Tomahawk Immanuel Lutheran Church

05/28/2026

Lord, my hope is built on nothing less than Jesus, the solid rock on which I stand.

Everything else in this life is shifting sand, temporary and unreliable, but You are the foundation that will never crumble, never fail, never let me down.

Teach me to anchor my hope in You alone, not in my circumstances, not in other people, not in my own strength or plans, but in the unchanging truth of who You are.

Help me recognize when I'm building my life on shaky ground, when I'm trusting in what's temporary instead of what's eternal, when I'm leaning on anything other than You.

Remind me that when everything else falls apart, when plans fail and dreams shatter and nothing goes the way I hoped, You remain, steady and sure and worthy of my trust.

Give me the wisdom to build my life on the solid foundation of Your truth, Your promises, Your character, knowing that what's built on You will stand no matter what storms come.

Let my hope be unshakeable because it's rooted not in what I can see or control but in Jesus, the rock of my salvation, my anchor in every season.

In Jesus' name,

Amen.

05/28/2026

Now Available: June Lutheran Hour Sermon Schedule!
Tune in each week to hear Gospel-centered messages that bring hope, encouragement, and the truth of God’s Word to everyday life.
Don’t miss a single broadcast! Check out the full schedule here:
https://conta.cc/4t64PIK

05/21/2026

(6/6) A Simple Invitation
If you’re feeling overwhelmed today, I want to invite you to do something very simple. Don’t try to fix the situation. Don’t try to "think positive" your way out of it. Just acknowledge the crushing. Tell God, "I feel heavy, and I know You’re here."

Grab one of our digital devotionals and a notebook, and just list the things that feel heavy. Don’t edit them. Don’t make them sound "holy." Just get them out of your head and onto the page. Give yourself permission to be the "crushed" person for a moment, knowing that the Creator of the Universe is currently standing right next to you, holding the weight so it doesn't break you.

You aren't being destroyed. You're being refined. You're being held.
And most importantly, you are loved: not for how well you handle the pressure, but simply because you are His.
Stay encouraged. The fire might be hot, but the Goldsmith is standing right there by the furnace, and He isn't going to let a single ounce of your beauty be lost.

05/21/2026

(5/6) The Path is Rocky, but the Light is On

Walking through a season of grief or hardship feels like navigating a rocky mountain path in the middle of a storm. You’re worried about tripping, you’re exhausted from the climb, and you can’t see more than two feet in front of you.
But the light of God’s presence doesn't always illuminate the whole mountain at once. Usually, He just gives us enough light for the very next step.

If you can just take the next step: just breathe through the next five minutes: you’re doing it. You’re walking with Him. And eventually, you’ll look back and realize that the path was never as lonely as it felt. You’ll see the footprints in the mud right next to yours.

05/21/2026

(4/6) You Don’t Need the Right Words
One of the biggest lies we believe when life gets heavy is that we have to "pray it away" with the right vocabulary. We think if we can just find the perfect scriptural formula or the most eloquent way to explain our pain to God, He’ll finally move.

But here’s the truth: God is a much better listener than we give Him credit for. He doesn't just hear your words; He hears your sighs. He hears the "I can't do this anymore" that you whisper into your pillow at 2 AM.

Sometimes, the most spiritual thing you can do is just "be" with Him. You don’t have to perform. You don’t have to have a 5-point prayer plan. You can just sit in His presence and be broken.
At Word of Encouragement, we talk a lot about the power of journaling. Not because we want you to write a bestseller, but because your journal can be a space where you’re allowed to be completely, 100% messy. Our digital journals and devotionals aren't meant to be "homework." They’re meant to be an altar. They’re a place where you can dump out the crushing weight of your day and say, "God, I don't have the words, but here is the mess."

When you stop trying to find the "right" thing to say, you create space to hear what He is saying. And usually, He’s just saying, "I’m here. I’ve got you. We’re going to get through this."

05/21/2026

View Bernard "Ben" William Richter's obituary, contribute to their memorial, see their funeral service details, and more.

05/16/2026

❤️❤️❤️

(3/6) Why the Crushing Matters
It sounds a bit harsh, doesn't it? The idea that God does His "deepest work" when we’re at our lowest. We’d much rather He did His deepest work while we’re on a beach in Maui. But there is a spiritual reality to the pressure.

Think about the things we value most in the physical world. An olive has to be crushed to produce oil. A grape has to be pressed to produce wine. Even a diamond is just a piece of coal that handled a ridiculous amount of pressure and heat without giving up.

When you feel "crushed" by circumstances, it’s often because God is extracting something beautiful from your life that couldn't have been reached any other way. In the crushing, the "husk" of our self-reliance is stripped away. We stop trying to be the heroes of our own stories because we’re too tired to hold the sword. And that is exactly when God can finally be the hero for us.

He’s not a cosmic bully who enjoys seeing us struggle. He’s a Master Craftsman who knows that the most valuable treasures are often found at the bottom of the deepest pits.

05/16/2026

❤️❤️

(2/6) The Theology of Proximity
There’s a verse we like to throw around a lot in Christian circles, but it’s worth slowing down to actually read it. Psalm 34:18 says, "The Lord is close to the brokenhearted; he saves those whose spirits are crushed."

Notice what it doesn’t say. It doesn’t say, "The Lord watches from a safe distance until the brokenhearted get their act together." It doesn’t say, "The Lord sends a polite ‘get well soon’ card to the crushed." It says He is close.

The Hebrew word for "crushed" in this context refers to something that has been pulverized: beaten into a fine powder. It’s the kind of brokenness where you can’t even find the pieces to glue them back together. And that is exactly where God sets up shop.

If you’re feeling crushed today, you aren't a failure. You aren't "unspiritual." You’re actually in the prime position for an encounter with the Creator. He doesn't avoid our pain; He enters into it. He isn’t allergic to your tears or your messy, snot-crying prayers. He’s the God who sits on the floor with you in the middle of the ruins.

05/16/2026

❤️

(1/6) Let’s be real for a second: life isn't always a curated Instagram feed of sunsets and latte art. Sometimes, life feels like an elephant decided to take a nap right on your chest.

You’re doing your best to keep it together: paying the bills, showing up for work, pretending you aren’t one minor inconvenience away from a total meltdown, but deep down, you feel "crushed."
Whether it's the heavy blanket of grief, the suffocating weight of anxiety, or just a season where everything seems to be falling apart at the seams, that feeling of being squeezed is real.

And usually, when we feel this way, our first instinct is to think God has stepped out for a coffee break. We think, “If God were really here, I wouldn’t feel like I’m being pulverized.”
But the wild thing about the Kingdom of God is that it often works in total opposition to how we think it should. In the economy of Heaven, the crushing isn't a sign of God's absence. It’s actually the moment of His most intense presence...