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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What if sin was truly removed and what if the one who took it from us had the power to conquer it’s curse and spit in the face of death?
This is the prelude of Easter. Is a dead Jesus still resting in the tomb? No!
What is undoubtedly true, however, is that St. Peter wasn’t left outside. He wasn’t left weeping. He was restored, as am I, as are you.
Past, present, and future are tied together in Christ.
It’s scary to share my struggle and to show that I have cracks because once I’ve shown my cards, I open myself up for judgment.
Unprompted, without any warning, for no reason at all, without any instigation say, "I love you." And that will wash over your parents like a beautiful absolution.
Ash Wednesday's purpose is not to motivate our resolve to redouble our efforts to do better.
His love for you is so deep that in his mercy, while you were yet a sinner, God sent his only begotten Son to die for you.
Zephaniah has given us something more visceral to help us understand the love of God: the sound of salvation.
Rightly distinguishing between law and gospel, as Paul helps us see in 2 Corinthians 3, is, quite literally, a matter of life and death.
Even as he was dying, the heart of God poured itself out for the sake of sinners.
I think the problem with the idea of eternity is that we do not have any direct experience of it, but we encounter enough of its possibility to be unsettling.