Pastor Chris Brademeyer’s Podcast

Love Commanded, Love Given

It was the last week of Jesus’ earthly ministry and the tension in Jerusalem was thick. The Pharisees and Sadducees were desperate to trap Him, that is, they wanted to catch Him saying something that would discredit Him before the people or give the authorities grounds to arrest Him.
They had already tried to politically entrap Him by asking “Is it right to pay the imperial tax to Caesar or not?” Jesus’ answer silenced them.
Then the Sadducees had tried to entrap Him theologically by asking about marriage and the resurrection. Jesus refuted them too, saying, “You are wrong, because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God.” In today’s reading from Matthew,  a lawyer, a professional in the Law of Moses, steps forward with what might at first glance seem an innocent question: “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?”
Find out more in this sermon from St. John's Lutheran Church of Oakes, ND!

Let Not Your Hearts be Troubled: The Funeral of Irene Meyer

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, family, and friends of Irene Meyer: there are moments in life when words seem small and our hearts are heavy. The death of a mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, sister, and friend brings such a moment. Even when we know death will come, it still feels like an intrusion, a reminder that this world is not as God intended it to be. And yet, into such moments, our Lord Jesus speaks the words we need most: “Let not your hearts be troubled.”
Find out more in this sermon for the funeral of Irene Meyer from St. John's Lutheran Church of Oakes, ND!

Humility and Healing

There are few situations in which self-exaltation and self-aggrandizing are considered acceptable. Indeed, it is almost always seen as being in bad form. You know the type. The person who talks a little too much about himself, who always manages to turn the conversation back to his own accomplishments, who wants to make sure you know how important he is. Such people quickly prove themselves insufferable.
And even if others play nice to keep face or because the self-important have social or business power, deep down, people do not enjoy being witness to this sort of arrogance.
More to the point, Jesus does not care for self-importance. He, who of all people has the greatest claim to honor and glory, did not conduct Himself in that way during His ministry. Instead, He chose the way of humility, simplicity, and service, even unto death for us sinners.
Find out more in this sermon from St. John's Lutheran Church of Oakes, ND!

The Lord of Life Draws Near

Every one of our funerals begin with the same words: “In Holy Baptism [Name] was clothed with the robe of Christ’s righteousness that covered all his sin. St. Paul says, ‘Do you not know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might live a new life.’”
Those words set the tone: we do not face death alone. We face it as those joined to Christ’s own death and resurrection by holy Baptism. Our Gospel reading today gives us a picture of that truth. In Luke chapter seven, death is on parade. A widow walks behind the bier carrying her only son. She has had no husband for a certain amount of time. Now she doesn’t have a son. In his place she is left with only grief. But into this funeral procession enters Jesus, the Lord of Life. When He draws near, death retreats. Indeed, it can do nothing else.
Find out more in this funeral from St. John's Lutheran Church of Oakes, ND!

Two Masters?

Every one of us has a relationship with money and possessions. Some of us have a lot, some of us have a little. Some are comfortable, others feel pressed on every side. But no matter our position, Scripture repeatedly reminds us: wealth is both a gift of God and a dangerous temptation. It can provide food for the hungry, or it can become a false god that robs us of faith in Christ. It can give great blessings, or it can lead to great anxiety. Today’s readings teach us how to manage wealth properly, that is,  as something to be received in trust, to be used in love, and to be kept from becoming an idol.
Find out more in this sermon from St. John's Lutheran Church of Oakes, ND!
 

3P1S Episode 19: Digital Addiction? Examining Christian Discipline in a Digital World

When the world is obsessed with screens, speed, and virtual presence, does the church have anything else to say? Does the Christian have any reason not to live with his head buried in a screen? What discipline is needed by today's Christians to live soberly in this often screen-fatigued world?
 
For more episodes go to www.3p1s.com

Fellowship in the Light

When our Lord Jesus prayed on the night before His death that “they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you,”He was not speaking figuratively. This was not a clever metaphor or a mere turn of phrase. It is the will of our Lord Jesus that Christians, those who bear His name, should be one.
And what is meant by this unity? Nothing less than that they share in all things. That is, that they would have very things of Christ without division, without rivalry, without conflict. His prayer is for a unity among Christians that reflects the eternal unity between the Father and the Son.
But as we all know, this is certainly not the case at present. The Church seems fractured. There are divisions between the East and the West, Romans and Protestants, Lutherans and the Reformed, liberals and conservatives, confessionals and missionals, the Missouri Synod; the Wisconsin Synod; and the myriad of other Confessional synods. Christ’s Church seems broken into irreconcilable pieces.
And yet the Scriptures remind us that unity is not optional. Christian fellowship is necessary. It is the very will of Christ that His people be one.
Find out more in this sermon preached at the 2025 Calov Conference from St. John's Lutheran Church of Oakes, ND!

Christ on Campus

The installation of a pastor is always a day of joy, but today’s occasion has a unique flavor. Here at the University of North Dakota, we are setting apart a servant of Christ to minister in one of the most challenging and most fruitful fields: the university campus. It is here that young men and women are being trained for their economic vocations, questions of life and meaning are raised with intensity, and future families will be formed. Today, God places His man in this place, not with the wisdom of the world, but with the Word of Christ, crucified and risen to come to these young men and women.
Find out more in this sermon preached for the installation of the Rev. Christopher Durham as the chaplain of Wittenberg Chapel at the University of North Dakota.

St. Matthew, Apostle

Today is the Feast of the Commemoration of St. Matthew, Apostle and Evangelist. Today’s Gospel reading gives us a brief account of how our Lord Jesus called Matthew into His service. Jesus walks by the tax booth. He sees Matthew sitting there, doing his work. And He says two words: “Follow Me.” And Matthew gets up and follows Him. No hesitation. No negotiation. No résumé presented to prove worthiness. Just a call and a response. Such is the power of the Word of God.
While we Christians are accustomed to thinking about God’s Word as powerful and active, it is good for us to stop for a moment and thing about who Matthew was. He was a tax collector. A collaborator with the Romans. A man despised by his fellow Jews as a cheat and a traitor. In brief, he was the last person you would expect the Messiah to want in His inner circle. Yet Jesus called him to Himself.
Find out more about St. Matthew in this sermon from St. John's Lutheran Church of Oakes, ND!

The Folly of the Cross

The older I get, the more I find that the evil and suffering of this world weighs heavy on me. Friends get cancer. Drunk drivers cross lines and destroy families. Children are murdered attending at school, even while going to chapel services. Political figures are assassinated. Injury. Illness. Suffering. Turmoil. Death. This seems to be the constant state of the world and we always seem to be teetering on the edge of falling into a great pit, brimming with chaos and evil of every sort, entirely powerless before it
And when we feel trapped and powerless, we seek solutions. What can we do in the face of such terrors?
Find out in this sermon for Holy Cross Day from St. John's Lutheran Church of Oakes, ND!