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

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

著者： Good Shepherd Lutheran Church - Tomah WI
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Welcome to The Shepherd’s Voice, the podcast ministry of Good Shepherd Lutheran Church (LCMS) in Tomah, Wisconsin. Each episode shares Christ-centered preaching, Bible teaching, and encouragement for your walk of faith. Rooted in the historic Lutheran confession, we proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ crucified and risen for the forgiveness of sins.

Whether you’re a lifelong Lutheran, exploring the Christian faith, or seeking hope in daily life, The Shepherd’s Voice offers clear Law and Gospel preaching, devotionals, and reflections grounded in God’s Word.

Join us as we lift high the cross of Christ and connect listeners to the Shepherd who knows His sheep by name.

Copyright 2025 All rights reserved. キリスト教 スピリチュアリティ 聖職・福音主義
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  • The Fourteenth Sunday after Trinity | Galatians 5:16-24 | Being United int he Fruit of the Spirit

    The Fourteenth Sunday after Trinity | Galatians 5:16-24 | Being United int he Fruit of the Spirit
    2026/09/06
    The Fourteenth Sunday after Trinity September 6, 2026 Galatians 5:16-24 Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, This weekend usually marks the end of summer, but the meteorological calendar indicates summer still has a few weeks before fall begins. It’s also Labor Day Weekend, offering one last chance to visit the lake, go to a water park, or enjoy a picnic — a perfect excuse to take a break from work. The first Labor Day was celebrated in 1882 in New York City; a couple of years later, the day became a Federal Holiday. As many see it today, it’s a day off from work, but its history reveals that the day would include speeches on the holiday’s economic and civic significance. Labor Unions might use these days as opportunities to build support for their causes and sway public opinion on pay and benefits for today’s workforce. But what is a Labor Union anyway? At the most basic level, a Labor Union is an organization of workers who join together to negotiate with employers for better pay, benefits, and working conditions. A Labor Union is a group of people, united in their work, their toil, and labor. Have you ever pondered how the world around you might influence how you view the Christian faith? Have ideas about the labor force influenced the Church or the local congregation? A group of people, united in a common work, to “make” Christians. But if the work conditions aren’t favorable or up to your standards, can you go on strike from “making” Christians? It’s an interesting question, isn’t it? What we’re really asking here is this: can we go on strike from living the Christian faith if the conditions of faith aren’t favorable or acceptable to us? Can you negotiate better working pay, benefits, and surroundings so it’s easier to “make” a Christian? Or could there at least be some hazard pay when life becomes difficult? The answer is no. To all of this. The reality is that you dwell, live, and labor in this world, in the flesh inherited from your first parents, which means this life will be difficult, just as it was for your father, Adam, who worked the land full of thorns and thistles. Your flesh will be tempted, as King David’s was, to take for yourselves men and women who are not your husbands and wives, and to suffer the consequences of such sins. Like laborers in the vineyard, you will complain and grow jealous of your neighbor who receives a higher wage than you, which in turn will lead you to jealousy, strife, and anger, if not with them, then within your own heart. If you permit these events to overtake you, if you permit your careers, positions, and places in society to become your sole focus and identity, you will likely begin to see yourself more at odds with one another than in union or unity with one another. The reason for this is that you’ve permitted yourself, or what you perceive as your “work,” to become a god. You began to idolize yourself and what you do. This is why some mutter, “No one appreciates me.” And here is one of the reasons St. Paul warns you in this morning’s epistle: to walk in the Spirit so as not to gratify or give way to the works of the sinful flesh that clings to your bones and surrounds your heart. The way we read the words of St. Paul is interesting, too, because we tend to lose something in translation. We hear “you” and think St. Paul is speaking individually, in the singular, but we need to take into account not only the context of his writing but also the Greek grammar. He is speaking in the second person plural, saying that you all, the whole community of the Galatians, are to walk in the singular Spirit of God. Likewise, you all, the people of Good Shepherd, the body of Christ, are to walk in the way of the Holy Spirit, to be in union with one another and led by the Holy Spirit in faith. But here lies the divide: we wish to live according to the flesh, and when we do this, we are led away from the unity of Christ, living for ourselves through “sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these.” In these ways, we live for ourselves; we aim to elevate ourselves above others, trying to control the uncontrollable. However, this only leads to brokenness, death, and eternal separation from one another and, most importantly, God. And of course, this catalog of vices is not exhaustive or conclusive; that’s why St. Paul ended it with, “And things like these…” Still, St. Paul doesn’t simply end the sermon there; he continues to warn the Galatians, and we receive the same warning today that if we continue in these behaviors, these works of the flesh, we too will not inherit eternal life. So, Paul then moves forward by outlining the things that lead to faithfulness, unity, and eternal life. Also, did you notice ...
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    16 分
  • The Martyrdom of St. John the Baptist | St. Mark 6:14-29 | You Bear a Most Vicious Image of Love

