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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Below is the Thinking Fellows Essential Reading List with contributions from each of the Thinking Fellows hosts.
God’s creatures on four legs are some of the greatest storytellers of the Scriptures.
“Praying the Bible” sounds odd to the ears of most believers today. That’s unfortunate.
The point of Revelation is to reveal consolation in Jesus, not to revel in chaos and confusion.
The Christian must always remember that personal piety and liturgical uniformity are by no means the marks of true religion.
Erasmus and the Unintended Reformation
God does not give us an undebatable answer to suffering. Instead, God suffers, too.
Don’t get in the habit (or, if you already do it, get out of the habit) of saying, “I could never talk about these things the way my pastor does.”
You are the baptized, for in Christ we are all wet. The demographic dividers are washed away.
Regularly reading and hearing God’s Word helps us to keep a song in our hearts.
Do our petitions move God?
If poetry elevates its subject, we could also say the reverse: the subject, in this case, the Most High God, elevates the language.