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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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.
The usual acclamation when one becomes King is: “Long live the King!” But this King of kings, this son of David, has come to die.
As the writer to the Hebrews affirms, what makes the Christian gospel so much better is that we are no longer dealing with “types and shadows."
The king has arrived and has already begun his reign forever and ever.
God the Father sent us – his wayward, sinful, and naughty children – his own series of Father Christmas Letters.
Who would ever want all these screamers and haters? It turns out that Christ does.
If Jesus shows up and you are a sinner, ‘tis more blessed to receive than to give
O weary ones, O long-time waiting and watching ones, O ones who are late to the game, he is your rest this busy season, and always.
We will not become hopeless because the Lord is with us.
For with God we look not for the order of nature, but rest our faith in the power of him who works.
We ache in eager anticipation as we see Christ in action and as we take in the snapshots of his life, death, and resurrection.