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 anything other than the gospel of Christ crucified for sinners becomes the center of the parables, we exchange the Gospel for the law.
The Old Testament often seems like a long lost family--and a rather weird family, at that. How can followers of the Messiah today live our heritage in the Torah, Prophets, and Writings? Here are three simple suggestions.
Certainly, the people of Israel are being stubborn, unfaithful and untrusting but one may wonder if this issue is a deeper one. Are they afraid?
Jesus sits by the well as a shepherd, coming to offer this woman a life-giving stream.
The Church is called to be counter-cultural, to stand out in order that the world might see and hear the truth and be brought into the Kingdom.
Jesus promises to work for you, forgiving your sins, but He also promises to work through you, forming you into a witness to the world.
But this is not a story of Jesus being taken many places. This is a story of Jesus remaining in one place and deepening in His love of the Spirit and the Father.
The Seed of the woman is he who will crush the head of the evil one and restore man to a right and proper relationship with God.
Ultimately the Christian life isn't about progress, it's about promise--the Pilgrim's Promise.
Faith is a gift from God. It’s not flashy or boast-worthy. It’s total dependency on the God who saves utter fools.
God interrupts Peter, but not only to quiet him. He also directs Peter to listen to someone else.
Because God makes the rules He is free to break them when He chooses, however, God only breaks His own rules on the side of grace!