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 LORD God shows His favor and presence with Joshua in the parting of the Jordan and other signs which suggest Joshua is the new Moses… but he is not!
You have been given a glimpse of glory, the glory of forgiveness, that you can share with those around you in the world.
Moses should receive honor, Jesus even more. Moses should be followed, Jesus even more. Moses should be trusted, Jesus most of all and above all else.
Excerpt #2 from the new book “Withertongue Emails" by Donavon Riley.
The problem with sin is that we fail to honor God who wants to take our hearts captive and fill us with his goodness.
Death is not the continuation of an adventure; death is being planted in the ground. The adventure belongs to the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come.
The theology is obvious: God is in control—so much so, that He can even use evil to accomplish His purposes.
By listing a series of situations in rapid succession, Jesus overwhelms us with how practical, how real, how tangible, how concrete, how utterly achievable life in the kingdom can be.
Excerpt #1 from the new book “Withertongue Emails" by Donavon Riley.
The question the pericope begs us to contemplate is not whether the heart trusts or believes, but rather, what does the heart trust and believe in.
The foundation of the faith Paul wants you to cling to is not an abstract principle, but a human body: the human body of Jesus, that once was a corpse, and now is alive forever more.
Jesus curses our cultural expectations. He says "woe" to those who are rich, satisfied, joyful, and praised. The good life of our world is not good for discipleship.