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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What happens when our children are taught to read the Scriptures as evidence that God is a heavenly Santa Claus? When happens when they think God rewards or punishes them depending on whether they've been naughty or nice?
Christian freedom and Christian love go together in a most wonderful way.
History was one of dad’s favorite subjects and he shared his knowledge with infectious enthusiasm.
The Devil cultivates fear of God and promotes motivation and zeal for outward works and earthly virtue out of pure eternal self-concern.
The devil tempts us to hope in things that we can do.
Luther accepted Augustine’s view of the church as a mixed body.
I’ve always been a very passionate person. Adventure is my favorite thing.
In Christ we are freed to be for our neighbor without fear of sin and damnation falling upon us.
The Reformation handed over the crystal-clear Gospel of Jesus Christ on to the next generation.
So bondage meets freedom, and God becomes our Master through Christ.
In the face of all the misunderstandings on the part of the world and all the errors which have arisen within Christendom, let us make this point absolutely clear: the task of the church in the world consists uniquely and alone in the preaching of the Word of God and in administering the Sacrament.
These teachings are the heart of the Reformation…If it is about you, it isn’t about Jesus.