By 1517 Staff

12/29/25

17mins

1517's Favorite Books from 2025

Below is a list of our favorite theological books - across all categories - from 2025. A special thanks to our contributors who submitted titles, wrote summaries and full reviews for these books and more throughout the year.

The Scandal and Splendor of the Savior’s Birth

Bradley Gray

12/26/25

The Scandal and Splendor of the Savior’s Birth

Every sinner can trace their salvation back to this moment when the Savior was born in accordance with the Word of God so that all of God’s words would be realized.

What to Preach and Not to Preach at Christmas

Steven Paulson

12/25/25

What to Preach and Not to Preach at Christmas

Christmas is not for remembering, thinking, pondering, trying to make sure you are really celebrating it properly, or for wondering whether you truly have faith.

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Joey Goodall

02/28/25

You Can't Sever the Saint from the Sinner

You cannot sever the saint from the sinner. Christians remain both simultaneously.

Bradley Gray

02/20/25

Where Death Becomes Life

In the upside-down wisdom of God, the place of the cross becomes the place of life, absolution, and triumph.

Edward Killian

02/18/25

We Are Beggars: Martin Luther’s Final Words and the Heart of the Gospel

Luther’s final thoughts were not meant to bum you out or lead you to despair.

Mark Mattes

02/13/25

The New Birth as Passive: An Excerpt from Ditching the Checklist

This is an excerpt from Ditching the Checklist: Assurance of Salvation for Evangelicals (and Other Sinners) by Mark Mattes (1517 Publishing, 2025), pgs. 5-7.

Bradley Gray

01/30/25

The Gospel for All

There is no one — not now, not ever — who cannot be included in the family of God through the efficacy of Christ’s saving power.

Gretchen Ronnevik

01/29/25

How Do You Solve a Problem Like Katie Luther?

What do we do with Katie Luther? What kind of historical character can we paint her to be?

Chad Bird

01/24/25

The Dumpster Sermon

Wisdom lurks in the outer places. Rich gratitude sprouts from the impoverished and forgotten.

Kelsi Klembara

01/21/25

Baptism: Return or Redo? On the 500th Anniversary of the Anabaptist Movement

There is a “re” involved with baptism, but unlike the Anabaptists, it’s not a “re-do,” but a “re-turn" or a “re-member.”

John Bombaro

01/20/25

Gospel Safebox

"When God has his say, have confidence that his Word and sacraments bestow precisely what he says."

Ryan Couch

01/03/25

New Year, Same You

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.

Caleb Keith

12/12/24

The Word of the Lord Endures Forever: A Response to Young Men's Turn to Orthodoxy

Longstanding tradition must be bolstered by something outside of ourselves that also lies outside of the traditions of men.

Amy Mantravadi

11/26/24

Erasmus' Decision: An Excerpt from Broken Bonds

This is an excerpt from Broken Bonds: A Novel of the Reformation by Amy Mantravadi (1517 Publishing, 2024), pgs. 24-27

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