The women at the tomb were surprised by Easter. Amazed and filled with wonder at Jesus' Easter eucatastrophe. And so are we.
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.

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This book is not in your hands so that we can simply commiserate with each other’s difficulties. It is meant to pierce your sin-darkened night with the light of God’s Word.
I want the beginning of my funeral to be focused on Jesus, as well as the middle, the end, and every point in between.
History won’t judge us, Jesus will. We already have his judgment. He gave it to us from the cross, where he acquitted us with his death.
Free-range Christ is fearful Christ because he is present, speaking, and I just crucified him.
Easter must be seen in light of the cross. It must never overshadow Good Friday. They are a packaged deal!
Simon carried the cross, but Jesus was carried by the cross to death.
My one hope of not only entering a right relationship with God but also stepping into glory is the same: it’s Christ. It’s always Christ.
False holiness is always a possession and achievement of the individual in isolation from the good of others. And so it isn’t holiness at all.
Who we are buried with matters. But there is no need to go out and find a dead prophet so you can join him six feet under.
The promise here is that God is present with us in our troubles, issuing commands to save us before we ask. God does not ignore our suffering and cries.
Treating preaching as a battle with the Devil keeps a preacher on the offense and prevents him from being caught off guard.
Theologians of glory searched for God everywhere except the Cross of Christ.