This is an excerpt from the introduction of Stretched: A Study for Lent and the Entire Christian Life by Christopher Richmann (1517 Publishing, 2026).
We can bring our troubles, griefs, sorrows, and sins to Jesus, who meets us smack dab in the middle of our messy mob.
Confession isn’t a detour in the liturgy. It’s the doorway.

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The gospel does not proclaim the results of our practical reasoning about things we experience, but the horror of God crucified for our sins and at our hands.
Since Jesus has done everything we need for salvation, we can focus our works and efforts on serving our neighbor.
The unrelenting truth of the Gospel is our only hope. Jesus Christ is the unshakeable, unmovable object of our faith. It is this hope in Christ that we find relief and comfort.
The following is an excerpt from “Faithless to Fearless” written by David Andersen (1517 Publishing, 2019).
As the storm waves of life crash into us, threatening to pull us down into the undertow of sin, Jesus comes and stands between us and the furious tides.
Christ isn’t preached in his glory but in his ignominy, his utter shame, degradation, and desolation.
Before the sending is the gathering. Before the gathering is the compassion. Before the compassion is the seeing. And it all starts with a gracious God.
This is the unique love of God. Where does it come from? It does not arise from the qualities of the person who is loved. It simply comes from God Himself.
In worship there is always the movement up which brings one closer to the holiness. The higher up you go, the closer to the presence of God and the closer to holiness.
We discover in the book that all of history is unfolding according to a plan, but the plan is hidden from our typical ways of seeing.
Christ is joy and sweetness to a broken heart. Christ is a lover of poor sinners, and such a lover that He gave Himself for us.
The image of the cross stands as central to Luther’s comfort for those who endure persecution.