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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We think that if we are good enough, brave enough, or at least if we try hard enough, we will be someone who can be both fully known and fully loved.
Christmas is, therefore, the beginning of Christ’s earthly ministry, even while he awaits a number of years to gather his disciples and inaugurate his preaching of the kingdom.
The Holy Spirit is fixated on Jesus and it is the Spirit’s mission to bring us to faith in Him for He is the way, the truth, and the life and no one comes to the Father except through Him.
It seems too good to be true, and yet it is the truest of all truths. This is our God. This God sees and chooses to trample our sins under his feet.
I can only disbelieve you or believe you. If I disbelieve you, I go on being a miserable bore.
Under the lordship of the crucified and risen Emmanuel, our existence is one of blessedness. Blessedness means we are not under the condemnation of the Law, but the benediction of God’s favor here in time and, hereafter, in eternity.
The real question we must ask about God’s will isn’t, “God, command us according to your will and we’ll do it,” but, “God, what are you willing to do for us who can’t do what you command?”
When I hear people describe the god they don’t believe in, no longer believe in, or can’t bring themselves to believe in, I often nod in agreement. Yes, as a follower of Jesus, I do not and would not believe in that god either.
We might not appreciate that God chooses to save us by his word alone, but our discomfort doesn’t make the promise any less effective.
Advent draws us to the Lord who comes. We might even say that Advent really does begin in creation as the Father through His Eternal Word breathes His Spirit over the depths of darkness and calls into existence that the culmination of things that are not.
Professor John T. Pless has organized an incredible Advent series on the Apostles' Creed for you! Included here are texts, themes, and an order of service for your midweek Advent services.
Our smartphones, tablets, and laptops tempt us to enter into a virtual world without flesh and blood. A world without concrete, real consequences. No real pain or suffering, and no actual death.