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

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 to conduct themselves in ways again...

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 organs. 

These instances are often m...

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 know that in man’s fall into sin, Go...

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 training for this moment. For some, ...

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 of being brought to the eternal we...

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 overlooked aspect of the Psalm: it’s meant...

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 historical event, it can lead you to view b...

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 Arch Books, those well-known, simple ...

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 loaded up the table and chairs, got in t...

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 suspenseful.

However, one of thi...

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 Joseph’s faithfulness to God’s word a...

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 mesmerizing event. As the astronauts orbited,...

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 afte...

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, which is meant to say something is not...

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 revealing the work He will perform to...

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 should help us confess the birth, deat...

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 existing information.

In our secon...

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 be signs in sun and moon and stars, ...