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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Maybe, just maybe, our goal for 2023 should not be to live more but to die more.
If Jesus shows up and you are a sinner, ‘tis more blessed to receive than to give
Hains offers a novel yet simple contention: Luther is most catholic where he is boldest.
By his first Advent in the flesh, through his second Advent with bread and wine and water and Word, we await his third Advent at the end.
We will not become hopeless because the Lord is with us.
God is not calling us to “grow up.” He is calling us to dependence.
It is terribly easy to set up our theology as a buffer against the real coming of the Lord and its consequences.
It all starts with God; and it all ends with God. He is the alpha and omega of giving and generosity.
Who is God really? He is offensive, anarchic by the world’s standards, and far too gracious to people who don’t deserve his time or attention.
You are the friend in low places. It’s only from this place that you are free to look outside yourself for the remedy to the issues that plague you and humanity.
You’re not new because of what you do. You’re new and so you do new things, even in spite of yourself, because of your sinful nature.
Our God is a living God and he listens to our cries for help.