Pastor Chris Brademeyer’s Podcast

Bread

Bread is a staple of life. In the Bible, bread represents daily provision, sustenance, and even God's miraculous care for His people. One of the most amazing miracles that our Lord Jesus performed was the feeding of the five thousand. This miracle was not just about satisfying hunger but was a sign pointing to something much greater—Jesus Himself as the Bread of Life.
This truth challenges us to examine our own selves: Are we seeking Jesus merely for the benefits or material blessings we want Him to provide, or do we long for Him above all else? Today, we will explore the significance of Jesus’ miracle, what it reveals about Him, and how He alone satisfies the deepest needs of our souls.
 

The Funeral of Irma Marek

We have gathered here today to lay to rest our dear sister in Christ Irma. We come with sadness, because death is always painful. It takes from us people we love. We feel the loss deeply, and it is right to grieve. Even Jesus wept at the tomb of His friend, Lazarus.
But as we grieve, we also come to be reminded of the hope that we have in Christ. Death is not the final word. Today is not just a time to remember Irma, but to reflect on the promises of Jesus. Jesus says in John that He is the resurrection and the life. This is the foundation of our hope today: that those who belong to Christ have eternal life in Him.
 

The Gift of Prayer

Dear friends in Christ, what a gift and privilege it is that we may pray! Prayer is not a burden, nor is it something we must do to earn God’s favor. Rather, prayer is a gift that our heavenly Father has given us, an open invitation to come before Him as dear children speak to their dear father.
Yet, if we are honest, we often struggle with prayer. We may neglect it in our daily lives, only remembering to pray when we are in crisis. Or, we may fall into the habit of thoughtless repetition, saying words without considering their meaning. Or perhaps, we hesitate to pray at all, feeling unworthy to come before God or that our concerns are beneath His interest or attention.
But in today’s lesson from Matthew, Jesus teaches us how to pray—not as a performance, not as a mindless ritual, but as true children of God. And as we learn from both Scripture and Luther’s summary of it in the Small Catechism, the Lord’s Prayer is the perfect model and guide for all our prayers.
Find out more in this sermon from St. John's Lutheran Church of Oakes, ND!

Christ, Born of Mary

Today, we celebrate the Feast of the Annunciation, the day our Lord was conceived in the womb of His mother, the blessed Virgin Mary. Mary was a young girl, likely no older than a teenager, and Joseph, her betrothed, was a faithful but otherwise ordinary man. Yet, despite their humble circumstances, God chose them for an extraordinary purpose: to bear and raise the Savior of the world.
This reminds us of a profound truth—God does not choose people based on outward status or worldly achievements. He looks at the heart. And in Mary and Joseph, we see simple yet steadfast faith, the kind of faith that trusts in the Lord’s promises even when they seem impossible.
But why did Christ come? Why did God Himself take on human flesh?
Find out more in this sermon for the Annunciation from St. John's Lutheran Church of Oakes, ND!

Warfare

Jesus speaks plainly: “Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and a divided household falls.” If Satan were casting out Satan, then his kingdom would collapse. But Satan does not work against himself; rather, he masquerades as an angel of light, deceiving many into thinking they can be neutral, that they can straddle the line between good and evil. But there is no middle ground. You are either with Christ, or you are against Him. You either gather with Him, or you scatter.
This is a hard truth in a world that values moral ambiguity and personal preference above divine truth. People want to believe they can remain undecided about Christ while living as they please, that morals, at least considered in the abstract, have shades of gray rather than black and white. This is not to say that every moral decision is easy or clearcut, but that morality, as a general principle, is more black and white than not. In other words, there is objective, universal truth tot these things.
Jesus dispels this notion: there is no middle ground. One either belongs to the kingdom of God or the dominion of darkness.
Find out more in this sermon from St. John's Lutheran Church of Oakes, ND.

The Gospel

While all of the church year is designed for us to meditate on and receive the wisdom and benefits of the life and death of our Lord Jesus Christ, Lent is a particularly appropriate time to think about these things since it is a season that is meant to ready us for Holy Week and the great Pascal feast. And more to the point for tonight, these central truths are confessed in the Apostles’ Creed. In the Second Article of the Creed, we confess the central truth of our salvation—who Christ is and what He has done for us. This is not just doctrine to be memorized; it is the very foundation of our hope, our comfort, and our life. As Luther explains in the Large Catechism, this article teaches us about our Redeemer, who has delivered us from sin, death, and the devil’s power. Namely, the Catechism reflects three key aspects of this glorious truth: Christ’s identity, Christ’s work, and Christ’s victory.
Find out more in this sermon from St. John's Lutheran Church of Oakes, ND!

Stubborn Faith

This passage from Matthew is a gripping one. Jesus has a, for lack of a better word, confrontation with a Canaanite woman who is not of the house of Israel. Jesus says plainly that He has come to save Israel, not the Gentiles, but the woman refuses to back down. She would be happy, she says, to even get the crumbs. And her dogged refusal to look anywhere else than Jesus for help is commended as an example of great faith. The Canaanite woman is easy to sympathize with. She was, no doubt, desperate to see her daughter healed. And she, in her great need, came to Jesus. This was no fluke or accident; she did not come to know Jesus in by a dream or sudden spiritual awakening. The report of Christ was circulating the countryside; the Lord’s reputation was widely known at this point. And so she went to see if Jesus could do anything for her. This is the root of trust that makes faith. And this passage is a profound teaching on faith—what it is, where it comes from, and how it clings to Christ alone. Many misunderstand faith as something we muster up ourselves, but as we will see, faith is entirely a gift from God, sustained by His Word.
To hear more, listen to this sermon from St. John's Lutheran Church of Oakes, ND!

Honoring God Through the Three Estates

Authority and hierarchy, structure and order: these are the things protected by God’s holy Law, the Fourth Commandment, “Honor your father and your mother.” This commandment is more than just a rule for children; it is the foundation for how we honor all authority established by God. Martin Luther, in his Large Catechism, explains this commandment by referencing what he calls the Three Estates—the Family, the Church, and the Government. In each of these, God has placed people in authority for our good, and in honoring them, we ultimately honor Him.
In brief, this commandment reminds us of the order that God wills and creates for us in our interactions among ourselves and the protection that God grants to such things. If you find yourself in a position of authority, then you ought to use that authority in God-pleasing ways and for the promotion of order and benefit for those under that authority. And if you find yourself under an authority, then you ought to obey and seek the success of that authority so long as he or she does not require you to disobey God.
Find out more in this sermon from St. John's Lutheran Church of Oakes, ND!

Tested

Jesus is sent into the wilderness by the Holy Spirit to be tempted by the Devil. Temptation is so common to us in this world that even Jesus Himself was tempted. This was, ultimately, for our good, as Hebrews notes that Jesus is now able to sympathize with us in our temptations. And even though we are tempted in this way, temptations still come. They come from our sinful selves, they come from the world around us, and they come from that old liar, the Devil. There is much that can be said about this, but this sermon is about one in particular: Satan. What should we make of him? What are his tactics? And, most importantly, how can we overcome him?
Find out more in this sermon from St. John's Lutheran Church of Oakes, ND!

Repentance, Alms, and Fasting

Tonight, we gather on Ash Wednesday, the beginning of our Lenten journey. A journey marked by repentance, reflection, and renewal as we prepare ourselves to dwell on the passion, death, and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. Listening to the words of Jesus in Matthew 6, we are confronted with a fundamental question: Where is our treasure? Where is our devotion?
To find out more, check out this Ash Wednesday Sermon from St. John's Lutheran Church of Oakes, ND!