Pastor Chris Brademeyer’s Podcast

Like Us

                One of the more difficult things for us human beings to contemplate is that our God, specifically the Son, is a man named Jesus Christ. This is hard thing for us to understand for a few reasons. There is the simple fact that fitting God into a man is a difficult proposition. After all, how does any human being have the capacity to contain the Almighty God? Besides this, there is an assumption that this material world is too base, dirty, unclean, even gross for the pure and holy God. After all, sin and death lurk here, and God wants nothing to do with these things.
                While you Christians have heard this truth, that God has become a man, often enough to have become habituated to it, this proposition often shocks, confuses, and upsets those who are outside of the Christian faith. More to the point, there is something of an instinctual revulsion, a deep-seated nervousness around this idea.
                Why is this the case? Why do we human beings have this strong dislike of the idea that God would become a man?

Cleansed

Have you ever felt dirty? I mean, I would think most of us have. If you spend an afternoon in August doing yardwork, you’ve needed a shower. Even if it wasn’t yardwork, you’ve probably had the same experience with some other grungy task. Bathrooms, messes, dirt, stench: these all make the us feel outwardly dirty. It doesn’t take much to need a shower, but the solution is also rather simple: take that shower. Use the soap. Don’t skimp on the shampoo. And when done, you will feel clean.
                Outward filth and dirt are easy to take care of, this is true. Even deeper uncleanness, like that of disease and bodily harm is easy enough to deal with, particularly today with our host of antibiotics and surgical interventions that weren’t available in other times. That being said, we must admit that being a leper is not a terribly fun thing, particularly in a time before the wide use of antibiotics.
 
To find out more, listen to this sermon from St. John's Lutheran Church of Oakes, ND!

The Wedding

There are two significant things that cross paths in our reading from John today. The first is that our Lord Jesus exhibits an absolute mastery over physical reality, such that without any act other than simply giving a few orders to some of the servants, He is able to transmute, change water into wine. And not just wine, but good wine beyond the norm and expectation of those at the party. And, speaking of parties, this is the second thing that our reading brings to light: our Lord loves marriage and all the things that go with it.
 

The Baptism of the Lord

            Baptism is an important thing in the Christian life. We all were baptized at some point, many of us at too young of an age to even remember it. And for us and the baptism we receive, it easy to see they why of doing it. Scripture teaches us in Romans chapter six and Colossians chapter two that baptism unites us to the death of Christ. In other words, baptism is the delivery vehicle that God has ordained to give us what our Lord died for us to have so that, by His Word with the water used in baptism, we receive forgiveness and life and salvation. Baptism delivers these treasures, and faith receives them. Without faith, the gifts given in Baptism do us no good, that is, they are not being received for our benefit.
                And this is easy enough to wrap our minds around. We are sinners. We need help, that is, to be forgiven and saved from our sins. And our Lord Jesus not only has earned forgiveness for us, but has established ways to hand it to us so that we might have faith created and awakened in us by the Holy Spirit so that we would be beneficiaries of the saving work of our Lord on the cross. Baptism, as one of these means of grace, is a vehicle that delivers to us these great blessings.
                But what then do we make of the baptism of our Lord Jesus? Jesus is not a sinner. He does not need to be forgiven. More still, he does not have need of receiving everlasting life since He posses immortality by nature. He does not need to be saved. So what was the purpose of His baptism?
Find out more in this sermon from St. John's Lutheran Church of Oakes, ND!
 

Behold the Light!

So the men came to see Jesus. They came from the darkness of their superstition and false religion to see Him who is the light of the world. They came because the star in the heavens was a sign that the very Light of the world had come. And so they did, thereby fulfilling the prophecy recorded for us in the sixtieth chapter of Isaiah the prophet.
                This Lord, the King of the Jews, the very Light of lights shone in the dark and, as the Apostle John reminds us, the light does not overcome it. The Light who is Christ the Lord dispels all darkness and gloom, dissipating the shadows of sin, death, and the devil. This Lord reveals many things. His light illumines the truth, showing both sin and grace. His light not only uncovers the depths of our shame but shows forth the great heights of the mercy of God.
 
 

Flight

After this visit of the Magi to the infant Jesus, they were warned in a dream to avoid Herod and went home by a different route. Mary and Joseph, in turn, fled with the infant Jesus to Egypt. This both confirmed the prophecies of the Old Testament, as noted here in our reading, and kept our Lord from being put to death before His time.
                What then are we to make of this flight into Egypt? We have already discussed the practical aspect of keeping Jesus safe from Herod. But it also undid one of the great sins of the Old Testament people of God. When Israel was brought back from slavery in Egypt, they rebelled against God and sinned against Him. Our Lord Jesus, on the other hand, went into Egypt and came back to the promised land without sin of any sort. This sets a theme for the life and ministry of our Lord. What the people of God did not do, what they failed at, Jesus does in their place perfectly.
Why did our Lord Jesus have to flee to Egypt? Find out in this sermon from St. John's Lutheran Church of Oakes, ND!

He Was Called Jesus

Circumcision is a difficult topic to discuss from the pulpit, given that it deals with a very private part of the body. And let me just say, if you don’t know what circumcision is, talk to your parents or someone else who knows. But above all, do not Google it. You’ll thank me later. And so, tonight we have the unenviable task of seeing why this particular event is so important in the life of the Church, and, indeed, in our lives as Christians.
 
Why did God command circumcision? Why was Jesus circumcised? Find out in this sermon from St. John's Lutheran Church of Oakes, ND!

Depart in Peace

Regardless of his exact background and pedigree, Simeon was anticipating this day. For he knew that peace that transcends death could only be found in Christ Jesus the Lord, the Messiah foretold of old and who was promised to be seen by him. And that day came. Given all of this, it is unsurprising that Simeon broke out into song. How could he not sing? What greater reason to sing than this could there possibly be? He had met the Lord, the Savior of the world, the One who could finally destroy sin and death and overthrow the reign of the devil! Now that he had met the Christ, the Savior, Simeon could depart in peace. He could lie with his ancestors, knowing that God had indeed kept his promises and would not allow His people to be under the oppression of evil any more.
Want to hear more? Listen to this sermon for the First Sunday after Christmas (12/29/2024) from St. John's Lutheran Church of Oakes, ND!

The Funeral of Lysle Coleman

This sermon was preached for the funeral of Lysle Coleman. Lysle's obituary can be read at https://www.dahlstromfuneralhome.com/obituary/lysle-coleman.

What Child is This?

“What child is this, who, laid to rest, on Mary’s lap is sleeping?” So begins a much beloved Christmas hymn by the nineteenth century Englishman William C. Dix. This question was not new in 1865 when the song was penned. In fact, some version of this question had been asked since the very beginning. The disciples asked themselves a variant of this question when, as recorded in Matthew chapter eight, Jesus calmed a storm that had arisen. Through the centuries it was debated at all of the great meetings of the Christian Church which are called church councils. At the Council of Nicaea in 325 AD, from which we get the original version and name of the Nicene Creed, this question was the central issue. And through the many centuries, this question has been asked by seekers, skeptics, and believers alike. Today, this question is no less relevant than it has ever been.
Who is Jesus? Find out in this Christmas sermon from St. John's Lutheran Church of Oakes, ND!