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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In Defense of Christian Ritual is now available for purchase from 1517 Publishing
There is joy in Lent, but it is the kind of joy that comes in being made whole.
It’s not the disciples’ faith that invented the resurrection but the resurrection that gave birth to the disciples’ faith.
In schools and on barstools and in delis and where two or three gather, your Savior turns you loose to encounter those who are delightful and loveable.
Even though the horn of plenty on our table is there as the fruit of our labor, that is also a gift of God’s grace
Trusting in Christ’s promise of new life and deliverance pours generosity and hospitality into the way we think and the way we experience life.
The words “sanctify” and “sanctification” have deep roots in the Old Testament. There, holiness is about nearness to the presence of God. He is the holy-maker. Sanctification is his gift. The Old Testament helps us to avoid the common misunderstanding today that sanctification is all about our life of good works.
When we stop looking to Christ in faith, we are walking in sin. Anything (including our supposed law-keeping) that does not proceed from faith is sin.
The place where it is most difficult for us to accept God’s will is when suffering, calamities, and finally, death itself.
The Bible is a book for the desperate. That is its target audience. Recognizing our desperation readies us to hear the consolation that only God’s Word can offer.
Trusting in Christ’s promise of new life and deliverance pours kindness and gentleness into the way we think and the way we experience life.
We cannot scan any random passage of Scripture and automatically assume the words are unconditionally addressed to us. Often, very often, they are not.