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 good news of Jesus Christ guides us into godly worship, not self-worship.
If you do not know who your God is, you will not know what your idols are.
The message is clear and assuring—the Word of God does what it says it will do!
When we are hurt, we cry out to God. But sometimes when the hurt gets really intense, our lament turns to complaint. Not only is this normal, but almost every lament in scripture contains a complaint.
The people gathered in Jerusalem that day were making a bold statement of faith. They believed Jesus was the New David.
The kingdom I seek is the lower-case realm ruled over by the almighty upper-case Me.
As a prophet, Jeremiah only speaks the LORD’s words. Obviously, this is the difference between a true and false prophet.
We already know how the war will conclude. Jesus wins.
If the world could have been saved by bookkeeping, it would have been saved by Moses, not Jesus. The law was just fine.
Jeremiah trusts the LORD to be faithful. He knows the LORD must answer, even though he is not certain how He will answer.
The enemy comes with his wounding, haunting words, and I stand behind my advocate Christ the Lord. He gives me more words, better words, truer words.
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.