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 One who has defeated sin, death, and the Devil himself is now living in Heaven and praying for you.
From Genesis to Revelation, Scripture echoes with the great songs of salvation that fill our ears, hearts, minds, and mouths with the good news of salvation in Jesus.
Jesus will suffer, die, and rise again for them. By this love, they are forgiven. By this love, they are made His friends: Friends of God.
Evangelism is hard work requiring lots of patience. Churches and mission boards are often too impatient and want to see numerical growth explode overnight.
When we come to God with our faithful obedience to make a case for our just cause, we expect to hear his deliverance in the form of a "yes."
Jesus is the vine. You are His branches. And God the Father delights to bring the inside out.
Now, if there were another way to heaven, doubtless, he would have made it known to us.
He continues to gather other sheep in, and He does it through the selfless serving and the gracious speaking of His people.
After more than a year of facing our collective mortality as a species, the promise of a physical resurrection is welcome news.
The cross is not some mystic metaphor for the change we must undergo before our self-realization, but the earth-shattering event that changed the course of eternity.
The promise you will make, which brings about the presence of Christ and creates rejoicing, is the peace Jesus brought to the disciples that night behind locked doors.
Repentance means to turn or change your mind. It is not a turn from sin to righteousness. It is a turn from sin to the righteous Son of God who has defeated all sin.