Good Shepherd Lutheran Church - Madison & Verona

"From the Margins"  Pastor Chris Enstad preaches on Christmas Eve from the Good Shepherd Madison Campus. Originally recorded December 24, 2018. To learn more about Good Shepherd visit gslcwi.com

Joyful Expectation | Advent Three For the four Sundays in Advent, there will be a new edition of the "Joyful Expectation" podcast - exploring the liminality or "in between" nature of the Advent season.  On this episode: The in-between of adolescence A Gospel reading from Luke 1:39-55 A reflection from Pastor Joe Broisous For more about Advent at Good Shepherd visit: gslcwi.com/advent

"What then should we do?" | Pastor Dara Schuller Hanson John gives us a picture of not only a need for repentance but a recognition of God’s forgiveness as a first fruit of the Holy Spirit that allows us to approach the altar of judgement and forgiveness in the first place. Originally recorded at the Good Shepherd Madison campus on Sunday, December 16.  For more about Advent at Good Shepherd, please visit:  gslcwi.com/advent

Joyful Expectation | Advent Three For the four Sundays in Advent, there will be a new edition of the "Joyful Expectation" podcast - exploring the liminality or "in between" nature of the Advent season.  On this episode: A story of normalcy disrupted  A Gospel reading from Luke 3:7-18 A reflection from Pastor Chris Enstad For more about Advent at Good Shepherd visit: gslcwi.com/advent

"Looking for the Fig Tree" | Pastor Sheryl Erickson In a season where we long for comfort John the Baptist calls us FIRST to an uncomfortable question: how have we prepared our world for the coming of Jesus?   Originally recorded at the Good Shepherd Madison campus on Sunday, December 9.  For more about Advent at Good Shepherd, please visit:  gslcwi.com/advent

Joyful Expectation | Advent Two For the four Sundays in Advent, there will be a new edition of the "Joyful Expectation" podcast - exploring the liminality or "in between" nature of the Advent season.  On this episode: A double major in divinity and engineering reflects on science & faith A Gospel reading from Luke 3:1-6 A reflection from Pastor Joe Brosious For more about Advent at Good Shepherd visit: gslcwi.com/advent

"Looking for the Fig Tree" | Pastor Chris Enstad The coming kingdom means new life.  We miss the new life when we focus only on what is passing away, torn down or lost.  Jesus calls us to look always for the buds of spring, the first signs of new life.   Originally recorded at the Good Shepherd Madison campus on Sunday, December 2.  For more about Advent at Good Shepherd, please visit:  gslcwi.com/advent

Joyful Expectation | Advent One For the four Sundays in Advent, there will be a new edition of the "Joyful Expectation" podcast - exploring the liminality or "in between" nature of the Advent season.  On this episode: An oncologist shares about the perseverance that can come from suffering A Gospel reading from Luke 21:25-36 A reflection from Pastor Dara Schuller Hanson For more about Advent at Good Shepherd visit: gslcwi.com/advent  

This Sunday's Gospel reading from Mark (Mark 13:1-8) is called the Little Apocalypse.  Don’t let that scare you though.  The word apocalypse usually brings up images for us of death, destruction and catastrophe.  It’s true that Jesus describes earthquakes and war and famine, but there is more than just destruction in this passage. The literal translation for the word apocalypse is “an uncovering or a revelation”.  It means something is being revealed.   Pastor Dara Schuller Hanson preaches on Mark 13:1-8. Originally recorded at the Good Shepherd Madison Campus on Sunday, November 18, 2018.   

What does it look like to give without asking for anything in return? We might know people who can live this out, but it sure isn’t easy.  As disciples of Jesus Christ, we are called to live with generosity, humility, and faith.  But how often we forget.  We have a hard time giving without asking for anything in return and when we do give we find ourselves complaining about it.  Not so for the woman in this story.   Pastor Dara Schuller Hanson preaches on Mark 12:38-44 - originally recorded at the Good Shepherd Madison Campus on November 11, 2018

Pastor Joe Broisous preaches on Mark 10:35-45 - exploring the meanings of the atonement.    Originally recorded at the Good Shepherd Madison Campus on October 21, 2018. 

"In this story about divorce and blessing children- Jesus reminds the Pharisees and the disciples and us -that all people are created by God and that our relationships are sacred.  The people we are in closest relationship too- our children, our spouses, our parents, our friends- and people we don’t know at all- were all made by God with love. "   Pastor Dara Schuller Hanson preaches on Mark 10:2-16.  Originally recorded at Good Shepherd's Madison Campus on October 7, 2018.

"It is a question that has been asked for thousands of years in one form or another. Who is the greatest, the disciples ask? Mirror mirror on the wall! But how do we know when we are being great? How do we know when we have made it? How do we know that we truly belong?"   Pastor Joe Brosious preaches at the Good Shepherd Madison campus on September 23, 2018.   

Pastor Sheryl Erickson preaches on Mark 8:27-38.    Recorded at Good Shepherd's Madison Campus on September 16, 2018

"Withholding Judgment" Pastor Chris Enstad preaches on James 2:1-17   Music Credits:  The Basket by Blue Dot Sessions is licensed under an Attribution-NonCommercial License.

Pastor Joe Brosious preaches on Mark 7:24-37   Music Credits:  The Basket by Blue Dot Sessions is licensed under an Attribution-NonCommercial License.

Pastor Dara Schuller Hanson preaches on John 6:56-59 from our Madison Campus.    Music Credits:  The Basket by Blue Dot Sessions is licensed under an Attribution-NonCommercial License.  

Ephesians 5:15-20 God fills us with the Spirit, bringing joy and thankfulness to ordinary days.

Called to live differently This week’s reading from Paul’s letter to the Ephesians (Ephesians 4:25 – 5:2) is a particularly piercing word for the church today. Paul makes a powerful appeal that’s needed in a time when “truth” is a questionable commodity in our current society. Along with questioning “the truth”, we live in a culture where anger, malice and slander are met – and dished out – at every turn. Paul unequivocally reminds us, that as Christian disciples, we are to live differently. God has poured out his life in his Son, Jesus Christ, and has made us his beloved children. As children of God, our old life has been put away and we are growing into a new life together in Jesus Christ. That new life changes how we deal with one another. In our society, and in our Christian life together, anger emerges from our deep divides. Anger lashes out when people isolate themselves in their own realities and think their ways of going about life are the ONLY ways to go about life. When isolated individuals or group

No Longer Strangers: Bound Together in Grace Part four of a six-part series from Ephesians   Responding to Grace Christianity is not necessary in our society in order to make “good” people.  Other religions preach most, if not all, of the same morals that our Christian Bible does.  Our civic laws perform much of the same function as the original Ten Commandments! Where Christianity differs is in how that goodness comes into play.  Christian ethics, values, and morals come as responses to God’s grace.  God’s grace comes first.  We, as God’s faithful people, are called, then, to live our lives in response to that grace. The word that we use for this kind of grace is “prevenient” grace.  God’s grace goes before any call to obedience to God’s commands.  God’s commands always come after a “therefore”.   Music Credits:  Glass Beads by Blue Dot Sessions is licensed under an Attribution-NonCommercial License.