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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In Christ, God promises to forgive sin and bring about new life: Life after being canceled.
If you do not know who your God is, you will not know what your idols are.
We have seen a vision better than an angel. We have seen God on the cross. A God who is willing to suffer for us.
In our attempts to flee from our fears and escape death, we will become imprisoned by them.
The disciplines of history and archaeology have assisted in demonstrating the integrity and accuracy of the Bible.
Love is to be the interpreter of law. Where there is no love, these things are meaningless, and law begins to do harm.
We cannot control the resistance of people to God’s Word, but we can trust in God’s power and promise to work through His Word.
The message is clear and assuring—the Word of God does what it says it will do!
The people gathered in Jerusalem that day were making a bold statement of faith. They believed Jesus was the New David.
Jesus did not come to be first. He came to be faithful, faithful to His Father’s mission for you.
The kingdom I seek is the lower-case realm ruled over by the almighty upper-case Me.
If your congregation promotes and supports “family values,” you should be prepared to take this text head-on.