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.

All Articles

This article is part of Stephen Paulson’s series on the Psalms.
No matter how many times we hear this good news, it never stops being good news.
Our faith is precisely where Paul puts it, namely, in the blood of Christ.
Just as trick-or-treaters arrive at doorsteps as beggars, we come to the Lord’s table with nothing to offer but our sin and need for forgiveness.
Luther understood that music is an exceptional teaching tool.
Below is the Thinking Fellows Essential Reading List with contributions from each of the Thinking Fellows hosts.
God’s creatures on four legs are some of the greatest storytellers of the Scriptures.
“Praying the Bible” sounds odd to the ears of most believers today. That’s unfortunate.
The one who delights in the law of the Lord learns to fear his own good works and trust God outside of them.
The point of Revelation is to reveal consolation in Jesus, not to revel in chaos and confusion.
Despite the fact that this could sound strange to modern ears, Luther has an important reason for saying what he does about the Commandments.
The Christian must always remember that personal piety and liturgical uniformity are by no means the marks of true religion.