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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Free-range Christ is fearful Christ because he is present, speaking, and I just crucified him.
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.
Easter must be seen in light of the cross. It must never overshadow Good Friday. They are a packaged deal!
On this Maundy Thursday, in particular, let the “for you” of Christ’s gifts dominate.
Simon carried the cross, but Jesus was carried by the cross to death.
Great things are contained in these seemingly unimportant words: "Behold, your king." Such boundless gifts are brought by this poor and despised king.
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.
All human wisdom, righteousness, and holiness are made futile in that which belongs to God’s kingdom.
Treating preaching as a battle with the Devil keeps a preacher on the offense and prevents him from being caught off guard.
We cannot love first. Therefore God comes, takes hold of the heart, and says: "Learn to know me."
God is often hidden in history, even as we make it now, but He is always manifest where He has promised to be.
Belonging to Christ means we have a place where we fit, a resting place where we are at peace because we know our Lord accepts us as His own.