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 Nicene Creed is the gospel distilled—a refined and concentrated byproduct of Scripture’s own witness to the grace and power of God in Jesus Christ.
Nothing good happens when you get ahead of God and take matters into your own hands.
To confess Christ crucified and risen as the only hope in a world that has lost its mind to wickedness and rage.
The reason Christians argue so much about the sacraments is because, deep down, they matter.
You’re permitted to call on “Our Father, who art in heaven” at all hours of the day and night with whatever you like.
The “mystery of faith” entails the article of faith: Incarnation, Crucifixion, Resurrection, Ascension, and, finally, his Parousia.
Tetzel peddled righteousness for gold, but God gives it freely through faith in his promised Word, the person and work of Jesus Christ.
Oliver was a friend, chaplain, professor, author, and loyal church reformer. This Gnesio-Lutheran giant will be missed.
Just as each servant was sent to bring back the Master’s fruit, so did God send his prophets to bring back the fruits of a life shaped by the Word.
The thief is the prophetic picture of all of us, staring hopelessly hopeful at the Son of God, begging to hear the same words.
The danger is not destruction. It is reduction.
“The Church exists to tell anyone and everyone who knocks on her door wondering what’s inside: Come and see” (pg. 58). Such reminders make The Church a worthwhile read.