This is an excerpt from Chapter 6 in Sinner Saint: A Surprising Primer to the Christian Life (1517 Publishing, 2025). Sinner Saint is available today from 1517 Publishing.
On its journey from Byzantium to Constantinople to Istanbul, this special place helps us understand the broader arc of Christian history, which goes on until Christ's return.
We needn’t fear statistics and studies as palm readings into a certain future. God is God, and his Spirit is alive through his Word.

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A truly Lenten mindset sees the season as preparatory for the resurrection life of Easter as opposed to the mortification of Good Friday.
The number forty calls to remembrance narratives of God’s great acts of redemption, but also our conformity to and participation in those narratives.
What does professional wrestling and preaching have in common?
What (if anything) makes a sermon distinctive?
When you see the year ending, thank the Lord, because he had led you into this cycle of years.
One word from one God says it all to our tired hearts.
Sing of Jesus’ Easter victory for you, and watch Satan flee with his worries and cares!
This is the Christian word: grace. Such grace is found only with this Lamb who is also our Shepherd.
May you believe, in this thin-line world, that this Jesus is for you, not against you.
Christ's words of exclusive salvation are not just a warning but a sure promise for you.
Jesus cries on the cross for us. He suffers and cries and dies in our place. He is forsaken by his father so we don’t have to be.
Although Jesus bodily ascended and is hidden from our earthly eyes, he is not far off.