When Religion Becomes Obsolete, Christ Does Not

By Russ Lackey | Mark Mattes

01/20/26

19mins

When Religion Becomes Obsolete, Christ Does Not

American religion did not become optional because the gospel failed. It became optional because religion slowly redefined itself around usefulness.

Bradley Gray

01/19/26

Behold the Lamb

The Passover wasn’t just Israel’s story; it’s ours.

Psalm 12, Part 2: The Saint Fails, The Word Purifies

Steven Paulson

01/16/26

Psalm 12, Part 2: The Saint Fails, The Word Purifies

God makes us pure saints by planting us back in the earth we imagined we needed to escape.

All Articles

Jeffrey Pulse

11/28/21

Old Testament: Malachi 3:1-7b (Advent 2: Series C)

The Messenger is coming—must come—because the LORD God has promised, and He is unchanging and always faithful no matter how unfaithful His people may be.

Peter Nafzger

11/28/21

Gospel: Luke 3:1-20 (Advent 2: Series C)

Like Isaiah and John, we look forward to that great and glorious day, trusting the resurrected One will return as He promised.

Justin Rossow

11/28/21

Epistle: Philippians 1:2-11 (Advent 2: Series C)

God is in control, and we are actively engaged in God’s work of saving the world.

Chad Bird

11/26/21

Implications of the Incarnation: Christmas in the Garden of Eden

In Genesis 1-2, the Lord reveals—or, at a bare minimum, starts dropping some big hints—that he will be quite comfortable becoming a human being himself someday.

Jeffrey Pulse

11/21/21

Old Testament: Jeremiah 33:14-16 (Advent 1: Series C)

In Christ, all things are new. This is also true in so far as His three-fold office of prophet, priest, and king.

Justin Rossow

11/21/21

Epistle: 1 Thessalonians 3:9-13 (Advent 1: Series C)

Preaching on this text isnan invitation to express love and longing in your relationship with your hearers.

David Schmitt

11/21/21

Gospel: Luke 19:28-40 (Advent 1: Series C)

The oddness of this moment, at the beginning of Advent, is God’s way of saying, “The reason I’m here...”

Jeffrey Pulse

11/14/21

Old Testament: Isaiah 51:4-6 (Last Sunday of the Church Year: Series B )

The Israelites had taken the Covenantal promise and the language of separation and interpreted them to mean the message of salvation and restoration was meant for only them. But this is counter to the reality of the Scriptures.

Bob Hiller

11/14/21

Epistle: Jude 20-25 (The Last Sunday of the Church Year: Series B )

God is most glorified in the sending of Jesus to be the Savior of sinners.

David Schmitt

11/14/21

Gospel: Mark 13:24-37 (The Last Sunday of the Church Year: Series B )

Trust in the midst of trouble. That is what our Lord calls us to experience today.

Chad Bird

11/10/21

Unloving Ex-Sins and Laughing at Scars

Fourteen years ago, drowning in the muck of dark despair, in the middle of a life gone terribly wrong, I wrote in my journal, "I wonder how, once this is all over, how I’ll be, how I’ll turn out…” Now I know.

Jeffrey Pulse

11/06/21

Old Testament: Daniel 12:1-3 (Pentecost 25: Series B )

This text arguably contains the clearest teaching concerning the bodily resurrection from the dead in the Old Testament.

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.

Articles

Podcasts

Scripture

Books

Events

Music

Videos

Courses

All Articles