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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Caleb Keith

03/07/25

The Mistranslation That Sparked the Reformation

Is there a significant difference between changing your mind and doing penance? Absolutely.

Steve Kruschel

03/06/25

Through the Tombs of the Kings: Asa - Laid In the Tomb He Made

This is the first installment in our Lenten series, Through the Tombs of the Kings, where Steve Kruschel explores God’s faithfulness to Judah’s kings—and to us—through life, death, and the burial of his Son.

Seth Moorman

03/04/25

Just Another Forty Days?

Repentance is not limited to a season.

Bradley Gray

02/25/25

The Incarnate Word

Despite the mathematical incongruity, the church confesses that Christ is one hundred percent human and one hundred percent divine.

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.

Wade Johnston

02/11/25

Singing with Simeon

Christians don’t need a bucket list. We’ve got the whole bucket: the Word fulfilled, life fulfilled, and life in full.

John W. Hoyum

02/10/25

Martin Luther's Three Lights

Luther’s famous treatise contains great consolation for Christians struggling with grace, suffering, and hope.

Donavon Riley

02/07/25

Captives in the Hollow of Grace

The addict’s condition speaks a hard truth: that we are all beggars before God, every one of us bent toward the grave.

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?

Jason Oakland

01/27/25

Jesus Provides

Jesus, the true Bridegroom, erases that mistake by his own compassionate, saving act. Isn’t this also a picture of the gospel?

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.”

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