    The Martyrdom of St. John the Baptist | St. Mark 6:14-29 | You Bear a Most Vicious Image of Love
    2026/08/30
    The Martyrdom of St. John the Baptist August 30, 2026 Mark 6:14-29 I already know you may not appreciate the cover on today’s bulletin. It appears graphic: a head on a platter; it’s just sitting there, staring back at you. You heard the story in the Gospel with your ears, but seeing it, seeing the head of John the Baptist before you, that’s another story. Why would we use such an image on the bulletin cover? Children will see it! However, is this image as striking as you first believed? Is it as graphic as you think? Ponder this for a moment… I’ll give you time. Now, I asked these questions because I would argue that an even more graphic image is before you each and every day; in fact, every time you imagine this image in your mind, this figure appears, and the brutality is inescapable. How could you carry such a graphic image with you each day? How could you be so dark and troubled? Of course, you’re sitting here and saying, “Pastor, I have no idea what you are talking about, I would never carry such a horrid image of death with me each and every day.” Oh yeah, then what’s wrong with you? Why wouldn’t you? What’s wrong with me, what’s wrong with you? Nothing…well, that’s not completely true. I am a sinner, just like you. So why wouldn’t this disturbing image appear in your mind as it does in mine? I mean, you were brought into it just as I was; it was placed on both your forehead and your heart as a child, as an infant, like a tattoo so you’d never forget who you are. Well, that’s morbid; you’ve been walking around all these years with an image of violence in your heart and mind, but you haven’t noticed? Reflect on what I’m telling you now. I’m saying that since the time of your birth, you’ve been carrying an image within you that is worse than the cover of today’s bulletin. But why haven’t you noticed this? That’s a good question: why haven’t you noticed this? Probably because you’ve become complacent; maybe all the violent and horrendous imagery of the news on the television you watch or in the video games you play has made you numb, or maybe you’ve decided to bury those images in the depths of the prefrontal cortex of the brain, the part of the brain that suppresses unwanted thoughts and visuals you’d prefer not to have. Maybe that’s it; maybe that’s why you can’t ponder or visualize the image that’s honestly worse than the cover of today’s bulletin. You’ve become complacent, numb, and buried the image of proof. However, the image, the cross, and Jesus’ mangled body still remain before you; you can’t escape it; it’s right here to my left. That vivid, horrible image of violence, the most horrendous violence known to mankind: crucifixion. Whips, lashes, and nails. A crown of thorns for the King and Kings, rough wood that digs deep into the open wounds of His back for a throne. Yes, Jesus cleans up real nice for our purposes today, for public display, but make no mistake, the day He died for sinners like you and me, it’s not an image we would have looked on with glee, joy, or celebration. No, His cross would have brought us shame. It would have been seared into our memories, the kind of image you can’t outrun or ever forget, the image of tragedy. Being there that first Good Friday would have stayed with you until the day you died. But that’s one of the reasons you might not want to think about it, to ponder it, or wrestle with it – it is graphic, vicious, and horrendous. But you are also the reason Jesus went to this cross. Your sin, the ways you have not lived rightly, according to your Father’s will, as we learn from the Ten Commandments and Holy Scripture. How you have not loved God with all your heart or your neighbor as yourself, the way you have not been faithful in confessing your faith in your Savior, Jesus Christ, who died on the cross for you. And here is the difference between you and John the Baptist, the one whose head ended on a platter; he was faithful, even to the end. He confessed Jesus until his dying breath. He refused to compromise God’s law, even at the risk of his life. He would not dilute God’s commands regarding the adulterers in King Herod’s court, which ultimately led to his death, just as he wouldn’t soften his message for his apostles. Despite the potential for mental or physical harm, John the Baptist consistently proclaimed God’s Word in full. In this way, the rejection of the word John preached foretold the rejection of Jesus’ words. John’s violent death foreshadowed Jesus’ death. And you, the baptized, have been brought into this death, too. Hear those familiar words of the epistle again: Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as ...
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    13 分
  • The Twelfth Sunday after Trinity | St. Mark 7:31-37 | Do Not Become Spiritually Deaf to God's Word

