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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We did not say “Goodbye” to our son on the day of his burial. We said, “Luke, we’ll see you soon.”
If you are going to lose your life for the gospel’s sake, you must begin by hearing it.
There is only one antidote to the venom of sin and death: the Savior who becomes the serpent so that every snake-bitten-sinner might live.
What the gospel promises is not escape from our humanity, but resurrection from the dead.
Salutary funeral preaching seeks to set the life of the baptized believer who has died within the life of Christ incarnate, crucified, risen, and reigning.
I want the beginning of my funeral to be focused on Jesus, as well as the middle, the end, and every point in between.
The gospel of Jesus’ coming out of death and the tomb alive so that we might be restored to our identity as God’s children establishes the most enduring reality there is.
At its heart, this is what Deacon King Kong is all about: the paradox of Jesus carving his victory out of the last thing we expect, not our triumphs but our defeats.
Martha’s pain is not met by a to-do list. Jesus’ reply is not that she should try harder or change her behavior
With the resurrection of the Christ the mystery of life after death became a lot less mysterious.
There is no life when one is separated from the Promised Land because that will be the place where God will send His Messiah.
The proclamation of Christ's coming is for all people, at all times.