Pastor Chris Brademeyer’s Podcast

We do not gather today to admire a noble martyr. We are not here merely to remember an example of courage under suffering. We are not here simply to reflect upon injustice, cruelty, or the tragedy of human violence. No, we are here because our sin required this. This truth, as difficult as it is to confess, is the great offense behind Good Friday and, indeed, the Christian religion. But it is al...

Tonight is a night of gifts. That may not be the first thing we think of when we think of Maundy Thursday. Usually our minds go to the Upper Room, to Judas slipping away into the darkness, to Peter’s coming denial, to the agony in Gethsemane. Everything is moving rapidly toward the cross.

But here, before Good Friday arrives in full, before the nails and the ...

Loyalty is celebrated among us, and rightly so. It is easy to see its virtues. Loyalty inspires confidence. Loyalty is the proper reward for good leadership. Loyalty deserves every praise we can muster for it.

The opposite, betrayal, is horrific. It is cowardly, the product of a weak constitution. It is demeaning; it repays good with evil. It shocks because it is so unde...

Jesus knew what was going to happen to Him during the week called “holy.” He had learned from His childhood that He was and is the suffering servant from the prophecy according to Isaiah. He knew that He would be lifted up, that is, crucified, between two criminals, and in this way He would be glorified. His hour of glory would see Him with His knees bent at less than a 90-degree angle, His ar...

Palm Sunday is certainly a day of joy, but it is a serious joy. There are palm branches, singing, and shouts of “Hosanna to the Son of David!” But Palm Sunday is not simply a cheerful introduction to Easter decorations and springtime religion. It is the beginning of the Passion. It is the public presentation of Christ as King, and at the same time, it is...

“Who is your father?” That is not a question we ask very often, at least not directly. We might ask about family, background, where someone comes from, but not in this sort of straight-forward manner. It even seems rude. But this is a question at the center of the conflict in our Gospel reading today.

Jesus is speaking to the Jews, to those who pride them...

The words of St. Peter are striking and difficult to misinterpret. “Baptism… now saves you.” Baptism is something that the Holy Scriptures ascribe great importance. Our Lord Jesus, after His resurrection, sends His Church with this command: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them…” These are not marginal statements. They are not optional add-ons to the Christian life. The...

Welcome to the 3 Padres and a Shepherd Podcast. Today, we take up the topic of marriage—yes, marriage: under the Cross or under culture?

In other words, where has the church begun to misunderstand marriage by adopting the expectations and worldview of the culture, rather than receiving marriage as it is given to us in the Word of God?

Stick around. In this episode, we are going to do some good old-fashioned myth-busting—exposing th...

Lent has a sober tone. In it, we hear about sin, repentance, and the suffering that will lead Christ to the cross. While this is generally true, here in the middle of Lent there is a small break in the tone of the season. This Sunday is traditionally called Laetare, a Latin word that means “Rejoice.” The name comes from the ancient introit of the day: “Rejoice, O Jerusalem.” This temporary rel...

Prayer is one of the most basic and familiar parts of the Christian life. Even those who know very little about Christianity often know that Christians pray. Yet familiarity can sometimes hide the deeper truth. Because prayer is common, we may assume we already understand it. But when we listen carefully to the words of our Lord in the Gospel, we discover that prayer is not quite what many peop...

Our Gospel reading presents the most basic conflict of our world, that between our God and the Enemy, Satan. That is to say, our Lord cast out a demon. Infirmity, in this case muteness, was cast aside and a man was healed. In Christ, the kingdom of God broke into this fallen world with power and mercy. One would think that such a miraculous overthrow of the Devil’s rule would be met with rejoi...

Why does doctrine matter? Many well-meaning, perfectly sincere people, Christian and otherwise, claim that doctrine, that is teachings, are options, not truths. But this is not the historic Christian position. We have creeds, the Nicene, Apostles’, and Athanasian, that we written to lay out the boundaries of Christian discussions. That is, they divide true things about Christ and false things t...

The traditional name for this Sunday, the second in Lent, is Reminiscere. It means, “remember.” It comes from the Introit which says, “Remember Your mercy, O Lord, and Your steadfast love.” In this season of Lent, the Church prays that God would remember His mercy, which He loves to do more than anything else. And today, through the Apostle Paul in our Epistle lesson, the Lord also calls us to...

There is something dangerous about looking inward. We live in a time fascinated by constant introspection. We are told to examine our feelings, to search our hearts, to discover our authentic selves. We are told that the truth is within us, and that salvation, if we may use that word, is found by understanding ourselves more deeply. In other words, the general advice is that to become righteous...

There is something about the Christian life that does not make sense to those outside of the Church. This life does not look like what a religious life is assumed to look like. Followers of God, it is assumed, should be successful, wealthy, and happy. But I think we all know from experience that this is not how the Christian life actually unfolds.

Listen ...

Dear friends in Christ, it is with mixed emotions that we bid farewell to our sister Nadine. I say mixed because there is, on the on hand, a great grief that comes from losing a grandmother, mother, friend, and neighbor. But there is also relief, because the suffering she endured in this fallen body has come to an end, and Christ has brought her safely through death.  I think it fair to say tha...

Our Lord Jesus Christ speaks these words in the Gospel of Matthew as part of the Sermon on the Mount: “Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them… When you give to the needy… when you pray… when you fast… do not be like the hypocrites.”

These words are appointed for Ash W...

Today’s readings give us a concept that our culture thinks it already understands: love. Our culture, western culture, speaks constantly about love. They say that love is affirmation. Love is acceptance. Love is desire. Love is romance. Love is emotional intensity. Love is being seen and validated. If it feels strong and sincere, it must be love.

This is al...