1517 Blogcast

Latest Episodes:

What to Make of the Holy Spirit Aug 20, 2018

Show notes

At times, we treat the Holy Spirit like the red-headed step-child of the Trinity. Why is that? It is the Spirit who sends His preachers armed with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The Spirit calls, gathers, and enlightens people with His gifts handed out through earthly words, water, bread, and wine. He is the One who daily and at all times forgives our sin. He will raise us from death on the Last Day. When we look closer at what Scripture says about God's Spirit, there is not a single aspect of our salvation that is not overseen by the Holy Spirit. But, that is why we downplay the work of the Spirit.

Theses 5 and 6: The Deadly Sin in All of Us Aug 17, 2018

Show notes

This is the third installment in our special series on Luther’s Heidelberg Disputation.

Truth is Hard Aug 15, 2018

Show notes

Hard truth works both ways. As the apostle Paul declared, “If Christ be not raised from the dead, your faith is futile, and you are still in your sins” (1 Cor. 15:17). Should this be hard truth, it means that we also will not be raised from the dead. In which case, Paul advised believers to eat and drink, for tomorrow we die (v. 32). However, this is not the case. Our faith and God-talk are grounded in the corroborated multi-sensual testimony of the women, the Apostles, and over 500 witnesses. Their testimony provides overwhelming evidence of the hard truth that Jesus did rise from the dead, and therefore so will we (1 Cor. 15:3-8, 20-22).

A Look at True Proclamation of the Gospel Aug 15, 2018

Show notes

The last prayer I’d ever want to pray is, “Lord, lay me down helpless.” Yet isn’t that the same as “Lord, I believe. Help, thou, my unbelief”? True preaching of the Gospel allows me to be a pew-sitter who can speak such a terrifying prayer. True preaching has an answer to such a prayer. “You ask who can save you from that body of death? Christ the Lord, the first-born of the dead, can and does.

Daily Bread and Bread of Life Aug 14, 2018

Show notes

Jesus is faithful, loving, and kind. He gladly helps everybody and is good to everyone. This is what it means that He’s God and Savior. So, we look to Him for everything good. In this way, we learn to trust Him and depend on Him for every spiritual good too. Jesus feeds our stomach so that we can trust Him to feed and clothe our soul too.

Can God Repent Us Aug 13, 2018

Show notes

Unfortunately, too many Christians in the world today have a “Turn or Burn” theology. If you read it in the wrong context and have a poor definition of words, the Bible can appear to be full of that sort of thing. “Repent” seems to be one of the problem words in the vocabulary of many Christians. We often compare its use to a scolding mother who slaps your fingers and shouts, “You stop that right now, or else!” Too often, we equate “repent” as the final warning to stop a particular sin before God ceases to love you and sends you to hell for your evil deeds. This is a terrible misuse of a completely lovely word.

So what does that word “repent” really mean? Let’s take a look at the word through the eyes of our fathers in the faith.

Theses 3 & 4: The Inverted Way of Jesus Aug 09, 2018

Show notes

This is the second installment in our special series on Luther’s Heidelberg Disputation. You can read the first post here. Translation of Theses 3 and 4 done by Caleb Keith.

Seeking the Lost Aug 09, 2018

Show notes

“All the lonely people, where do they all come from?” the Beatles sing in their well-known song, “Eleanor Rigby.” We might not have any lost Amazon tribes hidden from us in our overly civilized and connected society, but we have plenty of lonely people. Not far from your doors is a woman who screwed up her life so bad, her family and friends left her to herself. Not far from your church building is a boy who has been abused by the world, feels confused about his sexuality, and doesn’t think anyone would understand. In our schools and workplaces, at Walmart and the doctor’s offices, lonely people are going about their day. They live hidden behind their sins, shame, and past. They assume that this life is all there is before we all turn to worm food. They don’t know anyone cares for them, let alone that the God of the universe loves them.

The Red in Our Ledgers Aug 09, 2018

Show notes

The red in our ledgers is the blood of Christ, fully atoning for our sins, fully paying our debt. Because God the Father chose to forsake His Son, we will not be forgotten. “Their sins I will remember no more,” our God promises (Jeremiah 31:34), and for the sake of Christ, the omnipotent Ruler of the universe chooses to forget our sins of thought, word, and deed—not because they never existed, but because the wages of death has been paid in full to our Mediator, Jesus.

Theses 1 & 2: The Truth that the Law is Good Aug 07, 2018

Show notes

The Heidelberg Disputation is one of the earliest reformational writings from Luther with its presentation occurring just six months after the famous posting of the 95 theses. Where the 95 theses is a pointed attack on a handful of misdeeds from the Roman church, Heidelberg is a sweeping offensive meant to restore the foundation of all Christian doctrine. The presentation of doctrine found within its theses is referred to as the “Theology of the Cross,” named after Thesis 21 where Luther states, “A theology of glory declares evil good and good evil. A theology of the cross declares the thing to be what it truly is.” Luther argues that the cross is the lens through which we can understand all Christian doctrine because the cross alone stands as a corrective to the ideas and philosophies we try to force on the Word of God. To celebrate the 500th anniversary of Luther’s Theology of the Cross, we are happy to introduce this special series of reflections on the theses and proofs of the Heidelberg Disputation. Each week, we will reflect on a few of the theses leading up to this year’s Here We Still Stand Conference in October. Each post will also include a new translation completed by Caleb Keith.

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

Related Podcasts

Links

Stay Connected