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.

All Articles

Here is Paul’s repacking of the Christmas gift in terms of the personal and corporate implications of God so loving the world that He gave His only begotten Son.
The receiving and/or possessing of a gift, even one from God, is far different than putting it to use.
This story of despair met with the hope of the gospel is rightly told by many during the holiday season.
We’ve hung on every whisper of hope that this way of life would end and a new one would rise to take its place.
The incarnate Son of God makes ordinary events extraordinary by making them events that factor into our salvation.
This Jesus, Savior of sinners, does not do his work from afar. He comes to dwell with us, humbling himself, taking on flesh, that we might be redeemed.
People do not seek the gospel because they want to, but because God’s Word drives them to it.
On each of the seven days leading up to Christmas Eve (December 17-23), Chad Bird will provide a meditation that focuses on the ancient “O Antiphons,” each of which addresses Christ by a different Old Testament name. Today’s reflection, the last of this series, is on “O Emmanuel.”
The miracle of the gift of faith is very much like the Christmas star. It came without invitation. It came without our deciding to accept it. It came without us choosing to believe it was true.
On each of the seven days leading up to Christmas Eve (December 17-23), Chad Bird will provide a meditation that focuses on the ancient “O Antiphons,” each of which addresses Christ by a different Old Testament name. Today’s reflection, the sixth in the series, is on “O King of the Nations.”
I hope this Christmastime affords ample opportunities for you to publish the Good News of Jesus Christ.
Christian peace is not the absence of problems, but it is the presence of God amid our pain and sorrows.