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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In this religious Sodom, we had a Jesus with the heart of Moses whose gospel was a new and improved law.
Sometimes, the bible bores me. Sometimes, I take scripture, grace, and Jesus lightly.
Original sin produces violent fruit.
When the church has gone astray, it has been the responsible (not slavish) approach to history that has helped correct the course.
I’d like to offer a short reflection on the theme of “worldliness” as it appears in his later work and how that’s connected to an item of his Lutheran heritage: the theology of the cross.
Perhaps best known for his “wager,” Pascal is often associated with this curious argument for the existence of God and eternal blessedness.
When we brag about what Jesus does for us, we win the battle.
We tell the little story of the Gospel because our great stories ultimately reflect Christ.
The Holy Spirit keeps us in faith and pours us out into the world so others may also hear and believe.
In life, we make decisions, from the most basic to the most lasting, lacking specific knowledge about the outcome.
Jesus has won the battle. The war is over. In His death, the victory’s sure.
The wizard stares into Billy Batson’s eyes. “Speak my name so my powers may flow through you.”