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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These statutes are a description of what the child of God looks like—how they walk, talk, teach, live, and have their being!
The grace of God does not save us at the beginning only in order to keep ourselves in his good graces by our good enough readiness.
Hypocrisy continues to rear its head as the formalistic worship and worshippers neglect their LORD and their neighbor.
Baptism is always valid because no unrighteousness or faithlessness on our part could ify God’s faithfulness.
So many distractions—so many false and foreign gods—so many side paths and rabbit trails. What choice, what decision? Who will we follow?
The Old Testament is a long, strange book that’s not easy for modern readers to understand. What is understandable, therefore, is that people can get lost and confused when studying it. Here are three common misconceptions about it.
God will give you more than you can handle. But he doesn’t leave you alone. Not at all.
The reason the mind is endlessly troubled about God predestining everything is the vague generalization. Generalizations are cold as ice, without the warm Christ.
Instead of providing a way out, the LORD gave Elijah a way through, which included the calling of Elisha as his apprentice.
The Psalms aren’t the clandestine successes of a faithful soul, but are the journaled hopes of a desperate soul — of one teetering on the edge of oblivion.
The presence of the Glory Cloud at the presentation of the manna makes clear who is providing this meal.
The Christ Key: Unlocking the Centrality of Christ in the Old Testament by Chad Bird is now available to order