Books published by 1517 Publishing

We need more God in our lives, not more to-dos!When we mistake spiritual disciplines for to-dos, time slots on our schedule, or Instagram-able moments, we miss the benefits of Christ's continual and constant work for us. We begin to feel weary and disappointed in ourselves, and we begin to believe we are bad Christians. In Ragged, Gretchen Ronnevik aims to reclaim spiritual disciplines as good gifts given by our good Father instead of heavy burdens of performance carried by the Christian. Only when we recognize our failure to maintain God's commands do we also realize the benefit of our dependence on his promises. Gretchen uses this distinction of law and gospel, presented throughout Scripture, to guide readers through spiritual disciplines including prayer, meditation, Scripture reading, and discipleship among others. Despite our best efforts, the good news is that spiritual disciplines have less to do with what we bring before God and more about who Christ is for us, not only as the author but also as the perfector of our faith.Stop trying to obtain perfection in your habits. Begin recognizing your dependence on God and what He has done for you, and begin flourishing in your relationship with God.

The "Lutheran" in the title doesn't mean A Lutheran Toolkit is just for Lutherans. It's about a Lutheran witness for the whole church and for all sinners with ears to hear. It's a slender book about the big theological ideas the evangelical reformers of the 16th century used as a lens for understanding God's work in Christ.Starting with Philip Melanchthon's 1530 Augsburg Confession, which was drafted to defend the preaching and teaching of Luther and his colleagues, Ken Sundet Jones sees its primary themes as a set of tools that God uses to build faith in us. He takes the reader beyond scholarly analysis and historical explanations and uses his own experience as a college professor, parish pastor, and sinner looking for mercy, to discover God's handiwork in our lives.Each chapter takes as its starting point one of the foundational ideas presented to the Holy Roman Emperor and representatives of the church, including Sin , God hidden and revealed, justification, ministry, the Christian life, the church, sacraments, and vocation. These are not simply theological categories for scholars to debate or historians to recount. They're the lived experience of the faithful from the first believers, to big thinkers like Augustine and Luther, to people in the pews, at the supper table, in their careers, and at their deathbeds throughout the ages.The tools in this kit continually point to Jesus as the one who promises mercy and abundant life - and who has the power to deliver them. This is a word for those who've not yet heard it and for those who desperately need to hear it again.

The Freedom of the Christian was Martin Luther''s first public defense of the doctrine of justification by grace through faith on account of Christ alone. Luther''s explosive rediscovery of the Gospel of Jesus Christ shattered the Church of Rome''s foundation of works, which considered good works a part of salvation instead of a result of it. Here, Luther constructed a rich theology that relies on the full power of the Gospel, which not only grants saving faith but also nurtures that faith through good works done in the freest service.  This new abridged translation from Adam Francisco, featuring a brief essay from Scott Keith, leaves no doubt that the Christian, secure in Christ, is truly free-free from sin, death, and the devil, and free to serve their neighbor.

Paul provides the best documentary evidence for Jesus' Resurrection, but how should we explain Paul's claim that Jesus rose from the dead-as deception, delusion, or dependable testimony? In this innovative study, Pagan employs interdisciplinary tools to analyze competing accounts of Paul's belief in the Resurrection.

This devotional book walks pastors, teachers and parishioners through the hardships and joys of the prophet Jeremiah's ministry. Find comfort as the Lord preserves his prophet even in the worst of times. Share his joy as he points you ahead to your forgiveness of sins through your Savior Jesus.

The creeds of the Christian church are far from empty traditions of a bygone era. They contain the essential teachings of the Christian faith and, as such, are the confession of Christians for all times. The chapters of this book are concerned with the most basic creed—the Apostles’ Creed. Each addresses a particular article within it and what it means to confess it. Far from being pious artifacts, they are gifts to Christians as they seek to always stand firm in the faith and remain united with Christ in his death and resurrection. 

