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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Reading, understanding, and studying Scripture is a life-long process of contemplation in conversation with others.
This is an excerpt from “The New Testament Devotional Commentary: Volume 1: Matthew, Mark, Luke” written by Bo Giertz and translated by Bror Erickson (1517 Publishing, 2021).
Without the sacraments, God’s grace is simply an artifact behind a glass-case in a museum. We might be able to describe and even admire it, but we never get firsthand access to it.
This text arguably contains the clearest teaching concerning the bodily resurrection from the dead in the Old Testament.
Hebrews reminds us you cannot “be the church” unless you go to church.
Everywhere we look, there is suffering. But Jesus is not calling us to look. He is calling us to listen.
Grace and mercy are a powerful act of the Almighty God. God alone can grant forgiveness and restoration, salvation from the sorrow of this world.
This book is for people who want to get serious about the church. It’s for pastors who are sick and tired of surfing the latest wave or jumping from one program to the other.
This is an extremely important chapter and it speaks to the motif of DEATH and RESURRECTION in a powerful way.
The emphasis for All Saints Sunday is not on the saints, but the Sanctifier, Jesus Christ.
In his death, Jesus has done the ultimate act of charity. He has given his life for all.
God seeks us out and desires to give us more than a friendly smile or an understanding look. He seeks us out to embrace us and converse with us.