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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What does it mean to be a child of God and to carry his image? This is a theological question, but it is a question necessary for our self-understanding
Jesus is the Word of God. God’s Word—on two legs (John 1:14). I’d read it in the first chapter of John’s Gospel many, many times.
Perhaps the answer to creating a healthier church and a more invested people is found in preaching more clearly the full freeing Gospel.
I am often haunted by my past. I am daily haunted by what I should be doing.
I have been very busy lately, trying to understand things.
I am not a good Lutheran. I have only been around reformation theology for a few years.
Jesus cuts right to the chase when it comes to the evil one. He calls the devil “a liar and the father of lies,”
Hurricane Florence, or any natural disaster, can serve as a painful reminder of our own mortality, the futility of human ingenuity and strength.
There was a TV show back in the ‘90s called “Dinosaurs” that I used to sneak into the living room at night to watch.
True preaching arises when the Holy Spirit steeps the proclaimer in its own cycle of judgment and mercy.
A father dies and leaves an inheritance to his two children, Jane and Grace. The family member handling the estate gives them each a letter containing the cheques for their inheritance.
But when we trust Jesus, then we close our eyes to it all and say, “Heavenly Father, I’m your child.