Pastor Chris Brademeyer’s Podcast

What is Love?

Love. It is a word used so frequently that it has almost lost its meaning. The world talks about love as a feeling, as an attraction, as something that “just happens.” But what does God say about love? Today, we turn to St. Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 13, one of the most famous passages in all of Scripture, to understand what true love is
Listen to the rest of this sermon for Quinquagesima from St. John's Lutheran Church of Oakes, ND!

Sow What?

The Word of God is very important; it is the foundation of our faith, the means by which God speaks to us, and the power that transforms hearts and lives. Think of a time when a single verse of Scripture provided you with hope, strength, or conviction—this is the power of the Word at work. It is more than just ink on a page or sounds in the air. It is the very power of God unto salvation. It is the difference between life and death, heaven and hell, forgiveness and condemnation. And because it is so powerful, there are many enemies who seek to choke it out.
The devil, the world, and our own sinful nature all conspire against the Word. The devil knows that the Word is his death, and so he fights against it with lies, distractions, and temptations. Persecution arises, seeking to make us fear the consequences of holding fast to the Word. The cares and concerns of this world press upon us, luring us away with the false promises of wealth, comfort, and self-fulfillment. The old Adam within us resists the Word, twisting it to serve his own ends, or rejecting it outright when it challenges his desires.
Despite these obstacles, this parable of Jesus reminds us that the great Sower continues to sow the seed of His Word, demonstrating God’s unwavering commitment to reaching His people with His saving Word.
Find out more in this sermon from St. John's Lutheran Church of Oakes, ND!

Just Wages

          We live in a world where hard work is often measured by what we receive in return. We expect fairness, just compensation, and recognition for our efforts. When that expectation is disrupted, it can stir frustration or even resentment. Jesus' parable of the workers in the vineyard challenges that thinking and instead directs us to something greater: the abundant and undeserved grace of God.
          At first glance, this parable appears to be about work and wages. Some labor from dawn until dusk, others only for an hour, yet all receive the same payment. Naturally, those who worked longer feel slighted. But to focus on the workers and their efforts is to miss the heart of this parable. The emphasis is not on human labor but on the generosity of the master—and ultimately, the boundless grace of God.
           Imagine for a moment that you were among those workers. You labored all day under the scorching sun, pushing through exhaustion, while others arrived just before sundown and received the same wage. Wouldn’t you feel frustrated? Yet, the master reminds them—and us—that he has done no wrong. He has simply been generous.

The Cloud

Imagine standing on a mountain with Jesus. Suddenly, His appearance changes—His face shines like the sun, His clothes become dazzling white. Then, out of nowhere, Moses and Elijah appear, speaking with Him. If that was not overwhelming enough, a bright cloud covers the mountain, and the voice of God thunders from heaven: “This is My beloved Son... listen to Him.”
How would you react? How would you feel?
The disciples’ reaction is exactly what we might expect: terror. They fall to their faces, overwhelmed by the presence of God. But then, Jesus comes to them, touches them, and says, “Rise, and have no fear.” And when they lift up their eyes, everything else has disappeared. No Moses. No Elijah. No cloud. Only Jesus remains.
This moment—the Transfiguration—is one of the clearest revelations of who Jesus truly is, But there is a detail in this account that often gets overlooked: the cloud.

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!