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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The goal isn't to give kids a balanced or equal measure of each but to give the right medicine at the right time.
How intentional will we be about utilizing gospel spaces that already inescapably communicate?
We are called to believe in the church even when we don’t believe in the church.
In the upside-down wisdom of God, the place of the cross becomes the place of life, absolution, and triumph.
What do we do with Katie Luther? What kind of historical character can we paint her to be?
Epiphany is one of the most important festivals of the church year, although often sadly overlooked.
In Scripture, laments are raw expressions of grief, but they always point to hope. What if our culture’s obsession with holiday lights is an unconscious way of crying out, “We need good news, and we need it now”?
One Christ rules over all of it. He is the constant, the root that nourishes every estate and every vocation.
Mary looms large in our theology, our liturgy, our confessions and creeds.
Jesus loved us and gave himself up to save us. He would not abandon you to your hurt or cast you away because of the hurt you caused others.
Let your soul grieve, yes, but don’t let it be eaten alive by worry.
In his resurrection, God says "Yes" to Christ, and all those in him.