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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The truth is, this church’s eyes wander very easily. You are there to make sure Jesus is clearly and constantly placarded before those eyes.
A confessing church is a church more worried about souls than appearances, family lines, or institutional bottom-lines.
How did you become a Christian? This question is frequently asked in many Christian circles. Ask it and you will get one of a thousand different answers, but each will probably start with the same pronoun.
What do the events of good stories, like The Lord of the Rings teach us about the rise and fall of civilizations in our own world?
In Christ we are already dead to sin and the eternal consequences of sin. “There is no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus,” writes Paul (Romans 8:1).
This short series has attempted to show that many, if not all, of the attempts that have been made to reveal or identify tensions or error in Melanchthon’s theology.
I believe it’s no small charge to assert that there’s a massive problem in the majority of America’s pulpits.
You have suffered your son to come unto Jesus; but fathers, don’t let him die!
“It’s funny because it’s true.” —Homer Simpson. The Bible is full of ridiculous stories. Laughable stories. There, I said it. A Red Sea parting, a giant fish swallowing a man, a talking donkey, and the list goes on and on. It’s all a bit ridiculous.
Christians argue about who's in charge of who, who's going to run things, who is the authority and who are the leaders that tell us on behalf of Jesus what to do next.
This coming Sunday churches around the world will celebrate the big, splashy day of Pentecost. As well they should.
The church’s worship should boldly and explicitly do two things: confess the incarnation and practice for the resurrection.