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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Lent isn't simply a season. It's the Christian life in microcosm.
Jesus satisfies, fills, and saves because he is the Son of God, who, with the Father and the Holy Spirit, lives and reigns forever.
This is the third installment in our Lenten series, Through the Tombs of the Kings, where Steve Kruschel explores God’s faithfulness to Judah’s kings—and to us—through life, death, and the burial of his Son.
We are called to believe in the church even when we don’t believe in the church.
God is a judge, but unlike you, God is just!
In the liturgy, Christ is present, self-giving, and ever-addressing his people.
The liturgy ensures that the gospel is never something inward, merely a thought or sentiment of the believer.
I realized that no matter where I call "home," I won't be able to shake the feeling of homesickness.
By the end of this prayer of wrestling, David finally has the strength to claim victory over his lying enemies.
In Simeon's hands and Anna's gaze, we are reminded of God's promise—not distant, not fading, but alive.
Ambrose's preaching continues to ring out in churches around the world, especially during Advent when we sing his magnificent, proclamatory hymn, "Savior of the Nations, Come."
The Lord did for Hannah what he loves to do: he shifted everything into reverse, making the bottom the top and the top the bottom.