    The Twelfth Sunday after Trinity | St. Mark 7:31-37 | Do Not Become Spiritually Deaf to God's Word
    2026/08/23
    The Twelfth Sunday after Trinity August 23, 2026 Mark 7:31-37 Have you ever found yourself speaking to someone and they don’t hear you? You know their hearing works well, but strangely, they don’t seem to listen to you. They miss instructions, conversations, and what’s being taught. While some say a person has selective hearing, this is actually about the brain focusing on one person in a noisy environment, not about choosing to ignore another. However, might a person subconsciously become deaf in certain situations? Causing them not to hear you? Might this be why a child doesn’t clean their room when they’ve been instructed to do so? Well, Google says no; men cannot physically or medically become deaf purely through a subconscious choice or psychological will. So why don’t individuals hear you when you speak to them, in a setting where people can converse normally? Because they choose not to. That’s all; they just don’t want to hear you. They’ve become preoccupied with their own thoughts and dreams; their desires, choices, and wills have become more important than you or anyone else. In today’s Gospel reading, Jesus encounters a man who is truly deaf and has a speech impediment. It’s probable that this man has had these ailments since his birth. The man’s friends brought him to Jesus and begged Him to heal their friend. Can you imagine? Living all the days of your life in silence…not being able to hear, not being able to speak, not being able to communicate. None of this is a choice for the man. But his friends bring him to the One they believe can help and heal him. They bring him to Jesus. It’s interesting: what follows is a liturgy of sorts, an order of service. First, the man in need of healing is brought to Jesus; then there are prayers for him, followed by an absolution, and finally a dismissal. Jesus instructs the man and his friends, “Don’t tell anyone what I’ve done,” but they do anyway. But walk with me through this sequence. The man’s friends bring him to Jesus for healing. We do the same. The first step is to bring our broken bodies to the Divine Service to confess our sins before Jesus. Then we pray to God for help and healing. This is followed by the absolution, the forgiveness of sin, and finally the dismissal, the sending out of God’s people in peace. Now, in this liturgy involving the deaf man, his friends bring him and beg Jesus to lay His hands upon him to heal him. The laying on of hands, as seen in the Old Testament, was part of the liturgy of healing. Often, anointing oils would be used, in addition to touching the person, to say, “This person, this man, this woman, is the one who is to be healed, cleansed, and forgiven.” There’s a specificity in the laying on of hands. But Jesus does something that we might find repulsive today. He puts His fingers into the man’s ears, spits, and touches his tongue. What in the world is this? Well, some scholars believe this would have been understood by the deaf man, but remember, it’s not uncommon for the Word of God to be accompanied by a visible sign. Where do we see this? Does not the water of Holy Baptism, joined with the Word of God, grant forgiveness and healing, declaring this one, this child, this man, to be God’s? Another aspect here is how Jesus looks up to His Father in heaven as He says, “‘Ephphatha,’ that is ‘be opened.’” Again, another connection to the Baptismal liturgy we use at Good Shepherd as we pray and ask for the ears of the one to be baptized to be open to God’s Word, His teaching, and His will. As we learned last week, growing in this way, the baptized life, by being open and submissive to God’s Word, His teaching, and His will, requires humility. Jesus pulls the man aside, places His fingers and spit upon and within the man, and then looks to His Father, demonstrating that all He does is in accordance with His Father’s will. Jesus is submissive to His Father. Honestly, this is where we often go wrong; we do not truly live in submission to Jesus or His Father. It’s not physical deafness we show but rather spiritual deafness. Spiritual deafness occurs when we do not listen to, hear, and take to heart the word of God. And here are a few ways we demonstrate this deafness in our own lives. The issue of closed communion has been a concern for the church lately, a time characterized by spiritual deafness. A faithful family that raises their children in the Church understands God’s teachings about the Lord’s Supper—that before participating, one must examine themselves to avoid judgment and condemnation. Receiving at this altar signifies confessing unity, fellowship, and adherence to this church’s teachings. However, when families see their children go off to college, move away, and join a church of another confession that does not align with Good ...
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    15 分
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