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 original sin of Genesis 3 was not gutter-style-sin, but glory-style-sin. It was more of an upward grasp than a downward fall. - Nathan Hoff
Ash Wednesday confronts us with our true nature, our mortality, and marks us with the only escape from it: the cross of Christ.
The Seed of the woman is he who will crush the head of the evil one and restore man to a right and proper relationship with God.
John Pless offers thoughts on preaching for your midweek Lent sermons.
Because God makes the rules He is free to break them when He chooses, however, God only breaks His own rules on the side of grace!
This article begins an eight-part series inspired by the Lenten themes of catechesis, prayer, and repentance found in the Lord’s Prayer as Luther taught it in his Small Catechism.
Obviously, the choice is very black and white: good or evil; life or death; blessings or curses...Unfortunately, the actions of the people will speak louder than their words.
They were righteous, but they were righteous because God declared it so. Just like us.
I venture to assert I have never read, in the entire Scriptures, words more beautifully expressive of the grace of God than these two children words.
There are good, God-pleasing reasons to attend a Divine Service, but worship attendance can also be an action by which we try to earn or deserve the favor and love of God. This is an ongoing struggle in every worshiping community.
In our search for absolution, human beings leave no stone unturned. We’re desperate to have our uneasy consciences soothed.