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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The Old Testament is a long, strange book that’s not easy for modern readers to understand. What is understandable, therefore, is that people can get lost and confused when studying it. Here are three common misconceptions about it.
God will give you more than you can handle. But he doesn’t leave you alone. Not at all.
Instead of providing a way out, the LORD gave Elijah a way through, which included the calling of Elisha as his apprentice.
This tiny rural church would bulge at the seams with worshipers from realms seen and unseen, all mixed together in the adoration of the Lamb.
The presence of the Glory Cloud at the presentation of the manna makes clear who is providing this meal.
The Christ Key: Unlocking the Centrality of Christ in the Old Testament by Chad Bird is now available to order
The rainbow is a sign of the covenant God is making with “all flesh which is on the earth” and to the coming generations.
When we read about Noah, we are reading backward to Adam and forward to Jesus.
The LORD promises He Himself will gather up the remnants and they will prosper under His shepherding.
In spite of the many issues of unfaithfulness, the LORD still refers to them as, “My people Israel,” pointing to the Covenantal promise.
Mankind’s “thoughts and ways” on the matter of pardon and forgiveness do not even come close to exhausting, let alone fathoming, God’s “thoughts and ways.”
Our leaders, our pastors, our priests, our teachers, all have feet of clay, just as leaders in Israel did. We do not put our faith in them, even in the ones—perhaps *especially* the ones—in whom we are inclined to have great expectations. They preach the Messiah but are not the Messiah.