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 come to God with our faithful obedience to make a case for our just cause, we expect to hear his deliverance in the form of a "yes."
The expectation of the Old Testament is NOT first and foremost obedience, but rather adoration!
Jesus is the vine. You are His branches. And God the Father delights to bring the inside out.
For those of us who recognize the disciples’ despair in ourselves, Jesus comes with the same word: “Relax, it’s me. Peace be with you.”
What kind of shepherd does God provide? The answer, of course, starts and ends with Christ.
The biblical shepherd leads his sheep. He provides for their needs. He protects them from enemies, and he does not leave his sheep unattended.
He continues to gather other sheep in, and He does it through the selfless serving and the gracious speaking of His people.
Jesus’s touch of this leper is the touchstone of the gospel itself. It’s a living parable of his entire ministry.
After more than a year of facing our collective mortality as a species, the promise of a physical resurrection is welcome news.
The Light of the LORD, Jesus Christ, has risen upon us and set us apart as the chosen people of God.
The promise you will make, which brings about the presence of Christ and creates rejoicing, is the peace Jesus brought to the disciples that night behind locked doors.
God has created perfectly. God is in the house and all is right with the world!