from high above down to Earth below in one of the most watched television broadcasts at that time. Some of you may remember huddling around a TV or radio for this mesmerizin...

Christmas Eve Lessons and Carols December 24, 2025     +INJ+   It’s clear that the Christmas season began nearly two months ago, as stores began displaying their holiday decorations in the days leading up to All Hallows’ Eve, or Halloween, as some call it.    It was slightly after the beginning of November that Starbucks began selling its holiday coffees.   But don’t get me started on the Hallmark...

Advent 4 – Rorate Coeli December 21, 2025 Philippians 4:4-7     Bah! Humbug!   It’s believed this saying first appeared around the 1750s, about 100 years before it was made famous by that cold, miserly, selfish, and cynical old man, Ebenezer Scrooge, in Charles Dickens’ classic, “A Christmas Carol.”   Bah! Humbug!   To define the well-known saying from the classic, let’s start with the Humbug, whi...

Advent 3 + Midweek (The Angels and the Shepherds) December 17, 2025 Luke 2:8-20   Tonight, we conclude our meditations on the Angels of Advent as we reflect on the Angels who appear to the Shepherds.    It’s interesting that shepherds are among the first to learn about Jesus’ birth since He will be the great Shepherd. In a way, the angels are not only announcing the birth of the Savior but also re...

Advent 3 + Gaudete December 14, 2025 Matthew 11:2-11   In the latest issue of the Lutheran Witness, the magazine of the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod, the topic of “Traditions” is discussed, which is fitting as we go through the season of Advent and approach Christmas. Every family has its own traditions. Every congregation has its traditions. In the end, every tradition we observe and uphold sho...

On this podcast, we get to know another family of Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, Dave and Barb Scardino!   Please take a listen and learn how they moved to Tomah and became members at Good Shepherd over thirty years ago!   www. GoodShepTomah.org  

Advent 2 – Midweek December 10, 2025 Matthew 1:18-25   When you were born, God gave you the ability to understand life’s matters. When you were young, you didn't use this ability well; it needed to be developed. Therefore, God placed adults in your life to help you learn how to think clearly in your daily life.   Reason is the ability or capacity to use logical thinking and draw conclusions from e...

Advent 2 December 7, 2025 Luke 21:25-36     In preparation for this Sunday, I revisited and reread Martin Luther’s sermon for the second Sunday in Advent, and in it, you hear a message about how God uses nature to tell the story of the end times— the end of days, the end of this life, and the end of this earth.   This story of the end days is described in the Gospel as Jesus said, And there will b...

Advent Midweek 1 – The Angel Gabriel December 3, 2025 Luke 1:26-38   As we begin our Wednesday evening services this year, the theme will be the Angels of Advent.   Now, to begin, we need to remember who angels are. Throughout the Scriptures, angels are spiritual beings; they are warriors, and they often pray for man. As Jesus says in the Gospel of Matthew, they see His Father’s face and do His wi...

First Sunday in Advent November 30, 2025 Jeremiah 23:5-8 & Matthew 21:1-9   The lights sparkling on the homes around Tomah signal that Christmas is coming.    The number of emails you’re receiving is a warning to you that Christmas is coming.   The change in music on the radio alerts you that Christmas is coming.   The colors adorning the altar, the candles in the wreath, all announce, Christm...

Thanksgiving (Observed) November 26, 2025 Luke 17:11-19   In preparation for this week, we recently watched a Charlie Brown Thanksgiving in our house. It’s a classic, isn’t it?   You got Peppermint Patty inviting herself and others over to Charlie Brown’s for dinner.   Charlie Brown goes with the flow, being a good friend, and even though he has family plans to visit Grandma, he still tries to hos...

Trinity 26 November 16, 2025 Matthew 25:31-46     Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.     We have firmly entered the final Sundays of the Church year. Just like last week, this week, and next, stay focused on the end times, the day of Christ’s second Advent, His return.    Our Gospel today began with these words, “When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and...