Pastor Chris Brademeyer’s Podcast

Excuses - Trinity 2 2026

Jesus’s parable here illustrates a similar point: the master is disregarded. His feast is a momentous event and an important matter. The excuses, which may be valid for a lesser thing, are silly in comparison to the grand feast that he wants to throw. Wives, and oxen, and fields are matters that are not minor, but they are also not pressing in the sort of way that would prevent attendance at the feast of the master. And even more surprising than the lack of interest on the part of the people is the insistence of the master that the party still go on. He does not cancel; he still desires a full house. And, indeed, his house will be filled. 

True Riches and Lasting Poverty - Trinity 1 2026

Our Lord Jesus tells a striking parable this morning. He places before our eyes two men whose earthly circumstances could hardly have been more different. One was rich, clothed in purple and fine linen, feasting sumptuously every day. The other was poor, covered with sores,  who laid at the rich man's gate, longing for scraps from the table. One was honored by the world. The other was despised.
But when death came, everything was shown to be reversed. The rich man found himself in torment. Lazarus was carried by the angels to Abraham's bosom. Through this parable our Lord teaches us about stewardship, faith, heaven, hell, and the true riches that endure forever.

The Comforter - Pentecost 2026

By saying that “[t]he Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you” our Lord teaches us not only that the Holy Spirit is real but also what the Holy Spirit does. This matters greatly, because there is much confusion about the Holy Spirit in the world today.
Many people speak of the Spirit as though He were merely a feeling, a force, or an experience. Others imagine that the Holy Spirit’s primary work is to produce dramatic signs, ecstatic speech, or emotional excitement. But Jesus teaches us otherwise. The Holy Spirit is not an impersonal power. He is God Himself, the Third Person of the Holy Trinity and with the Father and the Son He is worshiped and glorified. He proceeds from the Father and the Son and is sent into the world by Christ.
*Correction: The Azusa Street Revival which began in 1906 was in Los Angeles*

The King and the Messenger - Exaudi 2026

After His resurrection and before Pentecost, Jesus prepared His disciples for something important. He knew that He would shortly ascend to the right hand of the Father. In doing this, He took up openly and publicly the reign and authority that already belonged to Him as the crucified and risen Lord. Christ is King. This is not a title that merely has meaning in some symbolic or poetic sense, but truly. All authority in heaven and on earth belongs to Him, the crucified King of kings. 
But kings seldom rule from the front lines so to speak. Usually they rule through messengers. Throughout history, kings have used emissaries, heralds, and ambassadors to make known their wills. A king sends these officers to his people, bearing his authority and carrying his message. When the herald of the king relays this message faithfully, the people do not merely hear the messenger; they hear the king himself through the messenger. To reject the herald is to reject the ruler who sent him.

Ascended to Reign - Ascension Day 2026

Forty days after His resurrection, Jesus ascended into heaven. Dear Christians, saints of the Lord, the Ascension is not Jesus leaving His Church behind. It is not Christ withdrawing from the world. Rather, the Ascension is Christ taking His throne. The crucified and risen Lord is now enthroned as King of kings and Lord of lords at the right hand of God. Ascension Day is a feast of victory and comfort. Jesus reigns. This is not a future reality alone; it is not a metaphor or mystical idea that sounds nice but has no reality behind it. Jesus truly reigns even now. The Jesus Christ, true God and true man, rules over all things for the good of His Church.
The disciples themselves struggled at first to understand this. In our reading from Acts, they ask, “Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” They were still thinking in earthly categories. They expected visible political power, national restoration, and worldly glory. But Jesus directed them to something greater. His kingdom is not limited to one nation or earthly throne. His reign extends over heaven and earth.

Dead Faith? - Rogate 2026

Faith without works is dead. This is true. After all, the Holy Spirit caused St. James to write these very words. More than this, it is also somewhat obvious. Actions are physical confessions of what one holds dear. What we treasure and trust will shape what we do and how we live. For example, someone who claims to be a Vikings fan but who refuses to watch the games, buy the gear, and hope against all reason that this year will somehow be different isn’t really much of a fan. Why? Because faith directs action.
No matter how we slice it, there is an intimate unity between what we believe and what we do. The ancient Christians summarized this with the phrase lex orandi, lex credendi, that is, the law of prayer is the law of belief. In other words, what one truly believes inevitably expresses itself outwardly. Indeed, we rightly recognize hypocrisy when someone’s words and actions contradict one another. We expect unity between confession and conduct in others, and rightly so. Therefore, we should also desire such unity in ourselves.
But this raises an important question: what is the foundation of the Christian life? Is Christianity ultimately about behavior? Is the Christian faith merely moral improvement? Is St. James teaching that salvation depends upon your ability to produce enough good works? No. Not at all. St. James is not saying that works create faith. He is teaching that living faith produces works.

Let Not Man Separate - The Wedding of Kyle Saville and Alyx Schmitz

Dearly beloved in Christ, and especially Kyle and Alyx, today is a day of great joy. God has gathered us together to witness and rejoice in the union that He Himself has instituted and blessed. Marriage is not merely a human arrangement, nor simply a legal contract or emotional partnership. Marriage is God’s design. It is His gift to mankind from the very beginning.
Our Lord Jesus says in Matthew 19: “Have you not read that He who created them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’?” 
Notice that Jesus points back to the fabric of creation itself. Before sin entered the world, before suffering and death, before all the brokenness we now experience, God established marriage. It belongs to Him. He created it. He defines it. And because He designed it, He also knows its purpose.

Be Not Deceived - Cantate 2026

St. James give us a sharp and necessary warning: “Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers.” James assumes something about our condition here in this world. That is to say, he not only assumes that we will have the possibility of deception, but that it is likely. You, dear Christian, can be misled. Deception comes from the father of lies, the devil and all his demons. It comes from the world, which seeks to lead astray. Worst of all, we deceive ourselves. 
This deception is not directed to any and all knowledge, ultimately speaking. No, focuses on misleading about Christ, how we live as Christians, and how we relate to the Word of God. These eternal things are so important that they go beyond the sum total of all this universe. So James speaks to us plainly: do not be deceived. He wants us to be able to identify deception and to correct it by the very Word of God.

3P1S Episode 27 - Faithful Through the Summer: Why the Third Commandment Still Matters When the Lake Calls

The temperature is rising, the grass is growing green, and the ice is melting - summer is coming. With the summer months, though, church attendance often drops as busy North Dakotans try to squeeze many activities into the summer months before they have to hibernate again next fall. With this said, does church still matter over the summer or does summer vacation apply to the church as well? Join us in this episode titled, "Faithful Through the Summer; Why the Third Commandment Still Matters When the Lake Calls."

Christians in a Pagan Land - Jubilate 2026

Beloved in the Lord, St. Peter addresses Christians who are, in his words, “sojourners and exiles.” You live here, in this world, but you do not ultimately belong to it. Your citizenship is elsewhere. Your being is not determined by the shifting standards of culture, reputation, or public approval, but by Christ and His saving work. No matter what comes in this life, your ultimate status, identity, and place are guaranteed by Christ, your Savior. Even though this is the case, it is precisely because you live among neighbors, employers, authorities, and even adversaries that we must ask a central question: how then shall you live?
St. Peter gives us an answer that is not vague. It is concrete, demanding, and at times uncomfortable. He gives a twofold charge that defines the shape of the Christian life in this world. Our lives here are both inwardly at war and outwardly honorable.