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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You might not know it, but every Christian hopes for the day when their faith will die. Really. I promise. Faith’s death is our celebration.
The LORD cleanses, prepares, and fills the mouths of His prophets, so they might be able to proclaim the holy Word of the LORD.
Justification and regeneration are, therefore, necessarily connected and have profound implications upon the craft of preaching.
Not only does Scripture command us to maintain purity of doctrine and practice, it also commands us to reconcile with our brother, to seek to end division, and recognize common ground where there is common ground.
Thus, the people weep and mourn, but they are told to cease with their mourning and rejoice and celebrate as a festival without worry or care, for the day is holy to the LORD who is their refuge and strength.
Our children are not our own, but even more, our children are born in need. They are sinful, from conception and from birth.
God created mankind to be His bride and now, in Christ Jesus, the Church of God is the bride of Christ.
Viewing the Word as a unified theological narrative prevents us from treating the Scriptures like a cage match between competing theological systems, with prophets duking it out with apostles, and psalmists with evangelists, all supposedly fighting for their voice to be heard.
This Epiphany text brings the coming of the Light and the Light shining in the darkness drawing all men to it together.
Christ has received the mark of law that we might be marked with the gospel, with the sign of his holy cross on our heads and hearts as redeemed children of God.
This Christmas season we are thankful that even though we “fallers” are unable to climb up to God, he came down the ladder to us.
Solomon uses his new gift of wisdom immediately, but as he grows older he appears to use this gift less and less!