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

Bror Erickson

01/23/20

Third Sunday After Epiphany: John 4:27-42

The following is an excerpt from “A Year of Grace: Collected Sermons of Advent through Pentecost” written by Bo Giertz and translated by Bror Erickson (1517 Publishing, 2019).

Donavon Riley

01/21/20

The Answer to All Our Questions About Salvation and Vocation

We confuse salvation and vocation in our quest to determine who is in control of our salvation.

Donavon Riley

01/21/20

Fighting the Leviathans of Sin and Death

One moment, we pray for our rescue from sin and death. The next moment, we beg our Father to do unto others what we hope he will never do to us.

Chad Bird

01/20/20

Friendship in the Old Testament: David and Jonathan

Jonathan saw in David a reflection of who he himself was. This recognition pulled him outside himself and bound him to another.

Kyle G. Jones

01/16/20

Limping In The Faith: How the Narrative Order of Scripture Teaches the Gospel

What then does this sequence of stories teach us? It teaches us a pertinent lesson about the Christian life.

Bradley Gray

01/16/20

Salvation in the Soot of Sin

Have you ever felt haunted by fear, shame, and guilt? Have you ever worried that Jesus couldn't love you anymore? I have.

Donavon Riley

01/14/20

There's Nothing Wrong with You

It may seem like a radical statement, but in Christ Jesus, there’s nothing wrong with you.

Gretchen Ronnevik

01/09/20

The Offensive Law, and Salvation Without Regret

Do not be afraid of seeing the depths of your depravity. Do not be offended, because the story doesn’t end there, and it’s completion is glorious.

Philip Bartelt

01/01/20

A New You

Looking back on the year, the narrative we’re fed is that we should be able to show how much we’ve grown, how much we’ve done, all the successes we’ve had, how improved we are.

Bruce Hillman

12/30/19

Groaning-God

Into the suffocating prison of sorrow, God sends his Breath, his Holy Spirit to help us. We may suffer, but we will not be alone.

Valerie Thur

12/26/19

The End is in Sight

We think that if we are good enough, brave enough, or at least if we try hard enough, we will be someone who can be both fully known and fully loved.

Kyle G. Jones

12/20/19

The Promises of Advent: Suffered and Died

Should we really be surprised that it would happen this way, that the servant would suffer for our salvation and die for our forgiveness?

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