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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When it comes to confessing the truth of the Christian faith, Christians are given the words. We don’t have to formulate them ourselves.
We want to be kind, gentle, and cheerful to others, but we’ve got to protect ourselves from getting hurt.
Forgiveness, not love, can restore a relationship that’s top-heavy with negative emotions.
The danger of denying the truth of our common human fallenness and brokenness by original sin is that the denial of this doctrine may also lead us to the denial of Christ as our Savior.
What do we say when a Christian admits the church has driven them to atheism? And they don't mean ideologically.
God isn’t fooled by our fake piety. He would rather have us venting honestly than faking it.
It wasn’t that I didn’t love. I loved deeply, but I was also aware of the much deeper reservoir of self-love that kept me from ever loving fully.
My past, littered about this tiny island, resurrects itself when I draw near, but it never does so alone. It is always accompanied by the Savior.
Begin thinking of your church as a homeless shelter. See how it changes the way you see the weary pilgrim sitting in the pew next to you.
In truth, forgetting transgressions has little to do with forgiving others who wrong us.
These three: to judge, to avenge, and to glory, have been taken from us, and no person should share in them.
“I love you” is great, as long as whatever commitment I may or may not be intimating is mutually beneficial and causes the least amount of emotional strain to me.