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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These treasures show us that, no matter how well we think we know this poem, there’s always more layers to uncover.
We are saved by God's grace, apart from our work – so why does obtaining God's wisdom require such work?
Believers are reminded—and the preacher is to remind them—baptism marks the forgiveness of sins, the end of legal demands, justification and regeneration, and the ultimate triumph over rulers and powers.
God is always better than your imaginings. God is greater than your thoughts about God!
The following is an excerpt from “Crucifying Religion” written by Donavon Riley (1517 Publishing, 2019).
Begin thinking of your church as a homeless shelter. See how it changes the way you see the weary pilgrim sitting in the pew next to you.
What follows is a little crash course in how to read Calvin with respect, for our benefit, and with an eye to how we keep Reformation giants at a proper historical arms distance.
All God's fatherly goodness and mercy is concrete and real, born of a virgin, crucified for our trespasses, raised for our justification.
We might assume that all ways are equal to raising a child in wisdom, but they are not.
There is God. He existed before anything existed, for he has always existed and he will always exist. He created everything that exists outside of himself, and therefore he owns it all, including humankind.
In these two stories - one ending and the other beginning just a day apart - we find many ingredients that are uniquely American. We find grit, determination, and conquest.