A Year of Grace Vol. 2 is a collection of Bo Giertz's sermons from the second half of the liturgical calendar following the day of Pentecost. He preached the earlier sermons in his ten years as a parish pastor at Torpa, a small rural town in Sweden where he began his pastoral career and wrote such books as The Hammer of God and With My Own Eyes. These early sermons are strongly influenced by the ordo salutis (order of salvation) that he took over from Henric Schartau, yet always with an emphasis on salvation by grace rather than the order. His later sermons were preached as the Bishop of Gothenburg throughout his diocese and as a guest preacher elsewhere. These retain the influence of Henric Schartau in that they seek to directly address the "three hearers"--unbelievers, those awakened to the law, and mature Christians--yet his style takes on more subtlety in when, where and how these hearers are addressed in the context of the sermon. The result is a collection of sermons that provide both great weekly devotions (as the collection was intended) and a program of study for pastors and others wanting to learn how to "rightly handle the word of truth." (2 Tim. 2:15) 

Friendship is an amazing and wonderful thing. For the church, friendship is vital. When we gather around the gifts of Christ, we gather together. We need others who will bear the external Word for us, and in so doing we make our stand in an eternal friendship against the Devil, the world, and our own sinful hearts. The handing over of the goods--that is, the proclamation of salvation by grace through faith in Christ alone--will continually call for the creation and endurance of friendship. It is In friendship that we will be able to hold the line until our Lord, the Friend of Sinners, returns.

Mark Mattes' hope is not only to secure believers' consciences in Christ but also to reclaim theological and social turf which mainline Protestants have too quickly ceded to various secular agendas. The collected essays in Law & Gospel In Action: Foundations, Ethics, Church engage the reality of believers' death and resurrection in Christ, and how that bears upon the life of faith while also attending to a wide range of relevant theological topics such as scriptural authority, apologetics, a critique of contemporary mainline Protestant and Evangelical Catholic ethics, a critique of Lutheran-Reformed ecumenism, and the church's mission and outreach. The collection concludes with several sermons based on Old Testament lessons seeking to show how the theology embedded in the essays can be used for proclamation.

Jesus is the end of all religion. He did not come to tweak Judaism or create a new religion. When the nails were driven into his hands and feet, when the spear pierced his side, when he said, "It is finished," all the religions we have invented were crucified. In the brain-dead silence of his tomb and in Jesus' resurrection power, the question, "What must I do to be saved," receives its answer. All the sacrifices of priests and people are rendered null and void by Jesus' one-time-for-all-time sacrifice for all people, everywhere, past, present, and future tense. Jesus' death and resurrection save us from our own religiosity.

Evangelism involves proclaiming the Gospel message. This booklet argues for defending the truthfulness of the Gospel when objections to the faith are raised. The evidences that challenge unbelief are ultimately from God and His Word and may be offered by the believer with all conviction, kindness and respect.

This is the story of Johann Arndt, the most significant devotional author of the seventeenth century in his first full English language biography. He was reviled and revered by the orthodox and schismatic alike.

Why do you believe what you believe? Aren't you arrogant for thinking that you're right and everyone else is wrong? Isn't Christianity just a bunch of mythology? These questions won't wait until high school. They won't wait until college, and they definitely won't wait until you decide you're ready to answer them. The world into which you were born is a world at war. The Enemy won't wait until you're ready before he attacks, but thankfully, neither did your Savior. The battle for your soul is complete, and now the Spirit calls you to be a vessel through which He touches a bleeding world. Called to Defend provides students with an interdisciplinary introduction to defending the faith. Using subjects of mathematics, computer science, history, and creative writing, students will be taught to defend the faith courageously, humbly, and respectfull. Is it possible to be unapologetically Lutheran and a staunch apologist, even at a young age? In Christ, the answer is a resounding yes, as the Holy Spirit calls, sanctifies, and enlightens us to believe, confess, and defend the faith to a world at war.