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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But there is something far more serious and important: being reconciled to our Father in Heaven.
Who should we baptize and when? How old does the person have to be? What if we get it wrong? Will something terrible happen to us?
We all began by hearing the truth, and then speaking the truth and believing the truth. That truth came to us on the lips of another.
We chase after status, wealth, luxury, glory, honor, youth, beauty, and pleasure. We work ourselves to death. For what?
I explained to her that Jesus was quoting Psalm 22 and pointing us to the prediction of His crucifixion. She then replied, "Isn't there more to it than that?"