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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On the other side of Christmas, we find (1) senseless suffering and (2) unstoppable salvation. A sermon on these verses should be honest about both.
Should we really be surprised that it would happen this way, that the servant would suffer for our salvation and die for our forgiveness?
Jesus has not put on human nature like a shirt and pair of pants, easily stripped off to be a naked God again. No, from the moment of his conception onward, into the everlasting future, God is also human.
One gloomy, silent night, God stepped into our darkness. The Word had not only spoken but was now made flesh.
Jesus does not come to see how we will welcome Him. He does not come to make a list of who is bad or good because there is no list. Only a book of life. And He has come to write our names in that book.
If Christmas is about Jesus, and it definitely is, then the real question should be: What’s Jesus all about?
At Christmas, we hear the story of our salvation, but it’s not pretty.
Mary’s virginity has to do with the story of a jackass king, two growling enemies, a young lady, and a big, bad Assyrian dog.
While we do not have an answer, we do have a promise. A promise given to us by a God whose one and only Son was himself slaughtered by those terrified of losing their power.
Preach the full council of God even as it focuses on the Virgin Mary who was the virginal handmaid of the Lord and through whom Immanuel, “God with us,” happens.
Unlike Luke, who provides most of the parts for the children’s program (the shepherds, the angel hosts, the innkeeper, and the animals), Matthew’s version is rated “M” for mature.
No matter what is done to undermine Christmas, the holiday won't go away. Two thousand years of persecution from outside (and from within) the Church hasn't ended Christmas.