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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Jesus loves His church. He cleans her up. He takes her as His own. And He leads her.
Over the last few weeks it’s been painful and disappointing to hear the stories of victims that have been abused and assaulted by powerful celebrities, executives, and politicians.
His forgiveness gives us the courage to watch out for our neighbor in both the present and the future, and to act with wisdom while understanding failures are still ahead.
The promise is trustworthy because God has proven Himself to be trustworthy.
For since it was not enough that the Lord of heaven and earth hung on our every word, the Word came down from heaven and hung upon the cross.
The Devil cultivates fear of God and promotes motivation and zeal for outward works and earthly virtue out of pure eternal self-concern.
We all desperately need God’s only Son to take our place, to cleanse us by His blood, to wipe away our evil deeds.
The Christian who understands Gospel-based love recognizes the false promises and rewards of the Playboy Mansion.
Satan cannot stand the Gospel, and so he goes to work to undermine and render God’s Word an impotent and absurd message.
I hear voices in my head accusing me, telling me these sins will be there on the Day of Judgment unless I make atonement.
An orphan girl lives a monotonous life filled with loneliness serving as a slave to her stepmother and stepsisters.
The accusations of the voices we hear on a daily basis are deafening. There is no shortage of voices that will remind us of our failures.