This ancient “tale of two mothers” concerns far more than theological semantics—it is the difference between a God who sends and a God who comes.
12/10/25
This story points us from our unlikely heroes to the even more unlikely, and joyous, good news that Jesus’ birth for us was just as unlikely and unexpected.
12/09/25
Was Jesus ambitious or unambitious? We have to say that the answer is…yes.
All Articles
Author
- All Authors
- 1517 Guest Contributor
- 1517 Publishing
- 1517 Staff
- A. A. Just Jr.
- A.J. Vega
- Aaron Boerst
- Adam Francisco
- Adam Stetson
- Amy Mantravadi
- Andrew Foss
- Anthony DiLiberto
- Blake Flattley
- Bob Hiller
- Bob Sundquist
- Bonnie Petroschuk
- Brad Soenksen
- Bradley Gray
- Brandon Hanson
- Brandon Pangman
- Brennan Manning
- Brian W. Thomas
- Bror Erickson
- Bruce Hillman
- C.S. Lewis
- Caleb Keith
- Chad Bird
- Charles E. Fry
- Christopher J. Richmann
- Cindy Koch
- CJ Armstrong
- Craig Donofrio
- Dan Chrismer
- Dan van Voorhis
- Dan Weber
- Daniel Deen
- Daniel Emery Price
- Daniel Stenberg
- David Clay
- David Rufner
- David Schmitt
- Debi Winrich
- Delwyn Campbell
- Dominick Santore
- Donavon Riley
- Edward Killian
- Elyse Fitzpatrick
- Erick Sorensen
- Gage Jordan
- Gerhard Forde
- Grant Klembara
- Greg Koukl
- Gretchen Ronnevik
- Haroldo Camacho
- Hermann Sasse
- Jacob Corzine
- Jacob Smith
- Jake Allstaedt
- Jared C. Wilson
- Jason Lane
- Jason Lang
- Jason Oakland
- Jay Sawrie
- Jeff Mallinson
- Jeffrey Pulse
- Jenifer Mohan
- Jessica Delgado
- Jessica Thompson
- Jim Nestingen
- Joel Fitzpatrick
- Joel Hess
- Joey Goodall
- John Bombaro
- John Bortulin
- John Chrysostom
- John T. Pless
- John W. Hoyum
- John Warwick Montgomery
- Jonathan Ruehs
- Jordan Spina
- Joshua Miller
- Justin Rossow
- Karen Stenberg
- Kathy Morales
- Katie Koplin
- Kelsi Klembara
- Ken Sundet Jones
- Kerri Tom
- Kevin Hale
- Kevin McClain
- Kyle G. Jones
- Larry D. Hughes
- Laura Bauer
- Luke Kjolhaug
- Magnus Persson
- Mariah Coward
- Mark Jasa
- Mark Mattes
- Mark Pierson
- Martin Luther
- Matt Johnson
- Matt Kroelinger
- Matt Popovits
- Matthew L. Rubinstein
- Michael Berg
- Michael Gibney
- Nicholas Hopman
- Nicholas Kallis
- Norman Nagel
- Paul Dunk
- Paul Koch
- Pete Lange
- Peter Nafzger
- Philip Bartelt
- Raleigh Sadler
- Rick Ritchie
- RJ Grunewald
- Robert Farrar Capon
- Robert Kolb
- Rod Rosenbladt
- Roland Ehlke
- Ron Hodel
- Russ Lackey
- Ryan Couch
- Ryan Matthias
- Ryan Stevenson-Cosgrove
- Ryan Tinetti
- Sam Leanza Ortiz
- Sam P. Schuldheisz
- Sarah Crowder
- Scott Davis
- Scott Keith
- Scott Landrum
- Seth Moorman
- Steve Byrnes
- Steve Kruschel
- Steven A. Hein
- Steven Paulson
- StoryMakers NYC
- Tanner Olson
- Tate Barber
- Ted Rosenbladt
- Travis Scholl
- Tyler Cronkright
- Uwe Siemon-Netto
- Valerie Thur
- Wade Johnston
- Walter Hwang
- Wayne Sender
- Zack James Cole
01/03/25
It's a new year, and you are still the same you: a sinner who is simultaneously perfect in every way because Christ declares it to be so.
12/12/24
Longstanding tradition must be bolstered by something outside of ourselves that also lies outside of the traditions of men.
11/06/24
Show me a sinner, and I’ll write you a story of a God who saves them.
11/01/24
No matter how many times we hear this good news, it never stops being good news.
10/31/24
Our faith is precisely where Paul puts it, namely, in the blood of Christ.
09/25/24
Jacob is given the gospel afresh right when he needed it and it is because of this gospel that his faith is stirred up anew.
07/25/24
The good news for Jacob is that God humbled himself so that he could lose a wrestling match to a man with a dislocated hip so that he could give him a new name.
06/21/24
This is an excerpt from “Confession and Absolution” by John T. Pless in Common Places in Theology: A Curated Collection of Essays from Lutheran Quarterly, edited by Mark Mattes, (1517 Publishing 2023).
05/22/24
Now that the Lord of Sabaoth has involved himself, something ends, something is born.
05/14/24
The gospel is for sinners – both the tax collector and Pharisee, both in need of the Great Physician.
05/10/24
The profound significance of Christ’s resurrection comes from the threefold justification it provides: it justifies the sinner, the sinner’s hope, and God himself.
04/18/24
The notion that your goodness is “good enough” to make you right with God is a lie straight from the father of lies himself.
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 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.