The Hermit and the Blackbird
By Donavon Riley
03/27/26
11mins

The Hermit and the Blackbird

Lent exists because we are forgetful creatures. We forget how hungry we really are.
Getting Over Your Moral Superiority
Daniel Emery Price
Daniel Emery Price
03/26/26

Getting Over Your Moral Superiority

The Pharisee valued fasting and giving tithes, but could not find value in his fellow sinner.
The Original Sin of Preaching: The Constant Craving for a Useful God in Pulpit and Pew
Magnus Persson
Magnus Persson
03/25/26

The Original Sin of Preaching: The Constant Craving for a Useful God in Pulpit and Pew

God is not a tool in our hands. He does not exist to serve our goals, our metrics, or our platforms.

All Articles

John W. Hoyum
John W. Hoyum
07/04/19

The Comfort of the Two Kingdoms

Only the ministry of the Gospel can forgive sins, even while civil government rightly carries out retribution for lawlessness and disobedience.
Dan van Voorhis
Dan van Voorhis
07/03/19

On Reading Broadly

We can’t all afford to travel the world, but the more we read from outside our own context, the bigger we see the world.
Donavon Riley
Donavon Riley
07/01/19

Sin is Boring

Nostalgia is a powerful emotion. It can get ahold of a person and turn him all the way in on himself. What seemed a brief reflection lingers for hours, days, weeks, even years.
Steven Paulson
Steven Paulson
07/01/19

Making Preaching Great Again

The whole Reformation, and the reason for Lutheran theology at all, is to improve preaching.
John W. Hoyum
John W. Hoyum
06/21/19

Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s Theology of the Cross

I’d like to offer a short reflection on the theme of “worldliness” as it appears in his later work and how that’s connected to an item of his Lutheran heritage: the theology of the cross.
Dominick Santore
Dominick Santore
06/12/19

Stop Sign Theology

All I need to know about your spiritual condition, I can discover by watching you drive your car. What I’ve learned is that everyone is a lawbreaker, including me. It’s as simple as asking a few short questions about your driving habits...
Martin Luther
Martin Luther
05/24/19

An Invitation to Join Our Company of Real, Great Sinners

I heartily sympathize with you and earnestly pray our Lord Jesus Christ to strengthen you and give you a cheerful heart. I should like to know, and am making diligent inquiries to find out, what your trouble may be or what has caused your breakdown.
Donavon Riley
Donavon Riley
05/15/19

For the Baptized, this is How it Goes

We can take comfort in the knowledge that He kills the sinner so we can get a new shot at life and life eternal.
Dan van Voorhis
Dan van Voorhis
05/08/19

Heresy, Deconstruction, and What to Do About It

When orthodoxy becomes a Law, heterodoxy can feel like the Gospel.
Donavon Riley
Donavon Riley
05/07/19

God Doesn't Give Us a Pass, and That's Good

We're going to worry about what people think of us. It's going to get in the way of our relationship with Jesus. We're going to fear God's judgment. But, we're also baptized into Christ. So we don't give up hope. Jesus will help us and strengthen us. He will guide us in his Baptismal grace and peace.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
05/04/19

Pigs, Politics, and Christ the Comedian

We do not, as followers of Jesus, put any hope or place any trust in “princes, in mortal man, in whom there is no salvation” (Ps. 146:3).
Charles E. Fry
Charles E. Fry
05/02/19

Why We are All Theologians of Glory

If man can save himself, what need is there for the cross or the Gospel?
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.