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.

All Articles

For God to shine his face upon us is the same as saying, “Christ Jesus is with us.”
Jonah rejected his first call and job description and headed in the opposite direction . Now, after spending three days in the belly of the big fish, Jonah is called again.
Samuel plays a very important role in preserving the line of Judah by anointing and instructing the first kings of the united monarchy—especially King David.
Christ has come to make all things new, and water and the Spirit are used for His new creation just as it was for the original.
Fred Rogers did not teach children how to live through a pandemic, but he had many profound things to say about loving our neighbors and finding our identity in that calling.
The receiving and/or possessing of a gift, even one from God, is far different than putting it to use.
The Lamb of God is stripped of His garment and sheds His blood on a cross to clothe us in robes of righteousness and garments of salvation—like a bridegroom who adorns himself and his bride.
Hannah’s story is the story of God’s great reversal.
Not only is Jesus the New David, He is also the New Temple—the House and Kingdom! This is the throne that is everlasting.
This is Christmas. It is Jesus becoming all sin from generation to generation.
It turns out the family trait of not being able to wait runs deep and wide in the family of God. We do foolish things while we wait for promises to be fulfilled.
The words the Anointed One uses to describe His reign are very familiar ones: Preach to the afflicted, bind up the broken hearted, liberty for the captives, opening eyes, comfort and provide for those who mourn.