Failing at Friendship, and the Freedom to be Known
By Ryan Couch
09/04/26
21mins

Failing at Friendship, and the Freedom to be Known

The greatest obstacle to friendship in middle age isn't that nobody wants friends. It's that everyone is waiting for someone else to go first. But here's the good news: Christ has already gone first for you. And because He has, you are free to go first for someone else.
Eternity is Written on our Hearts
Russ Lackey
Russ Lackey
09/02/26

Eternity is Written on our Hearts

Ecclesiastes tells us that there is a time for everything under heaven. But God has also placed eternity in our hearts, and that makes us strange creatures: able to rejoice in this life yet always aching for a life that only Christ can give.
The Priest Had No Chair
Bradley Gray
Bradley Gray
08/28/26

The Priest Had No Chair

What does it take to draw near to God? It takes a perfect priest, a finished work, and a broken body to open the way. In short, it takes everything, which is exactly what Christ has given for you.

All Articles

Chad Bird
Chad Bird
02/16/19

Riding Tandem Toward a Flourishing Life

Our American ethos trumpets the ideal of the rugged individual who doesn’t need anyone else. But that’s not only a lie; it’s also the recipe for disaster.
Haroldo Camacho
Haroldo Camacho
02/14/19

Pirates of the Reformation

The history of the early Reformation in the New World is both a tale of pirates and the battle of catechisms.
Bob Hiller
Bob Hiller
02/13/19

How Can You Be Certain of the Call?

Many sit and wait for judgment day to come, running through their performance in this life, hoping that the electing Judge found some reason to love them like Jacob.
Bruce Hillman
Bruce Hillman
02/11/19

The Dung-Slinging God

The prophet Jonah longed for one thing: to see the Assyrian city of Nineveh utterly destroyed by the wrath of God. His wish eventually came true
Donavon Riley
Donavon Riley
02/11/19

Is there Good News for Disabled People?

Scripture is clear: God’s Spirit pursues sinners from conception to the grave with his life-giving Gospel and gifts.
Jacob Corzine
Jacob Corzine
02/10/19

The Law and the Falsely Terrified Conscience

And so, when you preach the Law, you are also instructing the conscience and thereby forming it. For some of your hearers, this will result in activating their consciences, making them more sensitive, so they become more aware of their sin and more urgently seek the Gospel. For others, it is a re-instruction.
Jason Lane
Jason Lane
02/10/19

Epistle: I Corinthians 15: (1-11) 12-20 (Epiphany 6: Series C)

The basis of Christian proclamation is the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ as a historical event. But what His death and resurrection are as events, now become reality for us, delivered to us through preaching and holy baptism, so all who receive His death and life have the hope of resurrection.
Peter Nafzger
Peter Nafzger
02/10/19

Gospel: Luke 6:17-26 (Epiphany 6: Series C)

Backwards. That is the only way to describe the world Jesus portrays in Luke 6. Consider what He says about blessings. The blessed, He says, are the poor, the hungry, those who weep. It is those who are hated, excluded, reviled, spurned. Who among us wants to be “blessed” like that?
Martin Luther
Martin Luther
02/08/19

The Consolation of Weak Saints

I have often stated above and elsewhere that it pleases me greatly and is salutary for us to hear of the weaknesses of the saints, for these examples of weakness are more necessary for us and bring more consolation than the examples of that heroic and very great fortitude and other virtues.
Dan Chrismer
Dan Chrismer
02/04/19

The God Who Sees Me

There have been so many times in my life where I have thought to myself; God isn't paying any attention to me. He doesn't care what I do down here on this inconsequential planet in the middle of the huge universe He controls.
Donavon Riley
Donavon Riley
02/04/19

Defeat Evil with Good

Peace comes when we give up worrying about self-interest, self-preservation, and self-satisfaction and instead keep our eyes fixed on good God and Savior Jesus.
John Bombaro
John Bombaro
02/03/19

The "External Word" Is the Authoritative Word of God, Too

The preached word ensured the work of the Holy Spirit, so long as it was the written word of the Gospel. Gospel preaching was the one domain in which we could be assured of the convicting, saving, and sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit.
1517 is a Christian non-profit (501(c)3) multi-media organization. Our mission is to declare and defend the Good News that we are forgiven and free on account of the death and resurrection of Jesus alone.
1517.org
Search
Academy
Donate

1517 grants permission for our free online resources to be printed, photocopied, and otherwise used freely for private and church use. We require that authorship and source (1517.org) are referenced and maintained. These resources may not be sold or included in any publications for sale.