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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When we look upon the cross, we see our sin. We also see the One who washes it away and gives life.
Because of my Advocate, there is no judgment or condemnation by God in my suffering.
God preserves language so he might continue to communicate his love and grace to us, and that we might communicate his love and grace to others.
Nostalgia is a looter who impoverishes us of the truth that God is in our midst right now.
At times, our Church struggles with clutter which distracts us from what is most important: Listening to our Lord and gathering at His table where we are fed.
Christianity is not about principally about ethics. It was the Cross on the Hill rather than the Sermon on the Mount that produced the impact of Christianity upon the world.
The words “sanctify” and “sanctification” have deep roots in the Old Testament. There, holiness is about nearness to the presence of God. He is the holy-maker. Sanctification is his gift. The Old Testament helps us to avoid the common misunderstanding today that sanctification is all about our life of good works.
Repentance comes on account of suffering, loss, failure, and death. It happens when the promise of forgiveness of sin given in Jesus’ death is proclaimed to us down-and-outers.
The place where it is most difficult for us to accept God’s will is when suffering, calamities, and finally, death itself.
The “Word” isn’t a thing, it is a person, the Son of the Father, who with the Holy Spirit is one God.
Yes, Adam and Eve both participated in sin. This was a joint effort of the two genders of mankind. They are both sinners. But the first sin wasn't letting the serpent in the garden.
The Bible is a book for the desperate. That is its target audience. Recognizing our desperation readies us to hear the consolation that only God’s Word can offer.