God, kill my enemy!
By Russ Lackey
08/14/26
17mins

God, kill my enemy!

God can handle grief, rage, and cries for justice. God can handle the victim who cannot yet forgive. God can handle the prayer that comes out jagged and wounded. The good news is that God is holy and merciful enough to handle all our prayers.
The Legacy of Martin Luther's Father, Hans Luther
Amy Mantravadi
Amy Mantravadi
08/12/26

The Legacy of Martin Luther's Father, Hans Luther

But while scholars are right to focus on the bond between Martin and Hans, the evidence of Martin’s own words suggests their relationship may not have been as troubled as some suppose. For Hans Luther was not a cartoon villain but a normal human being attempting to make his way in the world and raise his children to the best of his ability.
Judge Not!
Brian W. Thomas
Brian W. Thomas
08/10/26

Judge Not!

Jesus offers something infinitely better. He tells us to put down our gavel—not because sin isn't real, but because the only Judge who has the right to condemn is the very One who was condemned for us.

All Articles

Mark Jasa
Mark Jasa
10/25/18

Cutting Off Our Sin

But there is something far more serious and important: being reconciled to our Father in Heaven.
Joel Hess
Joel Hess
10/24/18

The Gospel is Only for Consumers

Perhaps the answer to creating a healthier church and a more invested people is found in preaching more clearly the full freeing Gospel.
Robert Kolb
Robert Kolb
10/21/18

Preaching on Fear

In the last two decades U.S. Americans have given way to fear of many things: economic decline, loss of values, limits on our personal rights, to name a few. Too many of us live with some sense of threat and menace hanging over our heads and haunting our hearts.
Jason Lane
Jason Lane
10/21/18

Epistle: Romans 3:19-28 (Reformation Observed)

The Feast of the Reformation affords preachers a special opportunity to catechize on the doctrine of justification by faith. It is also a perfect week for us to read through Romans in full for our devotions. It is an opportunity to hear again those marvelous words of absolution and sins forgiven and to recognize a righteousness which is revealed apart from the Law (Rom. 3:21); our need for absolution must be very great.
Peter Nafzger
Peter Nafzger
10/21/18

Gospel: John 8:31-36 (Reformation Observed)

So, in keeping with Mark’s focus on discipleship this Fall, your Reformation Sunday sermon on John 8 might reflect on what it means to be a disciple. As you proclaim the commands and promises of Christ, you might invite your hearers not only to believe his Word, but also to abide in it. To hear and mediate on his promises in the various ways he delivers them.
David Rufner
David Rufner
10/17/18

The Gift of Belonging

It is only when individuals are bound together in community that they become fully human.
Zack James Cole
Zack James Cole
10/16/18

On Being Haunted

I am often haunted by my past. I am daily haunted by what I should be doing.
Robert Kolb
Robert Kolb
10/14/18

The Preacher as Conversation Partner

Good communication depends on trust to make such conversation work effectively. The truth springs, first, from God's own promise and the punch put into that promise by the mysterious power of the Holy Spirit.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
10/12/18

Whose Bones are Buried Beneath the Cross?

Let’s take a walk together. And as we do, I’ll tell you a mystery.
Donavon Riley
Donavon Riley
10/11/18

Ordinary Joy

She said, “Keep coming back, and you’ll know joy.” He wanted to vomit a rainbow of resentment, bitterness, and loathing all over her faux-leather boots.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
10/07/18

The Two Reasons Our Past Can Be Changed

In Christ, God’s Son, yesterday, today, and tomorrow all collapse into one. He holds in himself everything from the beginning to the end of the world.
John Bombaro
John Bombaro
10/04/18

Name Brand

Many scholars believe that what Jesus says in verses 18-20 are the key to Matthew's Gospel. Actually, it may be the key to the entire Bible, for in these three verses we see the full scope of the history of redemption brought to bear in one history-altering, cosmic event: Baptizing in God's name.
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.